May-Jun 2011 MMG Magazine

Leaders in the Sale of Quality Mopar Parts

May - June 2011 Newsletter

Mopar Masters Guild Announces Performance Group Meeting at Niagara Falls!

Arrangements have been made for the Fall Mopar Masters Performance Group Meeting. Niagara Falls will be the destination!

The hotel arrangements have been made and they are ready to accept reservations.

Seneca Casino – Niagara Falls - August 18th and 19th 2011 Click here to make your reservations! http://www.senecaniagaracasino.com/hotel.cfm

CCHRYGR- Group Discount Code Group rates are $149 plus $15 Occupancy per room per night. Reservations available online now or call 716-299-1100 Also, we are not going to place the Performance Group in the Chrysler Academy website portal for all to see. Therefore, anybody that wants to sign up for the event, please email Doug Johnson personally – He will have to enroll everyone manually so send an email to: dmj36@chrysler.com.

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A Message from the desk of Dan Hutton Tom O’Brien CDJ Mopar Masters Guild President The year is quickly passing by and we are already in May. Business has been a little down in the Midwest, but with all the rain we have had, it seems like Collision Business is starting to pick up.

Your Mopar Guild Executive Committee will be heading to Denver for another meeting with the Mopar Executives in July. This will give us another chance to have informative and productive meetings like in previous years. We will report back in the next issue with what took place in Denver.

I would like this time to welcome Magneti Marelli to the Mopar line up. Magneti Marelli gives Mopar a comprehensive service and parts solution for all-makes brand vehicles. This will create a one-stop service shop at our dealerships and our dealership network will now have the ability to fully service customers who drive into our service. More on this in the next pages of this issue.

As a reminder do not forget about our performance groups coming up in August 18th and 19th in Niagara Falls. We still have rooms remaining; also this is a training requirement for the new dealer standards. Please sign up on dealer connect as soon as possible, and also don’t forget to bring your Service Manager.

In closing I would also like to remind everyone who has not paid their dues to do so now! We will be sending invoices to those who have not paid within the next few weeks. Please respond with payment quickly so we can keep you on the magazine mailing list.

Blessings

Dan Hutton

Also In This Issue President’s Message A Note from Jack Powell What Else Can We Do to Help Ourselves?

CCC Outlines Ramifications PCI Sues to Declare Law Unconstitutional ADP Reynolds & Reynolds Snap-On Business Solutions Tracy Industries FenderBender MMG Now on Facebook FYI

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Announcing Magneti Marelli “I Can’t Find This Part” The Post Quake World Japan Disaster Impacts Parts & Paint MMG Supporting Vendors UPS Corporate Billing Rousseau Storage OEConnection MMG Forum Reaches Milestone One of the Best Customer Tools MMG Executives & Committees 2011

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Note from Jack Powell - President, Jack Powell Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge Mr. Jack Powell, President/Dlr Principal of Jack Powell CJD sent us this email. He gave us the go ahead to share it with all of our members.

It would be a good idea to forward this message to your Dealer Principal or General Manager too!

From: Jack Powell To: Don Cushing - Mopar Masters Guild Sent: Thursday, March 31, 2011 3:56 PM Subject: Re: MMG Magazine March-April 2011 NADA Edition To the Members of the Mopar Masters Guild, I want to commend the MMG for the excellent newsletter you produce. I look forward to your publication, because often it helps me understand that challenges facing my Parts Manager are not unique to our operation. It’s full of great information about how to become more proficient and profitable at our profession. It does a terrific job of highlighting the sponsors who make the donations that fund many of your activities. It provides a forum for expanding the resources of your network, and does all of this very efficiently, without sacrificing lots of trees!

As a dealer principal, I have supported Rick Monteiro's involvement in the Guild for many years. I think he's a better Parts Manager for it. The newsletter is a reminder to me that the trips he takes, and the time, attention and effort he dedicates to them are serious learning and working meetings. I have proudly watched the efforts he puts forth result in our Parts Department being on the cutting edge of the industry. The connections he makes in the Guild allow access to and interaction with industry movers. The networking that Chrysler utilizes has put Rick in the front row of company policy formulation.

Thanks to all of the MMG Managers, Chrysler Corporation and the many sponsors for making this possible.

Sincerely, Jack Powell, Jr., President Jack Powell Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge 1625 Auto Park Way Escondido, CA 92029-2093 (760) 745-2880 www.jackpowell.com

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"I CAN'T FIND THIS PART!!"

