U.S. distributors gave Toyota a toehold in a mysterious new market
Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Automotive News Canada
  • Automotive News Europe
  • Automotive News China
  • Automobilwoche
AN-LOGO-BLUE
Subscribe
  • Subscribe
  • Account
  • login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
    • Dealers
    • Automakers & Suppliers
    • News by Brand
    • Cars & Concepts
    • Coronavirus Coverage
    • China
    • Shift
    • Mobility Report
    • Special Reports
    • Digital Edition Archive
    • This Week's Issue
    • COVID-19 vaccines reaching auto plants, but challenges remain
      Working online to book COVID shots, office manager Billie Jean Pellet “typed so fast smoke came off the keyboard,” said dealer Earl Stewart.
      Dealership team hunts for vaccine
      Hope stalls for rebound in European auto sales
      Dana net income falls 53% in Q4
    • Changan
      Huawei, battered by U.S. sanctions, plans foray into EVs, report says
      VW China
      Top VW China exec said to eye joining Renault as local CEO
      Geely to create separate EV business unit
      Valeo, Faurecia outperform China market in 2020
    • Udelv CEO offers a historical perspective on high-tech goods delivery
      Q&A with BrightDrop CEO Travis Katz
      Automakers optimize manufacturing, customize products through digitization
      3D-printing a Porsche: Making concepts matter
    • Fisker's next wave: A premium people's car
      A worker fixes a power line in Austin, Texas, last month.
      Bidirectional EVs could lend a hand in power crisis
      Toyota banks on plug-ins as rivals push BEVs
      A look at some EVs and their range
      Here are the mileage ranges of the top EVs
    • Elon Musk interview
      Tesla’s Model Y, on sale since March, is a showcase of EV technologies competitors will benchmark.
      Technologies of Electrification
      Cadillac’s Lyriq EV will be unveiled Aug. 6.
      Future Product Pipeline
      A CALL TO ACTION
    • COVID-19 vaccines reaching auto plants, but challenges remain
      In SPACs, dealers see viable option to go public
      New-school solution for recruiting auto techs
      Is your dealership a great place to work?
    • Access F&I
    • Fixed Ops Journal
    • Marketing
    • Used Cars
    • Retail Technology
    • Sales
    • Best Practices
    • Dealership Buy/Sell
    • NADA
    • NADA Show
    • Automakers
    • Manufacturing
    • Suppliers
    • Regulations & Safety
    • Executives
    • Talk From The Top
    • Leading Women Network
    • Guide to Economic Development
    • PACE Awards
    • Management Briefing Seminars
    • World Congress
    • Aston Martin
    • BMW
      • Mini
      • Rolls-Royce
    • Daimler
      • Mercedes Benz
      • Smart
    • Fiat Chrysler
      • Alfa Romeo
      • Chrysler
      • Dodge
      • Ferrari
      • Fiat
      • Jeep
      • Maserati
      • Ram
    • Ford
      • Lincoln
    • General Motors
      • Buick
      • Cadillac
      • Chevrolet
      • GMC
      • Holden
    • Honda
      • Acura
    • Hyundai
      • Genesis
      • Kia
    • Mazda
    • McLaren
    • Mitsubishi
    • Nissan
      • Infiniti
    • PSA
      • Citroen
      • Opel
      • Peugeot
    • Renault
    • Subaru
    • Suzuki
    • Tata
      • Jaguar
      • Land Rover
    • Tesla
    • Toyota
      • Lexus
    • Volkswagen
      • Audi
      • Bentley
      • Bugatti
      • Lamborghini
      • Porsche
      • Seat
      • Skoda
    • Volvo
    • (Discontinued Brands)
    • Virtual reveals (Sponsored)
      • MITSUBISHI: 2022 Outlander
      • NISSAN: 2022 Pathfinder and 2022 Frontier
      • GENESIS: 2021 GV80
      • KIA: 2021 K5
      • LEXUS: 2021 IS
      • NISSAN: 2021 Rogue
      • TOYOTA: 2021 Venza and 2021 Sienna
    • Auto Shows
    • Future Product Pipeline
    • Photo Galleries
    • Car Cutaways
    • Design
  • OPINION
    • Blogs
    • Cartoons
    • Keith Crain
    • Automotive Views with Jason Stein
    • Columnists
    • China Commentary
    • Editorials
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Send us a Letter
    • The new Stellantis pickup: Schrödinger's Dakota
      Fisker gets a rare second chance to build his own car company
      Gerry McGovern is right man to steer Jaguar reinvention
      Forget the Ford GT; Moray Callum's biggest hit is the aluminum F-150
    • Jaguar is about to undergo its fourth reinvention in five decades as owner Tata Group takes a second crack at shaking up a brand whose glorious past has rarely translated into a profitable present or sustainable future.
      Jaguar Redo, Part IV
      view gallery
      1 photos
      Chip Shortage
      Jaguar is about to undergo its fourth reinvention in five decades as owner Tata Group takes a second crack at shaking up a brand whose glorious past has rarely translated into a profitable present or sustainable future.
      view gallery
      9 photos
      Leo Michael Cartoons - Q1 2021
