It's the dealers' fault

That would defy the concept of dealerships making a little money off the sale and a lot of money on service.

It would also make the average person drive how far to get warranty service? At which point, having a toyota dealer 3 miles away and my nearest GM dealer 40 miles away having an impact on which brand I buy, not leaning in the favor of the giant GM dealer that survived the herd cull.

I think they need to dump the unions.

Maybe Ford and GM merge and offer a high quality, moderate priced lineup of about 12 models.

Right now, it's insane. You can buy about 70 models and both companies are going broke to put them up for sale.

There's more cost in medical insurance in a new ford than there is in cost for metal.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Beryl Octet @ Feb 6 2007, 05:33 AM) [snapback]385984[/snapback]</div>

That's a cop-out if I ever heard one! Bigger dealerships usually provide worse service, not better. In theory a bigger dealership could afford more and better equipment. But in practice it's the smaller dealerships that provide more personal service and care more about you and your car.

Telling the dealers that they want fewer dealers is basically saying, "We don't give a sh.t about the customers, and now we don't give a sh.t about you either."

If they really want to turn business around they need to build cars as reliable as the Japanese do. And an EV would be a good place to start.

 

There has to be a happy medium. Too few "mega-mall" dealers too far away may not attract enough customers. Five 1 line dealers close to each other selling the same rebadged vehicles is not efficient.

IMO consolidation is needed by product line. My Delta 88 was an Oldsmobile, a Pontiac, and a Buick--just change the trim. Two of those lines aren't needed. I should be able to go to a GM dealer and buy any vehicle produced by GM that I want. I should be able to go to a Ford dealer and buy a Ford, Lincoln, or Mercury. I should be able to go to a Toyota dealer and buy a Toyota, Lexus, or Scion.

Personally I'm a bit squeamish about the new car purchase so my hyprocrasy will now show. (Hope I'm getting better.) I may be able to get over the "near me" obsticle to actually buy the car. But when (notice not if) something goes wrong I want that dealer to be real close for the warranty work.

My brother is a mechanic who worked at an Oldsmobile dealer. I bought my first Olds just because he worked there. My attitude was that if there was something wrong with the car he was taking it to the shop to get it fixed. I was satisfied with that car so I stayed with Olds for a total of 3 cars.

A few dealers far away will reduce selling costs but will also reduce service revenue. Nobody is going to drive 50 miles for an oil change if there is a local garage.
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I am amused that there is a new scapegoat for the losses. At the risk of baiting, "Hey Malorn, JD Powers is saying it's now your fault GM is losing money." Never poor management or poor oversight from the Board of Directors. Amazing.