Today, Automotive News reported that Koenigsegg, the Swedish sports car makers and the buyers of Saab, have cut 81 Saab dealership locations in their US markets.
I just wanted to send a notice to all of our Saab customers that they needn’t be concerned about their local service, parts and sales locations, as both Jim Ellis Saab Atlanta and Jim Ellis Saab Marietta have already been selected to be a part of the new Saab Cars of North America.
Today’s blog post is written by Alana Edmunds, “Chief Blogging Officer” at a Fortune 5 company. She wanted to share with everyone her experience of car shopping, and ultimately car purchasing. I follow her on Twitter at @amedmunds.
At 22, I bought my first car. To some, that’s early- others may think it’s late.
But in almost every case, it’s a purchase that involves a lot of work: reading magazines and blogs, checking competitor’s prices, dealership reviews, asking friends, and of course, visiting dealerships.
My story starts with the internet (no shock there, I’m techy), where I was led to a few websites advertising certified-pre-owned Audis in the greater Atlanta area. Interested, the information on the sites led me to a particular dealership, where my experience was nothing to blog about (seriously).
My time at the first dealership led me to call Jim Ellis Audi while I was still sitting in the parking lot of the competitor. I explained my situation to the salesman who answered — what I was looking for, how I was being treated at the competitor, and that I was looking for someone to give me the “real deal” – because I believe buying a car should be a fun experience!
So I drove to Jim Ellis, and even though I wasn’t buying the R8 (but let’s be honest I would take it if they offered – hint, hint ) I had a great experience, leading me to purchase a 2007 Certified Pre-Owned Audi A4 (I’ve since named her Amelia.)
Looking back one year ago, my experiences at the two dealerships were worlds apart, similar to the way my life is structured at the moment. I’m in a leadership program where I move every six months – usually across the country.
Moving to a new state forces one to re-establish — new dentist, new hair stylist, and of course, a new place to go for car service. Although I am no longer located in Atlanta, I have called Jim Ellis’ service department in the past when I was unsure if another dealership was giving me a fair price on service.
I’m glad Alana was able to get the real deal at Jim Ellis Audi Atlanta, and that she knows she can rely on our expertise and customer service no matter where she moves to next with her work!
SEC update!
The winner of the Jim Ellis contest to see the Georgia Bulldogs take on the Florida Gators on Halloween is Mr. Joseph Robertson of Conyers, GA. He is excited to take his son DJ to the game!
ACC update!
It’s not too late to enter for tickets to see GA Tech in the ACC Championships! Click here on RamblingWreck.com to enter!
Oh, and speaking of the Dawgs and the Yellow Jackets… have you heard about their game on November 28, 2009 to benefit HERO for Children? Yeah? Have you heard that Georgia’s Chevrolet dealers are giving away a Camaro? (Click here for more info about that!)
Wrenches image taken by keyseeker on Morguefile.com
Just wanted to post a quick note to all of our customers who own Volkswagens or Audis from themodel years 2001 – 2007. Today, Volkswagen and Audi are going to announce a service action regarding those cars.
There have been dedicated websites created for owners of each make of car to describe the action, which parts are involved, and how this is going to work. VW owners should check in at: www.vwcoils.com , while Audi owners should click on: www.audicoils.com.
We want to ensure that we have enough replacement parts in stock from the manufacturers to manage service requests for this action. This is why the manufacturers will be getting in touch with their customers directly when it comes time – over the next 13 months or so – for them to schedule a time with our service departments. We will keep you updated as we learn more, and are always here to answer any additional questions you might have.
If you follow me on Twitter, you know that I just got back to Atlanta from the first national dealer meeting for Buick GMC since the reorganization at GM.
Brian Sweeney, the national sales manager for Buick GMC opened the meeting. The backdrop of the stage showed the new Buick GMC facility entrance design, and speakers were flanked with the all new Buick LaCrosse on one side of the stage and the all new GMC Terrain on the other.
The Buick Lacrosse and GMC Terrain = Segment Busters
Both of these vehicles are being hailed as “segment busters” with segment leading design, technology and fuel economy. The Terrain with 32 MPG highway, Bluetooth, rear camera, rear seat slide adjustment, and OnStar all standard makes this vehicle a high demand winner for GMC. In fact, they announced starting a third shift at the Terrain production facility to help meet the exploding demand.
The story is much the same with the all new Buick LaCrosse. The 2010 Buick LaCrosse is a large entry-level luxury sedan and is the flagship of the new Buick GMC brand and is garnering rave reviews for luxury, styling and drivability. And the standard V6 engine still gets 30 mpg on the highway!
Changes in Leadership
Mark LaNeve, the outgoing VP of national sales for GM, made his emotional swan song speech to a standing ovation. He was a tireless warrior that help guide GM through its darkest days. He spoke of his two autistic boys that are in Chicago for special education and his new job there. He is a fine man that will be missed. Susan Dougherty, the current VP of the new Buick GMC channel, has been named as Mark’s successor. Her replacement has not been named as of this meeting.
