Do you not preread what your saying? Do you not understand why people are ripping on you? If you want to sell cars you dont go to a guy who owns a dealership, its not like your doing anything incredibly special to move these cars, its because you live in the Automotive capital of the United States! They dont need a car salesmen because they didnt hire you and they arent looking to hire so go back to the dealership. Just because your selling their cars doesnt mean you have a right to make the decisions. Unless you were personally hired by GM you are just a self-loving car salesmen.

 

No one in upper GM management has, to my knowledge, ever sold a car in their life. There's the problem. GM is too insulated, unwilling to listen. Maybe Kerkorian will bring some accountability. Who at GM is to blame? Who accepts responsibility? The Board? The CEO? The VP's? No one, that's who! Didn't take Illitch long to bring in a new coach. In Hockeytown, having the best regular season record isn't enough, winning the Cup is expected. At GM, failure is business as usual, less share, no profit, shrink the company, alienate suppliers and dealers as well as employees and retirees, complain about costs, and get your executive bonus.
I claim no "right" to make decisions, only offer workable, effective solutions.

 

You may not claim "right," but you're evidently claiming you're right. How do you know your solutions are effective? Have you put cash into studies? Have you had actual businessmen say, "By God, Buickman! You're right! This is exactly what we need!"

If I understand the plan right, it's nothing but a return to the '90s, where they took a car, changed the front sheetmetal, and called it a day.

 

Many knowledgeable industry insiders and analysts have strongly endorsed The Plan. Parts have been tested in dealerships with outstanding results.

 

Well I for one am done with this thread, I have read WAY to much and learned NOTHING other than some people can't admit when they are wrong. Bub-eye.

 

Can this thread be locked yet?

 

GM continues GMS on '05's while "pulling back" the incentives. Rendezvous for example lost $750 of the lease cash and the money factor went from 4 to 4.4%. The difference in this promo vs. "Keep America Rolling" is that the success came directly out of the dealers income. In 2001, dealers made profit while delivering merchandise. This time they had their pockets picked. Contrary to the implications posted often here and elsewhere, dealers are "hot". I've heard from many who are greatly upset, as are the salespeople who worked twice as hard for less than half the money. A few part timers and rookies got excited, but they aren't responsible for much of anything anyway. For example, see the Letter to Edtior in this week's Auto News written by Frank Stanko, owner of Champion Chevrolet in Reno, Nevada. Mr. Stanko, who also happens to be president of the Nevada Auto Dealers Association, writes in an open letter to GM, "Salesperson retention is key to a dealer's success, and to your success.All these employee discount deals carry commissions of $100 to $150. Salespersons could make more money flipping hamburgers. For GM and its dealers to be successful and gain market share, we must work together. Giving the employee discount to everybody has the opposite effect. The talk of transaaction-based prices on 2006 models is scary if it resembles this current approach. During the June 1 broadcast explaining the program, it was quite evident that GM management does not understand what it takes to sell cars and trucks. All GM managers should spend a year selling cars and trucks and try to pay the mortgage and feed and clothe their families with the commissions. They then would understand what it takes to be a successful salesperson today." This is the attitude of most dealers, trouble is many are afraid to speak out publicly. Fortunately, some are starting to break the ice.

 

Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah


Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Why wont he stop!?!?!?!?!??!?!

 

The "poor dealership, poor salesman" stuff doesn't cut it.

MOST dealerships and salespeople are on record as being ELATED.

One of my best friend's brother-in-law is the #1 salesman at a local Chevy dealership.... He wins "salesman of the month" at the dealership every month, and has for like 7 straight years. He supposedly outsells the next clostest salesman at his dealership more than 3 to 1.

Guess what??

HE IS HAPPY WITH THE PROGRAM!!!!

 

Why won't GM stop? We have rebates on '06's yet the vehicles haven't even arrived. Do you think it is effective marketing to announce incentives when dealers don't even have the brochures? Plain and simple, GM doesn't understand how to sell cars. It will be interesting to see the financial results soon announced. Will the "spin" be positive in an attempt to portray this nonsense as intelligence, or will they plead poverty as leverage against their emloyees and retirees?

 

Here's a challenge to everyone. NO ONE respond to this thread EVER again!

 

Buickman reminds me alot of a guy named Jack Van Impy. Maybe some of you know who he is, he is always trying to piddle religous crap to idiots at 1 in the morning.

Yeah, I am definelty picking up that vibe.

 

Again I ask why keep posting to this thread if you don't care for it? There must be a reason!

In the May issue of Dealer magazine, Thomas Oates, PA Chevy dealer, writes, "Next time you talk to your GM friends hopefully they are ready to swallow hard after the 1st quarter numbers and radically change their marketing direction to benefit the dealers and GM in the long term. Enough so that when they're collecting fat pensions, market share is actually moving fast in the right direction. So will you please tell them to get the marketing and launches straightened out, or hire someone other than a GM "lifer"; if they haven't figured it out by now, they never will."

So much for the plea, GM comes with a program that "strips" the dealers of profit opportunity, robs the future, and sends the industry into a downward pricing spiral.

 

Auto news publisher Keith Crain, " For 25 years, General Motors has been telling me to wait. It has some great cars and trucks in the pipeline, and if only I'll wait, I won't be disappointed. I've been waiting for 25 years."
Bert Sawicki, Internet manager Putnam Buick-Pontiac-GMC, Burlingame CA. "Is General Motors so far removed from the sales process that it forgot about us salespeople? Sure, giving everyone employee pricing is a great marketing strategy, but what about the salespeople? We are the ones selling the cars. People sell cars, not incentive programs or price; that's why the internet has not replaced dealerships. Every GM car sold is now a 'mini'. At my dealership, it's $100. How am I supposed to survive?...I'm basically working for free this month, and so are tens of thousnads of other GM salepeople....As a salesperson, I can't understand why GM can't get it's act together. Instead of having some marketing person who has never sold a car in his or her life create the incentive programs, why doesn't it consult the dealers and it's sales force?"
The Plan - Return to Greatness IS the answer. Trouble is GM is on a mission to eliminate NA unionism and destroy the UAW. The powers that be "rob" the company by schemes like Fiat, starve divisions like Olds and Buick, serving their own "Plan" to reconstruct a corporation free from existing obligations while lining the pockets of incompetent, and ineffective, executives serving their own self interest. There is no accountablility for failure from the hand picked Board, and the madness of disastrous marketing continues unabated. Gradually the voice of reason is rising to disclose the ineptitude and constant decline by useless, isolated, egotistical excuses for leaders at General Motors. Such a shame!

 

Buickman, the weakest link in the entire automotive industry (not just GM) is the franchised dealer. If the state legislatures hadn't been corrupted by the lobbying efforts of the dealers, we would have seen direct manufacturer-to-customer internet sales 5-6 years ago. GM had a great marketing plan with GMBuyPower.com, but the pressure of GM dealers (under the "protection" of state lawmakers) undermined a very worthy and honest effort.

I can honestly say that I believe that GM's management is fundimental honest, if inept. I believe that the same can be said about most auto manufactures - although some are far from "inept." Big business is often more "honest" than small business.

I don't have anything to say about the dealers, the dealer organizations, or the crooked state legislators - at least not anything that would conform with the obscenity strandards of this forum.