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Old 02-09-2009, 09:47 PM   #1
XDCX
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Default If you were Jim Press, what would you do different?

Although Mr. Press may have burned up a little "goodwill" with the Chrysler dealers with last week's comments during the Conference Call, I know that he's still widely respected for his knowledge and expertise.

That said, if you were Jim Press and you had to steer Chrysler though this mine field, what would you do different?

I'd like this thread to stay positive, but realistic. We all know the Corporation's strengths and weaknesses and we know what resources Mr. Press has at his disposal.

If you were Jim Press, what would you do?
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Old 02-10-2009, 09:25 AM   #2
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Default Here's an idea....

Here's an idea I'd be working on if I were Jim Press:
Floorplan Assurance:

My bet is that the majority of dealers who are not participating in Chrysler's program to take extra inventory are fearful about their flooring accounts. It's almost impossible to replace a flooring account in this credit environment and a dealer who exceeds his floorline may put his account in jeopardy.

The solution - Floorplan Assurance guarantee from CFC. Dealers who took their allocation would be assured that CFC would "backstop" the dealer in the event he exceeded his floorline. An additional assurance could be established for dealers who are concerned about curtailments.
The idea is simple, it's easy to implement and it addresses a legitimate business concern that most Chrysler dealers face when they have to decide if they're going to take additional inventory.
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Old 02-10-2009, 09:57 AM   #3
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First of all in a positive form I would eliminate all forms of two tier pricing, I would cancel all coupon values and increase all public rebates. Second I would guarentee all inventory, that had to be ordered to keep Chrysler in a cash flow mode, with cfc flooring and offer to those who are not with cfc a secondary flooring source, if needed. It would become the responseability of the dealer to pay off the right floor plan source according to vin #. Third I would mandate to cfc the loosening of the credit stronghold so they become competitive in both rate and approval stips.

Last night the President stressed how important it is to re establish confiidence in both consumer and small business. In my simple mind I think this may work along with minimum buid requirements to keep everyone working in the plants and front lines.

Then after this starts to level cash flow, the money to coninue new product developement.
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Old 02-10-2009, 01:54 PM   #4
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First of all in a positive form I would eliminate all forms of two tier pricing, I would cancel all coupon values and increase all public rebates. Second I would guarentee all inventory, that had to be ordered to keep Chrysler in a cash flow mode, with cfc flooring and offer to those who are not with cfc a secondary flooring source, if needed. It would become the responseability of the dealer to pay off the right floor plan source according to vin #. Third I would mandate to cfc the loosening of the credit stronghold so they become competitive in both rate and approval stips.
Great ideas.

There's no question that the "two tier" pricing issue can be a real cancer. Once a dealer senses that the playing field isn't level it's tempting just to opt out of the game and focus on used cars.

Concerning the inventory guarantee, I agree 100%.

Concerning CFC it seems that they've only made minimal improvements since they received the $1.5 Billion TARP infusion. Making improvements here would definitely increase car sales for the dealers and the corporation.
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Old 02-10-2009, 04:06 PM   #5
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There’s only one-way out of this mess, sell our way out. The current product & inventory levels are what they are. We need for Chrysler to step-up on advertising and incentives ASAP. I’m sure their current budgets are stretched & they need to show their best numbers to the Feds shortly. But, when they get the balance of the loans they need to step-up fast, hard and all in, dealers did.
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Old 02-10-2009, 04:30 PM   #6
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Default Perception Change

We Need Customers… and “Perception” is keeping them away. Let’s assume for this conversation we get beyond the April 1st date relatively intact. And lets assume Jim Press is permitted to start doing what he was hired to do… which is NOT what he is doing today!

Perception of Company Strength.
This isn’t going to just suddenly change after 4-1. We need to publically tell people we are here for the long haul and show them this talk is real. Maybe this can be assisted by touting a successful merger with Fiat… maybe talking about future product that is slated for release… maybe reminding people of the actual roots we have imbedded in so many communities across the country… maybe touting the fact that Chrysler will be hiring (seeing as so many jumped ship), they’ll need to hire with ANY increase in sales. It’ll take multiple pieces here to change the current Perception of Chrysler. BTW… killing the continual head lines of Chrysler being up for sale MUST be the first step in improving Chrysler perception. Even if Cerberus continues to try and off load us… keep it quite until the damn papers are signed, PLEASE!

Perception of Product Quality.
The publicity the domestic brands have received the past six months has killed the consumer’s confidence in our vehicles. Anyone who wanted us to fail or bankrupt or simply didn’t want the loans approved started with the same OLD tired line that I’ve been hearing since the early 80’s… product isn’t up to par with the imports and our product lines isn’t what the public wants. What BS this is! BUT, the public has heard this SO many times the past several months it has created doubt amongst our own loyal customers and completely turned off the people that have never even owned a Chrysler. We need to tout the products strengths we have… and we do have them!!!

Perception of Credit Availability.
Cerberus needs to get Chrysler & Chrysler Finance in an office together and get a set game plan on financing customers. I know CFC has a major cash problem and that’s not going to go away after 4-1… but let’s look at what we do have and create something positive that both the customer & dealer can rely on. When we as dealers look at the multiple pieces we’ve put together in a deal… and then we still stare at each other as to weather or not Chrysler will buy the deal… that’s a problem! This chit needs fixed.

Maybe not the financial checks & balances of running a company that you were looking for here X-Man… but I believe if we can subside the negative Perceptions that have again (27yrs w/Chrys., this garbage isn’t new) risen with Chrysler… start getting some traffic… start financing some customers… and start moving the vehicles… the remaining pieces will fall into place!

Call it the Iacocca plan… it worked before, it can work again!

