Dealership groups are starting to brand themselves. That is, they want their name to stand for a certain quality of customer service that cuts across the franchises that make up their group. Sometimes, a franchise doesn’t fit into the image a dealership group wants to project.
That is the case with Maserati in one of this week’s stories. Once a low-volume exotic, the Italian brand is fast becoming a volume brand, not to say mass market. That image does not fit with a group I profile in this issue. St. Louis Motorcars recently sold its Maserati franchise to the Ed Napleton Auto Group because the dealer principals at St. Louis Motorcars feel they are not equipped to handle a volume brand nor do they desire to represent a volume brand. Maserati is “trying to become an Audi and that is not what we do or who they are,” one of the principals told me.
When it was revealed last year that Volkswagen AG had altered software on some of its diesel models to alter emissions results, I figured the automaker would by now have at least come up with a fix for the problem, though the full impact on its dealerships will not be known for many months or years.
But the sordid affair continues, and Volkswagen dealerships are facing the additional problem of not having enough gasoline-powered units to sell. Since the news is still current, this week we revisit a column by contributor Ira Silver looking at the damage to the Volkswagen brand the scandal may cause and possible upsides to the event.
We also have, as always, Transaction News.
Enjoy!