      Dealers hiring from hospitality sector
      view gallery
      1 photos
      Hospitality Hires
    • Shifting gears away from the stick shift
      SEMA still a wonderful circus
      Penske still has plenty of races to win
      Ford's turn in the hot seat
    • March 2, 2021 | Will EV bets pay off?
      February 23, 2021 | Reliability continues to soar
      February 16, 2021 | Apple looks to take bite out of automotive
      February 9, 2021 | ‘Super’ opportunity for automakers
    • Reinvention of Jaguar is a tall task for McGovern
      Jamie Butters
      EV plans and some damn lies
      Mark Paul
      What dealers can do if D.C. power shift affects recalls
      Are we in the midst of a fourth industrial revolution?
    • Shanghai hints at how Chinese cities will pursue electrification
      How Tesla, GM transformed EV market in 2020
      Is sales recovery nearing an end?
      Beijing's uphill battle to boost EV sales
    • U.S. Dealership lot
      Lean lots won't last without new dealer discipline
      Taiwan Semicon microchips BB web.jpg
      Chip shortage shows need for new thinking
      Digital demands squeeze smaller auto retailers
      President Joe Biden’s move to electrify all government vehicles could push forward charging infrastructure development.
      Dealers aren't wrong to be wary of EV hype
    • New look at Nissan a positive sign
      Embrace EV ideas at our doorstep
      Dealers are right to worry about EVs
      Buying EV without dealer is just easier
  • DATA CENTER
  • VIDEO
    • AutoNews Now
    • First Shift
    • Special Video Reports
    • Weekend Drive
    • AutoNews Now: Toyota RAV4 probed for fire risk
      AutoNews Now: Nissan 'breakthrough' could lower emissions
      AutoNews Now: Most buyers still undecided on EVs, J.D. Power finds
      AutoNews Now: Biden tackles chip shortage with lawmakers, order
    • First Shift: Volvo's electric push includes online-only sales
      First Shift: U.S. dealership profits surge 48% to record high
      First Shift: Tesla output in Calif. resumes after 2-day shutdown
      First Shift: Ford's Farley: 'We need to bring battery production to the U.S.'
    • Bert Ogden Auto Group
      Back to basics: How a Texas group is cutting costs, saving millions 
      COVID, chips and checks: Sales headwinds and tailwinds for 2021
      N.J. dealer helps position peers for ‘electric revolution’
      DCH Millburn Audi
      'Finding the diamond in the rough': How 2020's No. 1 dealership retains talent
    • Why the pickup is the auto industry's 'battleground'
      Carlos Ghosn's quest to restore his reputation
      Why Ford must execute to avoid 'deep trouble'
      Why Honda is 'locked and loaded' for 2020
  • EVENTS & AWARDS
    • Events
    • Awards
    • Congress Conversations
    • Retail Forum: NADA
    • Canada Congress
    • Europe Congress Conversations
    • Leading Women Conference
    • Fixed Ops Journal Forum
    • ANE Shift
    • Shift: Mobility at a Crossroads
    • Shift: The Future of Mobility (CES)
    • 100 Leading Women
    • 40 Under 40 Retail
    • All-Stars
    • Best Dealerships To Work For
    • PACE Program
    • Rising Stars
    • Europe Rising Stars
  • JOBS
  • AN Solutions
  • +MORE
    • Leading Women Network
    • Podcasts
    • Webinars
    • In the Driver's Seat
    • Publishing Partners
    • Classifieds
    • Companies on the Move
    • People on the Move
    • Newsletters
    • Contact Us
    • Media Kit
    • RSS Feeds
    • Shift: A Podcast About Mobility
    • Special Reports Podcasts
    • Daily Drive Podcasts
    • AAM
    • Gentex
    • Reputation.com
    • Ricardo
    • Ricardo
    • Allstate: Want more from your F&I?
    • Ally: Navigating the future of automotive retailing
    • Amazon Web Services: Any place, any time, any channel
    • Amazon Web Services: The power of the cloud
    • Amazon Web Services: Universal translator: Harnessing sensor data to build better automotive software
    • Epic Games: Transforming the auto industry with digital assets
    • FTI Consulting: Crisis as a catalyst for change
    • Google: 5 trends shaping the auto industry's approach to a new normal
    • IHS Markit: Automotive loyalty in the wake of the COVID-19 recession
    • IHS Markit: Autonomous vehicles: Automotive and transportation disruption
    • IHS Markit: COVID-19: The future mobility delusion
    • Level5: 2020 Automotive E-Commerce Report
    • Naked Lime: Bring social reputation together as part of big-picture marketing
    • Wells Fargo Auto: Switching gears from LIBOR to SOFR
    • Ally: Do It Right
    • DealerSocket
    • Deloitte: Cyber everywhere: Preparing for automotive safety in the face of cyber threats
    • Facebook: The road to a zero-friction future
    • Guide To Economic Development
    • PayPal Credit: How consumer financing helps drive sales for online auto parts retailers
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Retail
October 29, 2007 01:00 AM