Sound familiar?

If you're in parts, of course it does. To rectify the problem within my department, I started having my parts advisors perform daily bin checks. I implemented this system back in 2007 and it has really paid off. Every advisor is responsible for two bins that they must check-off daily, before lunch.

This system has the entire parts department being counted four times during a calendar year and doing this ensures daily accuracy, making a physical inventory a lot easier. The advisors resisted the idea at first, but now see the advantages of doing the daily counts. They now look for parts when their count is off, and they are physically touching parts everyday that are, at times, hard to look up in the catalog. They can recall specifically when they saw a part in the bin because it was just recently counted. I have this set up with Reynolds & Reynolds in report generator, with the quantity on hand.

There are many reasons how parts end up in the wrong bin, but with this extra step- we can try to minimize how often this occurs. This is great for customer service because we are able to quickly retrieve parts that we know we have in stock and get them sold.

Rick Cutaia MMG Secretary

What else can we do to help ourselves into the 21st century?

As I have seen my customer base get younger, I have also changed my customer lounge area. We now have a flat screen television, wireless Internet, bottled water and what I call the coffee and espresso department.

I do not use Twitter, but we use our website and Facebook for marketing, along with texting our customers.

What else can we do to help ourselves into the 21st century?

It sounds like you’ve already identified many things the younger generation demands from companies they want to do business with. A few other things to keep in mind: In the past our business cards used flamboyant colors or became small billboards about our business. Today, they need to be functional with the most concise contact information on them. Many young professionals use Quick Response (QR) codes, which are matrix barcodes added to business cards and other media, to retrieve contact information and synchronize their contact lists.

Although many shop owners are prepared themselves, they often forget about their front line people, like customer service representatives. It would be good to have a medium available to everyone to accomplish the information transfer. Digital signature acceptance, paperless offices and digital filing are also important to this younger clientele, but so too is data security. I recommend that you check with the data privacy laws in your state.

As we begin this transformation to additional technological advances, make sure your company follows through. One cautionary note: If you do not own your management system, database or other software, check with your provider about what happens to this information when your contract is over. Familiarize yourself with security policies, and find out whether the information simply gets deleted when your contract expires. You might be surprised with the answer.

Ray Fisher is the president of ASA-Michigan. This article represents his opinion and does not reflect the views of ASA-Michigan.

Source: www.fenderbender.com

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THE POST-QUAKE WORLD Industry's in upheaval, and Detroit 3 are on the muscle Detroit is up. Japan is down. Toyota is losing market share and General Motors is awash in profits.

Who'd-a thought?

This is clearly not the same plot the auto industry has been following for the past few years. This is a paradigm change in an American auto industry accustomed to decades of tough times for Detroit. "The renaissance of the Detroit 3 is well on the way," AutoNation CEO Mike Jackson told Automotive News last week. "The profit results, product lineup and consumers' opinion will allow the domestics to have market share growth for the second year in a row. We will see a remarkable recovery in market share as the domestics drive toward 50 percent."

Flash back just five years: Detroit was the City of Gloom. Market share dwindled year after year. Ford Motor Co. suffered from poor quality and botched vehicle launches. Chrysler Group's lousy performance was about to earn it a divorce and good-riddance from Germany's Daimler. At GM, the buzzards were circling in the guise of stock speculator Kirk Kerkorian.

All the while, the Japanese auto industry grew bigger, richer and more prominent in the United States. The term "Big 3" was retired in favor of "Detroit 3" to address the rise of Toyota Motor Corp.

Back to May 2011, and things are a little different. As in the-world-has-turned-upside-down different.

As the U.S. economy continues to recover, the Detroit companies are well positioned to profit from rebounding auto sales. The Japanese Big 3, meanwhile, can't exploit that growth. They're choked by a dramatic production collapse stemming from the March 11 earthquake.

GM and Ford Motor Co. are now making boatloads of money, and death-threatened Chrysler Group which just reported its first quarterly profit in five years, is soliciting money from the private sector to repay government loans. Chrysler even said it's running out of room for the 1,000 engineers it's adding at its headquarters in Auburn Hills, Mich. In April, Detroit's market share was 46.5 percent, up 1.5 points from a year ago. Japanese brands were at 35.5, down 3.4 points. Toyota and Nissan Motor Co. expect to lose money for the next six months. In the United States, Japanese brand dealers are running out of inventory as the benefits of a U.S. recovery are passing them by.

