Car Dealer Magazine: Issue 16 by Blackball Media

CarDealer. Issue 16 | July 2009 | CarDealerMag.co.uk | £3.50

[ ScRAppAgE: First month’s sales figures p7 ]

Driving the future of the motor trade

google’s tips

Search giant’s advice

Torq-ing shop

Make surfers shoppers

feel the force

Which online ads work?

prepare for upturn

How to ensure your website is ready for the sales recovery CarDealerIss16.2.indd 1

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start Issue 16 | July 2009

THE call came early on a Saturday morning. Fortunately, like most weekends, I was in the office – this time putting the first few pages of the issue together – so took the call. ‘Hello, is that Car Dealer,’ came a posh voice. ‘Yes it is,’ I replied. ‘This is the BBC. Would you like to come on air and talk about the Magna/GM deal?’ Er, how about no! I’ve done a bit of live radio before and found that the most nerve-wracking experience of my life, closely followed by a very poor performance as a best man. So, the call to arms went out to action man Aucock – the media friendly face of the mag – who was up for it. Rich is based in the Midlands so hotfooted it along to Auntie’s studios at The Mailbox in Birmingham. Next thing I know a text arrives from Rich – ‘I’m on at 1.30’ – is all it said. Thanks to the joys of the iPlayer I tuned into the BBC News Channel. And there he was, our man Rich, being interviewed by Peter Sissons no less! He put in a superb performance, with some

expert comment on the Magna deal. Then, five sweaty-palm minutes later, Sissons moved on to the next topic. Rich did a great job, but what really sweetened the deal was knowing that when the BBC wanted expert comment on the motor trade, they knew who to turn to first… This month we’ve also dedicated 14 pages to unravelling the mysteries of the world wide web. We know how important this medium is to car dealers and know how difficult it can be to understand the best ways of making the most of it. So, with this in mind, we’ve spoken to all manner of experts in the field from website design companies, internet marketing experts, even to that great search engine god Google, to help you get more out of your digital forecourt. We hope the guide helps you build a car customer-trapping website that you can be proud of and, more importantly, makes you a bucket load of cash. If you do come up with one, or for that matter already have a site you’re proud of, make sure you enter it into our Ewards. We’re just putting the finishing touches to this year’s gongs, which will be launched next month, but needless

to say they’ll be bigger and better than last year’s top event. This issue’s not all about the web though. The car scrappage scheme launched last month and on pages six and seven we’ve got the very first news and reaction to May’s sales figures. We held the magazine back from the printers to ensure we got the most up-to-date information included, but if you want the very latest be sure to check out CarDealerMag.co.uk which is updated daily. And finally, you might have spotted we’ve been larking about in some tasty hot hatches this month. Find out which gets our nod, and what dealers like you think about the Focus RS, Megane R26.R and Impreza STI from page 22. Happy selling…

James Baggott, Editor

‘There aren’t many Fords that make you feel quite so special as this RS. It’s a culmination of hot hatch R&D and the masters of motorsport have got it spot on.’ Focus RS v Megane R26.R v Impreza STi, p22

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ignition Issue 16 | July 2009

‘It’s like a woman that thinks she’s going to look better with a bit of plastic surgery, but then can’t stop having things done. Sort of like Jackie Stallone.’ Triple Test: Focus RS v Megane R26.R v Impreza STi, p22

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Scrappage sales First month of vital new scheme

gM bankruptcy Plus Car Dealer on the BBC!

Mazda exclusive UK boss talks to Car Dealer

citroen sites saved Administrators help save dealer

Ssangyong boon Good news for marque’s network

halo effect Why R8’s helping sell more Audis

Big Mike The big man hates the web

forecourt 22 25 26 33 34 36 38

Triple Test focus RS Megane R26.R Impreza STi Nissan pixo kia Soul cult cars: vanquish Sales Legend: capri

features

41 43 46

guide to the Web Autotorq insight g-forces focus

get ready! Prepare your website for the upturn

61 63 65 67 69 70 74 78

Right click dot com Servicing Lcv Insight on the Spot products Auctions competition Win Handi solution for large loads

79 81 82

Supplier guide hpI valuations Sub-prime Time Don’s seen those green shoots

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dashboard Motorpoint sales are still on the up

NEW car sales may be falling, but this is not being reflected by sales at Motorpoint. The car retailer reports sales in April were up by nearly nine per cent. MD David Shelton admits ‘the current downturn means more people are re-evaluating big ticket purchases such as cars like never before’. ‘More and more people are coming to Motorpoint to buy nearly new (as well as new) and save,’ says Shelton. Auctions, p74

Brawn GP team is getting Mobil 1 help

Camden and Mayfair to mark MINI’s 50th birthday

Special edition models launched for anniversary MINI unveiled two special editions at its Silverstone MINI United birthday festival. To celebrate the car’s 50th year, MINI car dealers will be able to retail these two specials from September. They are called the MINI 50 Camden (above) and – in a blast from the past – the MINI 50 Mayfair (below). Typically, the MINI Mayfair takes a luxurious slant. It comes in Hot Chocolate metallic brown, a colour

previously only for the MINI Clubman and Convertible. If that’s not for your customers, the firm offers white and black alternatives. Special trim features throughout, and there is also light brown leather inside. We prefer the MINI Camden, though. This comes in silver, black or blue, and again has special 17-inch alloys, while Camden decals replace the Mayfair

monikers, meaning there’s no missing it. The interior is more modern and includes a MINI first – a high fidelity Harman Kardon stereo. We also like the sound of the ‘Mission Control’. This is a sort of message centre, that really will wow customers in car dealer showrooms. The engines mirror 1.6-litre petrol and diesel versions of the regular range – from the 104g/km CO2 diesel, to the 175bhp turbo petrol. As former Austin Rover retailers know, there’s nothing like a special edition to get sales going! Meanwhile, MINI prices

BRAWN F1 multi-GP winner Jenson Button is being powered to his victories courtesy of Mobil 1. The oil brand has confirmed it’s supplying Brawn GP for the 2009 Formula 1 season. This is in addition to the reigning World Champion, Lewis Hamilton, and the McLaren Mercedes team.

Justgoodcars chief is really flying high CAR dealers who take on multiple business roles have a sympathiser from one of their suppliers. Just goodcars.com chief Colin Mathieson directs the car classified site in the week, but, at weekends, is an RAF Squadron Leader! This is why the classified site is supporting national Armed Forces Day on June 27. And also why, the day before, Mathieson will be wearing his uniform to work! More on his website. Stay up to date every day at CarDealerMag.co.uk

Silverstone opens a Lotus showroom THE MINI festival wasn’t the only big event taking place at Silverstone last month – the circuit has also welcomed its first ever franchised car dealership. Lotus has just opened a 4,000sq ft car showroom to sell new and used models at the site. The facility will also offer maintenance from a four-bay service facility. It is the first step in Silverstone’s fast redevelopment into a centre of automotive excellence. By the end of the year, a new test facility for carmakers will also be in operation – using part of the famous F1 circuit. The Lotus facility complements an existing development for Porsche, and driving experiences for both Audi and Nissan.

Lotus dealer opens at Silverstone There’s plenty more to come too. Ed Brookes, finance director for Silverstone, said: ‘Lotus has an exciting future ahead of it, with the brand new Evora leading the way, so it was a natural step to open a showroom.’ Silverstone will own and operate the franchise.

are rocketing in the used market as interest in the famous BMW-built car reaches a high. Auctioneers BCA have reported that the MINI 50th year celebrations are sending used prices skywards. PR chief Tim Naylor says the model still has massive appeal, and remains ‘genuinely aspirational’ for a wide range of drivers of all ages. ‘Our tracking of prices for MINIs sold at BCA show that this car is consistently one of the strongest performers in holding its value,’ explained Naylor. Impressively, he adds more than 100 MINIs are on sale at BCA at any one time – and there are even special MINI Open sales at BCA Bedford, Nottingham, Edinburgh, Brighouse and Bridgwater. Average prices confirm this. Even a 75,000-mile 2002/51 model can still sell for £4,750 – that’s a retained value of 42.4 per cent. What’s more, a three-yearold Cooper is holding on to 71 per cent, with a twoyear-old model retaining nearly three quarters of its new list price.

Honda restarts work at Swindon factory HONDA Swindon employees have returned to work as production restarted at the Swindon plant at the beginning of the month. Some 3,400 workers recommenced production of the Civic and CR-v for UK buyers. What’s more, the firm also confirmed the Honda Jazz supermini will be made at the site from the autumn – which will be a huge boost to its fortunes. The Ford Fiesta-rivalling model is one of Honda UK’s best sellers, for which demand continues to grow. The plant has been closed for four months, due to the drop in new car demand – and some analysts predicted it would be hard for the site to start up again.

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GM speaks out over its bankruptcy filing As European arm of car giant is hived off for sale, GM issues statement on Chapter 11 move GM has issued a series of statements clarifying its exact position in both the US and Europe following the announcement it was moving into bankruptcy. European operations, it confirmed, are NOT included in the bankruptcy proceedings. The statement follows the car giant’s ‘Memorandum Of Understanding’ with Magna International that will see the Canadian parts maker take control of the European arm. Opel and Vauxhall assets now reside in a pool under parent Adam Opel GmbH while the negotiations with Magna continue. Most of these are currently in an independent trust and GM US holds the rest. Keep up-to-date with the GM saga at CarDealerMag.co.uk GM says the transition period to finalise the new owner will take several weeks and added car dealers and customer warranties are unaffected by the bankruptcy filing. Over in the US, the company says its ‘strongest operations and brands’ will form ‘the New GM’. These will comprise of Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC. This will have less debt and lower operating costs and will be a ‘global leader in the areas of fuel efficiency and advanced green technology; quality and reliability; appealing designs; customer service and, above all, value’. Heady aims indeed, particularly as this will all be based on annual US sales of 10m, rather than the 15m-plus the US market

Burgess Just checking Take a trip down memory lane – it’s good for you!

Magna to buy Vauxhall vAUXHALL’S future has been secured by a deal to save parent firm GM Europe. Canadian parts giant Magna will buy GM Europe, owners of vauxhall and Opel, from pressured US parent GM. Germany’s government will provide loans of £1.3bn, and Magna will invest more than £430m. The car parts maker is backed by a big Russian bank and – intriguingly – van maker GAZ. Currently the two firms have a Memorandum of Understanding on the sale with the final details being hammered out over the next few weeks.

has grown used to. The company will also focus on a reduced US car dealer network of around 3,600 retailers. Non-US operations are not included in the court proceedings. In short, this means the moves will not affect GM Europe employees, suppliers to the European operations, customers with new cars on order or with warranties on GM vehicles, retirees and pensioners in GM Europe schemes and, most importantly, dealers in Europe.

Car Dealer Magazine featured on BBC News! CAR Dealer Magazine was invited to speak LIvE on BBC News about the GM saga. Interviewed by anchorman Peter Sissons, deputy editor Richard Aucock told the channel what the Magna deal meant for dealers in the UK. The Beeb turned to Car Dealer for the expert comment after following the breaking news on our website. A call from producers early on the Saturday following the announcement was taken by the editor who was up to his eyes putting this magazine together. So, Aucock stepped up to the breach and shot along to the corporation’s studio’s at The Mailbox in Birmingham, close to his Midlands base. ‘On Friday, I’d been covering the emerging deal for the website, so was fairly up to speed,’ said Aucock, in his

Our man Aucock LIvE on BBC News blog at CarDealerMag.co.uk. ‘How did I fancy going on Tv to talk about it? Sure, no problem, I lied. Then felt my heartrate spike to a plateau it still has to start falling from. If all this sounds like a blur, you should have been in my shoes: Rabbits would report less discomfort in front of headlamps.’

CI Gene Hunt may have fired up the Quattro for the last time for the foreseeable future, but his desire to skip the light fandango left me and my team taking a trip down memory lane of our own. Cast your mind back to 1982, when petrol was bought in gallons, rather than litres and diesel was reserved for truck drivers and farmers. This was a world where air conditioning, CD players and power windows were for the privileged few. Rolls Royce came with air conditioning as standard but for the rest of us, fresh air required a bit of elbow grease to wind down the windows and a lack of power steering ‘Most modern was certainly not for the cars have faint hearted, or what DCI air-con, huge Hunt would call Jessies. The newly introduced sound systems Ford Sierra was considered and power a revolution in motoring; after all, the L spec came everything – the with a cassette player, stuff of dreams two speakers and a cigar lighter. Not to be sniffed in the 1980s.’ at. The popular 1.6-litre engine was 75bhp and had a four-speed box. Its closest rivals were the Vauxhall Cavalier and Talbot Alpine, but the Austin Montego was still two years away from launch. Hunt’s Audi Quattro Coupe was definitely top dog with a 2,144cc five cylinder turbo engine delivering 200bhp, PAS, five-speed gearbox and four-wheel drive. And to top it all, the radio cassette had four speakers! Perhaps today he’d be cruising in a Mitsubishi Evo X with a 290bhp, 2.0-litre turbo powerplant and fourwheel drive? The ‘rep-mobile’ of the noughties is likely to be a BMW 3 Series, Ford Focus, Vauxhall Astra or VW Golf. Most of these models come with air conditioning, MP3 player hooked up to a huge sound system, including pretty much power-everything (windows, steering, mirrors and brakes). All the stuff of dreams in the 1980s. In the early 80s there were no cars from Malaysia or Indonesia, and only five manufacturers came from Japan. Austin Morris, Triumph, Talbot, Lancia and Opel have been replaced by Hyundai, Kia, Perodua, Proton, SsangYong, Suzuki and Isuzu. Colt is now Mitsubishi and Datsun is now Nissan. A trip down memory lane really shows us just how far we’ve come…

Who is Daniel Burgess? Daniel is automotive director of HPI. Find out more about HPI‘s services by logging on to www.hpi.co.uk or call 01722 422 422

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Mazda chief reveals network open points Boss tells Car Dealer why he thinks now is a great time to be a Mazda retailer THE boss of Mazda UK has told Car Dealer Magazine there are 12 key open points that need to be filled. Jeremy Thomson, the 42-year-old managing director of Mazda Motors UK, revealed that the current spread of 150 outlets would be complimented by crucial new target markets. The open points are Plaistow in London Docklands, Colindale, also in the capital, Southall in West London, Reading, Croydon, Eastbourne, Medway Towns, Gateshead, Lichfield, Bridgend, Bedford and a site in Portsmouth, which has recently been acquired by the Perry Group. ‘Things are very much on the up just now,’ said Thomson. ‘I am particularly excited by the new Mazda 3 which is very much changed from the old model which we launched in 2004. ‘Dealer reaction to the car has been fantastic. It shares nothing with the old model, comes in both petrol and diesel format, has more room, added comfort, improved fuel consumption – some 16 per cent better – and emissions are reduced by 19 per cent. ‘It is a car for both the heart and the head and we are looking to sell up to 13,000 cars next year as we take an all makes total of three per cent. ‘We have now had continuous market growth in the UK for the last eight years, we have a good mix of private retail customers – as high as 60 per cent – so we can spread sales across the dealer net-

Tew Net gains How you can capitalise on the sneaky rise in petrol prices

Mazda UK boss Jeremy Thomson work and we have strong support for the scrappage allowances which is good for consumers. ‘Dealers also have the widest-ever spread of models but they are stocking less than they have been for a long time. ‘This makes them more efficient, reduces wastage and, through Santander Finance, we have a complete re-banking system for

...number of Mazda dealer open points in UK

the entire group. Now is an excellent time to be a Mazda dealer.’ Thomson, who lives in Brentwood, Essex, is married to Lianne who is head of marketing for McLaren Automotive. He met his wife in 1989 when they both worked for Ford. RICHARD GIBBON

McLaren plans to build factory for supercar McLAREN’S 2011 supercar will be built in a brand-new factory next door to the famous F1 centre. Based in Woking, the McLaren Technology Centre will create more than 800 jobs. A further 1,500 jobs will be indirectly created in the local economy, too. McLaren Automotive boss Ron Dennis, left, submitted the planning application in May for a new facility with the capacity to make 20 supercars a day. The company says it will be the most modern and efficient car plant in the UK. McLaren also offered more hints about the 2011 supercar; high performance

and highly efficient, it says. Harnessing road car and racing car development skills, to ‘redefine the automotive engineering environment in the UK’. Dennis added that it had always been his aim to launch a McLaren sports car company. ‘I believe that if the McLaren Production Centre is given the go ahead, it will be an engineering centre of excellence of which McLaren and the UK can be proud,’ he said. Norman Foster will design the building. Once again, it’ll be partly sunk into the ground, following the trends set by the F1 racecar centre. There will also be lots of greenery – and even a public recreation ground. A decision on whether the centre gets the go-ahead will be made at the end of July.

filled up my car earlier today – petrol, not diesel. I’ve yet to step into the world of oil burners. And, do you know what caught my eye? This stealth rise in petrol prices they’ve snuck through! While we’ve all been busy, concentrating on MPs’ expenses and Britain’s Got Talent, petrol prices have been steadily climbing. It wasn’t that long ago they were under 90p a litre. But today? It’s just cost me more than £1. Yes, the 2p a litre announced in the Budget has been carried through. But the rest of it? Well, it’s quite some hike, yet seems to have passed completely under the public’s radar. Part of this could be because people don’t ‘If you can show actually know what it all buyers they can means. Car dealers may think it’s a great opporsave £30 per tunity to start promoting month in fuel their green cars, but who can really relate miles per bills then they gallon to pence per litre? can spend that It still costs £1,000s to buy new cars – and, for money on the some of the new green finance instead.’ models, it can cost upward of £15k to get into them. Yes, they may do 80mpg, but will that actually save money in the long run? What are the implications for monthly payments? What does it all mean? This is an opportunity for car dealers: develop an online calculator that works it all out for buyers! If you get your media company to dynamically pick up fuel prices, then take the official economy of your new cars and work out what they’ll spend on fuel for THAT very car, given their own monthly mileage, and you’ll instantly have something very useful indeed. After all, it’s not instantly clear, the benefits of buying an ultra-green model, if it costs so much more up front. With such a tool, you’ll be able to show them this right away – in the area where it matters: monthly payments. People don’t buy on APR, nor do they really buy on list price. They choose on what they can afford each month. Such a calculator will allow you to show this, in a flash. And, if the calculator reveals that they could save £30 a month on fuel bills, then that’s an extra £30 they can put into their car finance. Clever stuff! Mind you, I’m certainly learning from these MPs. I’m going to get cracking on the duck pond – and the guys back at base can look forward to plenty of creativity in my expenses claims this month!

Who is James Tew? James Tew is managing director of Codeweavers. Learn more about how he can help you at www.codeweavers.net or call 0870 443 0888.

