Archive for November, 2010

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Aiding Your Dealership With Automotive Fixed Ops Magazine

November 30th, 2010


If you own a dealership and you find you aren’t earning as much money as you had originally hoped, you could find a few really sweet ways to change this! One of the coolest things you could do is use automotive consulting from fixed ops magazine. Fixed Ops magazine has a consulting service called Fixed Ops Consulting which could help you create a customized business plan for your business needs.

More significantly, the Foxed Ops Consulting service could help teach the employees you have currently so as to assist get and keep customers. Automotive training for your personnel is an enormous benefit. Not only will it assist them in your business and help your company make a lot more cash, but it would even help them understand the business too – enriching their lives for further education in the automotive industry.

The automotive consulting would assist your employees learn about how to get new clients and how to keep the ones you have – the repeat sales, which are among the most important sales you could get! How does something like this work? Do you need to pay Fixed Ops Consulting? How long will it take? This procedure is in fact an extremely simple one.

They’ll come to your business and observe for several days at a time. This observation period will aid them see where you and your business requires help and where you’re flourishing. Once the automotive consulting team takes in all this data, they’ll then come up with a business plan in order to fix any problems they see. This will probably include automotive training for your employees.

The auto industry is eternally changing and if you have an employee who got their degree 20 years ago, chances are the rules have changed in the past 5 years. So it’s vital to keep everyone on the up and up and keep them fresh! Upon changing what requires to be fixed and giving automotive training to your employees, they even keep what was working.

Don’t worry, they will not change everything, just the things which need a changin’! Once they put the plan into play and everyone gets into the groove of things, the Automotive Consulting team from Fixed Ops magazine will return to your place of business and see how well the new business plan worked, they would even see if you are having an increase in earnings as well as new customers added to the pack.

They’ll also be available to make new suggestions and answer any questions or concerns you may be having about the business, business plan, or automotive training. Fixed ops Consulting looks at all aspects of your business – not just sales. They also look at customer service and the sales department too since this is the “core” aspect of your business.

If your sales individuals are very slack and don’t actually know how to “sell”, that is okay. They will offer training to these employees also with service advisor training or service manager training.

By: Chris D Collins

About the Author:
To discover the best automotive consulting services available in the industry go to http://www.diggingforprofits.com



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Cadillac BLS Bags Winter Car 2007 Award

November 30th, 2010


Recently at the 77th Salon International de l’Auto Geneve (77th annual Geneva International Motor Show), Tekniikan Maailma magazine, one of the leading automotive publications in Finland named the 2007 Cadillac BLS 4-door compact sedan as the recipient of their Winter Car 2007 Award. Martti Merilinna, Chief Editor of Tekniikan Maailma handed the award to Cadillac General Manager Jim Taylor.

In the past 12 months, the Tekniikan Maailma conducted a winter test drive for 20 European vehicle models, including the newest models from Volvo, Honda, Peugeot, Skoda, and other European brands. Tekniikan Maailma crew brought the vehicles in a winter test track located Ivalo, a village in Northern Finland. The Ivalo village is noted for hosting some of the largest winter sports events like down-hill and cross-country skiing, snowboarding, and slalom skiing. Moreover, the place is also one of the areas in Europe with the most harsh winter driving conditions.

The Winter Car 2007 Award aims to determine which of the 20 vehicles could: “… in this sparsely populated land of the cold and dark winter… take us to our destination in safety, comfort and warmth.”

Among the 20 competitors, Tekniikan Maailma has chosen the Cadillac BLS sedan as the winner because of the vehicle’s impressive performance in winter driving conditions. The Tekniikan Maailma winter test crew made their selection based on certain criteria including low-grip handling, braking stability, grip on uphill starts, headlamp performance, and the ability of the vehicle to “heat the interior to a comfortable 15 degrees in just 10 minutes from a sub-zero startup”.

The Cadillac BLS scored high during the evaluation, bagged the Winter Car 2007 award, and most of all, achieved what the Cadillac BLS design and engineering team aims, which is to integrate with the “toughest European driving conditions.” The Tekniikan Maailma winter test crew commented: “Here is the best ever Cadillac one could hope for in winter use.”

The Europe-only Cadillac BLS compact sedan was released in 2006, based on GM’s Epsilon vehicle platform and was built in Cadillac assembly plant located in Trollh?ttan, Sweden. The car features the very first turbo diesel engine from GM’s luxury brand. It also comes with elegant exterior design and GM parts like GM mud flap, comfortable interior features, as well as impressive vehicle driving and handling performance. The Cadillac BLS sedan has a starting manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of 19,000 Euros or about $25,000 USD.

