Automotive News - November 3, 2008 - (Page 26)

26 • NOVEMBER 3, 2008 service & parts Acura offers quick service to win business Alysha Webb awebb@crain.com Acura division is testing a program that aims to capture quick-service business to boost its dealerships’ service department revenues. Acura’s Accelerate program offers dealership service customers an oil change, tire rotation with treaddepth and pressure checks, a brake pad check, air and cabin filter moni- toring and other safety inspections. The service also includes a car wash and vacuuming. Service departments pledge to complete the process in 47 minutes or less and charge customers $38.95. Chuck Kendig, Acura’s senior manager of national fixed operations, says the program is designed to “provide clients with extremely speedy service and to provide Acura dealers the ability to dramatically increase shop throughput and efficiency.” Parts and service account for 51 percent of the typical Acura dealership’s gross profits, Kendig says. Six Acura dealerships are taking part in the test. Kendig says the program is scheduled to expand next year to 25 percent of U.S. Acura dealerships and to be in all dealerships by 2011. As of Jan. 1, Acura operated 268 U.S. franchises. Acura of Mission Viejo in suburban Los Angeles is testing the Accelerate program. Mark McKellop, the dealership’s general manager, said he wants to win back Acura owners who now use quick-lube shops. “We’re hoping to dispel the notion that, ‘It will take all day if I go to the dealership for an oil and filter change,’ ” McKellop told Automotive News. “We want that business back.” Acura designed the Accelerate program “to reflect a luxury brand,” says Maxx Fowler, service manager at Acura of Mission Viejo. The dealership devotes two lanes to the program. Two technicians, one on each side, work on each vehicle that gets the service, Fowler says. The tools in the Accelerate lanes are all electric and cordless so they are The lifts used in Acura’s Accelerate program operate twice as fast as usual. faster to use, says service technician Daryl Davis. The lifts in those lanes operate twice as fast as usual, he says. Other than the Mission Viejo store, the Acura dealerships participating in the Accelerate test are in Atlanta, Dallas, Philadelphia, Boston and Chicago. c Audi goes high-tech to boost service Jim Henry autonews@crain.com ® #1 SAVE up to 50% with the DMS in the NADA Survey # Overall Dealership Satisfaction 1-800-227-8187 Prompt 5 Info@ACSaccess.com www.ACSaccess.com 1 Audi of America Inc. and its dealers are pushing to improve dealership service departments as the luxury brand seeks to more than double U.S. sales. Audi is offering its 272 U.S. dealers bonuses for meeting prescribed service standards. The company is paying incentives tied to the percentage of a dealership’s technicians who are certified as “expert” or higher. It also is offering incentives based on “fixed right the first time” measures and on scores assigned by mystery shoppers in service areas. At the same time, the company is doubling its technical force in the field and boosting the size of its product support and service technician help line group. “It all runs more or less in parallel,” says Marc Trahan, Audi’s director of aftersales, citing the company’s campaign to improve service and meet its sales growth targets. Audi is introducing an ignition key that stores vehicle information. Bonus round Audi of America is paying bonuses to dealership service departments that meet company standards for Making repair appointments in 2 business days or less Making maintenance appointments in 3 days or less Providing free transportation for same-day customers, or loaner vehicles if service vehicles must be left overnight Washing and vacuuming customer cars Source: Audi of America Key data Audi also is introducing new service tools. Among them is a high-tech ignition key that includes a computer chip and transponder. Rival BMW of North America LLC offers a similar feature. When hooked up to a reader at the dealership, the key automatically can download a range of information: chassis number, fluid levels, service interval, warning lights, mileage and brake pad wear. Besides saving the customer time, Trahan says, the system ensures accuracy. Once data are entered, they can be shared throughout the dealership without additional clerical work. Audi is rolling out the service-key feature in Europe as well. But it’s tougher in the United States, Audi says, because dealerships here have different computer systems that must be accommodated. Service sells Joel Weinberger, dealer principal at Continental Audi in suburban Chicago, said he expects the emphasis on improved service to pay off in loyalty. “I’ve always believed service sells a lot of new cars,” Weinberger told Automotive News. Save Money with ACS ACCESS® Automotive Computer Services, Inc. Mobile, AL Audi finished barely above the industry average in this year’s J.D. Power Customer Service Index. The study measures customer satisfaction with dealership service on vehicles as much as 3 years old. Trahan says Audi’s long-term U.S. sales goal is about 200,000 vehicles a year. In 2007, Audi sold 93,508 cars and trucks in the United States. Through September, U.S. sales were down 3.9 percent to 65,817 units. If it hits its sales goals, Audi and its dealers will have a much larger vehicle population to service. Trahan says about 600,000 Audis as old as 5 years old are on U.S. roads. Blake Strong, chairman of the Audi of America dealer council, says the company’s dealer body “has really invested in facilities over the last five years,” including service departments. “You’ve gone from multifranchise dealers to exclusives,” says Strong, owner of Strong Audi in Salt Lake City. “That really solves a lot of issues on service capacity.” Audi has 119 stand-alone dealerships in the United States, with 80 in development, Trahan says. “Providing a top-shelf experience is not all dependent on the facility,” he says. “But it helps, of course.” c http://www.dealertrack.com/accessories http://www.dealertrack.com/accessories http://www.ACSaccess.com http://www.ACSaccess.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Automotive News - November 3, 2008

