Buick: Loaners boost sales

General Motors wants Buick-GMC dealers to offer courtesy loaner vehicles and is considering new advertising standards as ways to move the brands up the premium scale, executives told dealers at the make meeting. GM is gunning for about 15 percent sales growth this year for both Buick and GMC, according to several dealers who attended the make meeting.... Read More »

Ford to help dealers renovate

Ford brand unveiled its Facilities of the Future program to dealers at the make meeting. Ford will offer dealers financial help to improve their stores in line with Ford's Trustmark Design standard. Ford was to have sent letters to dealers last week with details.... Read More »

Toyota refilling dealer stocks

After months of inventory shortages triggered by last year's earthquake, Toyota dealers should return to full volumes within a few weeks. Carl Swope, chairman of the Toyota National Dealer Advisory Council, said competitors have "misread" Toyota capacity levels stemming from parts shortages.... Read More »

Chevrolet targets 13% sales gain

General Motors, seeking to gain market share this year, is gunning for a 13 percent U.S. sales increase for Chevrolet. GM expects Chevrolet to increase its market share in 2012, executives told dealers at the make meeting. Last year Chevrolet's U.S. sales rose 14 percent.... Read More »

Acura aims for 180,000 sales in '12

After a year in which their sales were limited by a devastating earthquake in Japan, Acura dealers were told here that production of Acura vehicles is back to normal and the distribution pipeline should be full by March. But Acura has ambitious goals for sales and customer satisfaction in the coming year that will require dealers' involvement.... Read More »

Mercedes aims for 6% rise in sales

Mercedes-Benz USA executives didn't attend the make meeting, leaving their top manager in the western region to field dealer questions. With a change in CEO and the naming of two new vice presidents to fill vacancies, Mercedes-Benz is saving details of the new management team's plans for its April dealer meeting in Chicago.... Read More »

Cadillac sees retail sales rising, less fleet business

General Motors is seeking to increase Cadillac's retail sales about 13 percent this year as it prepares for its busiest product-launch schedule in many years. Cadillac executives have set a 156,000-unit U.S. retail sales target for this year, executives told dealers at the make meeting. That would be up about 13 percent from Cadillac's retail sales in 2011.... Read More »

Kia dealers expect 100,000 more units

Kia pledged to get its U.S. dealers 100,000 more units this year than last year to keep up the brand's momentum. An extra 100,000 sales would be about a 20 percent gain for Kia in 2012. The brand sold 485,492 vehicles in 2011, up 36 percent over the previous year.... Read More »

Mazda will boost marketing 25%

Mazda North American Operations will use the launch of its Skyactiv powertrain technology and the arrival of the new CX-5 crossover as the impetus to boost its marketing spending by 25 percent this year, executives told dealers at the make meeting.... Read More »

Nissan goal for 2012: 1.1 million

Nissan was the only major Japanese automaker whose U.S. sales were not hurt significantly by the March 11 earthquake. Now it is looking to add to its 2011 momentum with a 16 percent increase to 1.1 million units for the brand this year, executives told dealers at the make meeting. Nissan Division last broke the million-unit mark in 2006.... Read More »

BMW dealers told bonuses are safe

For dealers attending the BMW make meeting, it was all about listening to the new CEO talk about improving communications -- and assuring them no bonus programs will be cut. It was the calmest dealer meeting BMW has had in three or four years, said Damon Shelly, owner of Irvine BMW and Irvine Mini in Irvine, Calif., and Shelly BMW in Buena Park, Calif.... Read More »

Suzuki plans to refresh its lineup

Suzuki dealers need a refreshed product lineup and consistent supplies if they are to hit the automaker's goals of increasing sales in the United States by 20 percent in 2012, dealers were told during their make meeting.... Read More »

Chrysler dealers cheer Eastwood's pep talk

Chrysler Group dealers received a special early preview of the automaker's two-minute "Halftime in America" Super Bowl commercial during their make meeting. They predicted that the commercial, starring actor-director Clint Eastwood, might not move the metal but would do much to increase brand awareness.... Read More »

