Who would have thought that in an era where the government is mandating increasingly stringent fuel consumption guidelines, used SUVs would be a hot commodity.

Believe it or not, that’s the case, or at least it probably will be very soon. The number of three-year-old SUVs being returned from lease has dwindled from about 2,500 per month last year to a tiny 200 per month in 2011 according to the National Automotive Dealers Association. The trouble is, in 2008 almost nobody was lining up to buy a new SUV, and those who would have couldn’t get loans because every major financial institution was suffering.

Fast-forward to the end of 2011 and we’re starting to see the residual effects of that purchasing lull. There wasn’t really anybody leasing new SUVs, so now nobody is returning them, meaning dealers are scrambling to stock up for the winter season.

“I think we will feel the impact of this in late January due to the time it takes to process, sell and market the lease turn-ins,” Jake Moore, general manager of Country Chevrolet, in Warrenton, Va. said to MSNBC.

While the short supply is a bad sign for someone looking to buy an ’08, the lucky few who have them can probably broker a nie deal for a brand new model.

[Source: MSNBC]

Buying a new car takes time. And you’d think with all the resources at our disposal, thanks to the Internet, the process would be a lot speedier. But new research out says the opposite is true.

According to market research presented at the J.D. Power and Associates 2011 Automotive Internet Roundtable, the World Wide Web does make us better informed, but it slows us down when it comes time to buying a car. Basically, it’s not making us decisive shoppers.

The research gathered shows that more than 80 percent of U.S. new-car buyers use the Internet to shop and research before going to the dealership. While on the web, online car shoppers take longer to make a decision regarding what car to buy because they’ve gathered so much information.

And dealerships aren’t helping to speed up shopping by responding slowly to Internet requests. This research shows that 95 percent of dealers respond to lead inquiries within 24 hours, and only 33 percent respond within one hour.

Breaking it down into demographics, younger car shoppers use the Internet more often to shop and research, but older shoppers are more likely to submit online leads.

Also interesting is the fact that third-party car sites are used extensively throughout the buying process, as they come in handy for vehicle-inventory searches. Other tools that car shoppers are using include build-a-vehicle configurators (31 percent), dealer locators (25 percent) and deal offers (25 percent). And with the popularity of online videos, 63 percent of shoppers say they were more interested in a vehicle after seeing a video of it.

[Source: Wards Auto]

We’ve all heard the horror stories about women who take their cars into a mechanic to fix a minor problem, only to be charged outrageous fees for non-existent or small issues. A national news program went undercover to get the scoop. After placing hidden cameras at several dealerships, the show’s decoy was overcharged for service work.

The MSNBC “Today” show sent a producer with a functional, out-of-warranty 2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee to five New York-area Jeep dealerships. Before sending her on her way, the network hired a mechanic to install a faulty air conditioning relay, so warm air would blow out of the unit. This problem would cost you about $100 to fix.

When the producer took her Jeep to four of the five garages, mechanics found the faulty relay, but they tacked on extra services to the bill. When the show interviewed third party repair experts, they said these extra services were considered unnecessary. At one dealership, the producer was told her air conditioning compressor had blown up and it would cost $2,000 to fix.

But hopefully some good will come from this news segment – Chrysler spokesman Gualberto Ranieri issued a statement to MSNBC: “I can assure you that we are investigating this case.”

[Source: Automotive News]

When it opened last year Chrysler‘s Motor Village, located in downtown Los Angeles, made quite the impression, though not entirely a good one.

The corporate owned store was created by shutting down a franchise dealer, which caused quite an upset among local Chrysler dealers who argued that the company breached state franchise laws which bar it from opening up and running a store within 10 miles of other dealers.

Now after almost a year, the Auburn Hills, Michigan based automaker plans to sell Motor Village to New Century Automotive Group, after a constant stream of complaints from local auto retailers.

North Hollywood based New Century is owned by Dennis Lin, a successful Southern California car dealer who operates multiple import brand stores in the region.

As part of the agreement, Chrysler will retain ownership of the land and buildings, through its realty division, though New Century will own the franchise rights and inventory.

“I really think that Chrysler Group and Fiat are a great marriage,” stated Lin during a recent press statement. “We have Fiats now and more coming in the near future. I’m excited about the new and improved Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, and Ram products that were launched this year, and the new product coming out now for 2012. I’m very comfortable adding Chrysler Group and Fiat to the product lines I already sell.”

Part of the reason New Century was attracted to Motor Village, was not only the downtown LA location, but also the way the facility is set up, with individual sections for each vehicle brand, as well as it’s loft appearance, which provides a somewhat  intimate, sophisticated ambiance, distinctly different from most modern dealerships.

[Source: Left Lane News]

The rejuvenation of Lincoln doesn’t just begin with Roger Sterling. Ford has ordered its Lincoln dealers to spend at least $1 million per dealer to keep up with contemporary luxury trends, or get the hell out of the way.

Lincoln’s rebuilding begins now, said Alan Mulally to 120 Lincoln dealers at a meeting in Detroit last week. Ford expects its dealers to spend at least $1 million on renovating their showrooms, and double that if it’s a Ford-Lincoln combination (and to pour one out for dearly-departed Mercury). If dealers don’t follow through with the renovations, Ford reserves the right to revoke their franchises.

