Fixing Cars

Update*: It was a couple that were in a small plane returning from Lake Chelan and they entered the no-fly zone which is a 10 mile radius of the city where the President is located.

I was sitting here working when a boom sound came and it was felt throughout the house here on Mercer Island, then another one about 10 seconds later.

Guess it was a couple F-15’s over Lake Washington giving us the heads up that Obama is in town.

Pretty weird feeling not knowing what it was for a few, though sonic boom was the first thing that came to mind.

Was just wondering what a sonic boom was like while Seafair was going on.

*[source: King5]

Cadillac dealers across the US will be holding a premier event to showcase the new CTS Coupe that is promising to bring some serious competition to the market.

Sports cars can also be luxury cars, and the CTS Coupe is proving that GM has an answer to the growing demand for luxury sports cars.

Check out the event at a dealership in your area, some will be rolling out the red carpet so and giving away some nice prizes from what I’ve heard.  If you haven’t seen a CTS in person, these are some seriously awesome cars.

Press Release

DETROIT – Cadillac dealers across the United States are  unveiling the all-new 2011 CTS Coupe in their local markets starting today as they host special events for CTS Coupe Premiere Week.  One of the most anticipated new models of the year, the CTS Coupe recently began arriving at dealerships.

The CTS Coupe is expected to attract a new generation of luxury sports car enthusiasts to Cadillac and go head-to-head with the BMW 335i Coupe, Mercedes-Benz E350 Coupe and Audi A5. “Cadillac is once again ready to compete with the world’s best,” Autoblog wrote in its review of the CTS Coupe.

Almost 300 Cadillac dealers will host events showcasing the new model as part of CTS Coupe Premiere Week. Customers should contact their local Cadillac dealer for more information about the CTS Coupe and details on the event in their area.

The CTS Coupe has been cited by the automotive press for its groundbreaking design and outstanding performance. “It’s safe to say the coupe is positively gorgeous,” Automobile magazine wrote in a review. “Pictures simply don’t do it justice, which is saying quite a bit.”

“The CTS Coupe is one of the most significant automobiles to enter the market this year,” said Kurt McNeil, vice president of Cadillac sales and service. “It represents the new focal point for Cadillac in terms of design and performance. Cadillac and its dealers want to make sure customers are given a chance to get an up-close look at this stunning new vehicle.”

The CTS Coupe extends the CTS line, which has been named to Car and Driver’s 10 Best list for three straight years. It shares design cues with the CTS Sport Sedan, but the CTS Coupe has a wider track, lower roofline and shorter length, giving it an aggressive stance and sleek, athletic profile.

The CTS Coupe starts  at $38,990 and comes standard with a 3.6L Direct Injection V6 engine that produces 304 horsepower, six-speed auto tap up/down shifting, rear-park assist and Bose audio.  A high-performance CTS-V Coupe model also is available with a 6.2L Supercharged V8 that produces 556 horsepower, dual-mode magnetic ride control suspension and Brembo brakes.

[source: GM Media]

If you haven’t been noticing, domestic automobile manufacturers such as Ford, GM, and Chrysler have been starting to make a comeback.

One of the things I love about the Internet is that you can go back eight years and read about what the public perception of these companies were at that time. You can get an idea where their heads were at, and it’s pretty clear that the companies that were on the right track were building products that made sense.

…from a post on syty.net that started in 2002

GM isn’t paying attention, if they’re coming up with v8 blazer concepts. There isn’t any more of a market for sport trucks, it’s about FUEL ECONOMY. A smaller truck gets better mileage, at least in theory.

Look at the people who are beating the pants off GM - Honda and Toyota. Look what they build. Economical (gas-mileage-wise) vehicles that have fewer mechanical problems.So GM’s answer to that is to build an LS1 blazer?

(Note: not trying to start an American quality vs. Foreign quality bashing thread.)

I’m a car guy. An LS1 blazer sounds a heck of a lot more fun to me than a Toyota Sienna.
But, 2 things are true:

1) The Sienna will be cheaper to operate.
2) As a car guy, I’m a very small percentage of the population.

