According to F&I Management and Technology Zurich North America has just announced their new tools for their dealers to submit consumer contracts electronically. Through web-enabled sales and contract management the company is hoping to give consumers the tools to do all their business more effectively and efficiently. The new program is called the F&I Rate Track and was introduced to dealers and their customers in 2008 to quote Zurich F&I products. Dealers can now create electronic contracts and print those on a regular printer and at the same time automatically send contracts to Zurich. The software will also be able to ensure … [Read more...]
Ford and GM Benefit from Toyota’s Troubles
March 4, 2010 By
After years of hard work and nothing to show for it, Ford is finally behind Toyota in the latest Consumer Reports in terms of quality, and General Motors has launched their “May the Best Car Win” campaign to promote their top vehicles, which is quite a gutsy move. The idea behind this new campaign is to get Americans to compare the quality of US cars to that of Japanese and other foreign vehicles, and it seems that it could be working. But the biggest thing for American manufacturers is the fact that Toyota has stumbled into the worst crisis in the entire history of the company, with over eight million vehicles worldwide being recalled … [Read more...]
Sales Up in Some Brands, But Overall Market Share is Still Down
March 3, 2010 By
According to www.autoremarketing.com, January certified used car sales were at 109,554 units, which is actually down 22% from January 2009, a record-setting year in terms of the used car industry. However, some automakers did show gains in January, including Lexus, who raised 11%, Hyundai, who raised up 32%, and Subaru, who raised 15% in terms of market share. But other automakers have been down, including Toyota, who dropped 5.3% (despite all the bad press), Ford, who went down 28%, and GM who dropped 44%. Honda went up by 2% while Acura dropped by 19%, and brands like Kia, Mini and Mazda also went up, though numbers on them were … [Read more...]
Computers in Cars Have Bugs, More
March 2, 2010 By
Computers in cars have been in vehicles since the late 1970’s and were first installed to control emissions and fuel-injection systems, though in recent years computers have revolutionized car safety, performance and efficiency, so much so that a new car is almost more computer than car. Now, new electrical and digital cars are difficult for laymen and do-it-yourself mechanics (like your dad or brother) to comprehend, let alone repair, and failures in the computers can make it impossible for even experts who know this kind of stuff to diagnose and repair. The auto transport industry hasn’t seen the most of these new computers, though they … [Read more...]
Ford Still Dominates Customer Loyalty Ratings, Hyundai Market Gains Grows
March 1, 2010 By
Ford is still making waves, it seems, in the wake of the huge bankruptcy problems that GM and Chrysler went through, and now that Toyota is facing a tough time Ford is rising to the occasion. Four of the top five vehicles for customer brand loyalty belong to Ford, according to Experian Automotive, who compiled an industry-wide automotive trends report for the third quarter of 2009. The auto transport industry could have said the same thing – the number of new Ford vehicles being shipped has risen dramatically. Hyundai, too, has seen good times come from Toyota, GM and Chrysler’s problems over the past few years. Hyundai has had gains in … [Read more...]
US Department of Transportation Demanding Toyota Documents
February 28, 2010 By
In a not-so-stunning turn of events, the United States Department of Transportation is demanding all documents pursuant to Toyota’s massive recalls over the past year to see if the automaker acted quickly enough in the wake of the recalls. Toyota has already stopped work temporarily at their plants in Texas and Kentucky, and the bad news is only getting worse. Toyota is now experiencing something that they have yet to deal with – a backorder of unsold vehicles, though not as large as stockpiles could get if Toyota doesn’t get this handled. The documents, among other things, will tell the DOT when and how the company learned of the … [Read more...]
Small Plane Crash in CA, Three Tesla Employees Die
February 27, 2010 By
Tesla Motors was dealt a huge blow when three of their employees died in a small private plane crash after taking off from Palo Alto, California early yesterday. The plane apparently crashed into electrical transmission wires when it flew over a heavily populated area; luckily no one in the area where the plane went down was injured. The employees’ names have yet to be released – they will be named in a press conference on the 19th of February. The plane was owned by a senior electrical engineer at Tesla Motors, Doug Bourn, who has both a commercial pilot license and a flight instructor’s license to boot. Tesla is stunned, for sure, … [Read more...]
Prius Recall Hits Toyota Hard, More People Losing Faith in Toyota
February 26, 2010 By
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GMAC Seeing Improvements
February 25, 2010 By
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Toyota Vehicles Still Hold Value in Long Term
February 24, 2010 By
<!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-update:auto; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> Despite everything that has been happening with Toyota and all its recalls (not to mention the dwindling number of new Toyotas being shipped, according to … [Read more...]