“We talked about the product and the experience and our commitment to make Lincoln a world-class luxury brand,” said Christian Bokich, Lincoln spokesman. “We have seven new or significantly refreshed vehicles coming out in the next three years.”

Ford wants its dealer renovations ready by the end of next year, just in time for a new MKZ sedan and a Focus-based luxury crossover. Ford currently has 1,100 Lincoln dealerships in America, but the majority of dealers targeted are based in urban markets.

[Source: Automotive News]

Most luxury car dealerships have a style that befits their high-end clients, however Cadillac had lagged behind in this area.

Most Cadillac dealerships are usually a part of a GM store where more affordable makes are also sold.

Now things are about to change, as Cadillac franchises are about to get a look of their own and should help attract new, wealthy clients, rather than those who are in the last stages of their lives.

The new look will feature premium materials like English Oak, matte porcelain tiles and brushed stainless steel accents to give the dealership a richer feel. Customers will also benefit from a modern customer lounge with a coffee bar.

The new design is the work of Gensler Architects, who worked with Cadillac to achieve this new look. GM says they plan to have over 200 of their dealerships to adopt the new look within two years.

Suburban Cadillac of Ann Arbor, MI. is the first to adopt the new look. Their general manager Mike Mosser said “If you want to compete in the luxury market, you have to create the right environment for customers. The new showroom greets potential buyers with a look and feel that puts us at the top of class in the luxury market.”

You can have the best car in the world, but if the sales and service experience leaves a lot to be desired, it can spoil the entire ownership experience, as well as ruin chances of repeat business or gaining new customers.

A new study, released by Pied Piper Prospect Satisfaction Index (try saying that with a full mouth) turned up some interesting findings, specifically when it came to what’s called Internet Lead Effectiveness rankings.

The study measured average dealership performance for all brands selling vehicles in the US and discovered that it varied widely depending on the brand. Toyota, Lexus and Honda dealerships were shown to rank highest in terms of responding to customer inquiries over the internet.

Pied Piper’s study uses a patent pending process to tie ‘mystery shopping’ measurement and scoring to actual sales success; with 19 different ‘Internet Lead Effectiveness’ questions that generate scores on aspects such as Timeliness in response to customer inquiries, dealership and sales person identification, quality of communication and forwarding the sale.

The study was conducted between September 2010 and March 2011, but even though it showed that customer response time via internet leads as improved significantly, around 9 in 10 enquires are given a response within 24 hours, compared to around 6 out of 10 just three years ago, getting a response to a specific question from a customer is still lagging – Pied Piper Management reporting that of all such inquiries to dealers from customers, only around 64 percent are answered within a 24 hour period.

[Source: Pied Piper Management Company]

When Chrysler went through its unpleasant bout of restructuring in June of 2009, it shut down 789 dealerships in an effort to reduce its dealer network by 25%. Now, 64 of those dealers are filing suit against the United States Treasury Department, claiming that the government terminated those dealerships and violated the U.S. Constitution.

More specifically, the suit alleges that the government violated the Fifth Amendment–stating that property cannot be taken away and used for public purposes (restructuring a company run partially by taxpayer money) without adequate compensation–or in this case, $130 million in damages.

[Source: Autoblog]

This morning, we got an automated Email from Overstock.com advertising their “Lowest Price Guarantee” car-buying service. Does this mean they are keeping huge fleets of cars somewhere? Not exactly. Overstock is a widely-known service that helps retail outlets and manufacturers of consumer goods liquidate excess inventory by offering it online, and they have just extended this model to cars as well. Is there a catch? Of course there is.

Using Overstock.com’s search tool, you can look for new cars and used cars in your area with a few mouse clicks. These cars come from local dealerships, not Overstock itself, and certain dealerships have been certified to offer the “Lowest Price Guarantee,” which is basically $300-500 over invoice. Overstock sends these dealerships business, and in turn the dealerships offer their “lowest price.” Now, we all know that in many cases, like an excess of inventory, a good negotiator can get a car below invoice, especially leftover models such as the 2010 Mustang GT, or recently discontinued cars  like the Pontiac G8, which saw base models sitting on dealer lots for months, eventually being sold at a big loss (and a big gain for the customer). The bottom line is, none of this really adds up to excess inventory, just a general agreement to offer a good price with no haggling.

There’s also the “Clearance Lot” section, which is exactly what it sounds like. Cars are marked down to $100 over invoice, but it’s only the “deal of the month” that gets any real-world savings.  So, one specific model, in one specific trim, for the whole month. Ironically, today’s “deal of the month” is the RWD Toyota Sequoia. In the last few days, Toyota’s largest SUV has been surrounded by rumors of extinction, so it’s not surprising Overstock has it in the Clearance section.

We did say there is a catch, and there is: after shopping around through Overstock’s site, you still have to contact a dealership yourself, and deal with salesmen and managers when you get there. They will still try to sell you all the dealer add-ons that make them the most profit. And you still have to work out financing through the dealership (or independently).

The bottom line is, this service is really only for people that don’t have the first clue how to negotiate for a car. But I can get the Enzo Angiolini “Beehive” Stilletos for just $34.99. So that’s something.