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Administrators help save parts of group

Henstock auction stations Why appraising part-exes is a vital skill for dealers

ith used car retail activity remaining relatively buoyant, I make no excuses for highlighting the continuing importance of an accurate appraisal on part-exchange vehicles. The ability to value a used car is always essential – particularly in the current economic climate as values have been moving quickly in recent weeks and it is easy to get out of touch in a very short time. Appraisal is the key element of valuation and whether you end up valuing the vehicle from a guide or by your own market knowledge, if you are armed with an accurate appraisal you have everything you need. BCA hold training events for motor retailers, advising them over a half-day, structured course on ‘always walk the best way to instil good around the car practice into their partexchange appraisals. It you’re appraising starts with introducing in the same way effective processes that are followed every time a used and complete car is appraised, including the 20-point a 20-point checklist and the recommendation that check in the appraisals always start and same order.’ finish in the same place. We suggest that time is taken to appraise vehicles properly and the right tools for the job must be used – which at a bare minimum should include a tyre depth gauge, a torch and a paint depth gauge. Appraisals should always be carried out in good light conditions and the vehicle should be clean. Always walk around the car you are appraising in the same way and complete the 20-point check in the same order. We recommend starting with the bonnet release and checking full lock on the steering, walking around the off-side to the rear bumper, then up the nearside finishing with the windscreen and roof. Remember to have a final walk around and check badges, logos and number-plates match – not just the reg, but are both carrying the mark of the original supplying dealer? Unmatched plates might not mean anything or could be a sign of repaired accident damage. Check the VIN – that can give you a wealth of information. Take your time and don’t be hurried. Flitting from one part of the car to another will increase the chances of missing something. Do the task professionally and you have every chance of getting the valuation right first time – and doing a deal that will profit the business.

Who is Simon Henstock? Simon is UK network operations director for BCA. Find out more at www.bca-europe.com or call 0845 600 6644.

Troubled Citroen group helped by administrators who find owners for two sites, saving 30 jobs from the axe ADMINISTRATORS Begbies Traynor have saved a Citroen car dealer group from closure. The firm was called in to Wyatt Motor Group in May to find a future for the firm – and a week later two of the three sites were saved. Freeborn Garages Ltd of Hampshire has acquired the two showrooms, saving 30 jobs. The Poole operation, however, is to close. This is following ongoing disposal proceedings from 2008, which have already suffered numerous setbacks. Wyatts was set up in 1991, and until recently was a profitable car dealer group. In 2008, turnover was £22m. However, a nationwide decline in Citroen car sales has hit the group. Begbies Traynor said the economic decline made Wyatt’s recovery ‘virtually impossible’. Administrator Anthony Fanshawe, pictured above, handled the deal. He said: ‘Wyatt Motor Group was a victim of these

Kia chief’s Euro role KIA’S current UK MD, Paul Philpott, has won a big promotion – he is now the new COO of Kia Europe. The brand’s dramatic market share increases – which has risen from 1.4 per cent in 2006, to 2.3 per cent in 2009 – have earned him the new role. Philpott says he has rebuilt the UK side on a retail and dealer focused strategy since 2007. Indeed, as Kia president SunYoung Kim intriguingly noted, Philpott ‘has clearly shown how to effectively turn around a business that was on the wrong track’. No hiding what he thought of Philpott’s predecessors, then!

turbulent and unique economic times. The directors found themselves in an incredibly difficult position. They took a number of sensible steps over the past few months, in a bid to safeguard the group’s longevity.’ These included selling a site in Lymington. Staff even agreed to take a 10 per cent pay cut. This was offset by an increase in interest rates on loans to Wyatts. After 18 years in the motor trade, the decision to call it a day was not taken lightly. For the latest industry news make CarDealerMag.co.uk your favourite Freeborne MD Andrew Jones said: ‘When these two dealerships got into difficulties, it made sense to rescue them, as they are a perfect fit for our business. ‘They bring experienced staff and loyal customers with them – both prime assets for any company.’

1,000th Quattroporte sold! MASERATI dealer Dick Lovett has just handed over the UK’s 1,000th Quattroporte four-door saloon. The four-figure tally strikes us as not bad going, for a premium car that debuted in 2004. Maserati GB sales chief Peter Denton handed over the Quattroporte Sport GTS model to new owner John Burton. Burton is a keen racer who used to compete in Chevron B26s in the 1970s. Choosing Blu Oceano paint and Sabbia leather, he has decent taste too! The Quattroporte has led the development of ‘modern’ Maserati, and helped establish it as a premium marque. Five years and 46 awards later, Burton adds an extra digit to the ever-growing numbers in the UK.

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dashboard RESTRUCTURING

SsangYong plans get the green light UK dealers receive news they wanted from Korean courts

Rapp Marketing Public relations help is on offer for dealers using the Motors.co.uk ad network

verything we know tells us that, in the coming months, buyers will be more cautious than ever. They’ll be researching purchases carefully, doing even more looking before they leap. With eight out of 10 people searching online for their next car, Motors.co.uk has refined its car search to help consumers find exactly what they are looking for. With a few clicks, buyers can see all the cars they’re interested in, and none of the ones they’re not. Advertising on portals such as Motors.co.uk will help to maximise your online potential. Your stock will automatically be listed on the Mot-ors.co.uk network which consists of more than 100 sites including Yahoo! Cars, Carsource. co.uk, Carsby mail.co.uk, Teletextcars. co.uk and Fifthgear.co.uk. You know that we can advertise your latest deals, but how else can we promote your showroom when budgets are stretched and you can’t fund a huge advertising burst? Well, how about a sustained public relations campaign? It will certainly help and cost you next to nothing. It doesn’t require the costly help of professionals, or lots of time-consuming work and effort. With a little planning and effort, it can reap huge rewards. And, for Motors.co.uk customers, the task is made simple. If you sign up to advertise your stock you will receive a free service to make public relations easy. Send us details of the event or business activity that you’d like to see publicised. Whether it’s a promotional event, sales success, charity fund-raiser or long service award – whatever you need to shout about. Tell us what is going on and we will write a press release for you to issue to your local newspaper, local radio and TV station, trade publication or online news site. Meanwhile, we’ll publish it on Motors.co.uk, and on our dedicated press releases pages which are viewed by thousands of used-car buyers each day. Our service will make things far easier and, if you’re a Motors.co.uk advertiser, it’s absolutely free!

‘It doesn’t require the costly help of professionals, and with a little time and effort it can reap huge rewards.’

Who is Helen Rapp? Helen is UK product manager for Motors.co.uk. For details of the services Motors.co.uk can offer motor traders you can call 0845 265 5502

SSANGYONG dealers have received good news after South Korean courts gave the firm’s restructuring the green light. The brand, which is currently in receivership, was deemed to be worth more as a going concern than in liquidation. And this means the go-ahead SsangYong’s C200 is vital to the firm’s future to work on full recovery plans have been approved. These it is throughout the auto industry, but the will be unveiled in September, but will be result should mean a leaner, much more focused on model replacement. efficient SsangYong.’ There was also confirmation Last month Williams spoke exclusively that the C200 compact SUV will go to Car Dealer about the restructuring into production – possibly even by the and correctly predicted it would get the end of the year. Future SsangYongs will green light. also encompass modern diesel and hybrid ‘We already know that there will be a technology. broader range of passenger cars, using the Paul Williams, MD of UK distributor latest petrol, diesel and hybrid technology, Koelliker, said: ‘This is the news we were and the first – the C200 – will go into hoping for, and it means that SsangYong production later this year,’ confirmed the now has the lifeline it needs to implement UK boss. ‘Our dealers can now go forward major changes. with renewed confidence.’ ‘The future will continue to be difficult, as

LDV deal collapses LDV has suffered a major blow after a deal to secure its future collapsed. Weststar, a Malaysian firm, had agreed to take over the Birmingham van maker. But the deal has fallen apart, forcing LDV into administration. ‘We gave LDV breathing space, a bridge to the future, but in the event Weststar was unable to cross that bridge,’ said business minister Ian Pearson. ‘This is clearly a worrying time for the workforce.’

Slump hits big ticket buys CAR dealers can expect 2009 to be the ‘most challenging’ since 1991, warn industry experts. Experian says that a slump in consumer spending will be felt most strongly on ‘big ticket’ buys such as cars. But the firm says this does mean that car dealers can exploit sales in the used car market. Looking ahead, Experian hopes the scrappage scheme will be a boost to the new car market – but says that recovery here will take longer.

1991

..not since then has the car market been this tough for dealers

On new car finance deals, car dealers must be wary of increased fraud. Last year, fraudulent car finance applications increased by more than a half. Dealers should also note the big backlash against larger cars revealed by Experian’s Automotive Market Insight Report. Demand for 4×4s, for example, has plummeted. This contrasts with demand for small cars – which has shot up.

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dashboard Dealer offering from Paragon and HPI

PARAGON Remarketing and HPI have joined forces to enhance the services offered to car dealers. Online auction service Paragon will now use HPI’s products, boosting the information it can offer. Vehicle history information will now be integrated into the online service. HPI’s Daniel Burgess was also clear of the new deal’s benefits. ‘We’re excited to be involved in this new retail channel,’ he said.

Intimidating driver? He’ll be in a Beemer

BMW drivers are the worst on the road, says a new survey from Auto Trader Compare. Bad driving, speeding, dangerous overtakes and intimidation are all accusations thrown up by the comparison tool’s survey. 1,500 respondents said Subaru, Porsche, Audi and Merc were the next worst offenders.

Five stars for five cars in crash tests EURO NCAP has released its latest crash test results – and it’s five stars for five cars. Top-rated include three models with ESP stability control across the range. The best performers were Audi Q5, Honda Jazz, Hyundai i20, Kia Soul and the Peugeot 3008. The Suzuki Alto was also tested – but scored a disappointing three stars. Suzuki has since responded by making ESP optional on all Altos. Stay up to date every day at CarDealerMag.co.uk

Halo effect of R8 V10 is filtering down into sales

Richard Gibbon talks to Audi product manager THE ‘halo effect’ of the Audi R8 – recently launched with V10 powerplant – is helping dealers flog more metal, says the marque. More mainstream models, such as the A4 and recently added A5, have been bolstered by buyers whose interest in the maker has been sparked by the stunning supercar. ‘The halo effect has really taken hold and we’re delighted at the way things are progressing,’ said Henry Williams, product manager for A4 and A5. ‘The feelgood factor is very strong. We are also seeing a big increase in

Henry Williams used car sales with London and the West Country the star performers. Dealers are doing a lot of prospecting, promotion and networking and we are now selling 25 per cent of all the cabriolet models in the world. ‘We currently have 30 models in our range but this will leap to 40 variants by 2015

which will see dealers happy and enhance the excitement feel for the marque.’ Williams was speaking to Car Dealer at the launch of the R8 V10 – sold out until the start of next year – and A5 Cabriolet. ‘This is our moment to strike at the business and corporate market as well as private individuals and our 117 outlets – there are no open points – are really fired up for the future,’ he explained. ‘We have had a storming start to the year with sales of quality low mileage nearly new models

Golf steals best-seller crown from Fiesta vOLKSWAGEN’S new Golf hatch has stolen the European best-seller crown back from the Ford Fiesta. And it’s a double win for volkswagen – the brand is also Europe’s best-seller overall, too. Ford didn’t concede the title without a fight, though. Year-todate sales are up nearly 20 per cent, and an exceptional April saw them increase by more than a quarter. The Fiat Panda also increased sales by some 17 per cent. This is in stark contrast to the overall European market, which is down nearly 17 per cent so far in 2009. Indeed, it is only small cars that are doing well – because of national scrappage schemes. These are driving sales of cheaper,

vW Golf tops European charts smaller models. Only one car from the European top 10 is not a supermini or family hatch… European top 10 sales league: 1 volkswagen Golf; 2 Ford Fiesta; 3 vauxhall Corsa; 4 Fiat Grande Punto; 5 Peugeot 207; 6 volkswagen Polo; 7 Fiat Panda; 8 Ford Focus; 9 vauxhall Astra; 10 Renault Clio.

really racing away.’ Williams, aged just 27, joined DaimlerChrysler as a graduate trainee before moving on to Audi in May 2007. He said all dealers will run the new A5 Cabriolet with demonstrators which will be positioned ‘slightly higher up’ than the A4 in terms of market placement. Audi has also announced it will be the main sponsor at this year’s Festival of Speed at Goodwood which runs from July 3-5.

Court approves Fiat’s bid to buy Chrysler A US bankruptcy court approved Fiat’s bid to buy Chrysler at the beginning of June. It means Chrysler will now be able to sell remodeled Fiats in the US – the greener cars that American dealers are desperate for. ‘Chrysler Group will soon begin operations with significant strategic advantages,’ said Nardelli. ‘While this has been an extremely difficult chapter in Chrysler’s history for all involved, employees and suppliers can now begin on a fresh page.’ The new Chrysler Group will also take over international operations, meaning Chryslers, Jeeps and Dodges will continue to be supplied to UK car dealers.

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‘We steer buyers to you!’

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big mike

Why I think internet is a www.wasteoftime.com A

ny successful car dealer will tell you that half the job is putting your cars in front of the right people. In the past, it used to be pretty easy. A car buyer’s mind worked fairly simply. He or she chose what kind of car they were looking for, be it a family saloon, shopping trolley or sporty little number, after which they went out and bought a copy of a well-known Price Guide (most of its advertising income in those days came from dealer groups, so you can guess who the prices favoured), worked out what they could afford, bought a small ads magazine and phoned a few numbers. In short, the buyer went to the trouble of finding the car they were looking for and the car dealer’s role was to be the one who ensnared them when they went hopping round used car lots, hoping to achieve endgame in the form of a signed finance agreement. That was one reason, for example, that used car dealers used to always migrate towards one area of town, making it easier for customers to know where to look, and also increasing the likelihood of much-loved ‘drop-in’ punters. These days, though, the playing field is no longer level. Today, we have the Interweb thingy, beloved of those pesky youngsters, with one particularly famous website where punters can play at being ‘proper’ traders by bidding against each other to buy a car they’ve never seen or driven, in an auction. The very same people, in fact, who in the past wouldn’t have even made an offer on a car without driving it, poking it, prodding it and haggling to get a best price. As such, prices are all over the place – some weeks, just because there were more than two people in the UK looking for a scratty old Nissan Micra, the price of such junk can go stratospheric. It’s a funny old concept. People go to a real ‘live’ auction knowing they won’t pay full whack for a motor. The risk is that there’s something wrong with it. Most private customers would

Big Mike’s ditched the internet for old school advertising routes such as newspapers

‘I’m sick of it and as such have decided to take all my adverts off-line for a couple of weeks in favour of traditional methods.’

rather pay a little bit more for the benefit of knowing the car is sound and having some comeback if it isn’t, so would buy from a dealer instead. Unless, of course, someone writes a semi-literate description of it admitting to ‘a bit of a scuff on the bumper’. As such, the majority of buyers at the traditional ‘block’ are traders. Sure, they get a car for well below its resale value, but they also take the risk of not knowing if it’s any good or not until they’ve got it back to the lot. Then there’s the rectification work to make a car nice (factor in a hundred quid a scratch) that a private seller wouldn’t need to even think about but a dealer has to do in order to make his stock even vaguely saleable, as buyers expectations are so much higher. On top of that, the trader has to pay income tax, cover the costs of running his business and probably pay to put the car through a brand new MOT as well. With a bit of luck he may make a profit, and if he does then great – it’s his income after all, the same way everyone else works for a living to pay their mortgage and feed their kids. The problem is, with so much

freedom to compare on the internet these days, the buying public will only buy for what they perceive something is worth, so they print out a finished auction site listing for the same make and model and try and use it to haggle a dealer down to a lower price, then appear gob-smacked when he says no, claiming he’s trying to rip them off. Personally, I’m sick of it. As such, I decided to take all my advertising off-line for a couple of weeks and resort to more traditional methods – two ads in the local papers and a select handful of cheapies in the window of the local newsagents at three quid an ad. I’d sold all of the cars in the newsagents window within four days and while the response from newspaper ads wasn’t enough for me to bring forward my retirement, it did result in a few more mature weekend punters passing by and one firm sale, all without the haggling, stress and faffery one tends to suffer from younger, more cocky buyers. Who is Big Mike? Well, that would be telling. What we do know is he’s had 30 years in the car trade and picked up some seriously funny tales along the way.

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Triple Test

Good, bad & ugly THE

THE

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Words: James Baggott | Pictures: Mike Askew

Okay so it’s not entirely accurate, but we’ve never let the facts get in the way of a good headline. Still, one is good, very good in fact, one’s bad in a Michael Jackson ‘Bad’ sort of way, and the other’s, er, ‘visually challenged’. Read on to find out which is which...

ou’ve got to smile. That’s not an order, it’s a fact. You see no matter how grim life gets; how much we’re squeezed by the government for every single last penny, or how often you forget to pack your sandwiches, you’ve still got to smile. It’s healthy, it’ll cheer up you and those around you, not to mention the fact that if you walk around with a face like thunder you’ll sell about as many cars as TVR this year. And it’s the same for your customers. They’re feeling the pinch, sure they are, but that makes buying things which cheer them up even more important. Fast food sales are rocketing (you’ve got to admit, nothing makes you smile like a Bargain Bucket), people are still going on holiday and, shock horror, they are still buying cars. And that’s because even when times are tight, the last things people cut back on are those that make them happy. It’s why smokers – no matter how broke – always find a fiver for a packet of fags. And to some extent it’s the same with cars that stir the soul; cars like these three here. Hot hatches aren’t bought by people that want a motor that’ll get them from A to B. These buyers want to get to B via C with a detour to D, lunch in E, toilet break at F and a quick coffee in G – all while having fun at the same time. These people drive cars because they like cars – and because getting behind the wheel cheers them up. It’s their equivalent to that Bargain

Bucket; it puts the smile the boss wiped off back on their faces.They don’t want tin box transporters, they want a style statement. That’s why hot hatches are so popular – and why a new one like the Focus RS is such big news. There’s one key selling point all these hot hatches have in common too – their prices. Nowhere else can fun-seeking-WLTM-bubbly-with-nicepersonality customers find cars with so much performance for their pound. So, to celebrate the arrival of the fastest front-wheel-drive Ford ever produced, we decided to line up a three-car shoot out. Sparring for honours with the 301bhp RS is the Subaru Impeza. If looks could kill, this beast from the East would be about as deadly as a slice of soggy bread, but it’s a cult classic that has driver enjoyment at the top of its to-do list. Which is why it’s here. Completing our trio is an offering from our Gaelic cousins, albeit one that’s a bit of a break from the norm. You see this Megane could only have been conceived after a threebottles-of-red-wine lunch and enough Gauloises to make whoever penned it start to hallucinate. Why? Because it’s madder than a box of frogs, that’s why – I mean, come on, no normal person puts a full stop in the middle of a name, do they? They might all be very different, but they have all got one shared purpose: Putting that aforementioned smile on their owner’s face. Cue fun… >

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Triple Test FORD FOCUS RS IT’S funny how two simple letters can stir so much emotion in so many people. That sweeping blue and white RS emblem can be traced back through a bloodline that plots a graph of hot-hatch evolution. It’s a name that has graced the rear end of some truly awesome cars – from rally legends such as the RS200, to everyday family saloons, like the Sierra RS Cosworth that packed far-from-everyday punch. Just think back for a moment to the Rallye Sport cars you’ve lusted after over the years. I’m willing to bet you still wouldn’t turn down your favourite. I know I wouldn’t. For me the Escort RS Turbo – Series 1 or 2 – will always spin my head faster than any busty blonde. I wouldn’t say no to a white Sierra Cosworth RS500 either. Or, for that matter, a racing blue Escort RS Cosworth complete with ironing board rear wing. Prices for the latter are still unbelievably high – I know, I’ve checked. Regularly. My most recent search (all of five seconds ago) revealed one ’96 model, in blue, with 50k on the clock going for £16,995. That’s a 13-year-old car that costs more than a new Focus ST. Which is frankly ridiculous, but does go to show the following that RS badge has. Vauxhall must be pretty peeved. Whenever their arch enemy over at Blue Oval Lair lets loose their latest Fast Ford™ on an unsuspecting public, they must be pulling their hair out. Because, come on, really what have they got that competes? Try as they might, that VXR badge doesn’t quite have the same draw does it?