Audi wants to join CSI elite

Audi of America COO Mark Del Rosso challenged dealers here to keep making store and process improvements to raise Audi's customer satisfaction scores into the top three among luxury brands. Audi placed 10th last year among luxury carmakers on J.D. Power and Associates' U.S. Customer Service Index. The top three were Lexus, Jaguar and Cadillac.... Read More »

Infiniti bumps ad budget, offers local-area choices

Infiniti will spend more on advertising and give dealers a new menu of TV commercials for local markets, dealers were told at the make meeting. Also, the brand will broadcast numerous commercials for its new JX crossover during the NCAA basketball tournament in March.... Read More »

Lincoln's product show won't snub small stores

Lincoln will invite all its dealers to a Lincoln product show in Detroit in November, executives told dealers at the make meeting. That will be in sharp contrast to a meeting last month, to which only the owners of the roughly 325 Lincoln dealerships in the top 130 luxury markets were invited.... Read More »

Allocation system, SUV shortages rile Land Rover dealers

Dealers at the Land Rover meeting said vehicle allocation and balanced supply throughout the year are their biggest concerns, prompted in part by shortages of the new Range Rover Evoque compact SUV. The factory can't immediately resolve supply issues, executives said.... Read More »

Saab parts flow is top priority, dealers told

Tim Colbeck, president of Saab Cars North America, told about 25 dealers at the make meeting that the automaker will not contest a move by dealers to force it into Chapter 11 bankruptcy. "We're not going to fight the bankruptcy," Colbeck said. "Our No. 1 priority right now is insuring the flow of parts to North America."... Read More »

Porsche will review store capacity

Porsche Cars North America starts a four-city tour this month to talk with dealers about how they'll handle the coming wave of new products and whether they need to expand and modernize. Beginning Feb. 20, Porsche executives will visit dealers for one-on-one sessions to discuss store targets and facility plans, said COO Michael Bartsch.... Read More »

Volvo forms finance arm; dealers cheer

Volvo Cars of North America delighted dealers by announcing at the make meeting the launch of a captive finance arm with services beginning this year. A captive will increase sales, boost leasing rates and improve customer retention, Volvo executives say.... Read More »

Honda is fixing inventories now, the Civic in the fall

Honda will bring out a significant midcycle change to the Civic compact this fall, just 18 months after it was launched, executives said at the make meeting. The rapid change will arrive at about the same time as a redesigned Accord and is part of Honda's plan to increase sales by 24 percent this year.... Read More »

VW raises output for U.S., seeks more sales per store

Volkswagen plans to crank up production specifically for the United States 50 percent this year, executives told dealers at the make meeting. VW brand aims to boost U.S. sales about 45 percent, or by about 150,000 vehicles, in 2012, dealers at the meeting said. Last year VW brand's U.S. sales rose 26 percent to 324,402.... Read More »

Subaru boosts output, will target Sun Belt

Subaru inventories will be high enough to meet or exceed the brand's U.S. sales goal of 320,000 vehicles, executives told dealers at the make meeting. Subaru is increasing production. Initially it will target allocation of vehicles to dealers in the Sun Belt states, where the automaker would like to boost sales, said Tom Doll, Subaru of America Inc.'s COO.... Read More »

Mitsubishi predicts 100,000 sales by 2014

Mitsubishi Motors North America executives laid out plans to increase sales to 100,000 by 2014, said dealers who attended the make meeting. In an interview after the meeting, Yoichi Yokozawa, president of the North American unit, said the company also is on target to introduce its plug-in hybrid SUV in 2013, but said the vehicle's name has not been decided.... Read More »

More cars for Hyundai stores in '12

Three factors could bring more vehicles to hungry U.S. Hyundai dealers in 2012: new and redesigned models, manufacturing efficiency and a soft European market.... Read More »

Jaguar dealers applaud new U.S. ads, better Web site

Jaguar's new marketing campaign and U.S. Web site are driving more customers into showrooms, dealers said after their meeting. "Everybody recognizes that over the years there has been a lack of attention to the brand. The new ownership is addressing it.... Read More »

