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SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION JOIN US IN CELEBRATING THE AUTO DEALERS WHO GO THE EXTRA MILE BOTH ON AND OFF THE LOT. IN PARTNERSHIP IN THE WITH

DRIVER’S 2015 Dealer of the Year Nominees:

James Auge Rick Gallaer Don Kaltschmidt Don Moore Scott Shulman Teton Motors Pomoco of Don K , Don Moore Chevrolet- Best Chevrolet Jackson, Wyoming Hampton Roads , Subaru --GMC Hingham, Massachusetts SEAT Hampton, Virginia White— sh, Montana Owensboro, Kentucky From point-of-sale to long-term service, Roger Bacon, Jr. Robert Shuman Mossy of Picayune Charles Gaunce David Karp Brad Nikles Shuman Chrysler Picayune, Mississippi Central Maine Motors Karp Automotive, Inc. Nikles of Ram local auto dealerships make it all happen. Waterville, Maine Rockville Centre, Petersburg, Inc. Walled Lake, Marianne Ballas New York Petersburg, Illinois Ballas Buick GMC Greg Goodwin Todd Snell Toledo, Ohio Kuni of Portland Tim Kool Raymond Palacios Snell Indoor Portland, Oregon Heritage Chevrolet Bravo Cadillac Auto Center Driving Prices Down Frank Bommarito Battle Creek, Michigan El Paso, Texas Mankato, Minnesota Most potential car buyers start the process Bommarito Buick Harry Green by visiting a dealership or jumping online GMC West County Harry Green Chevrolet Adam Kraushaar Joseph Palmiero Charles Strahan Ellisville, Missouri Clarksburg, Lester Glenn Auto Group Honda North Chapman’s Las Vegas to view the latest models and best prices. West Virginia Toms River, New Jersey Butler, Pennsylvania Dodge Chrysler Most will want financing, and many will call Bob Boyte Jeep Ram their bank or credit union to get an interest Bob Boyte Honda Dwayne Hawkins Paul Leader RJ Romero Las Vegas, Nevada rate quote upfront. Brandon, Mississippi Crown Jaguar El Cajon Ford Tustin Toyota When consumers decide to go to their St. Petersburg, Florida El Cajon, California Tustin, California C h a r l e s S t r i n g f e l l o w , J r . James Brown, Sr. Brown’s Arlington Honda local dealerships, that’s when the com- Classic Auto Campus David Herndon Walter Lewis Jim Ross Arlington, Virginia petition begins. Dealers compete fiercely Willoughby Hills, Ohio Herndon Chevrolet, Inc. J.C. Lewis Ford LLC Ross Ford Toyota for your business, whether it’s for the op- Lexington, Savannah, Georgia Wynne, Arkansas Blake Strong portunity to sell you a car, finance that car Ron Claudon South Carolina Strong Audi or service your car for as long as you own Valley Buick GMC, Inc. Tom Lucas Donato Sauro Salt Lake City, Utah Auburn, Washington David Hersrud Lucas Chevrolet-Cadillac Tischer The Hersrud Columbia, Tennessee Laurel, Maryland Douglas V. Sweeney WHEN DEALERS COMPETE H. Andy Crews Company Sweeney Chevrolet, Inc. AutoFair Honda Sturgis, South Dakota Niki Martin-van Jack Scieszinski Youngstown, Ohio AGAINST EACH OTHER, IT Manchester, den Hurk Albia Motor Co., Inc. New Hampshire Ray Ingram Aloha Albia, Iowa Don Thornton DRIVES CONSUMER COSTS Jack Ingram Honolulu, Hawaii Lexus of Tulsa DOWN, AND THAT MEANS Tom Dinsdale Motors, Inc. Brad Scott Tulsa, Oklahoma Tom Dinsdale Automotive Montgomery, Alabama Gregg Middlekau• Scott Volkswagen LOWER PRICES. Grand Island, Nebraska Middlekau• Ford East Providence, Glen Tillery Gregg Jacobson Twin Falls, Idaho Rhode Island Tillery it. The dynamics of multiple retailers of the Les Eck RZ Motors, Inc. Chevrolet GMC, Inc. Buying a car is one of the biggest and most Rusty Eck Ford Hettinger, North Dakota Steve Miller Michael Shannon Moriarty, New Mexico same brand—in the same market—create Wichita, Kansas Miller Motor Car Holiday Automotive expensive purchases you’ll ever make after a house. So price competition and high-quality custom- Tom Johnson Corporation Fond du Lac, Wisconsin Foster Walker III er service that is unique to the auto retail Scott Ehrlich The Johnson Vestal, New York Walker Automotive it’s a good thing that today’s cars are better than ever, market. When dealers compete against Ehrlich Toyota and Motors Corp. Joseph Alexandria, Louisiana each other, it drives consumer costs down, Greeley, Colorado Sa• ord, Arizona Andy Mohr Sheridan Ford/ with better technology, better components, better mileage Andy Mohr Chevrolet Sheridan Nissan Greg York and that means lower prices. Jim Evans Plain— eld, Indiana Wilmington, Vann York Auto Group … and they last longer. If that’s the case, why go to your That same competition also ensures the Evans Motorworks High Point, local auto dealer when you want a new car or truck? That’s best finance rates. Dealers have relation- Dayton, Ohio North Carolina ships with multiple auto lenders, allowing easy. From point-of-sale to long-term service, your local them to offer a wide variety of financing options that are frequently more affordable dealership puts you in the driver’s seat. How? That’s easy than what customers could get from their too. It’s known as competition. bank or credit union. In fact, 80% of car Every one of the 2015 TIME Dealer of the Year nominees has displayed incredible dedication ››› to improving their community and giving help to those in need. From all of us at Ally, we congratulate and thank them for their heroic efforts and we are proud to help share their stories with the world. Visit AllyDealerHeroes.com to learn more about these nominees and other generous auto dealers across the country. S1 www.time.com/adsections #AllyDealerHeroes