U.S. distributors gave Toyota a toehold in a mysterious new market

Gambling on a new import produced huge fortunes

Kathy Jackson
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Print
    From left: Gulf States Toyota CEO Tom Friedkin; Toyota executives John McGovern, A.J. Duderstadt and Hal Bracken; and W.D. Kutach of the Texas prison system, who accepted a vehicle donated by Toyota.

    Former race car driver Carroll Shelby reckons he could be a billionaire today if he had taken Toyota up on its offer to distribute cars for the upstart company back in the 1960s.

    Instead Shelby, now 84, turned his good racer buddy, Tom Friedkin, on to the deal. And it was Friedkin who in 1969 acquired Gulf States Toyota Inc., an independent distributor that has annual revenue of more than $4 billion and is getting stronger each year.

    Says Shelby: "I turned it down because I went to Lee Iacocca, and he told me not to take it because the domestic makers were going to push the Japanese back into the ocean. But I'm happy for my friend. At least a friend made the money."

    Shelby says that financially, he regrets not taking the Toyota deal. "But," he says, "with a billion dollars, I'd probably be in a casket by now."

    Instead, he's still making Shelby Cobras and their 427-cubic-inch engines. He's also a distributor for Good- year racing tires.

    Gulf States, of Houston, and Southeast Toyota Distributors Inc., founded by Jim Moran in Deerfield Beach, Fla., now are Toyota's only U.S. distributors. It has been a win-win situation for both the distributors and for Toyota.

    Gulf States and Southeast Toyota have made billions from Toyota. In return, the automaker has learned how to sell and market to U.S. consumers.