There are many, many more people that will buy the van. It’s simple economics.

There was a stat on the radio this am… 9 out of 13 vehicle manus worldwide have average gas mileage that’s less than it was 10 years ago. Shouldn’t we be getting better? Like, lots better?

The tragedy is that we *could* be doing better. (We=Big 3)
GM could build a line of small-engine turbo motors that were fun to drive, got great mileage, and were reliable. Then put them into small and mid-size cars.

Turbo diesel vans. Small turbo diesel sport trucks. IDI gas motors that would burn up to 100% ethanol, and would increase the boost accordingly with the increasing alky %.
If they have the technology to make a 6.1 liter motor get 25 mpg city, I’m all for that too.
(Not holding my breath for that one)

Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to see more HP cars/trucks. But, the general population wants performance and economy and reliability, and 1 out of 3 won’t do.

My .02.

__________________
Dig
11.94@114- 100% stock motor, 20G, 9/11.
Built Motor, L35s, cam…. ?

Dig absolutely nailed it. Read his last sentence again. This is exactly where the Big 3 went wrong, they built what they wanted to build and not what they were supposed to build.

If a bunch of car enthusiasts in 2002 were getting it right, followed by more accurate predictions in 2006 than one must wonder what is actually happening in the leadership of these companies.

It’s quite clear that in 2006, many people were beginning to question GM and the vehicles that they were producing. And as soon as that begins to happen companies like GM will spend years trying to reverse the damage. Now in 2010, we’re seeing an improvement in the general direction but again it’s not fast enough.

I think what big corporations fail to understand is that the consumers decide what products you make, not the corporate executives and the marketing departments. In today’s world if you want to survive, and even thrive then take the time to understand that things have changed and if you can’t change others will faster.

I sincerely believe that lessons have been learned and better decisions are being made.

But one thing is for sure, its the fourth quarter and there’s 10 seconds on the clock, 4 years or 40 years from now won’t matter because it’s about right now. The perception right now is that things are headed in the right direction for the Big 3 and to fumble the ball right now would mean a questionable future for our country and our kids who deserve better.

The SEOmoz Pro Tool Application launched today and the first impression is overwhelmingly awesome!

The SEOmoz team has really put something together that will make SEO for consultants and agencies much more streamlined and organized.

I am really looking forward to this new set of SEO tools because it’s very difficult to comprehensively maintain SEO best practices for multiple clients when content is changing daily and software updates can inflict issues that go undetected until it’s time for the weekly Analytics report to hit the inbox.

Great work, looking forward to new features that they’re discussing, and I shared a few ideas of my own on what I’d love to see implemented.

One of the questions in many peoples minds when it comes to purchasing an electric vehicle is what the service and repair expectations might be. We are all used to getting an oil change every 5,000 miles or so, but what is this new technology going to require and is it going to be costly in the long run.

Manufacturers earn a considerable amount of revenue from the parts and service that is required to maintain automobiles so what will happen if these new vehicles require less work. Vehicle service and repair is a pain and people often put it off due to busy schedules and unpredictable experiences.

Chevy Volt is offering an 8 Year Warranty / or 100,000 miles, which is definitely peace of mind in that GM is going to cover any issues with this new vehicle line.

In addition, people are going to want to know the scoop when it comes to charging and maintaining the Volt, so GM put up videos and other information on http://www.chevroletvoltage.com.

On Twitter People Are Asking About The Volt And GM aka @ChevyVolt Is FAST To Respond!

…41k for the new Chevy Volt…what’s your take? $2500 down & ~350/mo. lease. (oh yea, you’ll need a charging station) - tweet from @AuctionDirect

Funny that @ChevyVolt didn’t say anything about the first 4,400 Volt owners get a free charging station!

By taking on the responsibility at the manufacturer level, OEM’s will be removing the burden or uncertainty that one might have in selecting an electric powered vehicle.