Could a new reordering of the industry be under way?

Japanese automakers often have overcome adversity in North America. But at the moment they have a very full plate. Last week, American Honda Executive Vice President John Mendel informed Honda's dealers by letter that Honda's "overall production volume will be at significantly reduced levels as we continue production adjustments through the summer months."

Consoling the dealers for the loss of sales, Mendel said, "You have overcome significant challenges throughout the years and yet, in the long run, you have all prospered. "We will work our way through this difficult time and we will all be stronger in the end," he wrote.

German, Korean brands up.

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It's not just Detroit that's thriving in North America. The Germans -- BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi and Volkswagen -- also are cleaning up. In April, the BMW brand outsold Mercedes (not including Sprinter vans), pushing ahead of Mercedes through the first four months as the top-selling U.S. luxury brand. Lexus, which held that sales title from 2000 through 2010, is running a distant third, and has no prospect of catching up because of production constraints.

And Hyundai and Kia continue to snap up market share. The Koreans are introducing hot new models and are desperately searching for U.S. production capacity. Sales of the small Hyundai Elantra, redesigned this year and now built in Montgomery, Ala., topped 22,000 in April -- more than twice its volume from a year ago and nearly 13,000 more than the fast-selling Ford Fiesta. After a record 2010, Hyundai's U.S. sales are up 31 percent and Kia's 42 percent through April, in a market that's up 20 percent. Combined, the companies accounted for nearly 10 percent of the U.S. market last month. For the first time the Koreans outsold the combined European brands in America.

But as U.S. demand grows, Japan finds itself unable to produce even half enough.

Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda recently said it will take until the end of the year to fully restore vehicle output to normal levels -- and this as U.S. consumers clamor for exactly the sort of fuel-efficient cars that made Japan rich.

"This month, next month, as we get into the summer, we'll certainly be seeing inventories declining," Randy Pflughaupt, Toyota group vice president of sales administration, said in a conference call last week after reporting Toyota's April sales increase of just 1 percent, in an overall market that rose 18 percent.

Big change in small cars In a man-bites-dog twist, Detroit's big gains in April were powered by selling larger numbers of fuel-efficient cars and lower incentives. That reverses the U.S. industry's familiar trends of recent years. In part because of impending shortages of vehicles, Detroit 3 incentive spending is at its lowest point in five years.

As the Japanese competition scales back on incentives and sales -- Nissan postponed its annual May Tent Sale -U.S. automakers are toning down their discounting. Autodata Corp. reports that Chrysler's average incentive spending per vehicle was $2,806 in April, a 23 percent reduction from a year earlier. Ford was down 20 percent and GM was down 14 percent.

In April, as gasoline prices topped $4 a gallon in some markets, Ford, propelled by higher car sales and the popularity of its small Fiesta and mid-sized Fusion, reported first-quarter net profits of $2.6 billion, its best firstquarter result since 1998. GM last week also posted a quarterly operating profit of $2.0 billion, excluding special items -- its fifth straight quarterly profit since emerging from bankruptcy. In April, GM sold 25,160 units of the compact Chevrolet Cruze, whose Eco version is rated at 42 mpg on the highway. The Cruze was nearly 2,000 units behind Honda's Civic but topped the Toyota Corolla by nearly 1,000 units. GM CEO Dan Akerson remarked at a recent industry gathering that when soaring gasoline prices spooked consumers in 2008, GM didn't even have a competitive small car to sell.

"We're finally seeing the Honda Civic buyer," said Michael McGuire, dealer principal at McGuire ChevroletCadillac in Newton, N.J. He said that in addition to older, traditional GM buyers looking to downsize, the Cruze appeals to younger people who generally have stuck to Japanese brands.

UBS Securities analyst Colin Langan wrote in a research note this week that things should get better for GM as the year unfolds. Langan said GM stands to pick up 1.1 percentage points of market share at the expense of Japanese automakers because of Japanese production constraints.

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GM's U.S. market share grew to 19.6 percent through the end of April, from 18.7 percent in the first-quarter of 2010, according to the Automotive News Data Center. Langan wrote: "GM will be the biggest beneficiary of the upcoming Japan-related inventory shortages."

Never say always.

Not everyone believes the sea change is permanent.