    "Jim Moran taught us about Toyotathon and the finance business," said Jim Press, who was Toyota's top U.S. executive until his recent departure for Chrysler. "Gulf States is teaching us truck sales today, so we still have an outside influence to avoid 'big company' disease."

    In 1971, George Butler, front left, president of New England Toyota Distributors, signed with Toyota in Tokyo. Next to him is Shotaro Kamiya, president of Toyota Motor Sales. But Toyota had problems in New England.

    IT STARTED IN 1966

    In 1966, the year Toyota set up its first distributorship, Toyota sold only 20,908 vehicles in this country.

    That first distributorship was Mid-Southern Toyota Distributors Inc., a subsidiary of Amco Industries Inc., which already was distributing Jaguar and Triumph cars.

    Mid-Southern Toyota was established Jan. 1, 1966, in Chicago. It was owned by Irv Schwartzberg and serviced 14 Midwest states.

    Toyota was handling distribution itself in areas such as the West, where customers were receptive to its cars. But the Detroit 3 had almost a monopoly in the Midwest, East and South.

    In January 1969, Southeast Toyota Distributors Inc. came on board, followed that August by Gulf States Toyota.

    Toyota decided to manage New York by itself. In April 1970 it appointed Mid-Atlantic Toyota Distributors Inc. in Baltimore for other East Coast markets. New England Toyota Distributors Inc. in Boston was formed in January 1971 for the New England market.

    The concept worked. By the end of 1971, Toyota and its five distributors had 887 dealers and sold 232,045 units.

    "We wanted to get distributors up and running as fast as they could go," says John Turmell, who crafted Toyota's franchise and distributor agreements. Turmell, now 65 and retired, says that in the early days, Volkswagen was the business model.

    "Seeing what VW had done, Toyota thought that's a model we should look at," Turmell said. "VW was selling 500,000-plus cars and trucks a year in the late 1960s, and Toyota wondered what it would be like to be at that altitude.

    "So Toyota picked heavily populated areas for distributors, then let the distributor identify the dealers."

    Back in those days, it took only a $25,000 startup fee and $1,500 in parts to get a Toyota franchise.

    Carroll Shelby: Took a pass on Toyota, tipped a pal

    ENTER YALE GIESZL

    Yale Gieszl joined Toyota in the finance department in 1970 and ran the company as executive vice president from 1993 to 1999. Gieszl had been Toyota's accountant at Price Waterhouse for several years before joining Toyota. When he left Price Waterhouse, his boss laughed as Gieszl declared that someday this upstart automaker would have $1 billion in sales in the United States.

    "My boss looked at me and said NEVER," Gieszl says. "I was very confident. In 1969 Toyota sold 124,000 units, at $1,500 average. That's less than $200 million in revenue. But long before the end of the '70s, we did $1 billion."

    He says Toyota had no intention of adding more distributors, because the company started paying competitive salaries to get qualified talent. And there was the realization that Toyota could handle its own distribution.

    "I know there was talk of a Denver distributor, but Toyota wanted to maintain the West Coast directly," says Gieszl, who is 65 and a consultant to Toyota.

    In 1973, Toyota sold 324,533 vehicles here. But in 1974, the bubble burst.

    That year, the company experienced its first year-to-year sales decline since Schwartzberg, the first distributor, came on board in 1966. And Schwartzberg, who also was in the wine business, decided he wanted out of Toyota.

    "He came to us in late 1974," Gieszl says. "We had a 13-month supply of vehicles, and business was tough.

    "Irv basically said that he had found an organization called Great Midwest Corp. in Kansas City that he wanted to sell to. So Norm Lean, the service guy, and I and two other execs visited Great Midwest, and they had these huge limestone caves they were going to use for parts storage.

    "And we thought: 'We cannot let this happen.'

    "I never worked so hard in my entire life doing analysis for (Isao) Makino (then head of Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A.) to convince him that we should buy Irv's distributorship, because (the price of) $10 million was a lot of money in those days," Gieszl says. "That was a big decision.