‘The engine is alive with noise, huffing and puffing as it sucks in air and punches out power.’ But that’s not to say the RS badge has been without its duffers. Not even the die-hard Ford followers would argue the Fiesta RS Turbo was a wise move. It was an ugly little bloater. And so there was scope for an almighty balls-up when top brass decided to resurrect the RS badge and pin it to the Focus. In 2002 – five years after the last car to wear the badge bowed out – Ford unveiled the pumped-up variant of its family hatch. It was a fair first attempt. I remember driving one of the first press cars and it was immense fun, but hampered by torque steer. Still, that didn’t stop the 212bhp machine flying out of showrooms and, just 12 months into its scheduled two-year run, the UK allocation sold out with more than 2,000 finding homes. Fast-forward six years and here we are again. RS fans have a new hero to worship – and with a mooted Cosworth variant canned by the credit crunch – this latest model is as fast as Fords are going to get any time soon. That’s not to say it’s a slouch. The snarling 301bhp RS is rapid in every sense of the word. Our test takes place in Wilshire, part of the Focus RS’s whistlestop tour of the UK. The car manufacturer has carted a 10-strong fleet of Focuses around the country for members of the press to try – and this was the last date in the diary. The PR team looked jaded, but the blue and white press cars were box fresh. First impressions of the car are very good. I’ve

got to declare an interest here – I’m a Focus ST owner. Bought it back in November. And after a day with the RS I’m regretting that decision. The RS is a mean-looking machine. That gaping front grille, steroid-enhanced wheel arches and bonnet vents give it a menacing look from the front while the imposing spoiler and cool carbon fibre, sculpted diffuser give it presence from the rear. Inside it’s not too dissimilar to the ST apart from the fact the Recaro seats are comfier. The driving position is superb, but it’s a little disappointing to see the steering wheel from the ST transferred over.

But, to be honest, no-one’s going to care what it looks like on the outside or for that matter on the inside. I’d put up with seats made of granite and a steering wheel coated in sandpaper if it still made me feel like this car does. That 301bhp, beefed up ST-sourced 2.5-litre powerplant is sublime. The turbocharger has been wound up a few notches and with a five-pot soundtrack it’s nothing short of breathtaking. Power comes throughout the rev range – helped by a healthy 440Nm dollop of torque – and it builds to a raucous crescendo accompanied by a stomach-churning rasp.

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I SELL ’EM…

FORD FOCUS RS

HERE at Tunbridge Wells we are still awaiting our first RS – it is due to arrive in June. Our Redhill and Horsham dealerships have delivered one each to respective customers and the feedback is that they are thrilled. The car has developed a huge amount of interest and so far we have 15 confirmed orders throughout the group.

Many customers are willing to purchase only on viewing the car in the ﬂesh! Similar to the last RS, when we have a demo orders should increase ten-fold. The age of customer is varying from 30-50 so it is appealing to a wide range of people, many of these have previously owned an RS model and are loyal to the badge. Richard Walker, Lifestyle Ford

in history as one of the greats to wear that iconic badge – and deserves the sales success it’s going to enjoy.

RS and R26.R offered fun in spades, but delivered it in completely different ways

The engine is alive with noise, huffing and puffing as it sucks in air and punches out power. Performance stats back-up the in-car feel – the 0-60mph dash is despatched in 5.9s and it’ll go all the way to top out at 163mph. Much has been said about the lack of fourwheel drive – here all that power is channelled through the front boots which sounds like a recipe for shredded tyres. But Ford’s engineers have added a system called RevoKnuckle – sounds Mike Tyson-esque, I agree, but it certainly does the job. Torque steer is practically non-existent and couple that with a wider track,

lower ride height and faster steering and this is one utterly awe-inspiring car to drive. There aren’t many Fords that make you feel quite as special as this RS. It’s a culmination of years of hot hatch R&D and the masters of motorsport really have got it spot on. On the launch the PR team told us they’ve already sold 2,400 of the UK’s 4,000 allocation. And I’m pretty sure by now they’ve sold a fair few more. As an ST owner I’m gutted. This car is another level compared to its baby brother, so much so I’m counting the days until my PCP is up. But as a fast Ford fan I’m delighted: This RS will go down

MEGANE R26.R LOCKED in a basement of the French firm’s design department is, I imagine, a complete and utter nutter. Think Sloth from the Goonies mental. Shackled at the ankles and waist, every so often this beast of a Frenchman is fed one of the firm’s production cars to ‘play’ with. Sloth, or as he’s known in France, ‘Monsieur Sleuth’, takes out his pent-up frustration by ripping everything sensible out of the car. He tosses away those ‘useless’ rear seats, the stereo that makes him go all hands-over-the-earsshaky-head weird is clawed out with his fingernails along with the ‘pointless’ sound deadening. Finished tearing the poor abused hatchback apart, he turns his attention to his scaffold-pipe jungle gym and inserts it in places the Megane really shouldn’t have things inserted. All those working on the next Clio upstairs hear is the occasional scream of ‘structural rigidity’, echoing from the basement. Ripping the top off his paint and crayon set, Sleuth then gets to work colouring the wheels a ‘mad’ orange, before getting bored and sleeping off his attempts at car design in the corner. I’m pretty sure that’s exactly how this R26.R came about. There is, quite frankly, no sensible explanation for it. It’s either Monsieur Sleuth or the sign off process was handed to a 17-year-old work experience boy by mistake. Yes, the French have been known to produce some pretty mad machines, but this really is something else. It’s got plastic windows from the B-pillar back for crying out loud! That’s not to say I don’t like it. Quite the contrary. This is a car that in fact ticks a large number of boxes on my must-have list. Complete disregard for comfort? Check. Engine madder than the bloke that made it? Check. Grip levels that Bostik would be proud of? Again, check. It took a little while to get used to, mind. We had the pleasure of the R26.R’s company for a week before we were due to rendevous with the RS. And for much of that time it sat on my drive. Why? Well frankly it’s because it’s such a faff to use. Those padded racing seats are utterly brilliant when you’re pressing on, but a pain to get into when you just want to pop to the shops. And that racing harness? Superb at holding you in when you’re pulling 3G in bends, but it’s >

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Triple Test

I SELL ’EM… like strapping George Doors into a man-sized baby seat at all other times which isn’t practical. It hasn’t even got a stereo! But all that’s forgotten the minute you hit a twisty road. En route to the Ford launch I’m well and truly installed into the Megane with Dunc following in the Subaru. With its practically slick tyres suitably warmed, we up the pace on a sinewy stretch of B-road that threads itself north through Hampshire. It’s a road we both know well – the scene of many a road test – and this Megane is a delight. The 230bhp turbocharged engine is giving away some 73bhp to the four-wheel drive Scooby, yet it’s not only holding it off but leaving it trailing. Fully wound up this lightweight racer is a potent force on a dry, twisty road. With most of the sound deadening ripped out, you can hear every whine, every intake of breath as it charges forward. It’s totally intoxicating. The diet this car’s been on would put Fern Britton to shame. Rear seats, belts, passenger airbag, climate control, fog lamps, headlamp washers, CD player and soundproofing have all ended up in the recycling bin (thanks to Mnsr Sleuth, no doubt). A carbon fibre bonnet saves 7.5kg, those plastic windows a further 5.7kg and the carbonfibre Sabelt seats a whopping 25kg. This weight loss programme sheds an incredible 123kg over the Megane R26. And it’s this low kerb weight that’s the reason why I’m edging out car lengths on

Megane R26.R

I’ve got two on order and know they will become collectors’ items. They’re for the kind of customer who’d go out and spend £22k on a 54-plate Lotus Exige but fancies something a bit different – and newer. The credit crunch means not everyone can afford a Porsche GT3 RS and the R26.R is really in the same vein. I’ve specialised in Renaultsport models and know

the Subaru behind. You only have to look at the performance stats to see what a remarkable machine this is. Despite a huge power deficit it still registers a 60mph dash exactly the same as the mighty Focus. But it’s the grip this thing generates coupled with class-leading driver involvement that make it so utterly superb. I applaud Renault for producing this car. Only 230 of the 450 production run will be coming to the UK and it’s a machine aimed squarely at the performance, track day enthusiast. Yes, if you’re dedicated, it could be used on a daily basis, but really this is a car that’s going to be bought alongside something far more comfortable and practical. No-one really uses a Caterham or Porsche GT3 on a daily basis do they? And the R26.R is easily as uncompromising – but as exciting – as both of those cars. And that’s why we love it.

‘Strappy’ days for Dunc; Badge complete with random full stop in middle; Mnsr Sleuth’s jungle gym

a classic when I see one. Renault said they’d get 230 brought to the UK but I’ve heard they won’t make that many – it’ll be more like 120 I think. You’ve got to have the titanium exhaust though – at £2,250 it’s either that or a Tag Heure Monaco, and I know which I’d rather have... Steve Coulter, All Vehicles, West Sussex

SUBARU IMPREZA NOT since Gary Glitter has something fallen from the dizzy heights of super-stardom quite so ungracefully. Think back to the days of Colin McRae’s era and the amazing Impreza models we all enjoyed. The incredible P1, the Richard Burn’s inspired R22B – both stunning machines with looks that matched their performance. But then something went wrong over in Japan. Subaru still managed to produce impressive driving machines, but somehow forgot how to style them. Remember the now-infamous bugeyed Impreza? It was about as welcome as rain at Lord’s and even die-hard fans shunned the motoring equivalent of the Elephant Man. Things slowly improved every year after that, until this, the latest attempt by Subaru. In a move that was supposed to capture a more mainstream market the maker restyled its icon into a hatchback and, in doing so, again alienated its die-hard fans. The reception has been mooted, and with sales for the marque down 50 per cent year-on-year, the figures say a lot. Dunc, summed up the Impreza’s looks perfectly: ‘It’s like a woman that thinks she’s going to look better with a bit of plastic surgery, but then can’t stop having things done. Sort of like Jackie Stallone. There was nothing wrong with it to start with – so why did they mess with it?’ >

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Triple Test I couldn’t agree more – there’s no doubt the latest Impreza takes some getting used to. But forget the styling for a moment, and concentrate on what this machine was designed to do – go fast. Utterly lunatic, insanely fast. And boy is it good at that. This is largely thanks to NASA-like levels of electronic trickery that might be harder to understand than algebra, but work brilliantly. Buttons let you modify the amount of torque delivered to different axles and even fettle the throttle mapping. But, to be brutally honest, I’m

‘What the Subaru really has going for it is the fact it’s a potent weapon in any driver’s hands. ’ no Ross Brawn. Call me a luddite but I’d rather the car went faster when I pressed the throttle pedal, not a button on a dash. There’s no doubt the Impreza is quick. The 2.5-litre flat four, turbocharged unit produces 296bhp and 406Nm of torque. That’s enough to punt it to 60mph quicker than its rivals here in 4.8s and on to a top speed of 155mph. On paper at least, the Impreza looks good, but compared to these two it lacks involvement. Handling from the four-wheel-drive chassis is superb, but you don’t feel connected like you do in the Focus or Megane. There’s a detachment that’s hard to place, but everyone who drove

I SELL ’EM… SUBARU Imprezas have always been seen as the unconventional choice with in-your-face looks. During the past few years we have seen the disappointment on willing purchasers faces as their wives say ‘no way’ to big spoilers and shiny alloys. But the new Impreza now offers conventional euro

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Scooby’s handling is exceptional; STI has heritage to rival RS; Editor wonders why he bought ST

it felt the same. The engine has little soul, it’s muted too and leaves you somewhat deflated. And that’s not all – the gearchange was also met with mixed reviews. Some of us loved it, others hated it. It’s a bit switch-like for my liking and not as direct as rivals. What the Subaru really has got going for it though is it’s a potent weapon in pretty much any driver’s hands. It’s in no way intimidating and never feels unsettled. However, in some respects that’s what lets it down. In this company it’s outshone by its rivals in so many ways, and for a car that has heritage to match that mighty RS badge, that’s a real shame. THE vERDICT THERE’S no doubt that all these cars score highly in the fun department – but each do it in different ways. The Subaru is an accomplished machine that’ll fire you across country in super quick time, whatever your ability. It’s quick and super sticky, and in that respect will raise a smile.

SUBaRU IMPReZa styling with meaty looks that has a more acceptable style and helps convert those resisting wives. It has better fuel economy and interior comforts plus is still the best handling AWD car on the market. We have secured orders in a much broader age range. Jon Mathers, managing director, Cross Roads Subaru

But it’s love it or loathe it looks and lacking character see it pushed into third place here. The Megane R26.R is a perfect example of what weight reduction can do. It makes me want to buy an old hot hatch, strip out the interior, add near-racing slicks and head for a trackday. It is a delight to drive; a modern day great as legendary as a Clio Williams. I love it, but it’s just a little to impractical; I want a little more than a trackdaybiased car for this sort of money and I’m willing to bet most buyers would too. Which is why the Focus tops the pile. It’s got motorsport pedigree, stunning looks and a cult following. It’s intoxicating to drive, beautiful to look at and still has room for the family and a massive boot. I like to ask myself which car I’d prefer to be selling – and with a sensible price tag and plentiful supply, again it’d have to be the Focus. It’s the car I’d buy out of the three and if I can still get a new one when my PCP is up, I’ll be putting my money where my mouth is. [CD]

Ford Focus RS Price: £25,745 Engine: 2.5-litre, turbo Power: 301bhp Torque: 440Nm 0-60mph: 5.9s Max: 164mph Ins: 19 Weight: 1,467kg Gears: Six speed CO2: 225g/km MPG: 30.5 (comb’d) Rating: R’sport Megane R26.R Price: £23,815 Engine: 2.0-litre, turbo Power: 230bhp Torque: 310Nm 0-60mph: 5.9s Max: 147mph Ins: 17 Weight: 1,230kg Gears: Six speed CO2: 199g/km MPG: 33.2 (comb’d) Rating: Subaru Impreza STI Price: £26,045 Engine: 2.5-litre, turbo Power: 296bhp Torque: 406Nm 0-60mph: 4.8s Max: 155mph Ins: 19 Weight: 1,505kg Gears: Six speed CO2: 243g/km MPG: 27.4 (comb’d) Rating: 5/6/09 11:14:24

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Peril YELLOW

hen Renault first announced it planned to shoehorn a two-litre engine into a Clio, it was met with mixed reactions. Some thought it was just plain stupid, others stupidly fun. But, thankfully for the French marque, most fell into the latter category. With competition in this small car hot hatch sector fierce, the Renaultsport models have consistently managed to stay ahead of the game with every evolution of its feisty Clio. From the first 172 that evolved into the 182, to the 197 and now this, the 200, the sporty Clio has proved a sales success for the manufacturer, shifting 70,000 units worldwide. The latest incarnation features a number of improvements over its predecessors. Firstly there’s that all important power increase that gives rise to the car’s name. Power’s up to 200hp – which, in old money, equates to 198bhp. More important, though, is a power-to-weight ratio of 166bhp per tonne and the fact low-down torque has been improved. Emissions and economy are also better. Looks wise it’s aggressive with F1-style aerodynamics, cool rear diffuser, anthracite alloy wheels and loud colours schemes, such as this lurid yellow paintjob. Sitting in this Clio 200, you seem to forget that it was a car originally designed all those years ago to be bought by ‘Papa’ to get ‘Nicole’ to the village. The journey this vehicle has made over the years, as it has got ever more sporty, has taken it a long way from that original concept. Now it’s a performance icon, with thrills to match. The Renaultsport Clio Cup 200, a younger brother to the brilliant Megane R26.R you’ve just read about, is superb on the road. Our test took place at the SMMT test day at the Millbrook Proving Ground and incorporated a bit of everything: town driving on the city circuit, motorway work on the two-mile speed bowl and, the stomping ground of any hot hatch, fast and twisty country roads in the shape of the facility’s Hill Route. First impressions were good. Very good. The Clio feels properly sorted. The first three gears have been shortened for better acceleration, and it really

shows. Couple that with that modest, but meaningful power hike and increased torque, and it seems this Clio might just be close to being a hot hatch enthusiast’s dream. However, it’s the new chassis that really shines. On one of the best corners of the track – a righthanded, bumpy turn with a stomach-churning crest – the Clio excels. The 200 ploughs through corners, rippling the Tarmac as it cocks a wheel. It flicks through bends with total composure making for a hugely satisfying driving experience. The interior does disappoint a little, though. There are too many bland plastics for our liking – still, at least the seats are good. But then any concerns you have over the interior quality quickly disappear, like Watch us speed test an Audi R8 V10. See our blog at CarDealerMag.co.uk

the scenery, as soon as you plant your right foot. The stiffer suspension, that works so well in the bends, does have a pay off. And that’s on the motorway. It is a little bumpy, to say the least. The revised suspension is 27 per cent firmer up front and 30 per cent at the rear, which makes for superb cornering, but a bit of a compromise everywhere else. That said, it’s still a hoot to drive. The seats are brilliant, the steering is full of feedback and it sounds great too. What’s more, the fact it hasn’t got a blown engine like say, a Corsa VXR, makes it all the more impressive. Where the Corsa rips the steering wheel from your hands, the Clio continues straight and true, building power as the revs rise. The tested Clio Renaultsport 200 Cup will set buyers back £15,750 and comes with a specification list that includes ABS, traction control and an alarm. Or, for a little more comfort, buyers can opt for the £16,750 200, which adds niceties like climate control and electric powered options to the spec list. We’re impressed by the new Clio. It looks good, feels good and drives superbly. It’s the hot hatch, hot hatch buyers would build – and will easily add to those 70,000 sales already notched up.

If you thought this yellow paintjob was loud wait until you see the green; still, Clio’s a corker on the road

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The Renaultsport Clio 200 is the latest incarnation of the fiesty hot-hatch. duncan chappell takes a spin

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PriceIS Right N

issan is grabbing all the performance car headlines at the moment with its mega GT-R. The machine seems to be in permanent action at the famous Nurburgring, breaking lap record after lap record. But, while it’s a top halo car for Nissan car dealers, it’s hardly likely to put bread on the table. Fewer than 20 can even sell it. No, the new Nissan that’s going to help them weather the storm is this – the £7k Nissan Pixo five-door eco car. Don’t snigger. Yes, it’s identical to the Suzuki Alto in all but badges, bumpers and bonnet. No, it’s not fast. Yes, it’s a bit tinny. But what do you expect for this sort of money? Car buyers will go into it with their eyes open. Which is why Nissan dealers will be delighted to see it. The joint venture car is Nissan’s first Ford Karivalling city car, and has been introduced to broaden the brand’s model coverage. Up to now, it’s been a bit too 4x4-centric – Nissan’s looking to help car dealers out by bringing out more mainstream cars such as this. The Pixo is built in India by Suzuki, and uses the same 1.0-litre three-cylinder engine as the Alto. That means performance is similarly budget end. Yes, the smooth, revvy engine is lively in feel – and 68bhp to move just 850kg goes a fair way – but this is as diametrically opposed to the GT-R performance car as is possible to be. The automatic is particularly yawn-inducing. Still, what a coup for Nissan to offer a self-shifter, alongside the slick five-speed manual. This helps further broaden its appeal. Meanwhile, the manual has a slightly shorter final drive than the Suzuki, which does at least give it livelier acceleration. It’s identical through the corners mind, feeling tall and narrow. The steering is light, but it’s gen-

First it was £6k, now it’s £7k, but even if the carmaker can’t decide on the price, dealers will still be pleased to see the Pixo erally frill-free, albeit highly manoeuvrable. The ride is also jiggly, but should prove adequate enough in the UK, considering its price tag. It’s impressively well assembled for the money. Don’t mistake this for premium finish, though – the plastics are pretty shiny. And, although space in the front is fine, it’s tight in the back, while the 129-litre boot is titchy. Thankfully, folding the seats generates 367

‘Prices have just been hiked. Nissan blames the exchange rate, but we think the scrap scheme played a part.’ litres for car buyers. All that isn’t too relevant, though. It drives okay, sips a gallon of fuel for every 64.2 miles, and – earning it Nissan’s first green ‘Pure Drive’ badge – emits just 103g/km of CO2. Shame they couldn’t get it below 100g/ km for free road tax though. But the key factor here is price.

