Anyone surprised that Chrysler didn't backfill Grady's old job?

[XDCX]

I noticed when Peter Grady retired from FCA that Auburn Hills didn't appoint a new Dealer Relations Manager they just added the responsibility to Al Gardner who is also President and CEO of the Chrysler Brand.

In fact, Auburn Hills no longer uses the term Dealer Relations Manager, the current title is "Vice President Dealer Network Development."

Based on the comments (1) following the story in Automotive New it appears the issue is a non-event with CJDR dealers.

Maybe I'm biased, but I think when an OEM makes Dealer Relations an "add-on" job for one of their existing executives it signals that Dealer Relations really isn't that important.

That said, maybe I'm wrong. Most Chrysler Dealers have been making pretty decent money as a result of FCA's sales success and maybe there's no need for a dedicated Dealer Relations Manager.

[mryan55]

I'd say it's a non event. There really hasn't been too much bad blood between Auburn Hills and the dealer body... some of the statements made about 'unscrupulous dealers' on Hellcat orders might cross the line a bit -- but what store and any size realistically thought it would be free reign to order as many as you wanted?

Things have been good for CDJT dealers in the last four-five years, so every is reasonably happy... even if the goal now is really to chase volume rather than gross.

[XDCX]

Originally Posted by mryan55

I'd say it's a non event. There really hasn't been too much bad blood between Auburn Hills and the dealer body... some of the statements made about 'unscrupulous dealers' on Hellcat orders might cross the line a bit -- but what store and any size realistically thought it would be free reign to order as many as you wanted?

Things have been good for CDJT dealers in the last four-five years, so every is reasonably happy... even if the goal now is really to chase volume rather than gross.

I think that's a good assessment on both counts - a full time Dealer Relations Manager probably isn't needed if there's not much controversy between the dealers and the factory and overall the past four or five years has been pretty good for the CJDR Dealer Network.

At the risk of stirring the pot, I wonder if the overall happiness of the CJDR Dealer Network is correlated to group size? Are the C, D and E store happier with the factory than the A and B stores? My impression would be that the A and B stores are less content but it could also be argued that they don't have much of a voice so their concerns don't get much attention.

In fairness to Auburn Hills, my bet is the smaller/rural stores for all of the OEMs are probably less content and many of the issues are outside of the OEM's direct control.

[mryan55]

We're a D store but we are not too far away from many of the A and B stores and I chat with some of the managers at those stores when they call in for parts and dealer trades.

They seem to be content... of course, many of the A and B size stores for GM and Ford probably didn't make it out of the Great Recession. It seems to me, in relative terms, many CDJR dealers were spared in small markets. Not all... but many, at least here in the rural parts of the Great Lakes BC.

I have noticed many buy-sells, name changes, and new partners among the A and B stores in the last year. We lost 1 A store (2 if you include a Fiat store) in our market last year (15 miles from us) and 3 A stores (4 if you include Fiat) within 75 miles in 2013. Not surprisingly, the only A store added in the last two years was Fiat about 90 miles away from us.

Although there are many struggles for the small town stores, there are some opportunities out there.

A very small Ford store (we're talking 60 new units per year) less than six miles from our store has partnered up with a small dealer group (in Utah, of all places) to form a small group so they can at least pool their resources to make the increasing costs of digital more palatable.

If someone is willing to adapt a bit to the digital world, I think there are still opportunities for the smallest of stores. Like I've said before, even if you don't have the fanciest building or the best sink in the bathroom, none of that matters to the internet shopper.

[XDCX]

Originally Posted by mryan55

If someone is willing to adapt a bit to the digital world, I think there are still opportunities for the smallest of stores. Like I've said before, even if you don't have the fanciest building or the best sink in the bathroom, none of that matters to the internet shopper.

I'd agree with your assessment with the added caveat that the smaller stores are more likely to be pressured out of business due to two-tier pricing.

As a West Coast guy I saw first hand what Dave Smith Motors was able to do out of a small facility in Kellogg, ID. I remain convinced that a small dealer (ideally in a low sales tax area) that boarders a big metro has a real opportunity. As we know, not all customers are logical and there are many that would be willing to incur $200 in travel expenses to save $100 on a vehicle purchase.

Back to your point, it's great to hear that the smaller stores you've been in contact with are happy with FCA too.