    "We paid Schwartzberg just under $10 million for what was the Kansas City, Cincinnati and Chicago regions at net asset value. Goldman Sachs had to help us get $5 million, and we celebrated with champagne."

    The Schwartzberg buyout happened at the end of 1975, and in 1979 Toyota terminated the franchise agreement with George Butler and New England Distributors.

    Butler, a Chevrolet dealer in Massachusetts, won his distributorship partly because of his political connection with the Kennedys. Butler was a big contributor to their political campaigns, and Toyota executives thought that a distributor who was tight with a powerful family could help the company with trade issues. But Butler was booted out because of unsavory practices such as loading customers' cars with accessories they did not want. Butler fought Toyota in court but lost.

    New England was "bullying dealers and pocketing too much," says Makino, now 85. "The Toyota dealer association asked us why we were putting up with New England Distributors and asked me to look into it. So we terminated the relationship in 1979. The dealers were really happy."

    EXIT WEISMAN

    In the early 1980s, Toyota paid $285 million, plus $200 per vehicle sold for two years, to buy out Mid-Atlantic Toyota.

    Mid-Atlantic Toyota was owned by Frederick Weisman, who had become president of Hunt Foods at age 31. Weisman was regarded as one of the top 200 art collectors in the world before his death in 1994.

    Toyota exercised a three-year option of a five-year contract to buy out Weisman's distributorship.

    "It wasn't as bad as people think," Gieszl says. "It was a public debate between business partners who were separating."

    But Jack Thompson, who owns two Toyota stores near Philadelphia, was happy to see Weisman go.

    "Toyota is much better organized. It's much better run," Thompson says. "Mid-Atlantic was run by a guy who did not know the auto business. Mid-Atlantic set our pricing, and back then, our pricing was much higher than in the rest of the country.

    "Weisman was just there to make money. Toyota knows the people business; that's why they're so successful. Weisman wasn't into people. He just wanted us to sell the cars."

    SCRAPBOOK DID IT

    Then there was Jim Moran.

    Moran, who died in April 2007 at age 88, had been the largest Hudson, Ford and Pontiac dealer in the country before retiring to Florida from Chicago after two operations to remove skin cancers.

    But Toyota talked him out of retirement, intrigued by his marketing genius and ability to understand customers' needs and wants.

    Moran decided to join the Toyota family after just one test drive in a Corona coupe.

    "We talked about Moran's distributorship proposal on his yacht," Turmell says. "This was not a formal proposal. It was a scrapbook of Jim pictured with movie stars and athletes and celebrities."

    Turmell recalls that Moran told him that they were people "I know and do business with, who trust me with their money. These are people I can get to associate with Toyota."

    Showing the pictures instead of a spreadsheet of charts and graphs was much more compelling to Toyota's Japanese staff.

    "A picture tells a thousand words," Turmell says, "and the Japanese were able to understand it."

    Besides creating Toyotathon, the annual fall clearance sale by all Toyota dealers, Moran showed the automaker how to set up and run dealer advertising associations, how to sell extended warranties, how to operate a port option facility, how to establish a captive finance company and how to sell certified used cars.

    20% OF TOYOTA SALES

    "We made Jim wealthy, but he also taught us a lot," Turmell says. "It made sense to leave Gulf States alone because they had done a lot of things, too."

    Southeast Toyota is the world's largest independent distributor of Toyota vehicles. Its 170 dealers in Florida, Georgia, Alabama and North and South Carolina sold 415,645 vehicles in 2006, which was 20 percent of the total U.S. volume for the Toyota brand.

    Ken Czubay has been with Southeast Toyota for 18 years and has been its president since 2000. Czubay, 59, a native of Hamtramck, Mich., says his task is twofold: "At the end of the day, we help them sell and market in five states. And we have to innovate."