Initially announced with a headline grabbing £6k price tag, prices have recently been hiked to £7k – Nissan blames exchange rates, but we’re sure the scrappage scheme had something to do with it. But it’s still a lot of car for the money, and the base Visia comes with ABS, twin airbags, power steering and a CD player. Sure, most customers will prefer the pricier Acenta’s side airbags, electric windows, remote locking and split rear seat – but it’s still a pretty dazzling offer. The Pixo will be much welcomed by dealers when deliveries start in the summer. It doesn’t set any new standards, but it doesn’t need to. All the basics are there, along with the badge, the fuel economy and the £35 road tax rate. Factor in the scrappage scheme discount and the Pixo is likely to tempt even more buyers. We’re after dealers that want to help out and comment on road tests. If you’re up for it, email james@blackballmedia.co.uk

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decade ago, Kia was selling cars even their dealers can’t remember. Sure, it had moved on from retailing old Mazdas – but not by much. Its ‘own’ cars were deathly dull and mediocre in the extreme. How things have changed. Today, the company has the stylish cee’d, the chunky Sorento, not to mention a scrap star city car in the Picanto. But even these advances could not prepare us for its newest, maddest car: the Soul, Kia’s most distinctive vehicle ever. Part SUV, part hatchback, part MPV, it’s totally unique. Love it, hate it, you can’t miss it. Designed to stretch the Kia brand and move it forward, it’s a perfect example that shows Kia is determined to get away from the dull designs of the past. But not all lessons from history have been forgotten. See, the Soul, which sits midway between superminis and family hatchbacks, is a bit of a bargain. Prices start at just £10,495. A cheaper alternative to a Nissan Qashqai, if you like. Later in the year Kia is launching a full-blown compact MPV, so with the Soul it has been able to go a bit leftfield. It has terrific five-seat practicality and room inside, while the boot is spacious as well. But the styling is not compromised by an overriding search for space. Really, it’s the excellent interior that’s deserving of most praise. This is extremely high-quality, assembled to Japanese standards, but with European styling flair. Both good-looking and premium, it’s only enhanced by Kia’s trademark generous specs. For now, the company offers a selection of trims, from budget to near-complete bespoke ‘Burner’. There are only two engines, both 1.6-litres: one

It’s got looks that will split opinion like nothing else, but get past that and you’ll love the Kia Soul, says Richard Aucock petrol, one diesel. The petrol is cheaper and will take the bulk of sales, but initial evidence suggested to us that it’s easily the weaker. So, what will most customers be buying into? Well, an engine that’s noisy, whiney and lacking in pull. Dealers shouldn’t be surprised if customers stall it on test drives. Short gearing attempts to overcome this, but merely makes it intrusive on the motorway. However, it handles much better. It’s a bit soft, but this does mean the ride is decent (so long as you avoid large alloy wheels). It’s nevertheless able and accurate through corners, with crisp steering making it easy to place. High seats give good visibility, while also proving supportive. It’s easy to zip through traffic as well, due to well-defined extremities. Economy isn’t bad for such a big thing; this petrol averages 43.5mpg. To that, the diesel adds 11mpg (but it’s debatable whether this is enough to offset its £1,000 premium) – both have sub-160g/km CO2 figures. So, lots of quality, roomy interior, great equipment and bargain prices. What’s not to like with the Soul? Just the small matter of its looks. This, we just know, will be the deal-breaker. But, just think, for everyone who hates it, there’ll be someone for which it will be a total must have… We’re after dealers that want to help out and comment on road tests. If you’re up for it email james@blackballmedia.co.uk

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“To People Who Want More Valeting, Workshop, Showroom Or Smart-Repair Space...But Think They Can’t Afford It”

f you would like to increase your capacity for carrying out smartrepair work, valeting, or servicing but have put it off due to cost, a firm in Warwickshire has just the solution. Especially if you’re looking to minimise your capital outlay. The firm, Smart-Space will create all the space you need with none of the usual delays you get with building, because with their range of ‘instant’ buildings, they do not lay a single brick! As long as you have a level hard standing surface, there is no ground preparation required either. So whether you have a short-term

need for just a few months, or may be knowledgeable, friendly and professional, you are looking for a semi-permanent which in truth helped towards you getting or permanent construction, they have a the job. range of buildings which they design to In summary I would not hesitate to recomyour own bespoke requirements, to mend you to colleagues and gave this meet the latest British Standards. feedback to a client of yours a few weeks

ago which I would imagine you would be

Enthusiastically Endorsed aware of ? Cheers. Ian Brown Univar Ltd A growing number of firms have taken advantage of their quick turnaround Free Information And Quick Quote. design-to-installation service recently, Go to www.smart-space.co.uk/ and have written enthusiastically with motors to see their range of ‘instant’ their results. buildings. Hi Jason, Or call 01827 330000 for a courteous Quite simply, very impressed. prompt reply, and to get a noThe installation team were excellent, They obligation ‘quick’ quote, or to arrange were very friendly, did what they said they to view their display buildings at their would and did a good quality job. premises, without obligation. I found you and your team to be helpful,

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ne of the most important issues in these tough times is to ensure that the workshop is kept busy and that aftersales proﬁt margins are increased. Recent research has shown that a large percentage of drivers are service stretching and even postponing their regular service beyond the recommend mileage. In addition to this, many motorists are putting off work on their vehicles providing they can still drive it. This has created a problem for those garages and dealers that are not proactive enough to solve this issue themselves. At On Target Telemarketing we have worked closely with our clients to assist in creating the need for their customers and reiterating the need to ensure that vehicles are maintained and serviced properly. We have a dedicated team of

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5/6/09 11:14:41

cult cars It was good enough for Bond, was the first aston Martin to feature the firm’s new look, and we utterly adored it...

rown men go weak at the knees. Women swoon. Small children explode with excitement. No, there are not many cars that offer the visual stun of an Aston Martin Vanquish; it’s the world’s most powerful automotive tazar shot. Launched in 2001, the Vanquish was Aston Martin diving straight into the 21st century. The DB7 had been beautiful – still is – but, by then, was getting on a bit. Waiting in the wings was an entire new range of cars, with a completely new design language. But, they weren’t quite ready. What was needed was impact NOW. A supercar superhero, fit for a super spy. As if by magic, along came the Vanquish: The original modern-day Bond car. It’s still utterly contemporary and up to date. All modern Astons use the design language its father Ian Callum introduced – taken to the extreme in the £1.2m One-77 – but it’s at its purest and most evocative here. This was Aston leaving some of the stuffy past creations way behind… This was Aston, taking the DB6, and transporting it straight into the modern age. Powering it were not a couple of jet engines, but the 5.9-litre V12 came bloody close. Wailing out 460bhp, it was in fact a brace of V6s cleverly mated together, and was controlled by a paddle-shift gearbox that gave F1 shifting when it was still a novelty. The reality was a bit less thrilling, as one shift jerked into another, but few cared. Because it not only sounded fast, it WAS fast: 195mph plus, and 60mph in

4.4secs. The 2005 Vanquish S was even better. This is the Aston Martin GT icon to have – it upped power to 520bhp, and showed this off with meatier styling and bigger brakes. Hardcore isn’t the word: here really was the 200mph Aston Martin! Well, 204mph, for the record. And 60mph in four seconds dead. Speaking of mortality, the car naturally came to fame first in the James Bond epic, Die Another Day. Surveys since have placed it right up with the Italian Job Minis in terms of film association. Those small children, prior to exploding, probably had a laserequipped model taking pride of place in their toy box. Today, the Vanquish is freely available for under £50,000. Indeed, if you really push things, and are prepared to accept cars with patchy history, you can get this down to £40,000. You’d be brave doing so, mind. Indeed, you really do need to buy carefully. Some car dealers report that Aston is still developing the famous firebrand – even cars in official franchised dealers today are not quite the finished article. Still receiving updates and tweakery to hone and perfect. That’s all part of the charm. All part of the truly bespoke, special, hand-crafted feel. No, it doesn’t quite have the Teutonic efficiency of a Porsche. Yes, the sat nav is a pain and the air vents are from a Volvo. But, just look at it. Listen to it. Drive it, and try not to feel like JB himself… RICHARD AUCOCK

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sales legends apri: that of Ford’s C ho hasn’t n a th g in tt fi face it, w gline more Never was a ta ays Promised Yourself.’ Let’s xactly e lw ‘The Car You a themselves a sporty coupe? ed always promis

Ford

i r p Ca I

n 1960s US, they had Steve McQueen. They had San Francisco. They had the Mustang. They had so much that was cool, and fun, and modern, and enviable. In the UK, we had Brian Blessed, Slough, and the Austin Maxi. Thank the lord then for Ford. Ever the savvy marketeers, the mighty Blue Oval spotted an opportunity: To give us a Mustang! But, ever the realists, they knew a stonking great Vee engine

wouldn’t work over here. Nor would something fast and loud enough to terrify every single neighbour in Doris and Ernie’s estate. In fact, they would have probably finished poor Ernie off! The answer? That was the Ford Capri. The Mustang with the heart of a Cortina. The everyman’s performance coop, with a 1,300cc engine and the safety of an L badge on the back. In so many ways, it was the car old Ernie always

promised himself. It was brilliant. Back in 1969, the market had never seen anything like it. Sure, you’d had sporty coupes. And you’d had boring old ecoboxes for those new-fangled motorways cropping up everywhere. But both? Together? And all serviced by the man you knew so well at the local Ford dealer, who’d barely make you break into a pound note each time you visited.

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No wonder it flew out of showrooms. With a 3.0-litre V6 driving the rear wheels, this was almost literally so. Suitably attired in GT Pack, of course (that was just one of 26 options buyers were given). But it was the sensible 1,300cc and 1,600cc models that shifted in greatest numbers. In L or GL trim, please. Going fancy? Go on – make it a GLX. As for Doris, she only had eyes for the Ghia’s velour. To get a true handle on the sheer impact of the mighty Capri, imagine today, if Ford built another Coupe that looked just like an Aston Martin DB9. And sold it for the same price as a Focus Zetec. Well, you just would, wouldn’t you? Over an 18-year lifespan, nearly two million car buyers did just that. Two million! Aided by the MkII in 1974, the MkIII in 1978, and a fair few smashed and bashed stunt cars used during filming for The Professionals and Minder. Car Dealer Magazine has actually driven the very last off the line – a Brooklands Capri 280, which rolled off the ramp in December 1986. It’s a beauty. Yes, by ’86, the Escort XR3i had taken its place as the working man’s supercar. That model led to today’s cult Ford hero, the Focus RS. But all three share the same genes. These include practicality, ease of use, sensible running costs, support by the country’s largest car dealer network... but, just enough to make them utterly, utterly adorable, too. Now, 40 years on, the Capri remains a favourite with British car buyers. It’s our Mustang; our everyday super coupe. Just as we love Brian Blessed, and wouldn’t be without Slough, so the Capri will retain its place in our hearts. We even wonder if a newly-thriving Ford’s considered bringing it back?

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VIBRANT NEW SALES CHANNEL REGULAR ONLINE LIVE AUCTIONS ONE STOP SHOP DE-FLEET, REFURBISHMENT, DISPOSALS REDUCED COSTS HIGH QUALITY CONSISTENT SERVICE REVOLUTIONISING THE WAY VENDORS PRESENT USED CARS TO MARKET Cost | Convenience | Credibility

To find out more, contact us at:

www.paragonremarketing.com No small print. No*. What you see is what you get!

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CarDealer

>_Inside Autotorq Why web flexibility is the key to online success for all car dealers Force Field Catching up with the team behind LeadBeast - an all-new marketing tool Get ready! The lowdown on the latest web technology available to all car dealers Google it! We grill Google’s automotive man for the secrets to web profitability Right Click G-Forces’ Tim Smith explains why you need the iPhone generation Dot com Really Good Domains take an in-depth look at Internet marketing

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Torq of the town Speed and ﬂexibility are everything when it comes to building your online presence. Richard Aucock finds out how Autotorq works its web magic

tewart Niblock’s sole aim is to make the internet easy for you. How many times have we heard that before? But here, he’s not kidding. Chief operating officer of Autotorq, his job is to demystify the world of the web. And he uses one marker to measure success here: how much money you make. ‘We tell dealers how they can boost profits by 15-20 per cent,’ he explains. ‘And show them how we can do it.’ If you like this, you’ll love how he goes about doing it: by getting his team to talk with you. Tell them what you want, and they can help you do it. That’s it? Oh, sure, there’s a bit more to it than that – but only as much as you want. Tell them to just make a website that is fresh, manufacturer-compliant, that helps you sell more cars and make more cash, and that’s just what they’ll do. ‘Listening is half the battle,’ says Niblock. Interesting. So what exactly is Autotorq? Well, it’s a company that grew out of long-established digital agency Global Beach. That company was set up 14 years ago – created as the internet started to become the revolution it is today, and growing throughout that time in parallel with it. Global Beach developed a strong suite of automotive brands among its clients – including Jaguar, Bentley and firms from the West Coast of the US. However, as the company diversified, it was decided a stronger focus solely on automotive was needed. So, 18 months ago, the cars side was split out, and Autotorq formed. ‘The logic here was to go after the industry in a big way,’ says Niblock. ‘The

car world is not as sophisticated in its use of the web as other industries. With our platforms, we aimed to offer state of the art solutions to car dealers.’ Quickly, the firm grew. Right now, it operates in 50 countries, and develops websites in 24 languages (‘that’s a job in itself!’ says Niblock). And this worldwide reach is something you can directly benefit from. ‘We are able to take best practice from all nations, and offer to it car dealers in all other countries. The UK market, for example, has a very well developed used car sector. In Japan, though, it is virtually non-existent. This experience goes to them, while we pick up and share their highly advanced use of modern technology.’ Not many can do this. All of this is harnessed, and revealed, by that dialogue stream. It’s the whole ethos of how the company works, and benefits stretch far and wide. For example, senior account director Branson Atterbury often finds car dealers will tell them stuff they wouldn’t tell the manufacturer. ‘This means we can take on board the true feelings of both parties – and come up with a solution that suits both,’ he says. ‘We’re the glue between both, giving each what they want.’ Carmakers, as we all know, have mandates imposed from manufacturers. All dealers have to use so-and-so, for instance. Fine; Autotorq ensures that. But it also makes sure dealer X can develop a bespoke site, playing on the strengths and differences he has over the same-brand dealer Y, five miles up the road. Subtle, yes, and an important part of what the company does.

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‘We tell dealers they can boost their profits by 15-20 per cent. Then we show them how we can do it.’ Stewart Niblock, Autotorq

Any such configuration happens fast, too. Crucial, in the new web world, Niblock says. There’s no point thinking of creative new ways to do things, if it takes weeks on end to see your brainstorms in action. Autotorq’s systems let reconfigurations happen in minutes; clever software engineers have toiled for months, so you don’t have to… ‘We’ve already done all the hard work,’ says Niblock. ‘It’s something car dealers simply don’t have to fear. They’re there to sell cars – not spend eight hours a day at the computer…’ For those wanting more guidance, Autotorq has even developed a bureau-type consultancy service. You don’t need the expense of employing your own new media expert; instead, get Autotorq in for a few days, and they’ll bring you right up to date. ‘Smaller car dealers in particular appreciate the insights into performance we offer.’ This is on top of the training it gives as part of the signup package – generally, in classrooms of eight, off site. ‘We find this is the best way to train,’ says Atterbury. ‘We can guarantee full concentration.’ Looking ahead, the major area for growth and profit generation is customer interaction, says Niblock. Now, we’ve all heard about internet ‘journeys’. Virtual trips through your virtual showroom. Often it sounds like marketing mumbo-jumbo, but not here. Niblock says Autotorq actually imagines they’re a customer ‘walking’ into a showroom when they develop their tools and sites. So, if someone ‘walks’ straight over to, say, the car finance ‘desk’ (or section on the website), they can still be hooked into the car-buying process. Just as the real dealer wouldn’t be thrown by a customer doing this, neither are Autotorq’s websites. What’s more, the customer is presented with all the options relevant to them from that point on, too. If you visit a real life finance desk, you certainly wouldn’t be told about the latest MOT deals. Nor will you be on an Autotorq site, either. But, all the gen on the latest special finance offers? There in bold will they be displayed… All part of the process customers now demand from a website. So quickly have things moved on, it’s no longer enough just to >

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have a static web page, which you upload stock lists on to every now and again. These days, you need to be interactive. You need to be configurable. You need to be the car-dealing version of Facebook, ‘Web 2.0, it’s called,’ says Atterbury. ‘Our new developments are fully in line with the new standards they’ve bought. And, all the many new tricks and tools.’ This can even help KEEP existing customers. Crucial right now. For, retention rates are dropping. A few years ago, they were 48 per cent. Today, the average is just 37 per cent. ‘We give car dealers the tools to improve this.’ Hang on, you’re thinking. Surely that decline in retention coincides with the growth in importance of the internet? Coincidence… and not in a good way? Quite the opposite, says Niblock, so long as you’re aware of why the number is declining. ‘Current internet best-practices are focused in acquisition and sales. Car dealers are generally very good at this – dealers have fully grasped the importance of SEO, for example – but few have harnessed the customer retention tools offered by the internet. ‘This is why we have developed all-new CRM tools for our very latest systems. We see customer retention as the next big leap forward.’ But this, he warns, is a game of high stakes. Many people may be talking about whizzy eCRM – but, if you get it wrong, you’ve lost that lead in a flash. Yes, you can send out an email for 1p. Compare this with the cost of sending out a letter – £1 is the oft-quoted figure. 500 mails for a fiver, instead of a monkey? You can see why it’s such an enticing proposition. But be careful. As Niblock says, you don’t want to be sending out the blanket email he recently saw. To an existing owner, advertising cars that, in every instance, were older than the one they currently owned. ‘Blanket emails are spam. To run a successful email campaign, you have to offer something bespoke to that person,’ he says. You also need to be fast in responding to them. ‘We know that if you contact any customer following up a lead with you within 20 minutes, you double the conversion rate. Leave it four hours, though, and they’ll not only go to another dealer, they could even go to another brand.’ Blimey. So that’s why ‘the importance of the right response here is so critical on all levels’. Listen to Niblock and Atterbury, and the ideas really do start to flow. They show you how the web can be exciting, how you can profit from it, the many opportunities it offers to your business. While, all the time, taking away the need for you to worry about the ‘how’. Couldn’t be easier.