Traditional Car Repair And Service Experiences Will Change When Going Green

Most people have experienced aggravation at some point when having a vehicle serviced and in today’s world of instantaneous communication, brands cannot afford to have unhappy customers sharing their experiences across social networks.

Dealerships Depend on Good Ratings, here’s one from a customer that took notice of this Chevrolet Dealer Repair and Service on Yelp:

The people at this dealership really seem to care about giving good service. The Service Department people are helpful and very friendly. Glad I purchased my vehicle there and trust them to maintain it as long as I own it. Best Chev dealer in the Spokane area.

The benefit in having a great relationship with your dealership means you’ll be confident in their ability to deliver as promised. People are expecting to be given exactly what they are promised, as they should be.

Regardless of whether it’s a warranty repair or a customer with an older model, treating them fairly in both situations and maintaining an ability to anticipate the customers’ needs will be a win for everyone in the long term.

Breaking Traditional Media Strategy - First Influencers Who are Going Green

Certainly any dealership that is up to speed on what’s happening online, within social networks, will also understand that people want change.

Those who are the first to own a Chevy Volt should be treated with appreciation that they’re one of the influencers in society representing change and a new focus on the contributions of everyone towards being environmentally responsible.

Dealers will recognize that having a good relationship with influencers will help them become more approachable and in harmony with those who are going above and beyond.

Leveraging this opportunity of being the best, not only in terms of selling great vehicles, but in terms of providing remarkable service will draw more in more business from around the country from those seeking that same experience.

The future of buying cars lies not in the product itself but in the people that are understanding this change and focus on representing that in their actions and through their communications with customers.

This is quite the news today, and as soon as I saw this it was quite shocking to say the least.  The Cobalt Group in my eyes was always the 800lb gorilla and now with the acquisition it seems an even larger gorilla now is going to cause some serious waves in the Automotive marketing segment.

Over the past few weeks Cobalt has been the subject of many discussions and related to the ability for dealers to have access to the latest technology has been somewhat slow to adopt and integrate with the Cobalt Group.

This brings to question whether the same issues will exist underneath an even larger entity, but it seems it’s happening more and more that large corporations are acquiring other large corporations (Microsoft and Yahoo for example.)

I’ve yet to find a web services provider that is the size of a Cobalt or ADP that can be as agile with their technology as smaller startups can.  I also see that some manufacturers are requiring that dealers use a particular provider which causes a somewhat stale development cycle and old school processes still remain in practice.

I certainly hope that ADP has the flexibility in thinking outside the box when it comes to dealers representing and building their own individual and local brand through unique web experiences they can provide to their target market through innovative service providers aka startup tech companies.

It would best if ADP would encourage and help these smaller tech companies to build out their unique technology and license it and even adapt their own systems to support an open API for web companies to develop applications on ADP’s platform.

Interesting, it will be one to follow for sure.

HTML5 Video is good to go on TuneyFish - with Chrome or Safari that is

See the example below, this makes life easy when adding video to your blog or website, the code is very simple - all you need to do is use the video HTML tags.

We’re Sorry - it appears your browser doesn’t support HTML5

Here’s a new blog layout that we might be working on for some clients, feel free to inquire if you’d like help with one for your business. http://lexus.thedealerblog.com

Ford has integrated the SYNC system with 911 for emergency assistance that also identifies a vehicles location.  The cool thing about this is that the service is free and with the new and improved 911 Assist you can expect better accuracy, all you need is a Bluetooth enabled phone.

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As more things consume our time these days one thing that is almost always important is checking the effectiveness of what we do.

Analytics will give you data about your site and specifically where your site visitors are coming from and what they see.

If you see your mobile traffic increasing dramatically, specifically for those using an iPad then you’ll want to know how these visitors engage within your site.

If you have a difficult to navigate site, those issues will become magnified through a mobile device. In fact, if you’re getting people to your dealership website then you’ll want to see if any of those visitors are converting to leads.

People browsing on an iPhone or iPad are most likely not situated and probably on the go. If your site has a complicated form or the site just doesn’t render well on the devices, then consider making it simpler and perhaps larger in size.

