Automotive News - January 14, 2008 - (Page 39) JANUARY 14, 2008 • 39 Mark Reuss to head GM in Australia DETROIT — Mark Reuss, the executive behind General Motors’ new generation of highperformance vehicles, has been promoted to vice president of GM Asia and managing director of GM Holden Ltd., GM’s Australian subsidiary. Reuss, 44, will report to Nick Reilly, GM group vice president and president of GM Asia Pacific. Since 2006, Reuss has been executive director of GM’s global vehicle integration, safety and virtual vehicle development. He will succeed Chris Gubbey, 51, who becomes GM Europe vice president and managing director. at Toyota. His post as group vice president of sales administration will be taken by Bill Fay, currently Toyota Division vice president of sales. Sales administration oversees dealer relations, market representation, fleet and distribution operations. Jim Colon, vice president of Lexus sales and dealer development, takes Fay’s position at Toyota sales. RECESSION Dealers prepare for tough 2008 continued from Page 1 Rough month for dealership stocks Share prices for the 6 biggest public dealership groups plunged to 52-week lows this month on the New York Stock Exchange. Prices are per share. 52-WEEK LOW DATE 52-WEEK HIGH DATE Barra gets new GM job DETROIT — Mary Barra was named General Motors’ vice president of global manufacturing engineering, effective Feb. 1. Barra, 46, will report to Gary Cowger, GM group vice president. She had been executive director of vehicle manufacturing engineering. She will replace 43-year GM veteran James Wiemels, 61, who will retire April 1. Report: Devine to lead Dana NEW YORK — Dana Corp. will name John Devine nonexecutive chairman when the company emerges from Chapter 11, The Wall Street Journal reported last week. Devine, 63, is a former CFO of both General Motors and Ford Motor Co. As of Friday, Jan. 11, Dana had not announced the move. A spokesman told the Journal that it had not decided on a chairman. Paul Walser, owner of Walser Automotive Group in Minneapolis, says he plans to trim his new-vehicle inventory to 45 days, from his normal 90-day inventory of last year. Walser has nine stores, three that sell domestic brands. “We’ll focus on the fast-moving merchandise,” he says. But tight inventories aren’t enough, he says. To pinch pennies, Walser arranged to have one receptionist handle customers for all nine stores. “We started looking at our company as one, instead of nine parts,” he says. Ken Fichtner, owner of Fichtner Chevrolet near Billings, Mont., says he hasn’t sold a single new vehicle this month. Last year his store averaged 10 new vehicles per month. “People can’t afford to pay for cars right now,” he says. “It’s a whirlpool, so don’t get caught in the middle of it.” Fichtner has 70 unsold new vehicles. That’s a sevenmonth supply, so he plans to stop ordering for a while. Last month Fichtner said no when Chevrolet asked him to take a dozen more. “They need to be a business partner,” he says. “I want to be here next year.” AutoNation Penske Automotive Sonic Automotive Group 1 Automotive Asbury Automotive Lithia Motors $12.60 $15.27 $16.38 $19.81 $13.45 $11.89 1/9 1/11 1/9 1/7 1/9 1/4 $23.19 $24.62 $33.10 $55.37 $30.06 $31.56 2/7/07 2/7/07 2/9/07 1/16/07 4/30/07 2/8/07 More used cars Many dealers are stocking more used cars because they sell faster and have higher profit margins. Last week Fichtner visited a local vehicle auction to buy more used cars. “This year I hope that for every 10 new cars I sell (per month), I can sell 40 used cars,” he says. Used cars are popular for big dealership groups, too. Asbury Automotive Group Inc. reports used-car sales were strong last year. But Allen Levenson, the New York dealer group’s vice president of sales and marketing, says Asbury avoids over-generous trade-ins — especially on full-sized trucks. “You have to be very careful on your trades because the wholesale market and used market can move very quickly,” Levenson says. “You are always trying to be aggressive to make the sale, but if you’re not careful, that could hurt you.” Toyota shuffles executives LOS ANGELES — Two retirements at Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. have led to the restructuring of one department and a number of job changes. Bob Pitts, 59, has retired as group vice president of administrative services after 36 years at Toyota. The administrative services department now will report to CFO Tracey Doi, 46. Administrative services includes purchasing, administration, real estate, facilities, safety and environmental departments. Al Cabito also retired after 36 years Kia signs NBA deal LOS ANGELES — Kia Motors America has signed a multiyear deal to be the official partner of the National Basketball Association. The deal lets Kia conduct promotions around high-profile NBA events such as the playoffs and the draft. Sonic Automotive is selling more used cars, too, but it wants to avoid a big inventory increase. The Charlotte, N.C., group will continue to maintain its normal 40-day