Challenger Commercial

Imaginative, creative, just plain cool....

Canadian Sales 5-10

Lets take a quick look at what has transpired during the first 5 months of sales in Canada. 

If you are getting the feeling that sales are slowing down you might be correct, by the end of this month (June) we will have a better indication. It does seem that sales are on a downward trend from earlier in the year. 

Manufacturers are "pushing hard" (the ones that are ahead) to move new vehicles. Prices of used vehicles are on a steady downward spiral. Keep the lower prices of used vehicles in the back of your mind for future reference.

The automotive business is competitive, its always captivating to see how quickly "vacuums" are filled....in case you did not know this business abhors vacuums.

So here is manufacturer......(you can fill in the blank) saying that it will stay the course with limited incentives, and they assemble a huge amount of vehicles in Canada. In the meantime they are creating a "vacuum" in the market. What do you think happens? Along comes manufacturer........(again fill in the blanks) that quickly fills the vacuum, with the Canadian consumer strongly supporting the manufacturer filling the vacuum, although the other manufacturer is a serious employer in Canada.

You can compare figures to last year, the year before, do all sorts of comparisons on a spread sheet (spread sheet jockeys). The reality is that when a manufacturer creates a vacuum for whatever reason, or decision; thinking that the market will respect their decision. Guess what? They just positioned themselves to become "road kill". 

We have been scratching our heads about one imminent road kill trying to understand the reasoning behind their decisions. We still have no clue!

For some time now, we are saying that the Koreans are doing to the Japanese, what the Japanese did to the domestics. Go figure!

The other vacuum is leasing....the manufacturers.......(fill in the blanks) that are offering leasing, that never stopped leasing are cleaning up in the market....the Canadian consumer will step up to a higher priced vehicle with a well packaged lease....its not rocket science. But it must be rocket science for the folks that are scratching their heads on how to move vehicles.

Its not the monthly winners or losers, or the yearly comparisons, the automotive landscape in Canada shifted (past tense), the manufacturers that understood the shift, and taking advantage of the new normal are winning. The manufacturers that are waiting for the market to come back created a vacuum, these manufacturers are still waiting for a market that by now has shifted elsewhere.

The early signs, in what might just be a no growth Canadian market for 2010 some manufacturers are filling the voids, others are creating voids....its all a game of filling the voids. 

In case you missed Car Wars....its here.

After 18 months its still relevant....New Reality.

Racing Moments on Twitter

Photo by @PinkgineerThis past week end was fascinating in the social autosphere.

We often endure an overload of comments, opinions, recycled news while at other times there are unique brilliant moments.

This past week end was an example of brilliance.

The LeMans race started Saturday morning our time, it was raining here consequently its a good time to catch up on indoor work, which implies being on the computer, while watching a feed of the race, or a feed from an in car camera. 

In our case we were especially interested, and supporting @CorvetteRacing, several weeks ago we started the Wave to support Corvette Racing....perhaps at the time the wave knew something that we did not. We also reconnected with @FrancaSeven who again this year was in the Corvette pits, and @Pinkgineer was going to LeMans.

Saturday morning on Twitter @SpeedSportLife is actively involved in commenting the race, and they kept at it for the entire 24 hours....kudos!

Needless to tell you we also connected with several folks @e55fan having after dinner drinks, and @MR2pritch enjoying fireworks and the scenery in Montreal during the F1 activities. 

The LeMans race is going according to plan with the Peugeots leading, and more important Corvette having a good time in GT2, its looking good for Corvette, and it would have been totally cool to win in GT2.

Come Saturday night its clear that @SpeedSportLife will do their own 24 Hour of LeMans Twitter commentating, @Pinkgineer is publishing cool photos from LeMans, and our other friends are publishing cool Saturday night photos from Montreal (nothing to do with cars).

When @Pinkgineer posted the photo of the Ferris Wheel at LeMans, it got us thinking.

Here we are in a suburb of Toronto flipping between LeMans, and Montreal on a Saturday night, and the middle of the night in LeMans. Truly wonderful to see how empowered we have become with technology.

When you hear comments/opinions on social media they rarely mentions the truly brilliant moments when a bunch of cool people with a common interest (motorsports) from diverse locations on the planet connect usually for a few minutes (last Saturday it was hours).  

Just remember....that Twitter Moments leave a lasting impression.

The racing...by now you know the results, yes...we expressed our profound frustration and disappointment in very direct language towards @CorvetteRacing. 

What Motivates Us

Time well spent...

Vro0m Ro0m

Good Morning!

Yes, its Friday its the Vroom Room, with Caffe Latte.

Are you ready for the Le Mans race tomorrow, and the F1 race in Montreal on Sunday? 

Its official from now on its Chevrolet.

Interested in what is going on at the Corvette Racing pits at Le Mans...live Pit Cam.

This year at the TT Zero at the Isle of Man Moto Czysz won the race with an average speed of 96.82 MPH which is a phenomenal accomplishment for an electric motorcycle.

If you are looking for a Potoon Fender Testarossa....here it is.

Is it possible that in an era where everyone can publish, some folks actually start believing their own PR, yes we are being kind and polite here. Do you ever get the feeling that everyone is an expert on "something" and that its very easy to "talk the talk".

In an age where technology is supposed to simplify things, could we be complicating our lives with all these opinions floating around all over the place? Just saying....

You may have missed our review of the 370Z Roadster. If you are considering a Roadster, make it a point to experience the 370Z its a cool car, that will fire up your emotions.

From our perspective manufacturers should offer a maintenance package, its our opinion that increasingly the newer generations of vehicle customers have no desire to assume the responsibility of maintaining vehicles. Its also our opinion that manufacturers should offer a comprehensive mobility package with their vehicles which includes maintenance. An informative comparison between two comparable cars....take a look.

Lately we have had a few conversations, regarding showroom activity, when a prospects visits a showroom, there is an intense "moment of truth" that unfolds between human beings (sales representative and prospect). In which the dealer will seldom get a second chance if the "moment of truth" is a failure.  

If you are a dealer, after everyone has tried to sell you their version of Snake Oil 2.0 to increase your sales, close more deals, control your ups, make an additional $10 in the business office. Pay close attention to the customer treatment in your showroom. In many instances the prospect that walks in already bought your car, he only needs your sales person to finalise his purchase decision. You can read about it here,...yes it still happens every day.

On the same note, the elaborate software that most dealers have in their showroom to calculate deals, payments, leases...did you know that in many instances it is a turn off for the customer. Its good for the dealer to visualize the deals, for the floor manager to try and get more gross, and scares a Gen Y that wants to do business with you.

Impressive photo gallery of "old race cars" at Infineon....take a moment to enjoy.