Light Truck and SUV Blogs

SEMA 2010 is right around the corner.  The pre-SEMA time of year is always an exciting time for the industry.  The manufacturers are all gearing up to introduce their latest products, get last minute project vehicle installalls completed, and putting those last finishing touches on their booth.

Dealers are getting eager to learn more about the new products available to bring to their inventory, to participate in the education seminars on such topics as social media, the internet, how to stay above your competition, and more.

I wanted to take the pre-SEMA blog to ask our audience what you look forward to the most at this year’s show.  Is it the new products, the project vehicles, Las Vegas itself, or is it something as simple as the booth babes drawing you into a manufacturer’s booth?

Most everybody has one thing that gets them geared up for the industry’s largest trade show.  What’s yours?

I’m sure you have all heard of one of the various social media sites such as Facebook, Linkedin, My Space, Twitter, etc but how many of you are using them for your business purposes?

There are many businesses, sports professionals, organizations, and more who are using social media sites to promote themselves and keep a name in front of their target audience.

The social media site I am most familiar with is Facebook.  Facebook allows the opportunity for free exposure.  Any business owner, celebrity, or person can create a Facebook profile page or "fan page."  These pages can be used to post status updates such as "Labor Day Sale: 15% off the entire store," or send out e-mail type updates to all of your "fans."

To better explain, I would like to use the example of a local RV dealership I follow.  This dealership utilized the photo album application, a standard feature of Facebook, to promote its rental units.

So far I have seen them use different albums to feature the different rental units available. Each unit has their own album full of different pictures of the exterior and interior of the unit with the title of the photo album describing the unit a bit.

One example they list is entitled: "Brand New Rental 2009 Class C 31′ with Slide" and it has a short description which reads: "Brand New 2009 Coachmen Freelander 1315 with a Queen Bed and Super Slideout."

They’re also using the photo album application to share photos of their current inventory specials. These photos are typical exterior shots like you would show on your own Web site or an online classified site.

Using Facebook profiles or "fan pages" is one great way to advertise your dealership and/or small business. However, Facebook also offers traditional advertising.

Facebook can be used to get in front of numerous targeted audiences that could be beneficial to a local business. When going to the advertising page on Facebook, you can create your very own ad. The ad allows 25 characters for a title, 135 characters for ad copy and an image.

You then can choose how to target your ad. You can first target by location and then target by key words. For example, your target could be prospects within 50 miles of Madison, Wis., who have interests in cars, trucks, off roading, etc. You can also target by age, gender, education status, and other categories.

When looking at cost, you can set a daily budget of what you want to spend and you can choose to pay per impression or pay per click. Once that is decided you bid on the amount you want to pay per impression/click.

Now more than ever there are different opportunities for dealers to get their name in front of potential buyers.

Are you on the social media band wagon?  Should you be?

With the 2009 SEMA Show less that four months away, many are gearing up to participate in the annual event.

In visiting the SEMA Show Web site, several noteworthy events have already been scheduled. For instance, comedian Bill Engvall, known for being one-quarter of the Blue Collar Comedy group, will be the entertainer for the 2009 Industry Awards Banquet. For more information on Engvall or the banquet click here.

In addition to the awards banquet, SEMA has announced that tickets for the SEMA Installation Banquet & Gala Fundraiser have gone on sale. The installation banquet is where SEMA recognizes board members and hall of fame inductees. For more information on this event, click here.

For those members who will be unable to attend the 2009 SEMA show being held Nov. 3-6, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nev. Members can still participate in SEMA’s Inaugural Show ‘N Shine being held August 1, 2009 at the Pasadena Convention Center in California.

As the 2009 SEMA Show approaches, Light Truck & SUV’s newsletters will bring more information about the show and upcoming events.

In the past few months we have been talking a lot about new products, new ideas and new attitudes. It seems that many of us have been looking at the future with apprehension and trepidation.

Now is the time to look at every policy and procedure that we are working with and put them to the customer service test.

If what we are doing is not helping the customer or increasing sales it needs to be altered. We also need to look at increasing our efforts in marketing and products that will make a real difference to the consumer.

The only way that WE are going to succeed in these troubled times is if WE change ourselves. It is obvious that government cannot get us to success. If we are to be successful it is up to us!

I look forward to listening to your comments and ideas on how WE can change the future of the light truck accessory industry.

I have not heard the word voiced so much since I ordered truck caps from Century Truck Caps in the late 80’s and 90’s when I was operations manager for a distributor and retailer of pickup truck accessories.

