Distribution and constraints
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Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 145
From: Fox Valley, WI
Distribution and constraints
Now, I know we have talked at length about almost every area, but I don't recall and can't find anything on these. These are two issues I have fear for the Camaro, even being two years away.
Distribution:
I recall two events I hope GM is taking into account and doing something to act on:
1. was the introduction of the GTO 2004 models. It put way too many in the Northern markets and left dealers in the South without during the coldest, worst time to sell sports/muscle cars. GTO then fought markups, styling, and poor placement of inventory
2. was and is the Z06 phenomenon. GTO saw this as well with huge dealer markups and dealers promising cars they could not get-causing consumers to flee to Dodge/Porsche/Ford
The 2nd one is a touchy legal point, but these two need to be addressed to reduce the negative effect on the consumer, and for one and only one reason: Dealers (generalizing about those charging mark up, and I know this is not everyone-to all you guys who do a great job) will look at this as their time to cash in on the cars instead of the discount game, but GM is trying to woo people into the dealerships again and show them why they need to shun Toyota and buy a Chevy. Gouging and poor customer service will counteract any positive effects of amazing product.
Constraints:
This is more enthusiast based, but affects dealers when trying to balance inventory. Nothing blows your top like trying to order a car the way you want it and then having options not be available. I can say from firsthand experience as a dealer in the past this made my blood boil. If you allocate a Camaro V8 version, make sure a consumer can get all the options listed. I ran into this: allocated a V8 car, but no SS, no 6-speed, and a slew of others. Forced me to order a car (for the dealership mind you) that was not right for my inventory. I can say that this has been happening a lot for the Z06 guys, so this isn't a thing of the past. Imagine buying a $75K car and being told that you can't get polished wheels on it...doesn't make sense. I understand some things are out of control, but for the love of God have a backup plan.
Just some of my issues from the past, that I hope are lessened when it finally hits the streets.
Distribution:
I recall two events I hope GM is taking into account and doing something to act on:
1. was the introduction of the GTO 2004 models. It put way too many in the Northern markets and left dealers in the South without during the coldest, worst time to sell sports/muscle cars. GTO then fought markups, styling, and poor placement of inventory
2. was and is the Z06 phenomenon. GTO saw this as well with huge dealer markups and dealers promising cars they could not get-causing consumers to flee to Dodge/Porsche/Ford
The 2nd one is a touchy legal point, but these two need to be addressed to reduce the negative effect on the consumer, and for one and only one reason: Dealers (generalizing about those charging mark up, and I know this is not everyone-to all you guys who do a great job) will look at this as their time to cash in on the cars instead of the discount game, but GM is trying to woo people into the dealerships again and show them why they need to shun Toyota and buy a Chevy. Gouging and poor customer service will counteract any positive effects of amazing product.
Constraints:
This is more enthusiast based, but affects dealers when trying to balance inventory. Nothing blows your top like trying to order a car the way you want it and then having options not be available. I can say from firsthand experience as a dealer in the past this made my blood boil. If you allocate a Camaro V8 version, make sure a consumer can get all the options listed. I ran into this: allocated a V8 car, but no SS, no 6-speed, and a slew of others. Forced me to order a car (for the dealership mind you) that was not right for my inventory. I can say that this has been happening a lot for the Z06 guys, so this isn't a thing of the past. Imagine buying a $75K car and being told that you can't get polished wheels on it...doesn't make sense. I understand some things are out of control, but for the love of God have a backup plan.
Just some of my issues from the past, that I hope are lessened when it finally hits the streets.
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