In the mobile environment, time is a limited and you may only get 1 minute if you’re lucky to get the user to warm up to your site. If it’s frustrating or not extremely simple then you’ll likely be losing a lot of leads.

Lexus announced that GX460 sales are suspended due to findings from Consumer Reports. The 2010 GX460 had demonstrated the SUV could lose control when sliding, an issue with the stability control system is being investigated by Lexus.

Message to Lexus Dealers:

To Lexus Dealers,

The only thing we value as highly as the safety and satisfaction of our customers is the partnership we have with each of you. As a result of the Consumer Reports test of the new GX460, we have decided to temporarily suspend sales until we develop an improvement to its performance. We know that this decision will put additional pressure on your hard-working teams, however, it’s the right thing to do for our customers, our brand and ultimately for you. Please know that we take this action very seriously, and will do everything we can to support you through this challenge. For existing GX460 owners who are concerned about driving their vehicle, please provide them with a loaner vehicle until a remedy is available.

Please see the attached press release that will likely hit the media tonight for additional details. Thank you once again for your tireless commitment to Lexus and your customers, and we promise you a speedy resolution to this issue.

Here is the Lexus Press Release:

From Mark Templin, Lexus Group Vice President and General Manager

“For more than 20 years, Lexus has made customer safety and satisfaction our highest priorities. We are taking the situation with the GX 460 very seriously and are determined to identify and correct the issue Consumer Reports identified. At this time we have asked our dealers to temporarily suspend sales of the 2010 GX 460.

Lexus’ extensive vehicle testing provides a good indication of how our vehicles perform and we are confident that the GX meets our high safety standards. Our engineering teams are vigorously testing the GX using Consumer Reports’ specific parameters to identify how we can make the GX’s performance even better.
For any customer who has purchased a 2010 GX 460 and is concerned about driving their vehicle, we will provide a loaner car until a remedy is available.
As always, Lexus is committed to providing our customers with outstanding products and service.
Customers who have any questions or concerns should contact Lexus Customer Satisfaction at 1-800-25 LEXUS or 1-800-255-3987.”

Read more on the Press release at http://pressroom.toyota.com/pr/tms/lexus/news.aspx

Read more from Lexus Of Reno at Lexus GX460 Statement – Consumer Reports Testing – Lexus Halts Sales

If the “MIL” (check engine light) does NOT light up, and a car suddenly goes WOT, would it be classified as a problem that the OEM would be legally obligated to resolve?

NHTSA does not have any ability to evaluate vehicles from either a safety standpoint or from an engineering standpoint if they don’t employ the staff that has knowledge to inspect and understand cars.

This problem is much bigger than Toyota, this is a major problem with consumer protection.

NHTSA claims to “ask” manufacturers when there seems to be a problem, but what is the purpose behind their inquiry?  What if the OEM just says “nope”, is NHTSA off the hook for protecting consumers and ensuring safe roads?

If the OEM says “we think maybe theres a problem” then what does NHTSA do at that point?  NHTSA says ok whats the problem, OEM says we think the windshield washer fluid could leak onto some wires causing a short so we are going to recall the windshield washer tanks.  NHTSA says ok, we suppose you know what your doing, so go for it.

Meanwhile, accidents are killing people.

Meanwhile, lawyers are preparing documents.

Meanwhile, NHTSA is telling people that vehicles are safe, or maybe not safe.

Meanwhile, Federal government gets involved and starts pointing fingers.

Right NOW, people are driving to work, picking their kids up from school, and putting every other car they encounter on the road in danger.

Nobody knows anything, but as long as cars are getting worked on - cool right?

tick-tock tick-tock tick-tock

This is all BS.

If safety was my number one priority, and it was my organization to ensure the safety of people, I would not make a SINGLE claim that any vehicle was SAFE unless I had access to ALL the data, proprietary or not.
NHTSA does not have all the data.

NHTSA when asked whether or not federal regulations should make OEM’s obligated to provide full disclosure of proprietary engine management systems, they said “we’ll have to get back to you on that”