When our president held his news conference to discuss his immediate plans for the economy and also take general questions I was glued to the TV set. It actually reminded me a bit of the “Special News Bulletins” from the early 1960’s. I was struck by what he had to say in particular to the RV industry. People in Elkhart told him that they can produce the units but consumers can’t get the credit to buy them.

Now truck caps, tonneaus and accessories are not the big ticket item that RVs are but, our light truck accessory sales have always been directly related to new pickup and SUV sales. So the message to me is similar, if we can get the economy moving in the mode that good credit rebounds, more cars and trucks will be purchased.

Another question looms on the horizon. That question is what will become of the pickup truck? We will always need pickup trucks for hauling and towing. Business and industrial use will, of course depend on them. Does the automotive industry have a plan to bring these back to where Americans can afford to drive them with regularity?

In the past we have seen the pickup being purchased and used as a second or even third vehicle. Americans love to personalize and accessorize their trucks, they have to be able to buy and fuel them to make that happen.

I know that to a large extent this will depend on gas and diesel prices but these seem to fluctuate at uncertain and unstable levels. Hopefully inventive and clever minds are hard at work in Detroit and seeking information from every available resource.

This year’s Detroit Auto Show has gone electric and while most of the focus is on cars, trucks can only be right around the corner. Rumors abound about a new Toyota Tundra hybrid in the making.

When it comes to cars, the Toyota Prius is boasting a mighty 50 mpg and actually gets better fuel economy in the city than on the highway. Honda released its Insight hybrid and went the other direction with better highway fuel economy. Ford is offering its new Fusion as the new hybrid muscle on the street with a 2.5 liter engine.

The question I have is, “how long will this hybrid train run?” Pure electric automobiles appear to be the finish line for where technology is heading. The only things holding them on the back burner are a nationwide infrastructure for supporting the vehicles and the fact that electric vehicles are still a little too pricy for most consumers.

In the eternal struggle to outdo each other, which is really what the Detroit Auto Show is all about, manufacturers will surely make the leap to affordable electric autos in coming years. Will it be five or 10 years? Who can say?

The one thing that is certain is mechanics across the country will need additional training to handle the new technology. Most shops are comfortable with all aspects of general auto repair but how many are prepared for when one of these hybrids is towed onto the lot? Will the auto shops and aftermarket part stores be cut out of this developing segment because of lack of preparation?

I think history has shown that consumers want options outside of taking their vehicle to a dealership. The question is, “what are you doing to prepare yourself?” Or is this so far down the road that we need not worry about it? It may be that small to mid-sized shops just like yours will become the “the new gas station” for electric vehicles if initiative is taken to build the infrastructure. That is how the auto industry started. It used to be that consumer’s only option was getting their vehicle repaired at the station that filled their tank. Will history repeat itself?

It looks like Congress has finally come to terms with the Bush Administration on bailing out the auto industry. I expect within days the deal will be officially announced. Some view this as an essential point to stave off U.S. economic Armageddon. Others view the bailout as robbing the U.S. population of their hard earned paychecks so companies with bad business models can continue to do everything a viable business should never do.

Environmentalists hate the deal because the money is to be taken from funds allocated to developing greener vehicles. Some of the money could also be used for the big three to continue legal battles with states who have adopted strict CAFÉ standards. Some environmentalists say we are essentially giving Detroit’s “big three” money to turn around and sue the hand that gave them the money.

Even the corporate leaders of the “big three” would face restrictions on their compensation, essentially eliminating some of the major perks included with being responsible for managing three of America’s largest businesses. Bye, bye corporate jets and golden parachutes.

It sounds like nobody is really very happy with this deal.

So why are we doing this? Many agree that allowing any one of them to fail would be catastrophic. Is this a sign that capitalism is a miserable failure? A shop owner called me yesterday stating that consumers have spoken with their wallets. He argued that Detroit is not making products consumers want and so asking consumers to then in turn support the companies with tax dollars is like forcing them to buy a vehicle without getting anything to put in the garage.

This is an issue that I am sure all of you have diverse opinion on. So let’s hear them. What do you think?

I recently received a press release from the Civil Society Institute (CSI) stating that they are urging Congress to mandate any Detroit automaker loan guarantee bailout be conditional on the auto industry dropping ongoing litigation against four states requiring stronger emissions standards.

40MPG.org and TheCLEAN.org are both organizations under CSI who lobby against global warming by encouraging cleaner emissions standards. The states with legislation that the auto industry is battling are California, Vermont, Rhode Island and New Mexico.