Last edited by CL Pgh; 02-10-2009 at 04:32 PM.
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Old 02-10-2009, 06:10 PM   #7
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And lets assume Jim Press is permitted to start doing what he was hired to do… which is NOT what he is doing today!
Perception of Company Strength.

Perception of Product Quality.

Perception of Credit Availability.
Call it the Iacocca plan… it worked before, it can work again!
Excellent post - Five Stars....

This is exactly what I was thinking of when I thought about creating this thread. You nailed it 100% - this is exactly what Chrysler needs and it's NOT what Jim Press has been doing.

The irony is that Press has already demonstrated that he's great at delivering an this type of message. Scrap all of the Ram Challenge advertising and focus on your three messages above.

I remember the old days with Iacocca and the "If you can find a better car, buy it..." ads and "You need to lead, follow or get out of the way..."

Chrysler is seen by the public as a weak player that's on its deathbed - it's time to change that perception.
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Old 02-10-2009, 06:54 PM   #8
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I couldn't agree more w/ the perception message CL Pgh & XDCX...the first ominous signs I saw were last July when the giant idiots in detroit announced loud and clear to the world "No More Leasing"...why did they have to broadcast it? Just quietly adjust residuals and money factors and we would've gotten the message, and would have worked and made deals accordingly. If you give a Grand Cher a 22% residual value and a .00700 money factor, we'd know what was up, but to shout it from the highest mountain was stupidity! But instead they just reinforced the notion that there is no future value to the product..."mr. csutomer, we're terrified of the product and you should be too!"

I am so tired of pulling crap out of my ass when customers say "so whats gonna happen to Chrysler" ... the direction and alliance from the mothership has been pitiful. I basically tell customers, "Jeep is too valuable, Chrysler may go down, but companies will line up to buy the Jeep brand just as it is, and I plan to be doing F&I for Jeeps for a long time, so fear not Mr Customer." Fortunately we mostly sell Jeeps, and I honestly do believe that to be true. In fact, an ad campaign that gracefully touts the Iacocca ideals and ethics would do more than the blaring "make your best deal ever at your local Chrysler dealer!!!" nonsense that dominates the airwaves...
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Old 02-11-2009, 08:52 AM   #9
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j4j - Great comments.

I still remember where I was when CFC announced that they were going to pull out of the leasing market. I was on a mini-vacation and I was listening to CNBC on satellite radio while I was driving my Jeep.

CNBC treated the story like it was an indication that Chrysler was running out of money and they were on the brink of failure. Apparently there was some problems that restricted the dealer's abilities to withdraw funds from CFC's Cash Management Accounts that day and the reporter was suggesting these two issues may be related. From a PR standpoint, it was a disaster.

Chrysler needs to advertise that they're alive and vibrant. The Jeep and Dodge brands are legendary, they're part of America's past and future.
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Old 02-11-2009, 12:43 PM   #10
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Default Here's another idea...

Here's another idea for Mr. Press:
Problem: Dealers have aged inventory that's subject to curtailment

We all know there are thousand of dealers that have vehicles that are going to be subject to CFC's Curtailment Rules. Dealers with limited capital may be forced out of business if they cannot meet the write-down requirements.

Solution: Establish a "National Curtailment Pool" for dealer use only

Just like the National Distribution Pool that Chrysler used last year, they could create a pool for dealers who wanted to wholesale their aged inventory - the "National Curtailment Pool."

Dealers would have the option of uploading vehicles and listing the net price they're willing to sell the vehicle for. Chrysler would assist with the billing and help coordinate with shipping. A program like this already exists for the Parts Departments.
Most dealers are willing to take a loss on their aged units, sometimes based on selling price and other times based on large incentives for the sales staff. While that's an effective tool, the dealer is still limited to the customers in his/her market area.

If a pool of vehicles existed a Sales Manager from anywhere in the country could search the pool and desk a deal for his/her customer. It has the potential to be a "win-win" deal for both of the dealers and Chrysler.
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Old 02-11-2009, 01:16 PM   #11
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That makes WAY too much sense, Chrysler would never do that...
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Old 02-11-2009, 03:41 PM   #12
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That makes WAY too much sense, Chrysler would never do that...
You are right.
Xman is there any way you can fwd some of these ideas to Chrysler?
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Old 02-11-2009, 05:10 PM   #13
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Xman is there any way you can fwd some of these ideas to Chrysler?
Well that last time we had a Chrysler LLC Corporate Employee on the site I banned him for impersonating a dealership employee and touting Factory Service Contracts.

That said, you bring up a good point - there are some great ideas here and Chrysler would benefit from seeing them. I'm open to thoughts/suggestions from the forum members.
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Old 02-12-2009, 07:48 AM   #14
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email a link to this thread to press...
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Old 02-19-2009, 10:25 PM   #15
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Default Here's another idea...

Here's another idea for Mr. Press:
Problem: We don't have traffic because people are worried about their jobs, and the people who do visit the dealership don't have the ability to buy.

While low traffic presents a problem, the bigger issue is finding people who have the ability to buy. It does little good to "sell" a car to a customer who can't qualify for a loan.

Solution: Targeted marketing to "buyers" with a Bonus Incentive.

I look back at Chrysler's marketing effort last year with the WalMart's employees. It was a great idea, but the wrong demographic. While WalMart may be the Nation's #1 Employer, most of their employees do not have the ability to buy.

Chrysler should take the WalMart idea but target a more logical audience - people who are not worried about their jobs and have the income to support a new car purchase. The logical targets would be government employees: Police officers, Firemen, Teachers, Doctors, Nurses, Military, Postal, etc.
A simple incentive with an extra $1,000 - $2,000 for a limited time would be perfect. It wouldn't even take a big marketing spend. Just put the incentive out there and the smart dealers will chase down the eligible customers.
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