Saab dealers eye parts firm, press GM to cover warranties

About 25 dealers met with Saab Cars North America Monday to discuss the formation of a parts distribution company and the disposal of 2,200 new cars remaining in Saab's dealer inventory. The remaining Saab dealers are also asking General Motors to cover warranty repairs for 2010 and 2011 models.... Read More »

Nissan division aims for 1.1M U.S. sales in 2012, up 16%

Nissan Division, the one major Japanese brand whose sales were not greatly affected by the March earthquake, is looking to add to its 2011 momentum with a 16 percent increase in volume to 1.1 million units this year, executives told dealers today at the make meeting during the National Automobile Dealers Association convention here.... Read More »

Saab dealers will meet, probably for last time, at NADA

Saab dealers will meet in Las Vegas on Monday during the National Automobile Dealers Association convention for what is likely to be their last make meeting.... Read More »

Smiles and sparks: Make meeting forecasts

Most years, a glance at a brand's prior-year sales results will indicate what to expect at the NADA make meeting. If U.S. sales soared, the meeting usually will end with everyone smiling. If sales tanked, the automaker will try to soothe unhappy dealers with talk of coming new or freshened models, pumped-up incentives or both.... Read More »

Montana dealer William Underriner elected NADA's 2012 chairman

The National Automobile Dealers Association's board of directors has chosen William Underriner as the group's 2012 chairman. The board also elected David Westcott 2012 vice chairman, placing him in line for the 2013 chairmanship.... Read More »

Applying for Sprinter not so easy

Mercedes-Benz dealers were abuzz about their pending trip to Stuttgart. All Mercedes dealers have been invited to headquarters in April to see future product and hear the brand's growth strategies, said Bud Smail, owner of a Mercedes dealership in Greensburg, Pa.... Read More »

Ford will boost output and help with technology

Ford Motor Co. will increase first-quarter production in the United States 13 percent from year-earlier levels to meet projected increases in retail sales and will pay dealers to offset the costs of deliveries of vehicles with complicated technologies.... Read More »

Chrysler Group sets sales bar high

Chrysler Group has set an ambitious sales target for its dealers in 2011. The automaker seeks more than 1.57 million sales this year, up about 45 percent from the 1.1 million units sold in 2010, Chrysler told dealers at the make meeting.... Read More »

Mazda defends 3 with deals, new ads

As the Mazda3 goes, so goes Mazda. With the compact-car segment heating up with redesigned entrants coming from Ford, Honda and Hyundai, the Mazda3's position as the brand's volume leader will come under pressure. To counter the threat, Mazda will use its standing as one of Automotive Lease Guide's residual value leaders to push lease deals on the Mazda3.... Read More »

Audi vows to boost inventories

Audi of America Inc. promised its dealers more inventory as soon as possible to take advantage of the brand's rising U.S. sales. But President Johan de Nysschen said it could take until the third or fourth quarter of this year to ease the strain.... Read More »

Ford imposes standards on Lincoln dealers

After months of waiting, Lincoln's 1,100 dealers finally learned what they must do to keep their franchises. Some smaller dealers say it will be a stretch. Ford expects Lincoln dealers to meet those requirements, part of a plan to rebuild the Lincoln brand, by Oct. 1.... Read More »

Kia tries to keep up with sales

Kia plans to add a third shift at its plant in West Point, Ga., to boost availability of the Sorento crossover, the brand's best-selling product. Tom Loveless, Kia's U.S. sales boss, said Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia is recruiting workers to staff a third shift at the plant. He said no date has been set for the start of production.... Read More »

Volvo shares plan to lift sales

Volvo will significantly boost advertising spending this year, the head of Volvo Cars of North America said after the make meeting here. Volvo began network and national cable TV advertising on Jan. 24, said Doug Speck, CEO of Volvo Cars of North America.... Read More »

Jaguar's new owners 'stepped up'

Jaguar's new owners are loosening the purse strings, and the brand will spend "substantially more" this year on grass-roots marketing to push sales.... Read More »

Land Rover eases Evoque ordering

Land Rover will simplify ordering for the new Range Rover Evoque by offering fewer option packages than planned. Last year, dealers complained about the complexity of proposed Evoque packages.... Read More »

Subaru will boost output 18% in Ind.