Pam Solo, 40MPG.org founder and CSI president says, “Just because Detroit is pleading once again for another bailout is no reason for Washington to give these companies a ‘free ride.’ If taxpayers are going to be put at risk by guaranteeing new loans, then any such new help should be conditioned on the U.S. car companies ending their campaign to frustrate state-level efforts to clean up car and light-truck emissions that cause global warming. Further, Congress should insist that every penny of the $25 billion in new loan guarantees that Detroit is seeking be targeted to building the cars of tomorrow, not the gas-guzzling dinosaurs of yesterday. Business as usual for Detroit is a bad investment without the incentives for Detroit to do what it seems it cannot do for itself.”

According to CSI, since the election, President-elect Obama plans to move swiftly to overturn a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) denial of a waiver being sought by California that would allow the state to move ahead with its tougher vehicle emission standards.

A total of 15 states have adopted regulations requiring automobile manufacturers to reduce significantly the greenhouse gas emissions of their cars and light trucks. Under the uniform set of regulations adopted by these states, automobile manufacturers must reduce new vehicle greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent over 2002 levels. The reductions are phased in on model years 2009 through 2016.

The U.S. automobile industry has been waging a four-year legal battle against state emission standards. They prevailed upon the Bush EPA to deny California a Clean Air Act waiver in a decision that was contradicted by the analysis of EPA’s own staff. CSI says this denial will be reversed one way or another: California has sued EPA to obtain the waiver and, like other states, is faring well in court. President-Elect Obama also has promised to reverse the EPA waiver denial according to CSI.

My question for readers is, “Is this the time to put conditions on automakers to save their companies?” When one of our largest industries in the nation is over a barrel, do we stipulate any financial help they may get based major shifts in the products they produce just to accommodate a few states regulations? On the other side, are the current emission standards detrimental to our long term nation’s health and this is the perfect time for change? What would happen if the auto industry stood up to this type of regulation and said, ‘Hey, if you don’t want to drive our cars and trucks then we wont sell them in your state.” How do you think consumers would feel if they couldn’t buy a Ford 150, Dodge RAM or Chevy Silverado.

While it is no secret that things are rough for auto dealers right now, in fact, new unit sales are at the lowest level in 15 years, September’s new unit sales data is not all bad news. While recent falling gas prices didn’t necessarily boost sales as much as we would like, and financing of a vehicle has gotten much tougher, American manufacturers took back the lion’s share of new unit U.S. auto sales in September.

For the first time in six months, American auto manufacturing dominated new unit sales with a 52.3 percent market share compared to foreign competitors’ 47.7 percent. This is a big jump from the measly 45.3 percent market share American manufacturers held in August, a month earlier. That said, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that overall sales when adjusted for business days dropped 26.6 percent and 12.8 percent year to date.

On a positive note, truck sales are the top performer for September. Due to recent incentives and falling gas prices, national light truck sales topped 485,342 in September. While this is down 21.8 percent from August of this year, cars fell even more when compared to the previous month with a 23.8 percent decline.

The hot model of the fall is the 2008 Chevy Silverado which has been the No. 1 selling vehicle for both August and September. That’s right, a pick up truck. For those who thought the truck would go the way of the station wagon due to higher CARB standards, guess again.

While larger SUVs may undergo significant changes to meet fuel economy standards, the pick up truck is ingrained in the American work culture. It’s not just a method of getting to work, it’s how many Americans get work done. Alas, I’m preaching to the choir.

Part of the reason Americans are back on top can be explained by the Nissan Altima that fell from the No. 8 spot of top selling vehicles to No. 12 in September. The Chevy Malibu has taken the Altima’s spot on the top ten list. The Toyota Camry which holds the No. 3 spot of top selling vehicles dropped 33 percent from August’s sales.

What do these numbers mean in the grand scheme of things? The final chapter on light trucks has not been written.

The news from Sema this week concerning the re-tooling of the Spring expo was long awaited.

As I read the news from Sema I was reminded once again of the atmosphere from the past of the brazen and progressive thinking that helped launch TCIA in the 80’s. By again recognizing the necessity for a dedicated and focused approach to education and innovation we are once again on the path to success. I whole heartedly applaud and support the LTAA and PRO councils for having introduced this new conference, (TSTC).

With the adaptations that are affecting our industry now is the perfect time to offer a different prospective to the members of the accessory and restyling communities. By sponsoring and endorsing this bright approach our dealers and manufacturers can build upon needed innovation and change. And, by taking the conference back to Florida, a venue that has long proven popular, I feel that they have struck a common thread to our former successes in taking advantage of a venue that has proven extremely triumphant and inspiring.

Here’s wishing everyone in the industry the very best for the future.