It turns out that responding to potential paying customers is good for business. That’s why car dealerships have been dramatically improving how they handle online inquiries.
Chrysler
How to Get Friends and Family — And Perhaps Some Generous Strangers — to Buy You a New Car
How’s this for a millennial-friendly mashup: Take the gift registry and online crowdfunding concepts and apply them to the purchase of a new car. Dodge is trying out the idea with a new registry service that promises something …
5 Top Trends for 2013 Super Bowl Commercials
The cost of advertising in the Super Bowl is rising, running an average of $4 million for a 30-second spot—up from $3.5 million last year and just $42,000 back in 1967. To justify the expense, advertisers aim to present fans with something more than just another entertaining but ultimately forgettable commercial.
Meet the New Family-Friendly ‘People Movers’ (Don’t Call Them Minivans!)
The latest vehicles that are being pumped up as ideal for families include hybrid gas sippers, tiny SUVs, redesigned work vans, and even pickup trucks. You’ll often see them described as “people movers” and “family haulers.” What they won’t be called—not officially anyway—are “minivans.”
Guys and Dollars: How Groceries, Barbies, Fashion and More Are Being Marketed to Men
Word has gotten out that men do more of the household shopping nowadays. Accordingly, we’re being asked to shop in “man aisles” in supermarkets, and we’re even being subjected to an awful new made-up term: “mansumer.”
$9,000 Off? Automakers Ramp Up End-of-Year Incentives to Sell Glut of Pickup Trucks
Every year around this time, retailers go into fire sale mode when certain clothes and toys haven’t sold as expected. Automakers basically do the same thing, only with discounts on a much larger scale. Facing an oversupply of 2012 pickups unsold on dealership lots, GM is knocking prices down by as much as $9,000.
Why Brand Loyalty Is Fading Among Car Buyers
In generations past, there were Ford families, and there were Chevy families. Switching allegiances was akin to converting to a new religion, or voting for the Democrats after being raised in a stalwart GOP household. The truth …
The Blurring Line Between Cheap and Luxury Cars
Pickup trucks are being sold with heated steering wheels and snakeskin leather accented interiors. Middle-of-the-road cars like the Ford Fusion come with sport-stitched leather-trimmed 10-way power seats. Even Kia, which has won …
Once-Struggling Cars That Are Suddenly Hot Sellers
Fiat and Toyota, both of which had a rough sales year in 2011, can’t seem to produce cars fast enough for buyers lately. One much-hyped plug-in vehicle is also faring better in the marketplace in 2012. After struggling to attract …
Even the Economy Can’t Escape the ‘Zombie Apocalypse’
Braaains — as in, have we collectively lost ours? Yes, the recent instances of drug- or psychosis-fueled cannibalism are horrific, but suddenly everyone seems to be obsessed with the reanimated dead. The buzz got so loud that …
Death of a Minivan: Sign of the Impending Doom of All Minivans?
Chrysler, which more or less invented the minivan and regularly accounts for half of all minivans sold in the U.S. annually, is killing off one of its best-selling family automobiles, the Town & Country. Why?
Memorial Day Car Deals: Are the ‘Deals’ Really Deals? Or Just Hype?
In recent years, Memorial Day weekend has become an especially big period for new car sales. The trend is expected to continue this weekend, and special promotions, rebates, and incentives—at least for certain vehicles—will …