Subaru predicted its U.S. sales will grow to 400,000 vehicles, and worldwide sales to 1 million, by 2020. Last year Subaru sold about 650,000 vehicles worldwide and a record 263,820 in the United States. Tom Doll, COO of Subaru of America, told dealers at the make meeting that the brand expects another sales record in 2011 but did not give a specific number.... Read More »

Supplies are tight, Porsche dealers told

Despite recovering U.S. sales, strong demand worldwide means dealers won't get additional Cayenne SUVs this year, dealers were told. "If I could get the product I would take 3,000 to 4,000 more Cayennes," said Michael Bartsch, COO of Porsche Cars North America. "We are back in a demand-driven pull market vs. a push market."... Read More »

Hyundai dealers expect new cars, improve stores

Hyundai appears poised to continue its momentum with plans to bring more new products to the United States while hundreds of retailers are improving their dealerships. Dealers were shown a two-door version of the 2011 Elantra that is on the way, and a redesigned Azera sedan. The Azera is scheduled to go on sale in January 2012, Dave Zuchowski, Hyundai's U.S.... Read More »

Mitsubishi vows U.S. commitment

Mitsubishi's U.S. executives reiterated to dealers that Mitsubishi Motors Corp. is committed to the U.S. market and wants to increase dealer profitability in 2011. In an interview after the make meeting, Shinichi Kurihara, CEO of Mitsubishi Motors North America, cited the automaker's decision to build the Outlander Sport at its plant in Normal, Ill.... Read More »

Infiniti's M hybrid will be featured in wave of TV spots

Sales of the Infiniti M sedan hybrid will be low, but the model is important to the brand's image, Infiniti told dealers at its make meeting. Ben Poore, Infiniti Business Unit vice president, told dealers the hybrid will be priced midway between the M37 and the M56.... Read More »

VW to dealers: Upgrade stores

Volkswagen Group of America is asking dealers to renovate and upgrade their stores to help the company meet its growth goals, CEO Jonathan Browning said. In an interview after the VW make meeting, Browning said Volkswagen must keep transforming its dealer network, products and people to achieve 800,000 U.S. vehicle sales by 2018.... Read More »

Honda stair-steps spark debate

If Honda dealers and the factory disagree on one thing, it's stair-step incentives. The volume-based dealer-cash scheme to move inventory has Honda dealers miffed, and they let Honda management know it. "We want to avoid using stair-steps," said Paul Ritchie, president of Hagerstown (Md.) Honda. "But they wouldn't take it off the table."... Read More »

Forecast of 150,000 sales delights Acura dealers

Acura told dealers it would boost production by 15,000 units during the first quarter from a year ago and aims for 150,000 sales for the year. "That's music to my ears" said Douglass Fox, dealer principal of Ann Arbor Acura in Ann Arbor, Mich. The forecast is up from 133,000 sales in 2010.... Read More »

Saab sees big sales boost from new models in '11

Saab Cars North America forecasts U.S. sales of 15,000 to 20,000 vehicles this year. Saab executives revealed the prediction at the make meeting, according to dealers who attended. Saab told dealers the sales gains will come from the 9-4X crossover that arrives in May, the 9-5 sedan that went on sale last year and the 9-3.... Read More »

Nissan is forming local ad groups

Nissan dealers will begin ironing out details in the next 60 days for a nationwide network of local ad associations that will come online next year. The associations are aimed at enabling local dealers to respond to market opportunities, Nissan Division Vice President Al Castignetti said at the make meeting.... Read More »

Court luxury buyer, Buick dealers told

Buick-GMC dealers need to overhaul stores and sharpen customer service to continue luring buyers from premium brands, dealers were told at the make meeting. Brand leaders, who are positioning Buick as a luxury marque, bragged that Buick's sales in January topped Lexus' total for the first time in many years, said people who attended.... Read More »

