A Car Salesman

And So We Wait

When will it all end?

We have waited Weeks and now the end will be here soon.  We hope!

MSNBC

Fox

If we could just quit talking about it maybe we could all get back to work!!!

The Boys are Back in Town

The Boys From Detroit Come Out Firing!

 

This time they drove to Detroit in their Hybrid vehicles.  Only one of them driving an actual production model, Alan "the Man" Mulally drove an Escape Hybrid from Detroit.  The other two drove prototypes.  They bumped up the $25 Billion to $34 Billion, but they knew what they needed.  The other incredible thing about the plan is that $15 Billion is for lines of credit forthe future, $9 Bil for Ford and $6 Bil for GM.

GM is in dire need of cash, and Chrysler is close behind.  Ford does not need money at the moment, but wants to line up money in case it needs it in the future.

The plans that they presented to congress are detailed and seem to well thought out.

The Ford Way

The GM Plan

The Chrysler Plan

Dear Congress,

Give them the money and let us get back to work.

Here We Go Again

To My Representatives,

I work for a car dealership in the midwest, and I have a few comments I would like to convey.

1. The car companies are asking for a loan, so quit calling it a bailout. They cannot get a loan in the conventional manner because congress and our government (that is you) failed to protect the integrity of the system.

2. The fact that the government would consider turning its back on the largest industry left in the states is amazing, and dumbfounding. The different congressional panels spent a week raking the CEO's of the Big 3 over the coals because they asked for a $25 Billion loan, sending them away empty handed. Then on Friday Citibank called and asked for another $20 Billion (you had already given them $25B) and on Monday they had a check. If Citibank closed tomorrow the US Banking industry would not collapse, it would hurt no doubt. If GM closes that will be the end of the US Automotive industry, and I work for a Ford dealer

3. Before one more member of congress stands up and says that the US auto makers need to start making better quality products they need to gain some knowledge. Ford, for the past 3 years, has been #1 or tied for best in the industry for quality. Ford makes the safest vehicles on the market, they have more cars with 5 star safety ratings than any other company. GM has the number one car in initial quality this year. GM has more cars that get over 30 MPG than any other company. You as a group are suppose to building up American pride not tearing it down.

4. Comparing American car companies to the foreign companies that operate in the US is not a fair comparison. First, these companies were allowed to come into the company to make cars and given subsidies to do so. They are allowed to operate with nonunion workers, which is fine, but it is not an even playing field. The government of Japan subsidizes all of the green technology developed by their car companies, the US companies must pay for their own. All of the Asian governments subsidize health and retirement plans for their workers, again US manufacturers must pay for this themselves. AND, the Japanese government does not let US car companies sell their cars in Japan. Is this a fair comparison?

5. CAFE Standards, these standards overwhelmingly affect US manufacturers more than foreign companies. The foreign companies do not sell the volume of trucks that the US manufacturers do, so you, our government, are putting us at a disadvantage.

6. The wholesale destruction of US manufacturing cannot continue. You must find a way to assist and incentivize BUY AMERICAN.

7. Last, try taking a little bit of the responsibility for the current state of affairs. The reason that congress has an 11% approval rating or whatever it is at the moment, is because they never stand up and say we messed up.

Citi Who?

So Citibank gets a bailout!

I find this amazing!  The federal government gave Citi a $25 Billion bailout a couple of weeks ago.  Now all of that is gone and they need more help so the government strokes them another check for $20 Billion.  The automotive industry, America's largest industry asks for a $25 Billion loan and they spend a week telling the leaders of these companies how incompetent they are. Citibank calls congress on a Saturday and has the money by Monday.

The ignorance of these pious idiots on Capital Hill is amazing.  There was the idiot Senator from Alabama, who said if we give the auto industry money, then the management has to be replaced.  Oh there is a good idea, let's replace all of the leaders of these big companies with new people the CEO's and the Boards.  The idiocy of that is awe inspiring, and shows once again that the government has no business being involved in business.  Should some of the leaders of these companies be replaced, probably.  Should they all, certainly not.  Changing the leaders of these companies is an incredibly huge risk, and will lengthen the recovery period of them.

Ignorance is bliss when you have a pulpit that you can stand on and preach without retribution.  Congress wants everyone to accept blame for the current problems except themselves. 

MSNBC

Bailouts for the Big 3

Should the Detroit Big 3 be bailed out?

So the question today seems to be should the American Government bailout the Big 3.  This is a fair question to ask.  For several reasons, so let's explore a few of them.