supply of used vehicles, says Sonic CFO Dave Cosper. To keep used-vehicle inventories under control, Sonic launched “trade-desking,” in which stores in a region trade used vehicles back and forth. That’s a strategy similar to the one employed by CarMax Inc., Cosper says. “If a car comes into one store but we know it will sell better in another, we move it to another store,” he says. Sonic also is cutting back on store acquisitions, buying dealerships only when they look like a bargain. It continues to invest in its top brands, and is renovating a Toyota store in Florida and a Lexus dealership in California. Both large and small dealerships are preparing for an economic storm. But not all brands will share the pain equally, says Bob Fusco, owner of Roslyn Buick-PontiacGMC in Long Island, N.Y. To survive, Fusco has decreased his inventory of new vehicles and will double his stock of 30 used cars this month. Fusco also pinches pennies whenever possible. For example, he turns his lights off at 8:30 p.m. instead of leaving them on until midnight. “It is a scary world being a GM dealer in an import neighborhood,” Fusco says. “But it’s been scary for the past 10 years.” c Mark Rechtin, Bernadine Williams and Donna Harris contributed to this report TRUCKS Pricey models defy pickup sales slump continued from Page 1 Lux truck The 2009 F-150 Platinum tops Ford’s F-150 lineup. It has A 5.4-liter V-8 engine Heated and cooled seats Power running boards Brushed aluminum interior panels Black-and-brown leather interior with tuxedo striping on seats tomers. The King Ranch — named for the huge Texas ranch bigger than Rhode Island — is aimed at customers who enjoy the outdoors and have an affinity for the Southwest. By contrast, “the Platinum is all about the city,” said Schiavone, who plans to drive his own around Detroit. The Platinum will be available in a crew-cab body style, powered by a 5.4-liter V-8. With the King Ranch versions of its F-150 and Super Duty, plus HarleyDavidson and Lariat models, Ford’s luxury pickup sales have risen steadily, an official said. stock watch Manufacturers BMW-ADR Fiat S.p.A.-ADR Ford General Motors Honda-ADR Hyundai-ADR Nissan-ADR PSA-ADR Renault-ADR Suzuki-ADR Toyota-ADR Volkswagen-ADR Closing price Jan. 14 Closing price Jan. 11 Weekly percent change 52-week high 52-week low $62.15 25.50 6.08 23.45 31.18 17.25 19.98 69.75 122.75 29.90 103.06 44.50 Closing price Jan. 14 $59.90 25.50 6.13 23.65 32.49 16.50 20.20 68.20 127.00 29.90 103.94 43.66 Closing price Jan. 11 3.8% – –0.8 –0.9 –4.0 4.6 –1.1 2.3 –3.4 – –0.9 1.9 Weekly percent change $68.80 34.85 9.70 43.20 40.82 23.16 25.68 92.50 165.75 33.25 138.00 57.73 $53.70 14.15 5.76 21.97 30.80 4.90 18.55 63.85 117.00 25.75 102.51 21.35 Retail Groups 52-week high 52-week low Asbury Automotive Group $13.84 AutoNation 13.02 Group 1 Automotive 20.78 CarMax 18.19 Lithia Motors 13.15 Penske Auto Group 15.27 Sonic Automotive 17.06 $14.30 13.90 21.53 19.54 12.10 15.75 17.31 –3.2% –6.3 –3.5 –6.9 8.7 –3.1 –1.4 $30.06 23.19 55.37 29.45 31.56 24.62 33.10 $13.45 12.60 19.81 18.09 11.89 15.27 16.38 think we could do almost a Rolls Royce-level pickup, and I am going to find — is it 10,000 or 1,000? I don’t know — but I will find buyers for that.” Schiavone, who counts the 2009 F-150 as the third generation of Ford’s flagship that he has worked on, already knows of one buyer. After Ford displayed the F-250 Super Chief concept at the 2006 Detroit auto show, Schiavone received a phone call from an Atlanta lawyer. “He said, ‘I want to buy the Super Chief. I’ll give you $3 million,’ ” the designer recalled. Schiavone declined. But such experiences convince him that Ford hasn’t yet found the limits of luxury pickup buyers. ture comforts in their pickups.” Sales for the top-end Laramie version of the Dodge Ram have remained flat as overall Ram sales have fallen, Dodge spokesman Dan Bodene said in an e-mail. Because of the Laramie’s success, Dodge is moving more luxurious features into the Ram’s lower price classes. Ford expects the F-150 Platinum to increase its luxury-truck tally. Ford declined to project volume. Industry analyst Erich Merkle with IRN Inc. in Grand Rapids, Mich., estimates annual sales for the Platinum of 15,000 to 20,000 units. It essentially takes the place of the Lincoln Mark LT as Ford’s “urban” upscale pickup. Dealers, product analysts and company sources say the Mark LT will be discontinued after the 2008 model year. Ford isn’t confirming that. Lincoln sold 8,383 Mark LTs in 2007, down from the high of 12,753 in 2006. Luxury brand curse That underscores an interesting twist in the luxury end of the pickup market. The entries don’t seem to do as well when they carry luxury badges. The Mark LT is Lincoln’s second pickup flop. Lincoln sold 3,356 units of the Blackwood pickup during a 15month run early this decade. Cadillac’s luxury pickup also has slipped. The Escalade EXT posted sales of 7,967 in 2007, up from 2006, but well below its high of 13,494 in
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.