"It's not impossible that on a short-term basis you may see some market share variations, because of the impact that the earthquake has in the minds of people," Carlos Tavares, chairman of Nissan Americas, told Automotive News. "Monthly bumps may happen. But we need to judge on a full fiscal year basis."

But it is clear that for the first time in recent history, U.S. automakers believe they have the opportunity and the vehicle lineup to reclaim some of the market they have lost to the Japanese.

"What we need to do is really make sure that the quality, reliability and durability of our cars is an unexpected surprise for people," Mark Reuss, GM's North America boss said last week. "It's sort of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us to get people into our cars and trucks and have them experience the excellence of the product that they may not have given us consideration for in the past.

"We're taking it very seriously."

Lindsay Chappell and Jason Stein Automotive News - www.automotivenews.com

CCC outlines potential ramifications of Japan disaster on collision repair The March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan has had a significant impact on vehicle production and could eventually lead to several problems for the automotive insurance and collision repair industries, according to a new report from CCC Information Services.

Lead Industry Analyst Susanna Gotsch, who compiled the report, said vehicle production dropped by an estimated 516,000 units during the first month following the disaster; 260,000 of those vehicles were Toyotas.

Toyota also announced that it would keep production levels at 50 percent through June, resulting in further production losses.

Shortages of electronics and resin-based products have also slowed production for Nissan, Honda, Suzuki, Subaru, Toyota and Fuji Heavy Industries. U.S. production has also hit snags because of parts shortages. A recent survey by the Original Equipment Suppliers Association found that 78 percent of respondents identified some portion of their product comes from Japan, Gotsch said.

For the auto insurance and collision repair industries, the problems could lead to the inability to get certain parts, longer part fulfillment times causing longer cycle times, and higher vehicle values that lead to bigger (Continued on page 11)

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total loss costs, according to Gotsch.

“Everyone is closely watching inventory levels of these at-risk parts, and in some cases slowing new vehicle production to conserve these parts,” she said in the report.

Toyota issued a list of limited-supply parts to dealers soon after the earthquake, the report continued. On the list were nearly 250 parts, including roughly 90 shock absorbers and different types of stereo and electronic equipment. Vehicles such as the Yaris and Lexus LS 400, SC 300 and IS 300, which are made in Japan, are most likely to contain the parts.

Honda, meanwhile, suspended all U.S. orders for its Japan-built models including the Fit, Insight, Civic Hybrid, Acura TSX, Acura RL and a small amount of CR-Vs, Gotsch said. Some of those vehicles might be at risk of interrupted collision part fulfillment, but they only make up about 0.5 percent of the overall appraised vehicle volume for the first quarter of 2011.

Gotsch said the long-term impact on the auto industry is hard to predict, but CCC will continue to monitor the situation closely. Find the full report at cccis.com.

Japan Disaster Impacts Parts and Paint Immediate supply interruptions are minimal, but many unknowns remain.

So far, there have been no widespread supply interruptions for service parts following the unprecedented natural disasters in Japan. However, there have been a few delays, and there may be others on the horizon as the country that fathered "just in time" production struggles to resume operations in the affected areas while still dealing with the resulting nuclear crisis and rolling blackouts in some of its manufacturing sectors. Vehicle manufacturers have also responded to a shortage of a key pigment used in OEM and refinish paint by limiting production of vehicles with affected colors.

Lack of parts from Japan prompted General Motors to temporarily shut down a Louisiana factory that makes pickup trucks, but that plant resumed operation on March 28. GM said in a statement, “We are constantly assessing the situation and anticipating adjustments in our plants around the world as needed. These adjustments may include optimizing the usage of parts that are - or will be - in short supply, modifications to manufacturing schedules and temporary suspensions of production.”

According to many reports, the full force of shortages is yet to be felt in North America.

For now, Honda said there is no immediate impact on its operations in North America. “More than 80 percent of Honda and Acura products sold in the U.S. are produced in North America, and the vast majority of automotive parts for Honda automobiles manufactured in North America are sourced in the region,” the company said. But Honda says it is “a very fluid situation” and it is continuing to monitor the long-term impact on auto production in North America because some auto parts are supplied from Japan.

On Tuesday, Toyota said the production of Japan-sourced replacement parts needed to service Toyota, Lexus and Scion vehicles resumed on March 17 and shipments to the United States resumed after a brief four-day delay. Order processing fill rates for customers have remained normal.