By: Noah Scott

About the Author:
For more about your GM needs like GM mud flap, visit your trusted online source.

Noah Scott is a 30 year old native of New Jersey, writer, and car fan – having grown up with both parents being auto enthusiasts. He works for an automotive consultancy firm and regularly contributes articles to car magazines.



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Can Water Be Used As Alternative Fuel For Car to Reduce Cost and Protect Environment

November 28th, 2010


The automobile industry has been blamed for environment pollution for decades. Carbon Monoxide and Nitrogen oxides are almost absent due to the improved engine design, fuel controls and post-combustion exhaust gas treatment in catalytic converters. That leaves only one major emission from the tailpipe that needs to be controlled by auto industry is CO2, which is another byproduct of combustion.

The European automobile manufacturers target to reduce average car emissions to 120 grams carbon dioxide (CO2) per kilometer by 2012.

4 ways to reduce carbon emission

1. Improving fuel efficiency of your car

2. You can use direct fuel injection, smaller engine displacements, cylinder deactivation under light loads and multi-speed automatic transmissions.

3. You too can reduce carbon emission by keeping tires properly inflated, engines in good operating condition, avoiding high speed driving habits with frequent brake.

4. Scientists are also looking for alternative fuels for cars to prevent carbon emission and global warming.

Test results with various alternative fuels for cars

A car running on E85 (85% ethanol/15% gasoline) produces about 50% less CO2 than the same auto operating on gasoline. Hybrid vehicles reduce CO2 emission by reducing fuel consumption and sometimes by eliminating the combustion engine operation at times. Plug-in electric vehicles can be charged up overnight or at the workplace and perform well for short trip commuting. But, this electricity has to be generated and process of electricity generation is not completely green.

Gas prices already touched $4.2 per gallon as of today. This increase in gas price has completely changed the situation. Now people are desperate to look for alternative fuels for cars to cut back monthly fuel expenses.

Hydrogen powered fuel cell vehicles is the latest buzzword. Several small inventors used an old & US patented technology to generate Brown gas (HHO) from tap water. In this case, a little electricity out of your vehicle battery is used to separate water into a gas called “HHO” (2 parts Hydrogen + 1 Oxygen). Brown gas burns beautifully with gasoline. It is reported in water4gas forum that 1 liter tap water is required to drive 900 miles. Brown or HHO gas a fast growing trend for boosting engine performance, mpg. You can cut back your fuel expenses due to increase in mileage. Most importantly, there will be no carbon emission with hydrogen conversion kit which works on plain water in this case.

Gasoline powered cars will dominate the roadways in the near future. But, you can run your car with water using Brown gas to manage rising fuel costs, reduce global warming and carbon emission. Most important to make it happen you need to spend not more than $150 and 2 hours of installation.

By: Riti Tsur

About the Author:
Gasoline powered cars will dominate the roadways in the near future. But, you can run your car with water using Brown gas to manage rising fuel costs, reduce global warming and carbon emission. Most important to make it happen you need to spend not more than $150.

Riti is an experienced automotive mechanic and teaches automotive technology. She has been writing automotive articles for fifteen years for newspapers and magazines, and is a member of the Automotive Journalist’s Association. You can read customer feedback and complaints on water4gas technology at her site www.hybridcarinformation.info.



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Two Chevy Concepts at the New York Auto Show

November 27th, 2010


The best selling brand from General Motors will make another appearance at the New York International Auto Show. Chevrolet will be rolling out two concept vehicles at the forthcoming motor show. These vehicles will be featuring what could be the future of Chevy vehicles.

It is known that concept vehicles are loaded with features that are in the development stage and will in the course of time be integrated into mass produced vehicles. The two concepts from Chevrolet are going to do just that.

Aside from showing the auto world where the brand is going in terms of design for their vehicles, Chevrolet will also give consumers a glimpse of what could be the future of automobiles.

The first of the pair is the Chevy Volt concept electric vehicle. The concept vehicle is a plug-in electric vehicle which means that it comes with an on board battery pack which can be recharged using a common household socket. The vehicle is designed to make the best out of its battery pack designed to provide power for 40 miles of travel. That figure covers the average mileage of an American motorist in one day.

Aside from its plug in capability, the vehicle also has a “range extender”. This is essentially a small internal combustion engine mated to a generator which charges the car’s Lithium-ion battery pack. With this “range extender”, the vehicle’s 40 mile range increases significantly to 640 miles.

This newest version of the Volt features the radical E-Flex Propulsion System by General Motors. The feature allows the vehicle to run on a variety of fuels including electricity, conventional gasoline, E85, and biodiesel. The Volt’s features will surely be made better if complemented with EBC Redstuff brake pads.