Credit? Come and get it, industry groups say GM's product delays signal dire health Ford sticks with small-car plans Mitsubishi CEO: Let's halt Galant production in U.S. A dealer â and his reputation â on the ballot Help vehicles shed pounds American Axle posts loss UAW hires bailout adviser Ford to spend $200 million to upgrade 2 Ky. plants No off-lease cars? Certified will find others Arlena Sawyers China's stock market plunge has spooked car shoppers Advantage, Ford: Mulally likes owning Ford Credit Supplier execs join innovation panel at congress Quietly, Mini seeks 500 drivers to lease electric car for a year Reynolds bolsters document business Winterkorn: Audi needs to build in U.S. The great revenue drop of 2008 Bidders bet they can rebuild Heard 1 size fits all NADA: Give us tax incentives, dealer loan guarantees Campaigns' climate, energy plans hit economic wall Detroit 3 need and deserve U.S. help now Chrysler needs a buyer, but not GM Dealers pay fair share of taxes Washington hurts, not helps, electrics Compressed natural gas is the best fuel New ads aim to raise Suzuki's low profile Suzuki's new ad strategist: This brand has soul Fuel efficiency is coming â it just takes time Electrics edge closer by 2010 Tougher CAFE standards loom R&d chiefs shift gears for an electric future Japan carmakers lead charge into electrics Buffett backs BYD's sketchy plan for U.S. electric car Q&A: BYD envisions 2010 exports to U.S., Europe Girding the power grid for an electric fleet Hype powers plug-in vehicles Coachbuilders see salvation in electric cars Electric vehicles are charging into Europe Expect stop-start's big start to arrive in 2010 Flexibility will help Honda survive the storm Nardelli: Bailout not perfect â but needed Audi goes high-tech to boost service Acura offers quick service to win business Toyota's fashion fan Picture this Hondaâs N.A. operating profit falls 80.6% in quarter Aug. RV shipments fall 44% VW drops hints about car for new Tenn. plant Mexico sales fall 10.7% in September Honda to boost CR-V, end Civic output in Ohio Ford and GM jockey for steel discounts Dealers Ford Credit seeks to tap $700 billion package GM will end a used-car incentive early Nissan, Mitsubishi, Mazda recast fiscal 2009 forecasts Metaldyne to bondholders: Take 30% or Chap. 11 looms Detroit 3 ties hurt profits of dealer groups GM takeover would eviscerate Chrysler ranks, model lineup Mitsubishi plans electric hauler To match Toyota, Nissan offers 0% loans Sticker, sticker at the mall, what's the cheapest of them all? The Versa Waiting is what it's all about, Alfa Buy Chrysler? GM should sell Buick to SAIC Pickups pumped up by pump price plunge Chrysler hybrids, we hardly new ye Ghosn: Your best partner is a president in your pocket Sonic wins, but Mercedes wants last word

Automotive News - November 3, 2008

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