    The numbers indicate the distributorship is selling. As for innovation, Czubay says Southeast Toyota dealers were among the first with Internet marketing when the company introduced www.buyatoyota.com in 1998. The site allows customers to order, purchase, lease and finance vehicles online.

    The company introduced retail tire programs to its dealers about eight years ago. Czubay says the dealers will sell about 400,000 tires to consumers in 2007. "Eight years ago, we sold no tires," he says.

    Toyota distributors

    Gulf States Toyota Inc.

    Where: Houston

    Founded: 1969

    Founder: Tom Friedkin

    Today: 150 dealers in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi; expects sales of about 250,000 units in 2007; annual revenue more than $4 billion

    Southeast Toyota Distributors Inc.

    Where: Deerfield Beach, Fla.

    Founded: 1969

    Founder: Jim Moran

    Today: World's largest independent distributor of Toyotas; 170 dealers in Florida, Georgia, Alabama and North and South Carolina; 2006 sales of 415,645 vehicles, 20 percent of the total U.S. volume for the Toyota brand

    Mid-Southern Toyota Distributors Inc.

    Where: Chicago; serviced 14 Midwest states

    Founded: 1966

    Founder: Irv Schwartzberg

    What happened: Bought out in 1975 by Toyota

    Mid-Atlantic Toyota Distributors Inc.

    Where: Baltimore; serviced East Coast markets, but not New York

    Founded: 1970

    Founder: Frederick Weisman

    What happened: Bought out in early 1980s by Toyota

    New England Toyota Distributors Inc.

    Where: Boston; serviced New England

    Founded: 1971

    Founder: George Butler

    What happened: Franchise agreement terminated in 1979 by Toyota

    EVERYTHING DEALERS NEED

    Southeast Toyota has its own captive finance companies.

    "SET has everything dealers need — even individual loans so dealers don't have to go to the bank for anything if they don't want to," says Mike Perrin, owner of two Toyota dealerships in Georgia. Perrin got his first store with Southeast Toyota in 1991 under a dealer development program.

    "The thing that SET had was Jim Moran," Perrin says. "That's like having Michael Jordan. He made things happen; he's a superstar.

    "Moran had a complete understanding of what consumers want. He was an innovator."

    Perrin says the biggest difference between Southeast Toyota and Toyota Motor Sales is that Southeast Toyota managers can make decisions much more quickly.

    "It takes about three seconds to make a decision at SET," he says. "Moran empowered his people.

    "At Toyota," Perrin explains, "a field job generally is a midmanagement job, leading to bigger jobs at headquarters. At SET, it's just the opposite; the most experienced people are in the field."

    TRUCK SPECIALIST

    Over at Gulf States, the company is making a huge effort to help Toyota sell its redesigned full-sized Tundra pickup, which went on sale this year.

    Toby Hynes, Gulf States president since 1999, says the distributor and its 150 dealers started a training program five years before the truck arrived. He says dealers added new positions called "truck champions" — employees devoted specifically to selling the truck.

    Toyota Motor Sales has adopted Gulf States' program for its dealerships nationwide.

    Hynes says Gulf States has two teams of five, including a truck manager, dedicated to grass-roots marketing and working with the dealers. "We call them street teams," Hynes says. "They're on the road every day to give the vehicles exposure, like at football games, fairs, etcetera — where the truck people are."

    He says 135 of Gulf States' dealers have committed to renovating their stores; 40 have already done so. Gulf States has devoted 50 percent of its Tier 2 marketing budget to the Tundra. He would not give a precise spending number.

    "We used to do 16 percent of Toyota's truck business; now it's 20 percent," says Hynes, who came to Gulf States after 30 years at Ford Motor Co. in sales, marketing and finance.

    "This is the first time that Toyota has had a really competitive full-sized truck. We're doing very well with the new truck. Our dealers understand the truck market."

    THEY'RE HERE TO STAY

    Gulf States represents 150 dealers in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi.