Citroen UK website before the Autotorq treatment

...and after

‘These days, you need to be interactive. You need to be configurable. You need to be the car-dealing version of Facebook’ Branson Atterbury, Autotorq

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autotorq.com

Only generating a handful of leads per month? Are leads slipping through your ﬁngers?

We know how you can generate a truck load more…

email us on tellmemore@autotorq.com or call us 020 7384 8510 CarDealerIss16.2.indd 45

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‘LeadBeast is not something to be feared by you. It’s here to strike fear into all your rivals’

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Roar getting a

Still sceptical about the benefits of the internet? Richard Aucock meets the team behind a remarkable new online marketing tool – just don’t call it cute...

deal?

nline marketing is an area some car dealers, surprisingly, remain yet to be convinced about. Maybe it’s the sheer scale of the market: there are so many avenues and opportunities out there – and so many ways you can spend money – how do you decide which is worthwhile and which is a waste of time and money? It’s this conundrum that G-Forces has used its decade of experience to puzzle over for some time. And, after a huge amount of research and development, it believes it has an answer. It’s a beast of a solution, too… it is NetDirector LeadBeast! LeadBeast is not something to be feared by you, though. It’s here to strike fear into all your rivals instead, as your online marketing suddenly becomes a whole deal more effective. Reducing what you spend, while also increasing the effectiveness of this outlay. Simply put; £s spent, boosting £s made. The Holy Grail of marketing, as G-Forces’ Tim Smith explains. The easiest way to think of LeadBeast, he says, is as a car dashboard display, showing all of your various marketing outlays. Web, print, telephone, the whole shooting match are shown on one screen. Achieving this alone is little short of brilliance. But it’s what you can do with it that’s the really clever bit. In short, as Smith explains, it answers the where’s, what’s and how’s of marketing spend. You can find out exactly where you should be focusing your budget, by analysing what is working with your customers – and what isn’t. Imagine, if a campaign brought in loads of customers with spend X, just think how many more there could be if this spend was boosted with X and Y… One of the most important areas to get right in any marketing campaign is telephone lead management. When you’re running particular campaigns, it’s vital to do this – to see which are proving to be a success, and which should be culled there and then. Smith’s company knows how. Cannily, G-Forces lets you assign particular telephone numbers to individual campaigns. So, if you’re running a local print campaign, you can give out a different telephone number to that on your website. Meaning you know exactly where the leads are coming from! Not only that, but you can identify where those customers live, too – even down to their postcode. This is market targeting to an unbelievable degree.

You can also visually see when your peak response times are – so you can ensure you staff up to manage the call flow, and not risk missing leads (which, themselves, are also monitored). There’s much more to it than the telephone, though. In the internet age, natural search engine tracking is absolutely imperative. What’s this? Seeing how good at being Google’d your company and campaign is. ‘80 per cent of sales are initiated through search engine activity,’ says Smith. ‘It is critical that you track it closely.’ G-Forces’ tools monitor all the important areas surrounding this. LeadBeast looks at how visitors found the site for example; through natural search? Paid for clicks? An advertising banner link? You can find out – and even discover where in the UK the user is from. Also, once they’re there, it can see which pages they visit, whether they’ve visited you before, whether the activity converts into action (or even a sale) – and, perhaps most importantly, gives you the reasons why they’re there. Research? Browsing? Looking to leave details to start a sales process? All require a different response from you. It’s all about ‘user experience optimisation’. This is, says Smith, ‘building a useful site, with relevant content, that’s user-optimised, easy to use and relevant.’ Get this right, he says, and you have a high conversion rate: nail your Google-ability, and you’ll get far more people there in the first place, too. The sales can then only follow. There’s more. Pay per click? Fail to monitor this, and you’ll be pouring money down the drain. LeadBeast has a function that shows you which are working and converting the most customers for you. This is subtly different to simple site visits, says Smith. ‘While rivals concentrate on visits, you can put your investment into the next step – conversion.’ Then, of course, there’s good old email: Still a brilliant, direct route to customers. There are three parts to consider here – whether you have an up-to-date email list (you can use your own or G-Forces can source one for you), whether you have a good newsletter, and whether you offer a subscription service. ‘If you develop a newsletter with high-impact calls to action, then get them to subscribe to industry intelligence, you can really create good customer loyalty.’

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Indeed, whether you want to design, develop or benchmark a website, G-Forces can help. As well as LeadBeast, the company can offer a huge array of web management tools, from steps to help improve conversion rates, to resources for improving your contact management. As for web marketing, it can even implement behavioural targeting strategies. This is particularly fascinating; it’s targeting car buyers based on previous web activity. Which, basically, means you get leads that are more likely to buy from you – no wonder there are loads of studies proving conversion rates of such people are higher. G-Forces can utilise information from, say, viewers of specific newspaper sites, as well as visitors of certain sites. All to narrow down just what that person is interested in, and what you can offer that’s likely to be a draw to them. All this can be packaged within a complete digital dealership – NetDirector Auto. ‘This opens up the online shopping experience to retailers’ networks,’ says Smith. ‘Vital, given how consumers are putting more pressure than ever on companies, in terms of their online expectations.’ It’s significant that this blinding suite of tools is on offer from a single supplier. ‘The industry is under considerable pressures both economic and technological. A good solution is to source a complete product set from one supplier; I believe we have a unique complement of tools to help car dealers fully leverage their online presence.’ Don’t just take Smith’s word for it all, though. His company has already worked on many car dealer’s websites, many of whom are happy to speak highly of Smith’s people. Indeed, G-Forces was actually instrumental in the success of our Franchised Dealer of the Year Eward winner in 2008 – Lifestyle Europe. The nine-site car dealer in the south east is already one you’re probably aware of, anyway; much work on SEO means it usually appears near the top of Google. But it’s the dealer’s all-new website, launched late last year, that really catches the eye. Certainly, it won over our Ewards judges; all were impressed by the clean, clear appearance of the site – not to mention clever use of sound and video, which encourages integration. Boss Peter Isted prioritised a focus on used car images – staff have mandated minimum numbers they have to upload each month. No car can be added to the site without six images accompanying it; the ideal is nine. This is because Isted knows that pictures sell cars. He also knows who’s sent the firm an email, when the busy and quiet periods are, even how many people have visited the sites. How? Because he studies the analytics provided by G-Forces – something else he’s willingly taken on board. Indeed, Isted studies a bulging marketing report of the website’s performance each and every month, all to improve Lifestyle’s internet performance. Mind you, in doing so, he’s only reflecting what his customers are doing. ‘A good 75 to 80 per cent of customers say that they used the website before coming to see us. We doubled our spend on it last year, and cut back on local press advertising, which wasn’t working.’ There are still people out there, he admits, that can’t turn on a computer, let alone log on to a website. ‘But you only have to look at your kids to see how important the web will be in the future. If car dealers aren’t online, then that’s going to cause them to falter, and will be inherent in their downfall,’ he says. Sales director Jamie Dixon adds: ‘Moving forward into the second half of 2009, it is now more important than ever to have a provider that can deliver the complete package – G-Forces Web Management’s overwhelming expertise, and unique product set can ensure that you maximise both your online and offline marketing potential and, ultimately, achieve your commercial goals.’ Now, more than ever, it seems right to let the G-Forces be with you…

Got your number

Having the right prefix can be vital in the battle to get buyers calling your dealership. Here’s the lowdown on the most popular options...

0800

numbers are the famed ‘freephone’ numbers. Smith says: ‘Surveys have shown these to be the most powerful telephone marketing tool out there. Response rate rises anywhere between 50-300 per cent when a freephone number is used. To customers, it represents a no-risk option to them, requiring no financial outlay, for which they get something tangible back – that’s why they so willingly use them.’

0844

local rate numbers are a good way to shout about your local community spirit. ‘It puts great play on the “local” side, as callers are charged a local rate no matter where in the UK they’re calling from. These are a good cost-effective choice to encourage calls,’ explains Smith.

0871

special rate numbers can be used as revenue generators. ‘Callers are charged a 10p flat rate, Using these numbers can make you a bit of money – or, subsidise the cost of diverting the number to a mobile phone. Perfect if you want to keep close tabs on a marketing campaign, but are a one-man operation and know you’re away from base a lot,’ says Smith.

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you ready?

are

Is your online strategy ready for the upturn? According to our experts, dealers who ignore the potential of the internet will be guaranteeing themselves a place in the slow lane when the good times return. Richard Aucock spoke to leading lights in the car business – here are his exclusive findings...

e are nearing an upturn. The worst of the gloom is over. It’s been tough, but better times are approaching. Good times await. For which you need to be prepared. Things have been on hold, but when the customers start coming back, so too must visibility for your business. And now, more than ever, your website is your shop window. Get this right and you can best exploit the benefits of the upturn. So, how do you do this? By first of all, says Motortrak’s David Cox, fully understanding the basics. All too often, staff turnover and the sheer pace of the business can leave those making the key internet decisions with too many unanswered questions. ‘It’s vital you thus satisfy the fundamentals – whether your site is visible, well integrated into your business, and functional.’ Cox’s Motortrak can offer the expertise – they’ve worked on both franchise, non-franchise and manufacturer websites, including Ferrari’s worldwide used car site – but if you don’t ask the questions in the first place, you won’t be sure where you need to start. ‘It’s easy to add value to websites, by getting all the basics in place. Many fixes are easy ones, which can add significant growth to your online business, without costing a penny. Only once all these are in place will we suggest you look to expand your site with the hi-tech features we’re constantly developing.’ Your customers, of course, will probably start with a search. Getting a good ranking in Google is paramount to the visibility of your firm. Electronic media consultants viper Image Media can help here, by incorporating the tools to

Is your dealer website working for you?

keep Google’s famed search ‘spiders’ crawling back to your site. ‘We automatically generate an XML Google sitemap for your site,’ explains partner Adrian Pitt. Don’t be scared. It’s technical – but need not be a concern of yours. Viper sorts it all for you. And what does it do? ‘Automatically tell Google when you add or remove a car – meaning every single car is plugged into the search engine network the second it goes ‘live’.’ As soon as you click go, that car is on sale. How’s that for real time? This approach is unique, says Pitt – and works. ‘We offer a search engine marketing campaign on top of this: one car dealer bought a site off us three years ago, and went for a six-month SEO campaign on top of this. Even now, typing ‘Mercedes Bath’ into Google sees them nearly at the top of the results page. That gets them there. But then what? Richard Lawton is an old friend of >

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you ready?

are

Car Dealer Magazine. And, through Really Good Domains, has also helped demystify the world of the web to car dealers. He’s in no doubt as to the importance of the medium. It’s imperative you’re in there and up to speed, he says. TV and radio still have their place, but they’re both difficult to monitor and very expensive. ‘However, the average adult spends over an hour a day on the internet – and this is rising.’ It’s where most car buyers do their research nowadays. This is something, reveals Lawton, that they’ll take three months doing. Furthermore, the cost of the car is proportional to the time spent researching it. As for those who, for example, withhold prices and mileages, you’re doing yourselves no favours. ‘The savvy internet researcher can be put off if you’re perceived to be holding information back.’ They’ll find it out in time, anyway – question is, will they bother to, or simply go to one of your rivals instead? You must also keep a close eye on your website statistics. Now, chances are, these will show you that the majority of overall web traffic still goes to but a handful of websites. Such as Autotrader.co.uk, contracthireandleasing.com, and the likes. These guys benefit from search engine leads – which could make you think, well, why bother? What chance do you stand against them? Well, every chance. Your aim should be to get on the first page of search results – and, with smart use of keywords, plus emphasis on your unique selling points and locality, you can ensure those who are buying will find you. What’s more, says Lawton, why not hook into the big boys’ power – and advertise with them? ‘This vastly increases the amount of exposure your stock and brand receives.’ One company he knows of ONLY advertises on contracthireandleasing.com – and, despite this, completed more than 3,000 deals in 2008. That’s 60 cars a week! From a single ad partner. Albeit, the RIGHT ad partner. If you’re a used car dealer specialist, of course, you’ll already know your cars outsell new ones, by more than 3:1. ‘People go to dealer websites to check out their used stock,’ says Bluecubes’ Stephen Cousins, firmly. Here, a good net presence goes without saying. But, with a broader market, comes far broader levels of competition.

It’s something that Ayo Samuel, national sales manager of Compucars. co.uk, fully backs up. You have no guarantees your car will be spotted, even if you do have a presence. ‘But, with advertisements placed on more than one website, the chances of generating enquiries is hugely increased.’ How to do this? Utilise a car sales portal such as his – Compucars. His advice is that used car dealers ‘should not rely on just one source to market their cars. An internet user is never guaranteed to find your cars in a list. ‘The dealers who are succeeding and selling stock in this difficult market are the ones who are increasing their online advertising spend.’ And doing this both easily and cost effectively through Compucars. ‘Dealers need to be shouting from the rooftops that they have the best cars at the best prices to capture the attention of customers.’ Advertising on Compucars – a top five website for sales enquiry delivery, no less – can help. It does far more than just deliver you lots of leads, though. Actively helping C dealers produce the best ads possible here is where Compucars’ monitoring M services come into play. ‘We give comprehensive advertiser stats – showing, for example, the date, Y time and duration of all telephone calls,’ he explains. ‘We can also provide the caller’s number, how many times each individual car appeared in the search CM results, and even how many times it was clicked on.’ MY That’s all thanks to the many tools at the site’s disposal, which can go as CY deep as you wish. Samuel can even point to numbers showing that adverts without images get a lower response: ‘Far lower. That’s why we allow all our CMY ads to have multiple images. We can even hook into an image library, for K stock photos of that exact car where no images are available.’ To help get your head around all this, most experts advise that, if you do want to go ahead, you start with an initial consultation. Guys such as Raphael Millin understand that it’s so important to do this, they won’t even charge you for it. ‘In it, we discuss what your business is, how you want your corporate identity portrayed, and how we can help you do this. We’ll discuss a budget, a timescale, see if your domain names are available, even show you our portfolio of work to help get the ideas flowing.’ Firms such as Spidersnet’s Autopromotor can do the lot – create the >

“We allow all our ads to have multiple images. We can even hook into an image library, for stock photos of that exact car where no images are available.” Ayo Samuels, compucars

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A4_3.ai 03/06/2009 15:17:24

Is your website working hard enough? Everyone has a website, but is yours really delivering the results that it should? At Motortrak we help you ask the right questions. yes

not sure

Does your website stand out from your competitors? Can customers easily find your website? C

Are you able to create powerful offers and campaigns?

CMY

Is your vehicle stock easy to search? Do your cars have detailed specifications with multiple imagery? Have you considered how mobile technology can increase enquiries? Can you track all leads and calls attributed to your web activity?

If the answer to any of these questions is No or Not Sure then you need to talk to us. As one of the most experienced providers of online systems to the Automotive Sector, we can deliver the solution, the support and the results you are looking for. Motortrak are global suppliers of online retail services to brands including Ferrari, Maserati, Mercedes-Benz and Rolls-Royce. Motortrak – we make the web work harder.

www.motortrak.com phone +44 (0)208 335 2003 email sales@motortrak.com • Consultancy • Internet Marketing • Inventory Management • Lead Management • Mobile • Performance Analytics • Point Of Sale • Website Development

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you ready?

are

CarDealer

logos, scan in any artwork and images you already hold, write copy, create all the forms, and present it in a way that’s easy to understand and intuitive to use. Worry if your website provider doesn’t promise to fully test your new site, get your full approval, offer to host it and train your staff into using it. This should all be part of what’s included in any deal – after all, your staff will have to run it, your customers will have to use it. Looking good is one thing, but being good to use is quite another… You can even, as Car Dealer Web Design’s Mark Russell reveals, learn how to do it all yourself via online video tutorials. If you want to save money and get a car dealer website that looks professional then talk to him. The site’s are fully controllable by you and, in partnership with HPI Dealer Exchange, let you send your cars automatically to the leading online sales channels like Auto Trader eBay Motors and many, many others. And all for just £75 per month! Morals are another consideration you must make. Stay with us, when we ask whether you’ve considered ethical SEO – because there’s money at stake. This is an area that the unscrupulous can exploit, as Silverdisc chief Alan Perkins warns. He’s one of the world’s LEADING search engine optimisers. And, the risk is, if you get found out, your good work is undone as well as the bad… Search engine companies know when you’re trying to fool the system – and also understand that, if searchers trust them, they’ll return. As most web queries are generated via search, it means the industry is a cut-throat business… and, if you get found out as being unethical, spoiling that search engine’s reputation, you’ll get banned from it. Simple as that. Silverdisc has used this expertise to develop highly advanced features to help better qualify those search leads, too. Take pay-per-click. Ben Myhall says Silverdisc has world-leading technology in this area. Which, ‘guarantees visitors who are highly qualified’. ‘We do this by taking a complete update of dealer stock every single day, so

we are targeting at a model-specific level, not with simple generic PCC ads. This means we write highly relevant ads which virtually eliminate timewasters!’ Furthermore, Silverdisc will also take these Google searches to a highly specific landing page – ‘so car buyers don’t have to search again once they’re on your site. In one click, they’ll be taken to, say, all the Vauxhall Astras in their price range, in their locality, and will be able to choose from them all with ease.’ In the cut-throat, time-poor mentality of internet search, such an advanced offer has proven benefits. ‘We’ve sending customers who actually want to buy cars, directly to the cars YOU have in stock that fit their needs.’ PPC, perfected… Perfect your net health, and customers will be more willing to show you their wealth. But how do you best opportunities this? James Tew is boss of Codeweavers. Which offers an impressive tool you can adopt, and help snare the growing number of customers likely – or very likely – to buy a car online. >

TOP TEN TIPS

Richard Trinder is industry leader, automotive, at internet giant Google. If anyone knows about search, it’s him. Here he speaks exclusively to Car Dealer about his top 10 tips for being found on the net. 1 Ensure you are found

6 Identify what stinks on your website

Sounds obvious? You’d be surprised – this is where free tools like Google Webmaster can help out.

There are loads of analytics tools out there. These are vital! The data doesn’t lie: you don’t need to believe your hunch, or do as your boss instructs. Look at the data, for the real picture of what’s working and what isn’t.

2 Combine natural and paid search A combination of the two is far more powerful than treating them separately. Even if you have top ranking for ‘natural’ search (people typing terms into Google), reinforcing this with good paid-for search (sitting above them in the rankings) can have dramatic effects.

7 Give customers what they ask for

3 Be always on

Tools such as Google Conversion Optimizer can help overcome the ‘highest paid person’s opinion’. Just because somebody thinks something, or likes something, does not mean it is working.

Your customers are always searching, even at the funniest times! You need to be ready for the shift worker who’s going to be looking for a car at 3am, by keeping your website as active as possible.

4 Integrate with offline Customers respond to both: so, there’s no point in having a poster campaign with fantastic calls to action for your website, if you then can’t manage these extra leads. This is where analysis of your cross-media effectiveness is imperative.

5 Experiment and trial You won’t have all the answers right away. So, don’t be fearful of experimenting. The only way you can see if something works is by putting it out there. Google’s intelligent technology means the ‘best’ method will always work, well, best. Even simple things like experimenting with word order can make a big difference.

