Here's a link to a pdf of NADA's 4-page infomercial in the November 3, 2014 issue of TIME: Dropbox - NADA This ad contains the usual NADA arguments about the "superior" customer experience one finds at franchised dealerships. I'm sure most Tesla owners would be hard pressed to agree with them. The argument that always makes me scratch my head is the idea that dealership owners have invested millions in their facilities, and therefore deserve to be protected from competition. What other business gets this kind of legal protection?
I've always wondered why businesses who say they provide a superior customer experience need the state to protect them from competition.
Or why they need to pay for space in a publication to say that they provide superior service. I find that most places that actually provide such service get that recognition for free.
And isn't it funny that those middlemen who you can negotiate with to get "the best price" can afford to cut into their limited profits to put out such an expensive ad?
And how old-school is it to do this with a 4 page ad in a paper magazine like Time? Who reads Time magazine anymore?
Time has a circulation in the K-6 schools in the USA. Kids come home with these Time-for-kids periodicals. I think that's it. I don't even see them at doctors' offices. Usually, I see wellness magazines, fitness magazines, etc.
People waiting in dealership lounges for their oil to be changed! (Actually, I admit that I read TIME. They still have some very good writers. I get both the paper version and the iPad version, but I prefer the paper version. Same goes for WIRED.)
I was surprised and a little sad to see that infomercial in my Time this week. That they feel the need to take out a huge ad in a national magazine to advertise how "good" dealerships are for consumers is a sign that these dealers are very, very worried about Tesla Motors. Seems to me the ad was aimed directly as Tesla.
Typically you advertise the weakest points (or nonexistent points) and hope that people will believe the ads. It works for an unfortunately large number of people. This is most evident in real estate names where Sunny Hills Developments is likely to be found in a foggy valley.
An ad the dealers didn't take kindly to: Gas 2 | Bridging the gap between green heads and gear heads.
Thank the dealership model for Progressive's Shapshot device. Yup, if it weren't for them, oh wait...
If NADA keeps selling to the public instead of to car manufacturers, perhaps they can establish a new model for customer service by representing car buyers to the manufacturers. I might cheerfully agree to pay a car buyer one dollar for every twenty dollars they successfully negotiate off the list price of a new Tesla, for example. ;=)
Aired 2015.03.28 on CTV's W5 investigative program. This isn't a pat on the back, in fact it's not even really a kick to the rear because it's doubtful anything will change, but it should be a kick. This is the Canadian version of how good dealerships are at extracting $$$ from pockets, without the country-wide Association. But the latter part of the video shows, in my opinion, the executive in charge of being a watchdog on the Alberta dealerships is just as corrupt as the dealership system itself. Note, 3 out of the 22 Calgary dealerships actually passed. Good for them! But it's still a crappy, outmoded, no-fun system. Most new car dealerships fail mystery shopper test: Calgary survey Too bad every time a NADA commercial is shown, it doesn't automatically show programs like this.
Who reads Time anymore? Concluding that is was a rag, I gave it up when I was in law school, and that was decades ago NADA truly must be desperate if it's buying space in Time.
Looks like it's still available here: Edmunds.com - Would you Haggle for Groceries ? Why Haggle for a Car ? Negotiating or Negotiation - YouTube Funny stuff.
I currently have no problem with the existence of franchised dealers. However, I do have a problem with franchised dealers (or their lobbyists) inhibiting an automaker (who doesn't use franchised dealers), from selling directly to customers in one or more states.