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However, approximately 233 Toyota part numbers, out of over 300,000 active part numbers (less than 1%), have been placed on controlled allocation. While inventories of these parts are currently adequate, damage sustained by certain Japanese parts suppliers will interrupt their normal production.

Controlled allocation means Toyota will only fulfill dealer orders for “customer emergency need and true customer demand.” In other words, not to simply restock dealer inventories.

Ford’s Todd Nissen said, “We haven't experienced any parts or production disruptions at this point. This applies to both production and replacement parts.”

Subaru Director of Corporate Communications Michael Hale said, “While it is still in the early days, we have resumed parts production in Japan and we hope customers will not experience any shortages. Our facilities in Japan themselves were not damaged.”

Aftermarket parts may be affected as well. Mike O’Neal, President of Diamond Standard, issued an advisory warning of potential shortages for structural parts in the coming months, but cited no immediate issues. Japanese steel mills account for the majority of high quality steel used in body panels and structural parts for both OEM and aftermarket manufacturing, according to O’Neal.

He believes, prices for high quality Japanese steel will rise in the near term and likewise OEM parts’ prices as 15-20 percent of the capacity is affected. O’Neal said that Japanese export reductions will be most significant to Taiwan and South Korea. China has capacity but also has significant quality issues, according to O’Neal.

Paint Another issue for the industry is what may become a shortage of one special effect pigment used in some automobile colors. Xirallic pigment is only made at a single factory in Japan, owned by the German company Merck KGaA, which is located in a coastal town hit by the tsunami and closed the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station. According to numerous press reports, it is unclear when the plant may resume production.

The concerns over a shortage in the just-in-time manufacturing environment of OEM production plants has already led some car makers to eliminate colors containing Xirallic pigment from future vehicle builds.

For example, Ford last week told US dealers to stop taking orders for vehicles in "tuxedo black", as well as limiting output of three shades of red because of concerns about the availability of the Xirallic pigment.

The limits placed by car makers on new vehicles painted with coatings containing Xirallic pigment should benefit the collision repair industry in the short run. Car makers that rely on lean inventory levels could be caught short, while collision repair facilities likely have adequate supplies of the affected colors sitting in mixing machines, stocked on jobbers' shelves or in manufacturer warehouses. In addition, any pigment destined for OEM coatings could be used for refinish materials .

Responding to CollisionWeek, John McCool, President of DuPont Performance Coatings, said , “DuPont is working diligently to minimize disruptions or other potential impacts to our OEM and Refinish customers. We are also closely monitoring the limited availability of Xirallic pigments to address our customers' needs."

Source: www.collisionweek.com

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PCI Sues to Declare RI Anti-Steering Law Unconstitutional Insurance group uses commercial free speech argument to stop enforcement of anti-steering law.

The Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI) filed a lawsuit on March 4 against two Rhode Island officials in order to stop the enforcement of Rhode Island's Anti-Steering Act, a 1997 law that prohibits an insurer from recommending repair shops once the claimant has indicated that they have made a choice of repairer.

The suit names as defendants Rhode Island Director of Business Regulation Paul McGreevy and the state's Attorney General Peter Kilmartin.

According to court documents, the PCI is asking the court to declare that the speech prohibition in the Anti-Steering Act constitutes an unconstitutional interference with free speech in violation of the Rhode Island Constitution as well as the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. The Complaint also seeks an injunction barring Rhode Island from taking any further actions "to deter, suppress, or prohibit truthful commercial speech by Rhode Island automobile insurers regarding a lawful activity."

In the Complaint, filed in United States District Court, the PCI cites an official state bulletin issued by the Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation in 2004 that the insurance group says has had a "chilling" effect on insurers' free speech.

The bulletin, revised in 2005, was issued to clarify the state's interpretation of R.I. Gen. Laws ยง 2729-4. The bulletin states, "once the insured or claimant tells the insurer that he/she has selected an automobile body repair shop, the insurer may not recommend a different auto body repair shop."

The document further clarifies that "Once a claimant indicates, or the insurer otherwise has actual knowledge that the claimant has selected an automobile body repair shop, (including execution of an authorization to repair,) the insurer shall not require, interfere with or recommend that a claimant select a different automobile body repair shop."

PCI is represented in the case by the law firm of Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge in Providence.

The PCI is not the first to challenge anti-steering laws on the grounds of free speech violations.