If they search for a £10k hatchback, is that what you’re giving them? If it isn’t, you’ll lose them…

8 Beware the HIPPOs!

9 Target new online prospects There are lots of tools out there, such as Google Ad Planner, which can serve as your ‘online marketing agency’. They can help you plan marketing campaigns. Remember, search is self-selecting – it is not limited to demographics, but is focused on specifics – hatchbacks, MPVs, etc. This flip-round of marketing logic means you need a different approach than you’ve traditionally used to do well here.

10 React fast Customer behaviour is changing all the time. If you have majored on scrappage a few months ago, you would have been nowhere. But now, we can see the trend there has gone off the Richter scale! You should be aware of these changes.

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Restricted by Your Website?

Get a FLEXIBLE Web Solution...

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CarDealer

‘And, when I say buy online, I mean doing the entire deal online,’ says Tew. ‘That figure’s growing all the time, too.’ In most cases, this just can’t happen today. Car dealer websites are not technically advanced enough. Certainly not the 24-hour salesman they should be. Why shouldn’t customers, for example, be able to use a car configuration tool from your website at 3am, to choose their next car? Codeweavers can supply you with one – that does so much more. Including providing finance and insurance quotes! This is stunning. ‘We have a system so you can show individual finance quotes for every car on your listings, automatically. What’s more, we can also show insurance quotes specific to that model, from four independent insurance providers – all the customer has to do is fill in a short one-page form. ‘Think about it – customers can instantly get monthly payments for every used car in stock, plus a yearly insurance cost for it. With fuel economy data there too, what else does the customer need to know to judge affordability? ‘And, as they can tailor it to their specific requirements – well, it’s the entire deal, presented on YOUR website screen.’ Given that they’re more likely to then buy finance from you, says Tew, it really is canny technology. He’s even ensured all the necessary statutory rights and distance selling regulations are obeyed, too. It’s all technology you should be shouting to customers about. And, for your existing customers, there’s no better way of doing this than with a regular newsletter. David Whitchurch-Bennett of Nu Media Advantage says it’s the perfect communication tool, ‘so you’re always customers’ first choice’. When it comes to technology, you don’t need to stop there, either. Car Dealer Magazine was among the first to bring you news of one new feature for car dealers – a live video online presentation tool! Zype’s C It Now allows car dealers to speak with a customer over the telephone, while showing them a live real-time video image of the car. It’s as simple as filming a car in detail, in response to what the customer asks. Punters asking about the condition of the seat trim, how easily the seats fold or what the sat nav system is like to use? You can show them, lingering for as long as they wish you to. But that’s just one use of video you can incorporate. You should be doing this, as three quarters of internet users watch video online. Zype’s here to help the six in 10 who express a preference for professionally produced video, too. It all comes down to incorporating a video ‘channel’ into your website – where all the videos made by you live. Customers can hook directly into this, for a richer experience of your company. You can even extend its use, too. Why not contact traders, for example, or salesmen? Why not use it to deliver training

you ready?

are

‘ Zype’s C It Now allows car dealers to speak with a customer over the telephone, while showing them a live realtime video image of the car.’ packages to staff? Or rally all those who supply to you? Once it’s there – and that’s something Zype will help with – the world of how it’s used is your oyster. ‘Car buyers are travelling further – we have hard evidence of this,’ said Zype’s Andrew Howells. ‘That’s because so many searches are now conducted over the net.’ They are more likely to visit if they are more sure about what they’re visiting. 100-mile trip, sight unseen? Not something many would willingly do. But, such a trip, to see a car they’ve already seen, live, in close-up? Which they’ve asked questions to a dealer about as they’ve explored? That’s the magic of C It Now. Taking the video theme a step further, wouldn’t a video car ad itself be impressive, too? Filmed of the exact car, at your premises, then hosted on both your website and one of the country’s leading web portals, too? Motors.co.uk can do that for you. Top Gear for YOUR cars. In short, centre on shooting video footage you can afford, automatically editing it, then loading it fast on to your website. Dealers who use it say they love it, reports Motors.co.uk product manager Helen Rapp. ‘Customers have already seen the car they want to test drive or buy before they visit, so when they go into the showroom, they are serious buyers.’ Which, she says, makes conversion into sales easy. All of which is filtered out to hundreds of website, automatically. Oh, and back to search again – those ads will be filtered on Motors.co.uk via a very canny on-site search engine the firm’s developed. As for moving from virtual to real, web developer Bluecubes stresses how important your website is to generating physical showroom traffic. ‘We’re not trying to substitute the sales guys, but make their job easier by driving the traffic to them,’ says the company’s Stephen Cousins. ‘We often find that a successful prospect can be up-sold to, simply through the sales guys working their magic.’ One tool Bluecubes offers here is a ‘find me a car’ function. If you don’t have the car that person is interested in there and then, they can launch a find request. Then, Bluecubes’ systems will crawl your stock list whenever it is updated – and, when you take such a car in stock, fire them an email link with the details of the car. Automatically! ‘You get a highly qualified lead, and that person is back there on your website.’ It’s successful, too: of all the e-mail links such systems generate, 95 per cent are generally opened and responded to…’ You can even focus on website advantages in the sort of cars you offer, and how you source them. Ex-Motability cars are rightly in demand from car dealers. That’s because they’re one-owner, low mileage and fully serviced. They sell great to customers, so the more you can get in, the better. With MFL Direct, you’re now able to offer ALL customers the chance to buy one. How? Through My Virtual Showroom. This is a ‘virtual’ car forecourt, hosted by MFL Direct but branded in your livery. The premise is simple, explains the company’s Bart Day. ‘Let’s say Mrs. Jones likes the Nissan Note, but not the ones you have in >

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stock. No problem, you can tell her. Sit her in front of the virtual showroom, and she can choose from ALL the Notes we have in stock – there are dozens of them. She can flick through and pick one that takes her fancy.’ Clever. You can leave them to scan for 10 minutes, tell them to pop potentials in ‘my clipboard’, then go back and talk deals. Ah, but hang on, you’re thinking. How do you work out profits here? Cleverly, MFL Direct puts jargon on each car’s page. A ‘dealer code’. Which just so happens to show profit margin on each car for those who can read it! So you can work out a deal there and then – as if the car was yours. But only commit to buying it if the customer hands over cash. It’s genius. It enhances all the other services MFL Direct offers, such as the ability to target and buy back cars in your dealer group (meaning you can speak to your mate Bill in your sister group to find out all about it), to really offer a complete new source of cars. The dealer-branded look to it all is the clever part. ‘How you explain where they’re coming from is up to you,’ says Day. Our compound in Scotland? Our sister site in another county? Even being up front, and drawing upon the many other benefits of Motability marketing? You decide. All the while, knowing exactly how much cash will be in it for you. If you’re after a complete solution, from website generation to credit sourcing – and anything in between – Creditplus’ Shaun Armstrong is your man. ‘We can help car dealers be seen – we have nearly 80 phrases that rank in the top level for Google (type in ‘car loan’ to see what he means here…). It means they don’t have to run pay-per-click campaigns – we do this for them, by being so visible. But he can also offer highly advanced customer provisioning tools. ‘It’s all about client capture,’ he says. Of every 100 people visiting your site, very few will actually buy. Our skill is ensuring we capture every potential buyer who visits. A suite of tools at visitcars.co.uk showcases these skills. In short, car dealers can take the modules they would find particularly useful, and either integrate into their website, or get their web developer to do it for them. These range from distance selling aids, to servicing tools – even to an affiliate programme, which can earn car dealers £120 for ever car loan they place. Here, for example, all you do is place Creditplus text links or banner advertisements on your site. Your own personalised tag at the end ensures any customers going to Creditplus are identified as being ‘yours’. You’ll be paid for every conversion into a sale. Joining is free, you don’t have to do anything once you’ve done so, and you can monitor how much you’re making from it via a series of online resources. Armstrong’s array can even stretch to managing the website for car dealers, though the Dealerplus system. This is a solution that, again, can be as handsoff or hands-on as you like.

you ready?

are

If you really want to explore cutting edge media techniques, you should certainly be considering social media networks. As Whitchurch-Bennett says, there are a number of business social networks where you can register for free. Such as? ‘BT Trade Space is one,’ he says. ‘Also use online business directories, such as FreeIndex, Scoot and the like – and, if you also start to utilise forums, by answering people’s questions, and maybe even consider writing for online magazines, you’ll start to build a significant online presence and respectability.’ This not only keeps you in the eyes of car buyers, but also – crucially – pushes you further up the search engine rankings, by increasing the number of inbound links to your website. None of it has to cost you a penny if you’re savvy… Getting such advanced systems in place shouldn’t stop with the front end of the website, either. If your online systems are so much more efficient, then you’ll need to ensure that the back end has the ability to handle all this extra demand. This is where Paragon can help. The company’s ability to integrate efficient used vehicle processing facilities, for example, now give franchised car dealers the opportunity to access online all used vehicle stock – ‘live’. This means better buying divisions can be made, customer demands more readily met and, in time, used vehicle sales boosted. Fiat remarketing chief Simon Wheeler is one such beneficiary of Paragon’s integration abilities; ‘Our aim was to appoint suppliers and adopt processes that reduce the time it takes to collect and prepare vehicles to a consistently high standard to then deliver into the Fiat network,’ he said. ‘With Paragon on board, (allowing used cars to be marketed more dynamically and efficiently), the entire network now has the tools they need to sell more used vehicles, quickly and more profitably.’ In the end, though, it often comes back to cost. Times are tight. Where can you get a stylish-looking website, that does it all, cheaply? Again, this is where Mark Russell from Car Dealer Web Design comes in. ‘The cost of our system, in comparison to competitors, is around 50 per cent less,’ he explains. Russell can spend as little or as much time as you want, creating a website that’s as simple to use our and as technically-astute as you want. He can even do affordable search engine optimisation, all to help push you up the rankings. It’s low-demand, effective and highly efficient. Proof of how successful it is? Visit CarDealerWebDesign.co.uk for a look-see… ‘Some car dealers tell me they just don’t know where all their customers have gone,’ says Silverdisc’s Ben Myhall. ‘But I do! They’ve all gone to Google!’ Every person we spoke to evangelised about the importance of a strong website – and stressed considerations need to stretch right back to the search stage. The statistics don’t lie. If your website and internet presence isn’t up to scratch, neither is your business. The upturn may be coming; are you fully geared up to take advantage in the area that REALLY matters? [CD]

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right click

CarDealer

Intelligence

is a potent weapon The web’s not only on pcs – it’s on phones too! But are you using it to your advantage, asks g-forces’ Tim Smith

ntelligence is defined as the ability to acquire knowledge, comprehend and apply in practice. In so doing, one can gain an advantage over competitors. Using this advantage in a changing environment will ensure survival in the wild, according to Darwin. Making use of market intelligence gives an automotive dealer just such a functional advantage. Perfect for winning challenges – of which auto dealers currently face two. The first, and most well documented, is the economy. It’s been stated many times how much of an advantage web marketing provides and this remains true in a recession. The second challenge lies in the internet itself. The web is the fastest changing environment ever known. What works today has no guarantee of working tomorrow and, with mobile technology, even the way people access it is changing rapidly. So how does one gain a survival-ensuring advantage? One of the recent buzz-words in advertising is ‘convergence’. In technology terms this refers to a device serving multiple functions beyond its original use. Take the iPhone. It doesn’t seem that long ago that it was soon to be released. Now it has 20m users worldwide and Apple’s App Store have sold more than a billion downloads. This can’t be ignored, especially by businesses. Mobile advertising, as part of a web marketing strategy, can give automotive dealers the advantage they need to flourish in line with this change in the marketing environment. It means dealers can reach their target market in new ways, regardless of how they’re accessing the internet. As more people access the internet away from computers, mobile marketing has grown too. In the UK, spend on mobile advertising grew by 31 per cent year-on-year according to IAB. Dealers can now reach out with advertising methods such as banners, skyscraper ads and

You only have to look at the success of the iPhone to see why mobile ads are important

‘an intelligent marketing strategy is key for the survival of any business in this tough climate.’ rich media – including video. For advertisers the advantages of the mobile world are simple. It gives greater audience engagement through video and rich media and delivers the message through ever-increasing channels. Internet advertising is no longer limited to the confines of computers. Convergence in technology is one thing, in marketing terms convergence refers to a methodology which sees all online and offline strategies come together to enhance one

another, with each element carrying its own individual advantages. At G-Forces we embrace mobile advertising as part of our all-fronts web marketing attack to deliver an increased payload. Converging behavioural targeting with mobile advertising means an automotive dealer can target female drivers that own hybrid cars and engage that audience whether they’re at home, work or on the train using a mobile phone. An intelligent marketing strategy is key for the survival of any business in this tough climate. Mobile advertising is only part of the constant evolution of the internet. A web marketing strategy that embraces convergence will give automotive dealers the advantage they need to see off competition in these trying times.

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If you’re paying more than that for your car dealer website then you need to talk to us. Car Dealer Web Design has built a clever system that puts YOU in control of your website, not some geek It’s easy to use, easy to understand and in conjunction with our partners HPI Dealer Exchange lets you upload your stock to sales channels like eBay Motors, Auto Trader and Exchange & Mart Sound too good to be true? Well, it’s not. And here we’ve only scratched the surface – call us to see how we can help you

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Internet

CarDealer

dot com

marketing: The truth Really good domains gives its take on canny use of the worldwide web and how you can make the most of the medium

s part of the Car Dealer Guide to the Web we thought we would take a look at the complicated world of online marketing and hopefully shed a little light on the do’s and don’ts. At around 500 words, this article could never hope to cover every aspect of this complicated subject in-depth. However, hopefully we can give a good flavour of the different techniques available for tackling the worldwide web. Essentially ‘internet marketing’ is a catch-all term used to describe a variety of online techniques which when used individually or as part of a broader online/offline marketing mix can radically improve your sales performance. E-commerce, search engine optimisation, banner advertising, affiliate marketing, payper-click advertising, email marketing, social media marketing, lead-generation websites, and publishing are just some of the elements that fall under the term. Perhaps most important of all is the website. This is your 24-hour showroom and steps should be taken to ensure it remains modern and stuffed full of relevant information. Assuming your website is up to scratch, you need to then pay attention to other elements of internet marketing to really give your sales a boost – an attractive, up-to-date website is not enough. You have to be found on the internet and this is where a lot of the other techniques come into play. Firstly, your website needs to be search engine optimised and hopefully whoever maintains it has this in hand. However, it is increasingly difficult to feature at the top of popular search engine results as the big players in the industry vie for the key search terms. One way around this is using pay-per-click

‘Perhaps most important of all is your website. This is your 24-hour showroom and must remain modern.’ advertising like Google AdWords, Yahoo! Search Marketing, and Microsoft adCenter which are sponsored listings separate to the natural search. Depending on key words used these can be very effective at sending users to your website. However, it can also be a very expensive way of building an audience. And what happens when you no longer want to use pay-per-click? Well, you become difficult to find again. Arguably a far better way to improve your online visibility, and a more cost effective option, to interested customers is through selective banner and deal advertising on popular industry portal websites such as ContractHireAndLeasing. com, SaveMoneyOnCars.co.uk (above), TheVan Website.co.uk and CarSupermarkets.co.uk.

Here you get the benefit of their large audiences and your opportunity to communicate with your target market; whether you’re selling new, nearly new, or used vehicles. These websites have been created to serve specific niches in the industry and have become incredibly popular. Another relatively inexpensive way to improve your visibility is through writing quality press releases. Developing a positive relationship with websites that carry industry news can mean your stories are covered in popular news feeds which results in your company name being read by a wide range of people, increasing brand awareness. Websites such as TheGreenCarWebsite. co.uk, RoadTestReports.co.uk, FleetDirectory. co.uk and ContractHireAndLeasing.com are always on the look-out for interesting news to publish and it can really help attract visitors to your website. Email news@reallygooddomains. com with your stories and press releases!