Cadillac tells dealers: Get ready for 2012

Cadillac leaders urged dealers to overhaul their stores ahead of key vehicle launches in 2012. "We've got to get ready for new product," Don Butler, Cadillac's vice president of U.S. marketing, said after the make meeting. "We don't want to be tearing up showrooms when it comes in."... Read More »

Chevrolet dealers like new allocation system

Chevrolet dealers should be able to replenish their lots with hot-selling vehicles such as the Equinox crossover more quickly under a change in General Motors Co.'s system for allocating vehicles. At make meetings, GM officials told dealers of all brands that it will switch to a twice-monthly ordering system, from monthly now, starting in the fourth quarter.... Read More »

With recall crisis over, Toyota looks forward

Toyota dealers will have their hands full launching new and redesigned vehicles in 2011, including the Camry, Yaris, Tacoma and Prius V wagon.... Read More »

Communication remains a problem, dealers tell BMW

BMW dealers want more and better communication with the brand's U.S. executives, who continue to have misgivings about dealers' requests for a dealer relations manager. Ratings in the last NADA dealer attitude survey put BMW at the bottom because of dissatisfaction with the brand, Tim Smith, owner of Bob Smith BMW-Mini in Calabasas, Calif.... Read More »

Suzuki foresees 20% sales hike

Suzuki expects sales to rise more than 20 percent to 30,000 units this year, the company's president said after the make meeting. In 2010, sales fell 38 percent to 23,994. Kevin Saito, president of American Suzuki Motor Corp., said sales have picked up since October and that new dealers appointed over the past year are performing well.... Read More »

Ford outlines Lincoln standards to be met this year

Ford Motor Co. spelled out the standards that its 1,100 remaining U.S. Lincoln dealers must meet by year-end if they want to continue selling the brand. The requirements include offering what Lincoln calls “owner privileges.... Read More »

Chrysler chases 45% gain

Chrysler Group has set an ambitious sales target for its dealers in 2011: at least 1.57 million units, up about 45 percent from 2010, Chrysler told dealers at the franchise dealer meeting here today.... Read More »

Cadillac wants dealers to spruce up stores now for coming new vehicles

Cadillac's message to dealers at its make meeting today: Spiff up your stores now so you're ready for an influx new vehicles in 2012. "We've got to get ready for new product, and we don't want to be tearing up showrooms when it comes in," said Don Butler, Cadillac's vice president of U.S. marketing, following the luxury brand's meeting with dealers.... Read More »

Subaru plans to squeeze more vehicles from Indiana plant

Subaru dealers will get more vehicles this year as the maker tries to squeeze up to 18 percent more production out of its capacity constrained factory in Lafayette, Ind. The plant will crank out the extra vehicles by adjusting line speeds and work hours, dealers were told by Subaru of America executives at their make meeting.... Read More »

Volvo resumes advertising spending, will test EV here

Volvo will test electric vehicles in the United States, said Doug Speck, CEO of Volvo Cars of North America.... Read More »

Land Rover dealers want inventory

Land Rover dealers say they are short of vehicles and are clamoring for more inventory this year. Land Rover management in the United States is promising more product, but increased global demand may put a strain on the automaker to deliver higher volumes.... Read More »

After surviving the recession, dealers offer their wish lists

Dealers are shaking off the recession and are again sounding like, well, dealers. They want to keep the new-car sales momentum going. They want more advertising from the factory. They want strong quality. And they want products in new niches.... Read More »

Ford strives to speed up inventory flow

Ford Motor Co. executives told dealers that the automaker is working on ways to get them a steadier supply of products. Ford leaders confirmed here at the make meeting that Mercury will get a new small car in 2011.... Read More »

Chrysler dealers hunker, wait for products

Dealers who attended the Chrysler make meeting are hunkering down, waiting for a wave of new products in the works. They seem to be willing to give the company the benefit of the doubt that a brighter future is ahead. Chrysler engineers have been working on a line of new vehicles based on Fiat platforms.... Read More »

Kia aims to boost U.S. sales 10% this year

Kia will continue to be aggressive in the United States this year, executives told dealers at the make meeting. The brand is shooting for a 10 percent increase in sales this year and says it has the means to do it. Last year, Kia sold 300,063 vehicles in the United States.... Read More »