    Hynes expects sales of about 250,000 units in 2007, up about 8 percent from 2006. He said 2006 sales were up 17 percent over 2005.

    So 41 years after Toyota established its first independent distributor, Toyota Division sales have soared — from 20,908 in 1966 to 2,047,057 in 2006. Together, Gulf States and Southeast Toyota accounted for nearly one-third of the brand's 2006 sales.

    Does Toyota plan to buy out its last two distributors? Not a chance, say top executives — and it has little to do with the astronomical cost to buy them out. "Toyota would have to have a burning reason to buy back Gulf States and Southeast," Turmell says. "They are doing pretty well."

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    J.D. Power: Buyers on fence over EVs
    Letter
    to the
    Editor

     

     

    Send us a letter

    Have an opinion about this story? Click here to submit a Letter to the Editor, and we may publish it in print.

    Recommended for You
    J.D. Power: Buyers on fence over EVs
    TrueCar swings to Q4 net profit on ALG sale
    TrueCar swings to Q4 net profit on ALG sale
    AutoNation sells Vroom stake after plans fizzle
    Sponsored Content: A Guide to Testing and Approval of Radio Modules
    Sign up for free newsletters
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    See more newsletter options at autonews.com/newsletters.

    You can unsubscribe at any time through links in these emails. For more information, see our Privacy Policy.

    Digital Edition
    Automotive News 3-1-21
    THIS WEEK'S EDITION
    See our archive
    Fixed Ops Journal
    Fixed Ops Journal 2-8-21
    Read the issue
    See our archive
    RETAIL TECHNOLOGY NEWSLETTER: Sign up for our Tuesday afternoon newsletter that breaks down the latest developments in how technology is changing the auto sales landscape.
    WEEKLY NEWSLETTER: Sign up to start your week with the top stories from the latest issue of Automotive News, delivered to your inbox first thing each Monday morning.
    Get Free Newsletters

    Sign up and get the best of Automotive News delivered straight to your email inbox, free of charge. Choose your news – we will deliver.

    Subscribe Today

    Get 24/7 access to in-depth, authoritative coverage of the auto industry from a global team of reporters and editors covering the news that’s vital to your business.

    Subscribe Now
    Connect With Us
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter

    Our mission

    The Automotive News mission is to be the primary source of industry news, data and understanding for the industry's decision-makers interested in North America.

    AN-LOGO-BLUE
    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit, Michigan
    48207-2997

    (877) 812-1584

    Email us

    Automotive News
    ISSN 0005-1551 (print)
    ISSN 1557-7686 (online)

    Fixed Ops Journal
    ISSN 2576-1064 (print)
    ISSN 2576-1072 (online)