ContractHireAndLeasing.com SaveMoneyOnCars.co.uk CarSupermarkets.co.uk TheVanWebsite.co.uk CarAndVanAuctions.co.uk TheGreenCarWebsite.co.uk RoadTestReports.co.uk CarLeasingCompanies.co.uk FleetDir uk Cabrioletcar.co.uk ContractHireAndLeasing.com CarSupermarkets.co.uk TheGreenCarWebsite.co.uk VanLeasingSpecialOffers.co.uk SaveMoneyOnCars.co.uk RoadTestReports.co.uk TheVanWebsite.co.uk ContractHi fers.co.uk FleetDirectory.co.uk ContractHireAndLeasing.com SaveMoneyOnCars.co.uk CarSupermarkets.co.uk TheVanWebsite.co.uk CarAndVanAuctions.co.uk TheGreenCarWebsite.co.uk RoadTestReports.co.uk CarLeas CarLeasingSpecialOffers.co.uk Cabrioletcar.co.uk ContractHireAndLeasing.com CarSupermarkets.co.uk TheGreenCarWebsite.co.uk VanLeasingSpecialOffers.co.uk SaveMoneyOnCars.co.uk RoadTestReports.co.uk TheVa com CarLeasingSpecialOffers.co.uk FleetDirectory.co.uk TheGreenCarWebsite.co.uk Cabrioletcar.co.uk VanLeasingSpecialOffers.co.uk TheVanWebsite.co.uk CarSupermarkets.co.uk ContractHireAndLeasing.com SaveMo TheVanWebsite.co.uk CarAndVanAuctions.co.uk TheGreenCarWebsite.co.uk RoadTestReports.co.uk CarLeasingCompanies.co.uk FleetDirectory.co.uk CarLeasingSpecialOffers.co.uk Cabrioletcar.co.uk ContractHireAndL GreenCarWebsite.co.uk VanLeasingSpecialOffers.co.uk SaveMoneyOnCars.co.uk RoadTestReports.co.uk TheVanWebsite.co.uk ContractHireAndLeasing.com CarLeasingSpecialOffers.co.uk FleetDirectory.co.uk ContractH co.uk CarSupermarkets.co.uk TheVanWebsite.co.uk CarAndVanAuctions.co.uk TheGreenCarWebsite.co.uk RoadTestReports.co.uk CarLeasingCompanies.co.uk FleetDirectory.co.uk CarLeasingSpecialOffers.co.uk SaveMo tractHireAndLeasing.com CarSupermarkets.co.uk TheGreenCarWebsite.co.uk VanLeasingSpecialOffers.co.uk SaveMoneyOnCars.co.uk RoadTestReports.co.uk TheVanWebsite.co.uk ContractHireAndLeasing.com CarL co.uk TheGreenCarWebsite.co.uk Cabrioletcar.co.uk VanLeasingSpecialOffers.co.uk TheVanWebsite.co.uk CarSupermarkets.co.uk CarLeasingSpecialOffers.co.uk ContractHireAndLeasing.com SaveMoneyOnCars.co.uk co.uk CarAndVanAuctions.co.uk TheGreenCarWebsite.co.uk RoadTestReports.co.uk CarLeasingCompanies.co.uk FleetDirectory.co.uk CarLeasingSpecialOffers.co.uk Cabrioletcar.co.uk ContractHireAndLeasing.com CarS co.uk VanLeasingSpecialOffers.co.uk SaveMoneyOnCars.co.uk RoadTestReports.co.uk TheVanWebsite.co.uk ContractHireAndLeasing.com CarLeasingSpecialOffers.co.uk FleetDirectory.co.uk ContractHireAndLeasing.com kets.co.uk TheVanWebsite.co.uk CarAndVanAuctions.co.uk TheGreenCarWebsite.co.uk RoadTestReports.co.uk CarLeasingCompanies.co.uk FleetDirectory.co.uk CarLeasingSpecialOffers.co.uk Cabrioletcar.co.uk Contrac co.uk TheGreenCarWebsite.co.uk VanLeasingSpecialOffers.co.uk SaveMoneyOnCars.co.uk RoadTestReports.co.uk TheVanWebsite.co.uk ContractHireAndLeasing.com CarLeasingSpecialOffers.co.uk FleetDirectory.co.uk co.uk VanLeasingSpecialOffers.co.uk TheVanWebsite.co.uk CarSupermarkets.co.uk ContractHireAndLeasing.com SaveMoneyOnCars.co.uk CarSupermarkets.co.uk TheVanWebsite.co.uk CarAndVanAuctions.co.uk TheG co.uk CarLeasingCompanies.co.uk FleetDirectory.co.uk CarLeasingSpecialOffers.co.uk Cabrioletcar.co.uk ContractHireAndLeasing.com CarSupermarkets.co.uk TheGreenCarWebsite.co.uk VanLeasingSpecialOffers TestReports.co.uk TheVanWebsite.co.uk ContractHireAndLeasing.com CarLeasingSpecialOffers.co.uk FleetDirectory.co.uk ContractHireAndLeasing.com SaveMoneyOnCars.co.uk CarSupermarkets.co.uk TheVanWebs GreenCarWebsite.co.uk RoadTestReports.co.uk CarLeasingCompanies.co.uk FleetDirectory.co.uk CarLeasingSpecialOffers.co.uk Cabrioletcar.co.uk ContractHireAndLeasing.com CarSupermarkets.co.uk TheGreenCarWeb SaveMoneyOnCars.co.uk RoadTestReports.co.uk TheVanWebsite.co.uk ContractHireAndLeasing.com CarLeasingSpecialOffers.co.uk FleetDirectory.co.uk TheGreenCarWebsite.co.uk Cabrioletcar.co.uk VanLeasingSpeci Supermarkets.co.uk CarLeasingSpecialOffers.co.uk ContractHireAndLeasing.com CarSupermarkets.co.uk TheGreenCarWebsite.co.uk VanLeasingSpecialOffers.co.uk SaveMoneyOnCars.co.uk RoadTestReports.co.uk The ing.com CarLeasingSpecialOffers.co.uk FleetDirectory.co.uk TheGreenCarWebsite.co.uk Cabrioletcar.co.uk VanLeasingSpecialOffers.co.uk TheVanWebsite.co.uk CarSupermarkets.co.uk ContractHireAndLeasing.com Sav reallygooddomains co.uk TheVanWebsite.co.uk CarAndVanAuctions.co.uk TheGreenCarWebsite.co.uk RoadTestReports.co.uk CarLeasingCompanies.co.uk FleetDirectory.co.uk CarLeasingSpecialOffers.co.uk Cabrioletcar.co.uk ContractHire sales@reallygooddomains.com www.reallygooddomains.com “Number 1 in Marketing for Motoring...”FleetDirectory.co.uk Cont TheGreenCarWebsite.co.uk VanLeasingSpecialOffers.co.uk SaveMoneyOnCars.co.uk RoadTestReports.co.uk TheVanWebsite.co.uk ContractHireAndLeasing.com CarLeasingSpecialOffers.co.uk Cars.co.uk CarSupermarkets.co.uk TheVanWebsite.co.uk CarAndVanAuctions.co.uk TheGreenCarWebsite.co.uk RoadTestReports.co.uk CarLeasingCompanies.co.uk FleetDirectory.co.uk CarLeasingSpecialOffers.co.uk

Online advertising that works ...from a name you can trust If you’re interested in selling seriously more vehicles, call 0161 482 7650 now

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 63 ing.com CarSupermarkets.co.uk TheGreenCarWebsite.co.uk VanLeasingSpecialOffers.co.uk SaveMoneyOnCars.co.uk R TheVanWebsite.co.uk ContractHireAndLeasing.com CarLeasingSpecialOffers.co.uk FleetDirectory.co.uk TheGreenCarW car.co.uk VanLeasingSpecialOffers.co.uk TheVanWebsite.co.uk CarSupermarkets.co.uk CarLeasingSpecialOffers.co.uk CarDealerIss16.2.indd 63 5/6/09 11:16:36 ing.com CarLeasingSpecialOffers.co.uk FleetDirectory.co.uk ContractHireAndLeasing.com SaveMoneyOnCars.co.uk C

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cult cars servicing

in association with the Motor Industry code of practice

Minister wades into codes battle Open letter written by top government minister urges garages to get involved

onsumer affairs minister Gareth Thomas has taken the unusual step of writing to car garages. In an open letter, he calls upon independent garages to sign up for the Motor Industry Code of Practice for Service and Repair. ‘The code has got off to an encouraging start,’ he said, ‘with some 5,000 businesses already committed to participate. ‘A successful code is good news for consumers and business. It means garages show a clear intent to operate an open and honest business which attracts customers. ‘With your support the code can achieve full approval, but it is not until the systems have been demonstrated to have been working effectively, and that a sufficient number of businesses within a particular sector are participating, that this can be achieved. ‘The industry has taken great strides in improving customer service and delivery and a successful code might provide the key to finally dispel the largely ill-deserved negative public perception of the industry. ‘To do so however, and to generate the potential for delivering competitive advantage for participants, there must be sufficient numbers of garages nationally, of a sufficient variety, to provide a properly representative local choice for consumers. ‘I am keen to see the code succeed for consumers and for business and look forward to receiving news of increased membership and

The minister’s open letter, albeit in miniature subsequent OFT approval.’ Clearly, he is not completely happy with applicant numbers. So has teamed up with Motor Codes director – and Car Dealer columnist – Chris Mason in a call to arms. ‘The more businesses that demonstrate their commitment to this important piece of consumer protection, the greater the confidence that motorists can have in the service and repair sector,’ said Mason. Maybe the Code’s current progression towards full OFT approval is a factor, too. To achieve approval, it will have to demonstrate that it is working effectively to protect consumers – and that enough businesses are participating.

Cracking the Code Chris Mason, says be proud to subscribe and be a garage who dares to care!

t’s been a busy six months since I first started writing this column to keep you up to speed on our work and emphasise why your involvement as a dealer is so important to the successful growth of the Motor Codes brand and help change the perception of our sector. Thousands of garages are now subscribing, with more joining every week. While obviously pleased at the number of businesses on board, I am particularly encouraged by the ones that have grasped the point of self-regulation and are clearly demonstrating their dedication to customer service by signing up to the Service and Repair Code. A business can easily show motorists that it is committed to these values by incorporating the Motor Codes logo and descriptive text about the code within its consumer-facing literature and website pages – which to me seems to be one of the most effective methods of communicating an organisation’s desire to meet its customers’ expectations. But it’s not just vehicle manufacturer sites that have got on board – a growing number of independents recognise the value of actively promoting that they subscribe to the code and how committing to customer service can actually benefit their operation. Whether this takes the form of repeat business from satisfied motorists or the fact that consumers are drawn to a garage that commits to the code values, it must impact positively on the bottom line. So the message is: don’t be shy, subscribe today!

‘To me it seems one of the most effective ways of communicating your desire to meet customers’ needs.’ For more information see motorindustrycodes.co.uk

Car owners asked to rate their garage in code’s online poll MOTOR Codes is polling car owners about how they rate customer service from their car dealer. An online questionnaire has been launched, to get feedback on how car garages treat customers. The results will provide insight into both the performance of the industry, and individual car dealer problem areas. ‘Being a code subscriber is all down to the

level of service delivered each and every time a customer brings their vehicle into that garage,’ said Motor Codes director Chris Mason. ‘We want to hear about it, whether it is good news or bad.’ He tells car owners that dealers ‘genuinely want to know how you have been dealt with by a garage that belongs to the Motor Industry Code of Practice for Service and

Repair, to help maintain and raise standards across the sector’. More than 5,000 garages in the UK have already subscribed to the code. It’s set for a possible further boost in the future, too, if it gains OFT Consumer Codes Approval. So, how can you get the heads-up on the things your customers will be saying? Simple, check out the form on the codes website!

Good for customers, good for our industry, good for your business.

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Find out more about the new Service and Repair Code at motorindustrycodes.co.uk

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...in association with vansunited.co.uk

cars LCVcult insight

Seven-inch extension! Mitsubishi give their popular L200 load lugger more length as Renault put Master on TV

itsubishi has given its L200 Double Cab pickup added poke with a seven-inch rear bed length extension. The rear load bay now has an 18cm-longer ‘Long Bed’ option. Well, what do you think we meant? It has more thrust too, courtesy of an extra 42bhp for the 2.5-litre DI-D turbodiesel. Indeed, 176bhp makes it the most powerful double cab pickup on sale. And all for a maximum of, ex VAT, £750 more than the Standard Bed Versions – sounds a pretty good deal to us! Cleverly, Mitsubishi has added the space without compromising five-seat interior passenger room. Even better, it’s yet more practical than the standard version, as the rear deck is better-designed. Initially, it’s only offered in civilianised Warrior and Animal guise, due to restricted supply from the factory. More utilitarian 4Life and 4Work versions will also be sold. Mitsubishi dealers can offer the length extension from now. Meanwhile, as the scrappage scheme continues, analysis shows the move was vital for the CV industry. In April, van production in the UK was down 65 per cent – a staggering fall over volumes the year before. This is due to the recession hitting demand for new vans. It means the government’s decision to extend the new car scrappage scheme to vans up to 3.5 tonnes is a crucial stimulus. It is hoped sales of UK-built models, such as the Vauxhall Vivaro and Ford Transit, will be given a big helping hand by the new incentive. This incentivises van buyers with £2,000 off

‘In april, van production in the UK was down 65 per cent – a staggering fall over volumes the year before.’ the price of a new van – even if it’s a car they’re scrapping for it. So long as it has an MOT and is aged 10 years or older, it’s in. The scheme has already proven to be a huge boost to the car industry. Here’s hoping it does the same for the UK’s CV industry, too.

Renault vans on Tv! RENAULT has unveiled its first-ever big budget TV ad campaign… for vans! It is showing ‘The Milkman’ campaign on its website now, prior to making its TV debut later in the year. Why has it decided to hit TV for the first time? Because, later in 2009, there is an all-new Master. What’s more, as Renault is eager to point out, the brand also sponsors the Cannes Film Festival. Which means the one-minute video really is something quite, er, different. Featuring an original 1901 Renault van, the star old-timer is driven around Paris’ Peripherique at its own sedate pace. ‘Dependable Since 1901’ is the tagline, so you can guess the rest… and, if you can’t wait to see it on TV, get over to the Renault Vans website! The latest van and CV news can be found at CarDealerMag.co.uk

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Peering into the lives of the motor trade...

on The Spot

Name: Bettine Evans Age: No comment Lives: Darkest Essex – rural bit Any family? Husband, four sons, three dogs and one cat.

and how does it pan out? There is no such thing as an average day in this industry. The only ‘average’ is that they’re all at least 10 hours long.

What do you drive? Green Bentley Continental GT.

What newspapers/magazines do you read? The Times and, when I have time, Car Dealer, Aftermarket, Insight and The Racing Post.

What was your first job? Australia and New Zealand Bank. Planned to emigrate but met husband and married him instead. I’ve been making him pay for that ever since! What was your first car? 1935 Austin Seven. Who do you work for now? Ongar Bridge Motor Co, Chipping Ongar, Essex. What does this involve? Driving a thriving car sales and independent service business and nursing my 18 male employees. What are your job’s biggest challenges? Currently

What is the most expensive thing you’ve ever bought? A whole boat load of new Range Rovers. coping with fluctuating car prices and trying to keep one step ahead. Generally, just coping. Any downsides? Legislation, red-tape, officialdom. A vastly changing market-place. Two per cent of the great British public. How much do you earn? Not nearly as much as I’m worth. Do you have an average day

What’s your mobile phone ring tone? Ring-ring. Very boring, but it stands out from the rest. What was the first record you bought? I Know Him So Well – Elaine Paige. Mostly they’re bought for me. Favourite film and the last one you saw? Favourite, The Perfect Storm. Last one I saw:

Four Weddings and a Funeral. Favourite drink? Glengoyne Single Malt Whisky. It tastes like an angel’s been crying on your tongue! Have you got any superstitions? Yes, lots. What is the biggest challenge car dealers face? The future! Balancing supply and demand in both new and used markets. Keeping one step ahead both technically and from a selling perspective. Number one tip for car dealers? Preparation is key. Seek perfection. Focus on your own business and offer a service that is unique. And finally... what’s your motto in life and business? I have several, but the most important is: You will never live this day again. Make it worthwhile and enjoyable.

Want to face the Car Dealer questions? It’s not as bad as it sounds. Email james@blackballmedia.co.uk for details

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products 1. Snooper Ventura

Price: £450 Contact: snooper.eu FAT ones, thin ones, boat ones, ones for jogging and ones for yachting – pretty much all bases are covered by sat navs these days. Or so I thought until this arrived on my desk. This Snooper Ventura S2000 is designed to make lives easier for caravan and motor home owners. The unit lets you input the length, width and weight of your vehicle and will then only calculate routes that are sensible to use.

2. Tread covers

Price: from £11.95 Contact: solio.com GOING green doesn’t have to mean retailing fuel-sipping bore boxes – you can do it by choosing what gadgets you buy carefully too. Take this mobile phone case as an example. By not going out and buying a faux leather horror you’re saving the planet and your fashion sense. How? Well, the Tread is handcrafted from recycled truck tyres! Plucked off monster motors in South America, the tyres are fashioned into these clever cases.

3. Top Gear merchandise

Price: from £5.95 Contact: caagis.com IF YOU’RE one of the many millions of fans of the BBC hit show Top Gear, this new range of official kit will be up your street. All the usual merchandise is available including mugs and hats featuring the show’s irrepressible Stig! The denim baseball cap (£17.95) sports the Top Gear logo while the mug (£9.99) has a picture of the white-racing-suited racing driver with ‘Property of The Stig’ printed on the reverse.

4. Voix PYT iPod speakers

Price: £12.99 Contact: saxon-brands.com MUSIC is meant for sharing – and this is a great way to do it! The PYT is designed for use with the latest iPods and produces an utterly superb sound. You simply slide your music player into the slot on the front and your tunes are transferred to the 7.5W speakers. That might not sound a lot but it’s more than enough for an impromptu outdoor music session!

5. SpongeTech Sponge

Price: £13 Contact: spongetech.com SPONGETECH Inc is based in America producing a huge number of, you guessed it, sponges! But where this one differs to the countless other car cleaning products out there is it has a car shampoo solution contained inside. All you have to do is dunk one of the sponges into a bucket of water, get washing and the suds appear as you clean. The solution is said to last four washes.

6. Tamiya 500

Price: From £75 Contact: tamiya.com THE Fiat 500 just got smaller – 1/10th smaller to be exact! Model specialist Tamiya has released the Turin terror as a remote control car on their popular M-O3M front-wheel-drive chassis. Powered by an electric motor, the car can be built yourself from a kit and painted any colour you like. It features independent double wishbone suspension for sharp handling and the wheel axles are designed to minimise friction loss.

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CarDealer.

EWARDS’09 in association with

have you got what it takes to be a judge? Our Ewards 09 launch next month and we’re looking for motor trade suppliers that have what it takes to judge the best motor trade websites. If you want to join our elite panel give us call to ﬁnd out more.

call car dealer now: (023) 9252 2434 coNfIRMEd JudgES

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WINNassist

National Specialist Accident & Compensation Solicitors

USE YOUR OWN BRAND ACCIDENT MANAGEMENT SERVICE TO CAPTURE FAULT CLAIMS AS WELL AS NON FAULT AND MAXIMISE YOUR CUSTOMER RETENTION

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Allowing you to enhance your service, to your customers, using your brand. To fully understand the benefits contact us today. Arrange an appointment with one of our experienced account managers to call and discuss the opportunity for the creation of your own brand accident management service.

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www.winnassist.com email | enquiries@winnassist.com 21/5/09 09:56:12

5/6/09 11:17:26

...in association with Winn Solicitors

accidents

The advantages of using accident management

Look after customers when they need help – such as after an accident – and they’ll love you for it

id you realise you can increase customer service while delivering higher revenues all by using an accident management service intelligently? Customers will benefit from professional advice should they suffer an accident. The accident management company will report the incident to the client’s insurer to prevent the customer having the hassle of waiting to get through to a call centre. If the accident was not the customer’s fault a full repair with manufacturer’s panels and parts is guaranteed – no excess to pay, no increase in insurance premiums and a replacement like-forlike vehicle. If the vehicle is repairable a diminution claim (reduction in value) can be made and if the vehicle is written off, retail pre-accident value is claimed from the insurer of the driver at fault. This ensures the customer is put back in the position he would have been in had he not suffered an accident. But what about the spin-off benefits for you?

‘A customer who has benefited from the non-fault route and received help when they needed it most will be grateful to you.’ Well these include a whole host of things such as increased customer loyalty. A customer who has benefited from the non-fault route and received help at a time when they were often struggling to cope with the aftermath of an accident are grateful to you for the help given. There’s increased satisfaction levels too – in the brand and dealership loyalty which is reinforced by a like-for-like branded vehicle being provided. It is suggested that one-in-four drivers who suffer a moderate to severe accident replace their vehicle soon afterwards. If they have received good service and a replacement like-for-like branded vehicle the dealership has a good chance of making a sale.

Customers often have a bit more money at their disposal if they have received a diminution payment or retail pre-accident value, so the possibilities for a sale or upgraded vehicle are better. While smart provision of a replacement vehicle could tempt customers into buying an upgraded machine. There’s panel and parts sales increases to think about and if there is a tied body shop their sales increase too. If not, a referral arrangement can be set up whereby an income stream is achieved. You can provide a hire fleet to the service providers so that service is enhanced and an income stream achieved, or a deal can be done with another provider to purchase vehicles in exchange for use of their hire vehicles. The service can even be used on your own vehicles to reduce your insurance cost and significant commissions can be achieved. So, in summary, both you and the customer can have the best of both worlds – enhanced service for the customer and enhanced revenue for you. JEFF WINN

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auctions

3,000 Auction4cars sales! Motorpoint’s unique auction website lets car dealers access the car supermarket’s part-exchange bargains

ee-free auction site Auction4cars.com has just completed its 3,000th sale – just eight months after trading began. The official Motorpoint site for part-exchange cars says it is on course to hit its target of 15,000 annual sales with ease. Independent car dealers are the site’s key customers. They are offered ‘thousands’ of cars every week, priced from £200-£15,000 – all trade-ins that the five-site independent retail giant has taken in part-ex. Billed as the fee-free alternative to the traditional auction house, Auction4cars.com currently has three bases – Derby, Peterborough and Newport. A fourth car collection point opens in Burnley this month. ‘Traders have driven this expansion,’ said James Faulkner, Motorpoint’s group disposals manager. ‘When complete, we’re confident that Auction4cars will be selling somewhere in the region of 400 cars a week – making us a force to be reckoned with in the trade.’ The innovative website comes just a year after Motorpoint picked up the inaugural Car Dealer Eward for Independents. Already, more than 1,000 registered visitors are clocking up 30,000 hits a month on the new website – with some 12,000 bids having been made to date. Used car traders are being urged to sign up to the site – which can be done easily online – to be in with a chance of grabbing some bargains. Meanwhile, used car prices rose for the fourth month running in April – but the rate of rise has dropped to one per cent. What’s more, falls are predicted for the coming months. Manheim Auctions says April’s growth was largely driven by the fleet sector, where values rose by two per cent. In contrast, both dealer and manufacturer

‘When complete we’re confident Auction4Cars will be selling somewhere in the region of 400 cars a week.’ sector auction values declined. The slowing rate is put into context, when earlier rises are considered – Manheim reported 11.6 per cent in January, 10.5 per cent in February and, even in March, a healthy 6.4 per cent increase.