The second Chevy concept vehicle is the Chevy Camaro Concept. This concept version of Chevy’s pony car is a convertible which gives the Camaro high aesthetic value. The concept convertible which will make an appearance on the Big Apple is daubed with the Hugger Orange pearl tri-coat paint.

The iconic sport stripes are also present including the long hood configuration common on all pony car as started by the Ford Mustang. The wheels of the Camaro are almost pushed to the corners, giving the Camaro the impression of being ready to burn asphalt at a second’s notice. Indeed, this Camaro can rev it up along with the finest car in its class. Its V8 engine provides adequate power to its rear wheels via a sporty manual transmission. This is a car that would definitely receive much adoration from Camaro fans and will probably gain new ones along the way.

These concept vehicles will be showcased at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in Manhattan where the 2007 New York International Auto Show will be held. The event will be opened to the public on the 6th of April and will run trough the 15th of the same month.

By: Anthony Fontanelle

About the Author:
Anthony Fontanelle is a 35-year-old automotive.buff who grew up in the Windy City. He does freelance work for an automotive magazine when he is not busy customizing cars in his shop. You can visit EBC Redstuff for more information.



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Auto Buying Services

November 24th, 2010


Sure, everybody likes getting a new car; but very few of us actually enjoy the process. Auto dealers and salespeople are infamous for having the worst reputation among service “professionals” in any industry.

Using a dependable auto buying service makes car buying easy and quite painless. Of course you’ll still be spending money, but you’ll save yourself time, aggravation, and with the right professional, a lot of money.

There are different types of auto buying services available and which kind to use depends on your particular situation and how you feel about each type.

A good auto buying service will charge a low flat fee and work exclusively for the customer.
It’s important to make this distinction because many auto broker’s and so called buyer’s agents get paid by their customer AND the auto dealer.

We feel that this practice, although widespread, is not fair to our customers. We are working exclusively for each of our customers and have no relationship with any of the dealerships we work with throughout the country.

We’re working to get our customers the best deal possible and by taking money from the dealership as well as the customer we feel constitutes a conflict of interest.

A skilled auto buying service practitioner will be a professional who understands the car buying process, is a great negotiator, and above all has the best interests of the customer in mind.

There are many auto buying agents and services that proclaim that they are former auto salespeople or worked in an auto dealership and therefore they are experts.

To us, that’s like saying, “I used to be a bank robber and now I’m a police officer.” Would you put your trust in that person working for you?

Make sure that you are comfortable with the service you use by looking at their website for customer testimonials, media coverage, and any special certifications in purchasing or negotiation.

You are trying to find a professional that you can trust so there is also merit in what the provider says to you and how he or she says it.

Do they sound like the stereotypical used car salesperson or someone who speaks and acts professionally and has your best interest in mind?

Are there frequent misspellings of words and sentences that don’t make sense on their website and personal e-mails? Not everyone needs to be a grammatical genius, but these signs can be a reflection of someone that rushes through things and doesn’t pay attention to details.

Certainly not the type of professional you want assisting you in spending thousands of dollars.

A professional auto buying service with a standard service plan is usually sufficient for most customers looking to purchase a vehicle.

This type of service should offer the following:

1. They should be able to help you choose the best vehicle for you if necessary.

2. They should be able to find the exact vehicle you are looking for at a dealership in your area with the color of your choice and with the options that you want.

3. They should know the exact dealer cost of the vehicle (not invoice cost), with options.

4. They should know what incentives or special financing rates are available.

5. If you are planning to trade-in another vehicle, they should be able to provide assistance with that transaction also.

6. They should personally negotiate the best deal possible on the price of the vehicle, not just obtain multiple dealer quotes.

7. They should review and negotiate any proposed fees.

8. They should review all paperwork to insure that no hidden costs or fees are added.

9. They should also spend as much time working with you to answer questions, share safety, insurance, or other information with you.

10. They should provide anything else that you need to make it as pleasant a process as possible – all at no extra charge.

If you choose a professional auto buying service, there’s no better way to purchase or lease your next vehicle.

At the conclusion of the process, you will have saved time, aggravation, and most importantly a great deal of money.

By: Steve Hague

About the Author:
Steve Hague is the owner of Professional Auto Buying Services (proautobuying.com) and has for many years helped consumers get the best deal on their purchase of a new car.
He teaches classes on how to buy or lease a car and on how to negotiate anything.
Steve has appeared in multiple media outlets including USA Today, The Providence Journal, and Rhode Island Monthly Magazine.
Contact Steve through his website the next time you need to buy or lease a car.
http://proautobuying.com



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