    Resources
    • About us
    • Contact Us
    • Media Kit
    • Subscribe
    • Manage your account
    • Reprints
    • Ad Choices Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Automotive News
    Copyright © 1996-2021. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • HOME
    • NEWS
      • Dealers
        • Access F&I
        • Fixed Ops Journal
        • Marketing
        • Used Cars
        • Retail Technology
        • Sales
        • Best Practices
        • Dealership Buy/Sell
        • NADA
        • NADA Show
      • Automakers & Suppliers
        • Automakers
        • Manufacturing
        • Suppliers
        • Regulations & Safety
        • Executives
        • Talk From The Top
        • Leading Women Network
        • Guide to Economic Development
        • PACE Awards
        • Management Briefing Seminars
        • World Congress
      • News by Brand
        • Aston Martin
        • BMW
          • Mini
          • Rolls-Royce
        • Daimler
          • Mercedes Benz
          • Smart
        • Fiat Chrysler
          • Alfa Romeo
          • Chrysler
          • Dodge
          • Ferrari
          • Fiat
          • Jeep
          • Maserati
          • Ram
        • Ford
          • Lincoln
        • General Motors
          • Buick
          • Cadillac
          • Chevrolet
          • GMC
          • Holden
        • Honda
          • Acura
        • Hyundai
          • Genesis
          • Kia
        • Mazda
        • McLaren
        • Mitsubishi
        • Nissan
          • Infiniti
        • PSA
          • Citroen
          • Opel
          • Peugeot
        • Renault
        • Subaru
        • Suzuki
        • Tata
          • Jaguar
          • Land Rover
        • Tesla
        • Toyota
          • Lexus
        • Volkswagen
          • Audi
          • Bentley
          • Bugatti
          • Lamborghini
          • Porsche
          • Seat
          • Skoda
        • Volvo
        • (Discontinued Brands)
      • Cars & Concepts
        • Virtual reveals (Sponsored)
          • MITSUBISHI: 2022 Outlander
          • NISSAN: 2022 Pathfinder and 2022 Frontier
          • GENESIS: 2021 GV80
          • KIA: 2021 K5
          • LEXUS: 2021 IS
          • NISSAN: 2021 Rogue
          • TOYOTA: 2021 Venza and 2021 Sienna
        • Auto Shows
        • Future Product Pipeline
        • Photo Galleries
        • Car Cutaways
        • Design
      • Coronavirus Coverage
      • China
      • Shift
      • Mobility Report
      • Special Reports
      • Digital Edition Archive
      • This Week's Issue
    • OPINION
      • Blogs
      • Cartoons
      • Keith Crain
      • Automotive Views with Jason Stein
      • Columnists
      • China Commentary
      • Editorials
      • Letters to the Editor
      • Send us a Letter
    • DATA CENTER
    • VIDEO
      • AutoNews Now
      • First Shift
      • Special Video Reports
      • Weekend Drive
    • EVENTS & AWARDS
      • Events
        • Congress Conversations
        • Retail Forum: NADA
        • Canada Congress
        • Europe Congress Conversations
        • Leading Women Conference
        • Fixed Ops Journal Forum
        • ANE Shift
        • Shift: Mobility at a Crossroads
        • Shift: The Future of Mobility (CES)
      • Awards
        • 100 Leading Women
        • 40 Under 40 Retail
        • All-Stars
        • Best Dealerships To Work For
        • PACE Program
        • Rising Stars
        • Europe Rising Stars
    • JOBS
    • AN Solutions
    • +MORE
      • Leading Women Network
      • Podcasts
        • Shift: A Podcast About Mobility
        • Special Reports Podcasts
        • Daily Drive Podcasts
      • Webinars
      • In the Driver's Seat
        • AAM
        • Gentex
        • Reputation.com
        • Ricardo
        • Ricardo
      • Publishing Partners
        • Allstate: Want more from your F&I?
        • Ally: Navigating the future of automotive retailing
        • Amazon Web Services: Any place, any time, any channel
        • Amazon Web Services: The power of the cloud
        • Amazon Web Services: Universal translator: Harnessing sensor data to build better automotive software
        • Epic Games: Transforming the auto industry with digital assets
        • FTI Consulting: Crisis as a catalyst for change
        • Google: 5 trends shaping the auto industry's approach to a new normal
        • IHS Markit: Automotive loyalty in the wake of the COVID-19 recession
        • IHS Markit: Autonomous vehicles: Automotive and transportation disruption
        • IHS Markit: COVID-19: The future mobility delusion
        • Level5: 2020 Automotive E-Commerce Report
        • Naked Lime: Bring social reputation together as part of big-picture marketing
        • Wells Fargo Auto: Switching gears from LIBOR to SOFR
        • Ally: Do It Right
        • DealerSocket
        • Deloitte: Cyber everywhere: Preparing for automotive safety in the face of cyber threats
        • Facebook: The road to a zero-friction future
        • Guide To Economic Development
        • PayPal Credit: How consumer financing helps drive sales for online auto parts retailers
      • Classifieds
      • Companies on the Move
      • People on the Move
      • Newsletters
      • Contact Us
      • Media Kit
      • RSS Feeds