In other cases, insurers have similarly argued and won challenges against anti-steering laws in three separate states. In 2006, Texas ruled an anti-steering measure to be in violation of plaintiff Allstate's constitutional right to free speech.

In a New York case in 2000, the Southern District of New York ruled that prohibiting insurers from recommending auto repair shops to its insureds was a free speech violation. The statute prohibited insurers from making unsolicited recommendations to insureds.

And in1994, Allstate was involved in a similar case in South Dakota. The District Court there held that where there is no harm to the policyholder, "the speech is not deceptive or misleading so as to be subject to a ban."

Source: www.collisionweek.com

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Our Supporting Vendors Support those who support you

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Our Supporting Vendors Support those who support you

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The Mopar Masters Guild Forum Reaches a Milestone We have surpassed 4000 posts! So if you haven't visited in a while; take a look, we have been engaging in some really good conversations.

While the Parts Department section has been very active, the Service, Sales and Office sections have not. It has been my intention, as well the goal of the Mopar Masters Guild to enlist members from all facets of the dealership to engage in conversation for the betterment of our profession.

The Tech to Tech section is also something that we feel would be very beneficial to helping our Technicians gain more information and help from their peers.

So please pass on invitations to your fellow dealer employees and other CDJ dealers. We would love to have more dialogue from members from every position of the dealership.

Check out the forum invitation under the post "New Forum Invitation" within the "Welcome Members" section. Use it to spread the word.

In closing, the Mopar Masters Guild and I want to thank all of you for your participation and support of the Mopar Masters Guild Forum and as always, your comments and opinions are welcome.

Thank You, James Brinkley, MMG Forum Administrator www.moparmastersguild.com

Mopar Masters Guild is now on Facebook!

Check out our new page. Posts from members, friends and pictures from our events including NADA 2011 San Francisco!

Try us…..and “like” us www.facebook.com Search for Mopar Masters Guild

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One of the Best Customer Retention Tools is in Every... Glove Box? by: Bruce Gamble When providing on-site training for service advisors we always discuss “tools” they have available to assist in building customer retention and to expand their book of business.

The most obvious tools are items like multi-point vehicle inspections forms, service due reminder decals, and items found during the walk-around process. These and others help build rapport with each customer for that lasting relationship. One of the most important tools is the vehicle maintenance logbook.

The maintenance logbook has been in every owner’s manual packet since...well way before I started in the car business in the ‘60s. It was used by the owner to keep track of what work had been performed on their vehicle. The import owner was educated to follow the manufacturer requirements to a “T” and have the booklet stamped and signed off by dealership personnel. Staff that had recently worked at an import store before coming to a domestic dealership in most cases, educated domestic owners.

Today, in either dealership, I rarely find this logbook being utilized. When I ask why, I get some of the same statements: 1. What’s that?

2. We just use the computer.

3. My customer doesn’t care.

4. I don’t have enough time.

5. They don’t use that anymore.

6. I remember the logbook we used to use it.

Why is this book important to the owner?

1. The logbook can be used simply to keep track of general maintenance completed on the vehicle.

2. Updating the logbook is a free service provided by the dealership.

3. To show that maintenance requirements have been completed.

4. Reminder of which service is due next.

5. Increase vehicle resale value.

Why is this book important to the advisor?

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

To determine what services have been completed.

To determine which required maintenance service is now due.

Free service provided by you.

To update services not performed at your dealership as a courtesy.

Build relationship with the customer.

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Let me relate a personal story. I met a father and his son to test-drive a 10 year old vehicle I owned. After they returned the father asked me if I could provide him with all the maintenance “paper work” on the vehicle. I told him I didn’t think I had all of them. He then offered me $1,000 less for the vehicle than what I was asking. I said, “Maybe this will do”. I went to the glove box and removed my vehicle maintenance logbook and showed him where all the required services had been signed and stamped by the local dealer. Do you think I got my $1,000 dollars back? You’re darn tootin’.

This is one of the most important customer retention tools still available for use today. When was the last time you updated your customer’s logbook?

Bruce Gamble is a Consultant and Performance Coach at M5 Management Services, Inc. He has spent over 25 years in the automotive industry analyzing service, parts, and collision operations. He has earned a well-respected reputation with his “hands on” and innovative approach to the enhanced performance of his clients who have believed in his guidance and assistance. You can reach him at: brucegamble@m5ms.com or 205-675-7874

FYI…….

