Jim Press finds a home

[F&I Pro]

According to A/N Nissan has hired Jim Press in an advisory capacity and states he's been on the job for 4 months....Let's hope he doesn't do to Nissan Dealers what he did to Oldco.

[Txflyer]

I was sort of hoping he'd find a home in Leavenworth, KS.

[steve_biegler]

How do these people get hired on after what happend? There are so many good people out there. I wonder what his annual salary is?

[Noah]

Originally Posted by steve_biegler

How do these people get hired on after what happend? There are so many good people out there. I wonder what his annual salary is?

I agree with this post wholeheartedly. There are so many re-treads in the automotive industry; execs who still manage to find a follow-up exec role with another mfr after they've been huge failures in previous roles. Makes ZERO sense to me.

[XDCX]

I haven't had a chance to read the report in AN yet but I can't imagine what Jim Press could do for Nissan that would add value.

I wonder if the person who made the hiring decision ever heard the Conference Call where Press threatened the Chrysler Dealers with his famous "they'll never forget" quote?

[srt]

Well at least he got a "soft" landing.

[possum]

Truly amazing. I can't imagine what the thoughts are here.

[XDCX]

Well, I finally had a chance to read a few different reports about Nissan's interest in Jim Press and it still doesn't make sense to me. Of all the reports I read, I thought this one from Fortune was the most informative - click here

The Fortune article indicated - "Press would provide a soothing presence and allow for the elevation of Carlos Tavares, who currently runs North American operations, into a bigger job. Tavares, a smart, aggressive operator, has been mentioned as a successor to CEO Ghosn."

I can understand why Ghosn would want to groom his successor and it makes sense to lessen Tavares' day-to-day responsibilities, I just don't understand why Nissan thinks Press is the right person to help them fill the void.

As I've stated before, I was a HUGE fan of Jim Press and I was excited when Cerberus hired him away from Toyota. That said, Press' greatest asset was his ability to motivate his field force and his dealers - that ability is now history.

In my opinion, Jim Press flat out lied to the Chrysler dealers in the early months of 2009 and he continued his deceit when he testified before Congress. Jim Press does nothing for Nissan other than tarnish their image.

[possum]

We thought Press was "hired away" from Toyota, but now, with the reports of all the past mismanagement of Toyota, it makes you wonder.

Mr. Tavares had better watch his back.

[XDCX]

I read a blog entry from one of the Automotive News editors, Dave Guilford, who expresses his opinion that Nissan made a "shrewd move" by hiring Jim Press as a consultant.

As it relates to Chrysler, the Mr. Guilford mistakenly believes that it's only the rejected dealers who harbor any resentment toward Press. Clearly this is another example where the old-school automotive press is out of touch with what's actually happening in the real world.

[crowe]

Originally Posted by XDCX

I read a blog entry from one of the Automotive News editors, Dave Guilford, who expresses his opinion that Nissan made a "shrewd move" by hiring Jim Press as a consultant.

As it relates to Chrysler, the Mr. Guilford mistakenly believes that it's only the rejected dealers who harbor any resentment toward Press. Clearly this is another example where the old-school automotive press is out of touch with what's actually happening in the real world.

Our toughest competitor is a Nissan store 15 minutes away.
I think we just got another competitive edge.

We were not terminated & our blood was boiling from Press’s threats & lies.

[79LilRedExpress]

Originally Posted by crowe

We were not terminated & our blood was boiling from Press’s threats & lies.

Now we will see who has the longest memory... JP or us.

We know who he is, and we won't forget what he's said and done... EVER.

I'm just glad that we still had a few friends left from the old days (most took the buy-out) that kept us from the GrimReaper

[XDCX]

Originally Posted by XDCX

I read a blog entry from one of the Automotive News editors, Dave Guilford, who expresses his opinion that Nissan made a "shrewd move" by hiring Jim Press as a consultant.

As it relates to Chrysler, the Mr. Guilford mistakenly believes that it's only the rejected dealers who harbor any resentment toward Press. Clearly this is another example where the old-school automotive press is out of touch with what's actually happening in the real world.

I finally had a chance to get caught up and posted a response to Mr. Guilford's editorial:

Dave,

While you're certainly entitled to your opinion, I think your assessment that Press is held in poor regard by only "some" of the Chrysler dealers lacks foundation.

In October, 2008 Jim Press lied to ALL of the Chrysler dealers when he told them about Chrysler's bright future with Cerberus and the 10 new vehicles that would be released in 2010. Thanks to testimony in Chrysler's bankruptcy case we now know that LaSorda was circling the globe trying to sell-off Chrysler's automotive assets to any willing buyer. Press knew the facts but chose to lie - something the Nissan dealers should take note of.

Following that, Press had the famous Conference Call where he threatened ALL the Chrysler dealers suggesting the factory would "never forget" those dealers who failed to take their wholesale allocation.

In my opinion an OEM executive can't be a "dealer guy" when he lies and threatens his dealers. Nissan's decision to hire Jim Press was a mistake - it will be interesting to see how long it takes Nissan and their dealers to figure that out

[XDCX]

Apparently an editorial last week from one of his reporters singing the praises of Jim Press wasn't enough. This week, Keith Crain weighs in with his support of Nissan's decision to hire Jim Press.

While I respect that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, I'd like to hear Press' supporters address the allegations of lies and intimidation. Are we just supposed to forget what happened in 2008 and 2009 and pretend it never happened?

As I've stated countless times, I was a HUGE Jim Press fan but my opinion changed based on what Press said and did while he was at Chrysler.

I wonder, does Keith Crain not know what happened while Press was at Chrysler, or is it that he doesn't care?

[possum]

They are probably soliciting Nissan advertising money, so lets all sing the praises!