Ed Whitacre, the new Chairman of the board for GM came on stage to introduce himself as a Texan retired from the position of corporate CEO of several fortune 500 companies. The President’s Auto Task Force called and told him that in their search for a new leader of GM, his name kept coming up. He turned them down until his wife asked “How can you turn down your country’s call to duty?”
“Reputation Gap” Between Perception of GM and Actual Quality
What I was expecting to find was very different from what I discovered at GM. Although there were many things that needed to be fixed, I think there were already many great things underway as well. One example of this is the design and manufacturing team that was well on its way to developing some of the finest vehicles in the world, and a few more world-class products in development.
So, once we started fixing what need to be fixed, we came to the real problem for GM and that is our “Reputation Gap”, as Whitacre puts it. What he means is that we suffer a large gap between the marketplace perception of GM products and what we actually deliver in world class quality.
This Reputation Gap is what generated the new campaign for GM.
The new campaign boasts that our new GM products are so much better in quality, fit and finish, content, technology and value that we are taking the competition head on and asking prospects to do their homework, check us out, and when you buy our car if you don’t absolutely love it…then we’ll take it back.
“MAY THE BEST CAR WIN!”
Bob Lutz, the Vice Chairman and VP of World Marketing, spoke of the ”May the Best Car Win” campaign and noted that all indicators, even this early on in the campaign, show awareness rising for GM products. Lutz said that we must be commanding, positive, passionate and truly believe we are the best. He encouraged us all to invite the challenge of comparison and face the competition head on and let the best the car win!
Susan came back on stage to introduce the new Buick and GMC future products.
She rolled out the all new Buick Regal and Regal Sport that will both be in the showrooms within the next 18 months. This vehicle is truly a stunningly styled entry into the competitive segment of the Camry, Accord, VW CC arena and the new Regal Sport is to compete with the Audi A4, Infiniti G35, and Lexus IS. Buick is going straight at these formidable competitors with no apologies.
These new Buicks will be like the LaCrosse – loaded with style, technology, build quality, and class leading fuel economy at a value that will be…well….a value!
We also were told that we could expect a GMC Arcadia Denali in 2011 along with the Sierra HD Denali. We also were given a sneak peek at a new subcompact Buick that was also stunningly styled in the same likeness of its larger siblings and we finally got a look at the next Buick crossover….a baby Enclave!
Everyone agreed as we were leaving the conference is that there are some exciting things going on at GM, in particular with the exciting new Buick and GMC offerings from these storied brands.
Oh yeah, they closed with “there will be more….” I guess we will all have to stay tuned to what’s happened at Buick and GMC!
I just received a letter from Michael Bartsch, Executive Vice President and COO of Porsche Cars North America, Inc. congratulating our Porsche store for once again attaining the highest honor a dealership can receive from Porsche: the designation as a Premier Dealer.
Earning this award means that Jim Ellis Porsche is one of the top 25 Porsche Dealers in the United States. Premier Dealers are considered to be “true ambassadors of the Porsche brand”
Jim Ellis Porsche has consistently delivered the high level of service and satisfaction that Porsche customers have come to expect, and has been named a Premier Dealer a number of times. In his letter, Bartsch says:
“Please extend a heartfelt ‘thank you’ to all in your organization who have contributed to this fantastic achievement. At the end of the day, it is their dedication that makes the difference.”
So, this blog goes out to Doug McIntyre and the entire team at Jim Ellis Porsche, as my way of saying thanks!
This Flooded SUV in Marietta should be salvaged by the Insurance Company.
As I mentioned in my Automotive Minute on WSB radio last weekend, the recent floods all over Atlanta will go down in history. Homes, businesses and properties were damaged by the water, and a large number of cars were also flooded.
The same way consumers in the south were warned about flood-damaged vehicles after Hurricane Katrina, Atlanta used car shoppers need to be aware of the possibility that some individuals may try to sell flood-damaged and salvaged vehicles without revealing their histories.
A Carfax or Autocheck report will show any police reports or insurance claims on the car, and will include details about flood damage or a salvaged title. However, if the car’s owner tried to correct the water damage without filing an insurance claim, it’s possible that such a history won’t pick it up.
If you are shopping for a used car in the Atlanta area, here are a few tips to help you look for signs of flood damage in an automobile:
At the Jim Ellis automotive dealerships, we pull a history report on every single vehicle we sell and our service departments inspect the pre-owned vehicles on the lot before we offer them for sale.
Player and Coach at Murphey Candler Little League game
There’s a new press release about Jim Ellis and our Atlanta community!
“Sponsoring Murphey Candler Little League gave us the opportunity to illustrate our commitment to the youth and families in our community…”
- Jim Ellis Chevrolet General Manager, Mark Frost.