INSUREDS ARE SHOPPING: Consumers shopped and switched auto insurers more aggressively in 2010 than they have for 14 years, according to preliminary survey findings from McKinsey & Co. The survey analysis authors told Auto Insurance Report that the percentage of consumers who got a quote from another insurer was up 23 percent last year, and the percentage of those who actually changed to another insurer was up 56 percent. Only 48 percent of consumers have been with the same insurer for six or more years, down from 53 percent in 2008.

MSOs GAIN MORE DRPs: The average number of DRPs that shops participated in per-location grew steadily from 2001 through 2007, but multi-shop operations (MSOs) have seen more growth in DRP numbers in the last three years than have other shops, according to data from CCC Information Services. Independent shops averaged 1.9 DRPs in 2000, and three in 2010; dealership shops went from an average of 2.4 DRPs in 2000 to just shy of five in 2010. In both cases, the 2010 numbers are about the same as they were in each of the three preceding years. But regional and national MSOs outpaced these other collision repairers in DRP growth, particularly in the last three years. MSOs averaged 2.5 DRPs in 2000; by 2010, regional MSOs averaged 6.5 DRPs and national MSOs averaged 7.7 DRPs.

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2011 Mopar Masters Guild Committees President Vice President Treasurer Secretary

Dan Hutton Mike Mulkins Steve Hofer Rick Cutaia

Tom O’Brien Chrysler Jeep Dodge Go Chrysler Jeep West Park Chrysler Jeep Rick Hendrick Dodge

Executive Committee

All of the above and: Gerry Oakes Paul Allred Rick Monteiro Marvin Windham Alan Yancey Brent Hoge

Baxter Chrysler Jeep Dodge Stateline Chrysler Jeep Dodge Jack Powell Chrysler Jeep Dodge Benchmark Chrysler Jeep Dodge Hayes Chrylser Dodge Jeep Larry Miller Chrysler Jeep Dodge

Membership Committee

Mark Skinner (West) Doug Price (East) Larry Morris (South) (North)

Power Chrysler Jeep Dodge Security Dodge Chrysler Fred Bean’s Dodge Chrysler Jeep TBA

Vendor Chairmen

Paul Allred Gerry Oakes Marvin Windham

Stateline Chrysler Jeep Dodge Baxter Chrysler Jeep Benchmark Chrysler Jeep Dodge

Newsletter Chairmen

Don Cushing Mike Mulkins

Bald Hill Dodge Chrysler Jeep Go Chrysler Jeep West

Performance Group

Mike Gerber

Rairdon’s Chrysler Jeep Dodge of Kirkland

Finance Committee

Brent Hoge Steve Hofer

Larry Miller Chrysler Jeep Dodge Park Chrysler Jeep

UPS

Rick Monteiro Paul Allred Marvin Windham

Jack Powell Chrysler Jeep Dodge Stateline Chrysler Jeep Dodge Benchmark Chrysler Jeep Dodge

ADP

Gerry Oakes Mark Skinner Dan Hutton

Baxter Chrysler Jeep Dodge Power Chrysler Jeep Dodge Tom O’Brien Chrysler Jeep Dodge

Snap-On

Dan Hutton

Tom O’Brien Chrysler Jeep Dodge

OEConnection

Brent Hoge

Larry Miller Chrysler Jeep Dodge

Dealer Tire

Steve Hofer Mike Mulkins Alan Yancey

Park Chrysler Jeep Go Chrysler Jeep West Hayes Chrysler Dodge Jeep (Dan, Brent, Steve, Mike & Alan are the Chairs for Snap-On, OEConnection and Dealer Tire)

Tracy Industries

Mike Mulkins Steve Hofer Brent Hoge Guillermo Nava

Go Chrysler Jeep West Park Chrysler Jeep Larry Miller Chrysler Jeep Dodge Buerge Chrysler Jeep

Reynolds & Reynolds

Paul Allred

Stateline Chrysler Jeep Dodge

NADA 2012 Planning

Mark Skinner

Power Chrysler Jeep Dodge

Website Chairman

Steve Hofer

Park Chrysler Jeep

THE GUILD MOTTO “THE EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION BY LIKE SIZE DEALERS IN A NON COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT” This is the reason the Guild exists. The strength of our existence relies not on the voices of a select few, but on the combined knowledge of all. With this in mind, everyone should remember to become as proactive as possible. The Guild is YOURS, be proud of it and be part of it!