Automotive News - March 9, 2009 - (Page 18) 18 • FEBRUARY 9, 2009 Automotive in Rockville, Md. Christian Findt of Autohaus Gehringer GmbH in BadenWurttemberg, Germany Douglass Fox of Ann Arbor Automotive in Ann Arbor, Mich. David Lynch of Lynch GM Superstore in Burlington, Wis. Brian Miller of Manhattan Motor Cars in New York Charles Nash Jr. of Chuck Nash Auto Group in San Marcos, Texas Donald Rypma of Don Rypma Chevrolet-Buick-Pontiac-GMC in Whitehall, Mich. We invite items and top-quality photos for the dealers section. For guidelines, e-mail pfoley@crain.com or call 313-446-0378. Citizenship Northwood University in Midland, Mich., honored nine auto dealers with its Dealer Education Awards at a ceremony last month in conjunction with the National Automobile Dealers Association convention in New Orleans. These dealers were honored for contributions to public or private education: Michael Collier of Collier Jaguar in Orlando, Fla. Leonard Cotton of Joe Cotton Ford in Carol Stream, Ill. Jamie Darvish of DARCARS ■ Silver dealer Dave Dotson, left, of Dotson Brothers Inc. in Paris, Ky., receives a 25-year award for Chrysler and Dodge from Jack Gannon, dealer network development manager at Chrysler LLC’s Great Lakes Business Center. ■ 75 with Ford Joseph Clapp and Edward Clapp of Jannell Motors in Hanover, Mass., receive a 75-year award for Ford. Pictured, from left, are Andrew Frick, Ford Motor Co.’s Boston regional manager; James Clapp, former president; Edward Clapp, vice president; and Joseph Clapp, president. Does your current F&I provider offer a full deck of solutions? GM will make closed auctions online only Arlena Sawyers asawyers@crain.com You don’t have to keep the hand you were dealt. You can rely on your Protective representative to be more than a different voice on the phone every month. When we walk through your door, we’ll be holding more than donuts. Because when your profits are on the line, we think a valuable relationship is the best thing you can have. Vehicle Service Contracts Dealer Participation Programs I I GAP Coverage I I Credit Insurance F&I Training Advanced F&I Technology Stack the deck in your favor! Call us to find out how we can enhance your dealer profits and customer satisfaction. www.protective.com/dealerservices 866.904.4661 Vehicle Service Contracts (VSCs) and GAP are backed by Lyndon Property Insurance Company in all states except NY. In NY, Old Republic Insurance Company backs VSCs, and GAP is not available there. Credit Insurance is backed by Protective Life Insurance Company in all states except NY, where it is backed by Protective Life and Annuity Insurance Company. By midyear, General Motors will change the way it conducts closed auctions for its dealers. Instead of using traditional auction lanes, GM will display vehicles online and on bigscreen monitors at auction sites. Manheim, the nation’s largest auto auction company, said GM is the first automaker to hold its closed sales exclusively online. Closed sales are factory-sponsored auctions open only to dealers who hold the automaker’s franchises. Mark Mathews, GM’s director of rental and used-vehicle activities, told Automotive News that the shift to online closed auctions will help the remarketing industry contain costs. He declined to say whether GM will realize immediate savings. Cars and trucks at closed GM sales still will go to physical auctions for dealers’ inspection. Dealers can bid for the vehicles both on-site and online. But instead of displaying the vehicles in auction lanes, Mathews said, the automaker will show them online and on big-screen monitors at auction sites. GM will provide detailed descriptions of the auction vehicles, he said. Warranty coverage and reconditioning processes will not change, Mathews added. But limiting the sales to the Web will save dealers travel costs, eliminate the need for drivers in auction lanes and improve safety at physical auctions by eliminating lane mishaps, Mathews said. GM is rolling out the program at the 39 sites where it holds dealer-only auctions. Mathews said GM will consider whether to expand the onlineonly format to other auction sales. “Anytime you can eliminate cost in the remarketing model, prices do not have to go up,” Mathews said. To conduct the closed sales, GM will use technology from the Manheim and ADESA auction companies and from independent auctions OnLine Ringman and Pipeline Simulcast. Nick Peluso, Manheim’s senior vice president of account management and customer strategies, said the allonline process can create “cultural change and shock” for dealers. “So,” Peluso said, “you want to hand-hold them.” c http://www.protective.com/dealerservices http://www.protective.com/dealerservices
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