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Posts tagged as:

recession

A note to consumers: Remember, your service staff are people too

February 19, 2009

As regular readers know, while I work in the retail side of the auto industry, I rarely allow my day job to spill over into my writing. To ensure that I remain professional at both ends, I stay away from dealership topics close to home. An interesting trend is developing though that merits comment. Consumers [...]

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NYC Classics dealer finds a use for your depleted stock holdings

January 31, 2009

With the economy fully in the dumper, more than a few are trying to figure out what to do with their stocks that are worth a fraction of what they were just a few months ago. Cooper Classic Cars has a great idea that is sure to appeal to more than a few enthusiastic investors. [...]

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Auto Bailout Package Dies on US Senate Floor

December 11, 2008

GM and Chrysler informed Congress they could run out of cash in weeks. We are about to find out how many weeks they meant. The bailout bill had passed in the House of Representatives, but Senate Republicans wanted further modifications made to the bill. The collapse of the bill came after talks broke down with [...]

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Will GM’s Woes Postpone New Products?

November 8, 2008

When GM reported on Friday they had lost $4.2 billion, and were well on the way to running out of cash, the news was far worse than most experts had predicted. Still, GM is ruling out filing for bankruptcy. My guess is that a government bail out of GM is more likely. It is a [...]

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Hard Times, Hard Lessons for Volvo

October 9, 2008

For the second time this year, Volvo has announced mass lay-offs to the tune of 6,000 employees worldwide. This news follows a staggering sales drop for September-the By the Numbers sales report shows an ulcer inducing 51.8% sales drop from the year before. Noted, all manufacturers posted sales losses, but Volvo’s loss was second only [...]

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Doors close on 13th largest US dealer group

September 25, 2008

13 car dealerships in 6 states
2700 employees
2007 revenues: $2.13 Billion
Number 13 on the Automotive News Top 125 U.S. dealer groups.
The doors are closed.
There was a time when working for a large dealer group was safe. There was a time when the top selling Chevrolet store (or group of stores) would have been untouchable. These are [...]

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Detroit gets ready for the “R” word

December 5, 2007

Instead of having bloated inventories sitting in their yards that beg for consumer incentives to help turn on the ignition keys to move them, Detroit might be taking a new tack in 2008. With the “R” word projecting in the minds of many sleepless execs; it appears production cuts may replace incentives in [...]

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