They Did it to Themselves

First, there is the argument that the Big 3 did this to themselves.  Partially, this is true, however the auto industry is one of the most highly regulated industries in the United States.  Does some of the blame fall on the Government?  Certainly part of it does.  For example, let's look at the changes in the Diesel engines and Diesel gas over the last few years.  Ford, GM and Chrysler have been forced to change thier engine's twice in the past 5 years, the Japenese do not make big diesel trucks so they were left unaffected.  It Costs Billions of dollars to plan create and produce an entirely new engine, but this is not mentioned.  And, this is one example of many.

Let Them Eat Cake

Second, there is the arguement that they should be allowed to go bankrupt so that they can renogotiate the terms of their pensions and get saved from their creditors.  Let's remember it is their creditors that are being bailed out by the Federal Government.  GM's CEO Wagoner talked about this idea also, a survey done recently asked the question "Would you consider buying a car from a car company that is in bankruptcy?"  80% of the people said NO.  So, is that truly a viable alternative.

Little Detroit or Southern Detroit

Next, there is the newest Talking Point, "Little Detroit".  What a great success story this is!  The foreign car companies have come into the US and have built plants in Tennesse and Kentucky and other southern states, Honda just opened a new one.  They make money selling cars in the US, so why can't the big 3?  Anybody making this arguement needs to slapped.  These companies came into the US, were allowed to open non-union factories, and with no Legacy costs.  This is called "FAIR" competition?  Were the Big 3 allowed to go into their markets and compete?  Of course not!  Could the Big 3 compete on an equal playing field?  YES!  Make the field fair.

1 in 10

1 out of every 10 jobs in the US is associated in some way with the car business.  That does not mean that one in ten is associated with one of the big 3 but, it shows the implication of the closing of those companies.  Since the Big 3 sell about 50% of the cars in the US this implies that 1 in 20 is directly linked to the big 3.  So let's all roll the dice with 5% of the working population, does that sound like a good idea?  Somehow that strikes me as ignorant beyond belief.

Quality

This is a good arguement, if the Big 3 made a quality product they would not be in this position.  Since anyone making this arguement hasn't been watching the industry with a good eye, let's keep you up to date.  GM has the highest ranked car in initial quality at the moment!  WOW!  Ford has for last 2 years been ranked even or above Toyota and Honda in quality, WOW!  Ford was the only company 2 years ago to have 5 cars rated best in class by JD Powers.  They had 4 this year and still had the most on the list.  Pay attention idiots!

Been There Done That

Is the car business a good bet?  Let's see didn't we as a country bail out Chrysler and then they came back in a fury?  How did that bailout happen?  They were given guaranteed loans by the US Government and they paid them back early and with interest.  The citizens of the US made money on the bail out.  Are they a good bet?  Everyone thought that Lee Iacocca was a good bet, and he was.  I will not speak to Chrysler's leadership because I do not know enough about them, however Alan Mulally and Rick Wagoner are 2 of the brightest businessman of our age.  Can they get their companies turned around?  They are already in the process and certainly can, given the opportunity, but noone can get credit at the moment, not even them.

Industrial America

We have a Financial crisis like nothing we have seen in 90 years.  So do we let our one last huge industrial industry leave?  The way we have let the others leave? 

Solution

We as a country need to find a way to finance the recovery of the Big 3 (at least GM and Ford).  We need to also learn as a government to stay out of the way of progress for these companies.  And we need to make all of the companies compete on a level playing field.

Fox Business

MSNBC from the Washington Post

What a Time to be a Car Salesman!

I have been selling cars for 14 years and the business has never been this hard.  With gas at $4.00 a gallon and the crash of resale values for anything with a V8, this has been a difficult time.  The car business didn't just start to slow down, the business for all domestic car dealers has been slowing over the last 2 years.  In the last year it has declined for everybody.

Car sales have been very good to me over the years, I have made a lot of money.  I started selling cars out of necessity, not because I love cars.  I lost my business and needed a job that I could make money at "right now", while I looked for a job in the corporate world.  What I did not realize was that I was going to quickly start making so much money that I could not afford to quit.  The average salesman that is new to car sales; lasts 4 months, makes almost no money and then goes into the mortgage business.  My third month selling cars, I made over $7,000 and I was hooked. 

I guess that I got into the business at the right time.   I have sold Ford's almost exclusively over the past 14 years, at primarily 3 dealerships.  My first dealership was a horrible place to work and I only stayed there for 11 months.  Since then I have worked primarily at 2 dealerships. I have been at the one I am currently working for over 6 years and do not plan on moving.  I did try selling Toyota's for a month and hated that.  My clientele is Ford based, so that is where I stay.  After 14 years I have a good base to sell to and it has been very beneficial.

I have seen a lot of crazy stuff over the years.  The craziest things have not been from the dealerships, they have been from the customers and the salesman.  So I am going to tell some stories, talk about the industry, and answer some questions that my customers have asked me over the years.