Audi U.S. chief: Profit means more than hitting sales goal

Despite Audi's oft-stated plans to sell 200,000 vehicles in the United States by 2018, the luxury brand's North American chief says profitable growth is more important. "We are not going to chase volume for the sake of volume," Johan de Nysschen, president of Audi of America, said after the make meeting.... Read More »

Subaru dealers: We need cars

With sales hot and market share rising, the only thing Subaru dealers want is more cars. They can't keep enough in stock, particularly the updated Outback crossover and Legacy sedan, Phil Porter, chairman of the Subaru National Dealer Advisory Board, said after the make meeting.... Read More »

Volvo can offer 0% after Ford Credit split

For the first time in years, Volvo Cars of North America Inc. has competitive 0 percent loans because it dumped Ford Motor Credit Co. financing. Late last year Volvo switched entirely to U.S. Bank for consumer financing because Ford's rates weren't competitive, said Doug Speck, CEO of Volvo Cars of North America. U.S.... Read More »

After quiet '09, Mazda will crank up ads

After an erratic marketing effort in 2009, Mazda North American Operations promised its dealers that "we will not be dark" during 2010, or at least for the first six months. Mike Morais, chairman of the Mazda National Dealer Advisory Council, said Mazda Motor Corp. has marked North America as its "primary target" in the coming year.... Read More »

Suzuki will share Kizashi launch budget

Realizing it can't compete against the big players in mid-sized sedans, Suzuki has taken half of its $30 million marketing budget for the crucial Kizashi sedan launch this year and given it to the dealers, said Kevin Saito, president of American Suzuki Motor Corp.... Read More »

Dealers pose tough questions for Toyota

Toyota's make meeting was not as contentious as some dealers had expected. But with the company mired in quality problems, dealers asked plenty of tough questions. For example, they wanted to know how long Toyota had known about the safety defects that led to recalls and how the controversy would affect dealer business.... Read More »

For Nissan, more models, better floorplan rates

Nissan dealers devoted most of their make meeting to talking about new products coming this year. But dealers also heard of plans to boost inventories of older trucks. Dealers have clamored for more Frontier and Titan pickups and full-sized Armada SUVs -- all of which had factory volumes slashed after the light-truck market began shrinking in 2007.... Read More »

Land Rover promises small SUV in 2011

A new, smaller SUV for Land Rover will go on sale late in the third quarter of 2011, Land Rover announced to dealers at a breakfast meeting. The SUV, based on the LRX concept, debuts at the Paris auto show this fall and will be seen first in the United States in December at the Los Angeles auto show.... Read More »

BMW is big Olympic advertiser

BMW Group is using the Winter Olympics to launch a marketing campaign to convince shoppers that BMWs are engineered well but are fun to drive, too. George Sharpe Sr., chairman of the BMW Dealer Forum and president of Sharpe BMW in Grand Rapids, Mich., said the brand's make meeting was upbeat -- as might be expected, given the average 2.... Read More »

VW restates goal: Double U.S. sales by 2012

Volkswagen Group of America reaffirmed its goal to sell 450,000 cars in the United States by 2012 at the make meeting. That's a big jump from 2009, when VW sold 213,454 vehicles. But VWoA management says new product introductions, including a redesigned Jetta and an all-new mid-sized sedan out of its new Chattanooga, Tenn.... Read More »

Acura ups spiffs till hybrids arrive

A sharp sales slide and Acura's decision to cancel rear-drive V-8 vehicles have dealers wondering whether the brand ever will reach Tier 1 luxury status. But Acura officials tried to convince dealers at the make meeting that the new plan -- relying on hybrids -- will succeed.... Read More »

Honda wants to help dealers boost margins

Honda dealers aim to improve their profit margins, increase conquest sales and keep their image separate from the tarring that Toyota has taken of late. John Mendel, American Honda Motor Co.'s executive vice president, said the company will try to give dealers "more below the line" in terms of profit margins not visible to consumer Web sites.... Read More »