Manheim MD Mike Pilkington said: ‘With average values relatively static across all three sectors, the dramatic rise in values seen in the early part of 2009 appears to have peaked. ‘However, first time conversion rates are still good for the time of year and, as a barometer of underlying demand, attendance and bidding activity both in the auction halls and online remain strong.’ Pilkington predicts further falls in the coming months – but assures car dealers it’s nothing to worry about.

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www.paragonremarketing.com No small print. No*. What you see is what you get!

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...Advertisement feature

automation

Richmond Hyundai shows how it’s done... Feeling a bit down? Fed up with all the doom and gloom? Well, it’s not all bad news, reports WinWin World

ales up 480 per cent year-on-year during May, 460 deals in just twoweeks from three sites, and so many customers that they are queuing up inside the showroom! Sounds like make-believe doesn’t it – or an optimistic prediction for 2012 – but it’s not. It’s all true and happening, here and now, down on the south coast at Hyundai’s top performing dealer group Richmond Hyundai. MD Michael Nobes has taken full advantage of the UK scrappage scheme along with the manufacturer programmes and has developed his own extended local version of the scheme. ‘Chancellor Nobes’, as he is being labelled locally, says he has the greatest scrappage Richmond Hyundai boss Michael Nobes’ local press advertising (below) has him mocked up with the PM scheme in Britain – and the sales are rolling in. His version of the scheme includes new and the systems in place to know exactly where he is used vehicles across the entire model range. in terms of number of deals and exact profitability. They have profitable, well-constructed finance He has his finger well and truly on the pulse deals, strong sales of customer add-ons and of his business and can see every KPI he needs well-managed prospect contact before the sale in real time from his BlackBerry. He even knows and customer contact after the sale with CSI, how many successful calls his call centre is service and future prospecting. making for him and the level of prospecting Nobes has spawned a one-man campaign that being achieved by his teams. has made him a local celebrity with the media. All the systems for deal optimisation, customer He has featured in newspapers, radio and on contact reporting and customer up-sell are television. provided by WinWin World. Nobes adds: ‘It’s He’s even had a pop at the British Bankers a bit like my own remote control. I now have Association on Radio 5 Live over lending to local great visibility across my sites and can be sure businesses, while taking on politicians over their we get the most out of every opportunity. Using less than generous scheme too. WinWin World gets me the very best out of my ‘The way out of this recession is to stimulate people and gives me time to be creative, and spending, which is exactly what we are doing that’s the bit I really enjoy the most.’ here at Richmond Hyundai,’ said Nobes. His WinWin World can improve customer and advertising in the local press has Nobes mocked prospect contact, save you money on advertising, up complete with the Chancellor’s little red and help you to up-sell more. ‘We can even Budget case (see right) to hammer home the produce more profit out of your deals but the message. added flair and innovation, well that’s up to But then Richmond Hyundai were a real you,’ said a spokesman for WinWin World. success story before scrappage – this is just the If you would like to find out more about latest in a long line of successful campaigns by how WinWin World can help you, call 020 the rapidly growing group. 7538 6688 or email callmenow@winwin Built into the business foundations, Nobes has world.co.uk for more information.

‘It’s a bit like my own remote control. Using WinWin World gets me the very best out of my people and gives me time to be creative – and that’s the bit I really enjoy the most.’

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competition

Your chance to WIN a Handi companion!

f your other half is anything like mine, a weekend away requires packing enough clothes for a month, shoes for every climate change thinkable and enough paraphernalia to sink a boat, let alone a family hatchback. If you’re fed up of arguing over what to take and what to leave behind, it’s time to give in – with a little help from these handy gadgets. Holidays, after all, are meant to be for relaxing. So, simply strap this clever contraption to the roof and let your better half pack to their heart’s content. What is it? Well, it’s a roof rack that couldn’t be simpler to fit. Called the HandiRack it’s an inflatable load-carrying system that solves all your full-car problems. The rack can be fitted in minutes and can be used to carry anything you care to strap to the roof. Holiday luggage, that over-sized wardrobe from Ikea, even sports

equipment like surf boards or canoes can be attached to the clever bit of kit. It comes with a pump that you use to inflate the two racks which loop inside your car and clamp tight. It takes just minutes to fit and even comes with a pouch to store it away in afterwards. It can carry loads of up to 80kgs and is suitable for just about any two or four-door cars, with the exception of convertibles. If you are hitting the road for a holiday, it’s a great idea to combine the HandiRack with the HandiHoldall. Designed to work in conjunction with the rack, it offers an additional 280 litres of storage space. The base of the HandiHoldall is made with reinforced glass fibre poles which are inserted into a foam cushion in the bottom of the bag. And when you’re done it all easily packs into a drawstring travel bag about the size of a family tent.

That means you have none of the disadvantages of a traditional roof box that takes up loads of room in your garage when it’s not in use. To make it a trio of usefulness, you can add the HandiDuffel to the set up which is designed to fit perfectly inside the HandiHoldall. This can then easily be removed for loading and provides you with a transportable bag for carrying clothing, shoes or any other goods. The HandiDuffel measures 110cm x 40cm x 35cm and offers a volume of 150 litres of storage space. And the best bit is we’ve been given one of each to give away as a set to a lucky reader. To be in with your chance of winning, all you need to do is get in touch in one of the following ways: 1. Send an email with the subject title ‘That’s Handi’ to james@blackballmedia. co.uk with your name and address (so we know where to send the prize). 2. Or send a text message starting with the word DEALER then your name and address to 82085. Texts cost no more than your standard network rate. We’ll pick the winner out of a (top) hat on July 3. If you can’t contain your excitement, and really must get hold of a set before then, visit handirackuk.com for more details.

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Don’t be left out! Call Car Dealer on (023) 9252 2434

suppliers guide

If you’re looking for a motor trade supplier you can find the details of selected companies here

Accident Management WINN Solicitors T: 0800 917 8177 W: winnsolicitors.com E: solicitors@winn solicitors.com

Accountants Baker Tilly T: 01284 763311 W: bakertilly.co.uk E: ross.bartholomew @bakertilly.co.uk

Auctions Auction4Cars W: auction4cars.com BCA T: 0845 600 6644 W: british-car-auctions.co.uk E: Via website Paragon Remarketing W: paragonremarketing.com E: Contact@Paragon Remarketing.com

Call Recording VoiceSafe T: 0845 421 5050 W: voicesafe.co.uk E: enquiries@c-a-solutions. co.uk

Finance Bridford T: 0844 815 8888 W: Bridford.co.uk E: sales@bridford.co.uk

E: Via website

Provenance Checks

Text Services

Motors.co.uk T: 0845 265 5502 W: Motors.co.uk E: sales@motors.co.uk

HPI T: 01722 435444 W: hpi.co.uk Apply at CarDealerMag.co.uk and register in the fold down corner tab

Car Text Services T: 0870 742 6655 W: cartextservices.co.uk E: Via website

Really Good Domains T: 0161 482 7650 W: reallygooddomains.com E: sales@reallygood domains.com Skupenet T: 020 8610 6103 W: skupenet.com E: info@skupenet.com Vansunited.co.uk T: 0845 265 5510 W: Vansunited.co.uk E: sales@vansunited.co.uk

Online Trading Autotrade-mail.com T: 0870 2000 848 W: autotrade-mail.com E: sales@autotrademail.com Info: The UK’s leading online real time used-car trading network. The fastest place to buy and sell trade prime stock. The most active site of its type. Over 4,000 dealers subscribe. The professionals choice. Run by dealers for dealers. The original and the best. Call for your FREE two week trial.

Rewards BlueRewards T: 0845 421 5050 W: bluerewards.co.uk/trade E: sales@bluerewards.co.uk

Software Dragon 2000 T: 0845 838 2000 W: Dragon2000.co.uk E: sales@dragon2000.co.uk WinWin World T: 020 7538 6688 W: winwinworld.co.uk E: callmenow@winwin world.co.uk

TRAINING Rapport Training T: 007793 612401 W: rapporttraining.co.uk E: rapporttraining @fsmail.net Info: Specialising in car finance and insurance sales training for managers, owners and sales executives. Our realistic and interactive approach to the learning experience helps increase both skills and profitability in these key business areas.

value to your profile and profits. A range of products are available, including mechanical breakdown, GAP, tyre, key and MOT insurance. We provide telemarketing, data services and dealer finance.

Trade Bodies Motor Industry Code of Practice W: motorindustry codes.co.uk

Web Design Autotorq.com T: 020 7384 8501 W: autotorq.com E: enquiries@autotorq.com

Training FLA T: 020 7420 9613 W: specialistautomotive finance.org.uk E: Via website

Valuations HPI Valuations T: 0845 300 8939 W: hpi.co.uk Apply at CarDealer Mag.co.uk and register in the fold down corner tab

WARRANTY AA Warranty T: 08707 559 614 W: aawarranty.co.uk E: paul.hanna@ aawarranty.co.uk Info: AA Warranty offers peace of mind to customers, with comprehensive cover for mechanical and electrical breakdown lasting up to three years. Full training is given to ensure you add

CDWD T: 0844 880 1630 W: CarDealerWeb Design.co.uk E: info@cardealerweb design.co.uk Info: Fed up paying web designers to do a job you can do yourself? CDWD can help. We’ve collaborated with HPI to offer a truly unique product with no set up costs! Call us for more details. Codeweavers T: 0870 443 0888 W: codeweavers.net E: enquiries@code weavers.net G-Forces T: 0845 055 9040 W: digitaldealership.co.uk E: info@gforces.co.uk

Car Finance Company T: 0800 023 2440 W: thecarfinance company.co.uk E: Via website First Response T: 0115 946 6370 W: frfl.co.uk E: Via website

Key Tracking Keytracker T: 0121 559 9000 W: keytracker.com/cd E: sales@keytracker.co.uk

Oils Mobil 1 W: mobil1.com E: Via website

Online Advertising Compucars T: 0845 667 6000 W: compucars.co.uk

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 79 CarDealerIss16.2.indd 79

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used cars

...in association with hpI valuations

Quirky new Citroen Nemo Multispace tops Mini MPV sector

State of play

HPI’s Valuation Expert Martin Keighley reﬂects on a turbulent 12 months in the used car market

HPI Valuations Top Ten he Mini MPV sector is a strange beast, featuring a mixture of van-based cars and high roof superminis – so you need to know your buyer. Volumes are limited, but with demand in the used market so strong, dealers should recognise that Mini MPVs are maintaining their values. Twelve months ago, this now rapidly growing sector was dominated by ‘old school’ models such as Berlingo, Kangoo, Meriva, Fusion and Doblo. The new generation includes the likes of Nemo, Qubo, Soul and C3 Picasso with van-based models increasingly popular. As the ‘ugly duckling’ class, function comes before style every time – urban cool is replaced by space for passengers and luggage. Citroen dominates this class with three out of the top five of the best performers with the low cost Nemo a clear winner. The average three-year 60,000 miles forecast value for all cars is 31 per cent, so only the Nemo, Soul, Berlingo, Qubo and C3 Picasso beat this. However, for the sector the average is only 27.6 per cent. Take care with the non-van-based Meriva, Note and Modus – all with lower than average residuals, with the Peugeot 1007 bottom of the pile with an RV of 21 per cent.

s the first glimmers of light appear at the end of the economic tunnel, it’s worth looking back 12 months to compare the used car market then to today’s. In the spring of 2008, the economic downturn was just starting to bite, causing markets to slow. Difficulty in getting finance caused retail demand to fall, making dealers and trade very cautious as they became overstocked in a falling market. With dealers offloading stock, auctions ran out of space to store cars and used car prices began to go into freefall. New car sales began to dry up as a result of lower fleet sales and stocks began to rise above the norm. Compounding the problem, manufacturers were very slow to reduce output on undesirable vehicles. At the end of 2008 things didn’t look pretty and most dealers had reduced their stocks significantly. Demand was desperately low and used values were rock bottom. During January, February and March, most dealers decided to re-stock causing a significant rise in wholesale demand and lifting used values. There was a limited pick-up in retail demand, but mostly on small cars and generally financed from savings. Downsizing was prevalent. Many

...in association with hpI valuations

MINI MPV sector Rank

Model

Ranked by residual value % 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Ranked by monthly depreciation cost 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

fleets started to offload cars that had extended contracts, many with high mileage and in less than pristine condition. Stocks of unsold new cars were estimated by some to be around 500,000, some of them more than a year old. Things went from bad to worse when the weak pound forced manufacturers to repeatedly increase new prices, further reducing demand. The notable exception was small cars, many of which were getting harder to get hold of. Today the economic downturn appears to have either levelled out or is close to bottoming out. This has led to cautious optimism across the used car market. However, the backdrop of potential rises in unemployment along with the current uncertain political environment will continue to keep the lid on any serious growth for a while yet. New car stocks are still almost as high, particularly medium and larger cars, 4x4s, large-engined and less efficient cars. The scrappage scheme has further increased demand for some small cars, but has done little to diminish the compounds of unsold vehicles or provide any help to the used car market. Although, things are looking a little brighter going into quarter two of 2009 – we’re not out of the woods yet.

Models in range

Average new price

Average Rv 36(60) £

Average Rv 36(60) % Monthly depreciation cost £

Citroen Nemo Multispace Kia Soul Citroen Berlingo Multispace Fiat Qubo Citroen C3 Picasso Toyota Urban Cruiser Renault Kangoo Skoda Roomster Daihatsu Materia Nissan Note

3 9 14 6 9 8 9 14 2 11

£10,928 £12,773 £12,640 £11,550 £13,584 £16,285 £12,564 £12,843 £11,160 £12,442

£3,858 £4,153 £4,032 £3,675 £4,286 £4,963 £3,756 £3,798 £3,238 £3,570

35.3 32.5 31.9 31.9 31.6 30.5 29.9 29.6 29.0 28.9

£196 £239 £239 £219 £258 £315 £245 £251 £220 £246

Citroen Nemo Multispace Fiat Qubo Daihatsu Materia Citroen Berlingo Multispace Kia Soul Hyundai Matrix Renault Kangoo Nissan Note Skoda Roomster Renault Modus

3 6 2 14 9 8 9 11 14 6

£10,928 £11,550 £11,160 £12,640 £12,773 £1,1395 £12,564 £12,442 £12,843 £12,273

£3,858 £3,675 £3,238 £4,032 £4,153 £2,641 £3,756 £3,570 £3,798 £3,121

35.3 31.9 29.0 31.9 32.5 23.2 29.9 28.9 29.6 25.4

£196 £219 £220 £239 £239 £243 £245 £246 £251 £254

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tail light

Sub-prime Time I

first wrote an article about what became the ‘credit crunch’ back in April 2007 and, six months later, in October 2007, I started to share my suggestions about what dealers could do about it. Perhaps I was a little too early with my advice as I remember many people were still denying a recession was inevitable even in mid-2008! In one way or another, my articles have included some reference to the credit crunch or economy for the past 18 months. So I’m really pleased that in this article I’m noting that we’re potentially seeing the ‘start of the end’ and not the ‘end of the start’ of this recession; as I’d really like to write about something else! So are we really seeing the green shoots of recovery? Yes, I think we are. Towards the end of May, The Times had a headline stating: Credit Crunch Has Ended. Now, I’m a pretty optimistic guy, but even I was tempted to check the date on the paper thinking I’d lost a year or two somewhere. The Times had some compelling ‘hard data’ arguments, noting that the reduction and lack of volatility in short term LIBOR (the rate banks lend money to each other) was signalling a return to normality and confidence in the credit market for the first time since May 2007. It added that the Ted spread (a banking confidence index) dropped to its lowest level (a good thing) since August 2007. So it does appear that there is a growing trust between banks once more. Consumer confidence generally lags behind banking confidence, but I think we’re seeing consumer confidence bottom out before we start to see an improvement. For example, the number of homes sold worth £40k or more hasn’t reduced for the past five months; it isn’t increasing hugely, but it’s not decreasing. Unfortunately this is unlike the registration of new

‘I really can see an end to this recession, but I believe it will be mid-2010 before we can truly say that the credit crunch has actually ended.’ cars which recently clocked up it’s 11th successive fall, but that’s no surprise and for me I don’t think it will be too long before we see this indicator bottom out. However, there are positives and there’s clear and sustained growth in smaller more economical cars (I highlighted the potential in this segment back in 2007), but we’ve yet to see whether the scrappage scheme will produce some sustainable value. However, it will be some time before unemployment improves because we’ll continue to see many business failures this year and most companies that have weathered the storm won’t add jobs until they see an actual and sustained increase in activity in their sector. Now that I’m noting the ‘start of the end’, I’m expecting that in six months time (or less) I’ll be sharing my thoughts on the opportunities that lie before us and what dealers could be doing about them. I can see an end to this recession, but I believe it will be mid-2010 before we can truly say the ‘credit crunch has ended’.

is chief executive officer of First Response Finance. For Who is Don Brough? Don more information visit www.frﬂ.co.uk or call 0115 946 6370

CarDealer. Editorial Director James Baggott E: james@blackballmedia.co.uk T: 023 9252 2434 Deputy Editor Richard Aucock E: rich@blackballmedia.co.uk T: 023 9252 2434

PO Box 227 | gOSPORT | PO12 9De [ISSN 1759-5444] Tel: 023 9252 2434 | www.cardealermagazine.co.uk

Advertising Manager Darren Stokes E: darren@blackballmedia.co.uk T: 023 9252 2434

Contributors Chris Jervis, Richard Gibbon, Mike Askew (not Big Mike!), Dave Timmis, Simon Evans, Will Baggott Commercial Manager Thanks to... Duncan Chappell Peter Davies, Tim Marlow, E: duncan@blackballmedia.co.uk Tim Naylor, Linda Baggott and T: 023 9252 2434 Bernard McGranaghan

Car Dealer is published by Blackball Media Ltd (Company No 6473855) and printed by Warners. All rights reserved. Conditions of sale and supply include the fact Car Dealer shall not, without our consent, be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise disposed of in a mutilated way or in any unauthorised cover by way of trade or affixed to or as any part of a publication or advertising, literary or pictorial matter whatsoever. Car Dealer is fully protected by copyright and nothing may be printed wholly or in part without permission.

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0115 946 6370

Many Happy Returns 17% of our business comes from returning customers – and we always encourage people to visit the same dealer for their next vehicle (or point them towards a supporting dealer from our network). To help your business benefit from our many returning customers, join our dealer network by calling 0115 946 6370 today. First Response Finance Limited, Chetwynd Business Park, 5 Regan Way, Chilwell, Nottingham NG9 6RZ

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MILLION

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