Automotive News - February 4, 2008 - (Page 88) 88 • FEBRUARY 4, 2008 service & parts GM wants dealers to spruce up service bays Laura Clark Geist autonews@crain.com Shopping list Price to dealers of items in GM’s image upgrade program for service departments Product display units: $1,095 to $1,295 Promotional posters (set of 3): $685 to $959 Menu boards: $249 to $795 Battery pillar: $715 Tire pillar: $645 Garage door Goodwrench decal: $310 Outdoor direction pylon: $65 Service Lane TV: $50 to $100/month subscription; does not include TV monitor Source: GM Service and Parts Operations DETROIT — General Motors wants dealership service departments to present the clean, modern look of popular retail stores. The idea is that a shop that reminds customers of Starbucks or Target rather than a dirty, dingy garage is more likely to attract and keep business. At the National Automobile Dealers Association convention in San Francisco, GM’s Service and Parts Operations plans to introduce an image program aimed at improving service customer retention. It seeks to link GM’s Goodwrench brand more closely to service department operations. The image program includes indoor and outdoor signs and product displays with the Goodwrench logo. There are new uniforms for service technicians, advisers and managers. Dealers can broadcast Service Lane TV, a Web-based channel that offers service videos and Goodwrench marketing messages. The program even includes aroma marketing, with a dispenser that pumps out scents of new-car smell, leather and citrus in service areas. JOE WILSSENS GM’s image program aims to link the Goodwrench brand more closely to service department operations. The program includes signs and displays with the Goodwrench logo, and new uniforms for service techs, advisers and managers. “Dealers understand customer retention,” Ford-Brown told Automotive News. “But some of them haven’t carried it to the back end.” A GM pilot program at six dealerships across the country features the new look. The company is subsidizing the cost of the service department makeovers, which are scheduled for completion by midyear. Jerry Seiner, a Chevrolet, Cadillac and Hummer dealer in Salt Lake City, says he is spending $100,000 to upgrade two service lanes at his 6-yearold store. He says he expects a speedy return on his investment. “I think we’re going to sell more cars as soon as it is installed,” Seiner says. “The visuals that we will create are going to enhance what (customers) think of the dealership experience.” ership upgrade plan. She says dealerships that join the program generally can expect to spend as much as $30,000 to $40,000, depending on the extent of their participation. Ford-Brown concedes that dealers may not be eager to take on a new expense when sales and profits are sluggish. She suggests that dealers can start with small steps, such as painting service department walls. “Dealers can add things like signage as their budget permits,” Looking for Mr. Goodwrench The image program is optional for dealers. But Geraldine Ford-Brown, marketing director of the GM Parts and Goodwrench brands, says GM wants most of its dealerships to sign up for the program within three to five years. Large and small steps Ford-Brown says each GM vehicle division will include the service department image program in its deal- Ford-Brown says. Dealers also can apply co-op advertising and marketing money, raised through factory-dealer partnerships, to the cost of service department upgrades, she says. New wall panels for service departments feature a young, athletic-looking Mr. Goodwrench holding various GM parts. Goodwrench-branded menu boards offer detailed information about pricing and services. GM designed new uniforms after talking to several dealership technicians. They have a sportier look and softer materials than current uniforms, GM says. Matching accessories include branded goggles, steeltoed shoes, backpacks and belts. c Toyota honors Texas dealership LOS ANGELES — Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc. has named Fred Haas Toyota World its top Toyota Certified Collision Center for 2007. The suburban Houston dealership has won the award three straight years. More than 150 centers were eligible. ‘Right to repair’ bill gains support WASHINGTON — A bill that would require automakers to give independent repair shops the same service information and tool capabilities it provides franchised dealerships has 37 backers in the U.S. House of Representatives, a lobbying group says. A House bill requires 218 votes to pass. The Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association identifies the most recent co-sponsors of the legislation as Reps. Michael Honda, D-Calif., and Dennis Moore, D-Kan. EPA imposes new paint rules on body shops Donna Harris dharris@crain.com The EPA is requiring body shops to cut down on toxins released when they strip paint or apply surface coatings to vehicles. The agency’s big concerns are the methylene chloride, cadmium, chromium, lead, manganese and nickel found in some paint strippers, topcoat pigments and primers. Last month, the EPA published new rules aimed at reducing these pollutants. New body shops must comply immediately. Existing shops have three years to meet the standards. The EPA wants shops to remove paint without chemicals — such as by blasting with a dry or wet substance — or to use a paint stripper without methylene chloride. Shops that use a chemical stripper including methylene chloride must minimize fumes and properly store and dispose of the stripper. Under the new rules, shops must use high-efficiency equipment to apply coatings. They must spray on the coatings in ventilated areas or booths and filter the exhaust. The EPA requires body shops to keep on hand a written plan for reducing toxic emissions. The shops also must train painters to apply coatings properly. The National Automobile Dealers New EPA rules require body shops to use high-efficiency equipment to apply coatings. Association will publish guidelines in a few months to help dealers meet the federal standards, says NADA lawyer Doug Greenhaus. Most dealership body shops already have the equipment they need to comply with the rules, Greenhaus says. Franchised dealerships typically provide adequate training for their employees, he adds. “But among their competitors in the auto body repair business, there are plenty who aren’t in compliance,” Greenhaus told Automotive News. “They will have to make some investments or get out of the business.” c http://www.jcowansprotalk.com http://www.jcowansprotalk.com
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