GM promises to fix parts shortages

General Motors Co.'s dealers have complained of repair parts shortages, but that problem should end this year, executives told dealers at an invitation-only luncheon. Dealers say back-ordered parts range from engine motor mounts for Northstar V-8 engines to steering rack-and-pinion assemblies for large crossovers to trim items for Hummers.... Read More »

M launch is Infiniti's key event for '10

Infiniti plans a large national advertising push this spring to support its 2011 M sedan, which will be the brand's primary focus in 2010, dealers were told at the make meeting. Dealers are counting on the car for added sales and to bring new attention to the brand. Infiniti sales were down 6 percent in January compared with a year ago.... Read More »

Porsche will end spiffs; under VW, it's 'business as normal'

Porsche Cars North America says it has slashed its inventories in half in the past few months to about 45 days and expects to end incentive spending by the end of March. "We were oversupplied across the board, and those inventory levels are pretty balanced again," said COO Michael Bartsch.... Read More »

Happy Hyundai: Profits, products, more financing

Dealers had little to frown about at Hyundai's make meeting. After all, it was one of the few brands that increased sales in 2009. Dealers were told about a slew of new products in the works and learned that more financing will be available from the company's captive finance company.... Read More »

Mercedes dealers want more M's, E's, CPOs

Mercedes-Benz dealers urged the automaker to open the faucet a tad on vehicle inventories, especially the M-class crossover and E-class coupe, as the automaker prepares for higher volumes in 2010. Factory officials told dealers at the make meeting that it is forecasting a sales upturn of more than 10 percent in 2010, said people who attended the meeting.... Read More »

Mitsubishi's 3-year goal: 100,000 sales

Mitsubishi told dealers at its make meeting that it is committed to increasing volume. Said Jason Gillman, vice president of Gillman Mitsubishi, which has stores in Houston and San Antonio: "They've got a three-year plan to get us back to where we need to be. They've got to get the volume back over 100,000" for the United States.... Read More »

Chrysler dealers 'playing defense'

Chrysler Group dealers would like more incentives. They'd like more new products, and they'd like to see some ads geared to product features and deals. But dealers know the new Chrysler isn't going to give them those things now.... Read More »

Mercury gets a small car in 2011

Ford Motor Co. executives confirmed that Mercury will get a new car on the same platform as the Ford Focus. Ford executives told dealers Sunday at the make meeting that the small Mercury is coming in 2011, the same year the Focus arrives. Two dealers who attended the meeting say the car will be called the Mercury Tracer.... Read More »

Upbeat BMW is big Olympic advertiser

BMW Group is using the Winter Olympics to launch a marketing campaign seeking to convince shoppers that BMWs not only are engineered well but are fun to drive, too.... Read More »

Chrysler to audit dealer service

Under new management headed by Fiat, Chrysler Group wants to know how well dealers are taking care of customers. So it is dispatching an audit firm, SGS Group, to find out. Dealers' performance will be measured in four key areas: customer care, aftersale care, facility and management.... Read More »

Ford urges dealers to go green, improve customer service

Ford Motor Co. is offering to help dealerships cut energy use. For a fee, Ford will assess a dealership's energy use and recommend how it can become more energy efficient said Ken Czubay, Ford's vice president of U.S. sales and marketing.... Read More »

Ford offers dealers F&I training

Ford Motor Co. has hired MarketSource to train dealers on F&I sales techniques and products. The automaker wants dealers to sell more extended warranty policies and other F&I products. The program is free to dealers.... Read More »

Kia sees another big sales year

There's no slowing down for Kia. The Korean brand, one of only three marques whose U.S. sales rose last year, told dealers at the make meeting Sunday that it is shooting for a 10 percent increase this year. Kia also told dealers it will continue to look for high-profile advertising venues such as the Super Bowl.... Read More »

Volvo dealers grapple with uncertainty

Anxious about their businesses, Volvo dealers asked the top U.S. executive a flurry of questions about the brand's future that apparently can't yet be answered.... Read More »

Ford expands e-contracting

Ford Motor Credit Co. is expanding its e-contracting to 12 states this year. The program now is available in eight states and will be nationwide by 2012.... Read More »