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buyers choose to finance through their dealer. LOCAL AUTO DEALERS franchised dealer Many lenders play a role in automotive financing. One of the network didn’t exist. In leading ones, Ally Financial, launched as an online bank in 2009. INVEST MILLIONS OF a factory-direct model, Ally’s automotive arm underwrites the sale of one out of every 18 THEIR OWN CAPITAL the cost of showrooms, cars sold in the United States, the company estimates. Ally also car lots, sales staff President offers a full range of insurance services for dealers and consum- INTO THEIR FACILITIES. and holding inventory Teague Auto Group, El Dorado, Arkansas ers, including a vehicle service contract to protect drivers from would simply shift from unexpected repair costs. the dealer to the factory. If manufacturers sold directly to customers, there would be High-Quality Service zero competition in the pricing of vehicles, New-car dealers serve customers for the entire ownership experience. That parts or service. Car buyers would end up includes taking on the complex system of titling, registration and reams of regula- paying full sticker price because automak- tory paperwork so that customers can drive home instead of to their local DMV. ers would have a monopoly on a single Dealers provide services that cut through the red tape, government forms and brand. Intrabrand competition would cease. long waiting lines that customers would otherwise have to deal with. And once consumers decide on a new vehicle, dealers provide a hassle-free Driving the Economy market for trade-ins. How is this process so cost-efficient to customers? Local The benefits of auto dealers extend na- auto dealers invest millions of their own capital into their facilities—starting with tionwide. The auto industry is a booming the vehicle inventory, which they buy from the manufacturer and sell to you. The market and a main staple of the American average dealer spends an estimated $11 million on a dealership and, nationwide, economy. Franchised dealerships generate dealers invest nearly $200 billion in facilities and operating costs. a whopping 15% of all U.S. retail sales. That’s a hefty amount that manufacturers would have to shoulder if the They rake in billions of dollars in state and B:10.75” T:10.5” Turning Things Around and Building S:10” Financially Viable Businesses

WHEN JEFF TEAGUE WAS A BOY, he was reprimanded because the franchise was in a distressed state. in church for pretending the hymnals on the back of the pew After turning the first dealership around, properties in in front of him were a brake, clutch and accelerator pedal. It trouble became a Teague specialty. “Like planting a seed in didn’t require divine inspiration to predict that he was destined the ground, it is most rewarding to nurture a struggling business to be a car guy. Several decades later, Teague was named the and watch it flourish, knowing the fruits of my labor will provide TIME Dealer of the Year for 2014. jobs for families and contribute positively to the community I Teague, president of Teague Auto Group in El Dorado, Ark., call home,” he says. was recognized for this honor at the 97th annual convention Teague has also been flying for 26 years and often uses of the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) both his piloting skills for charitable purposes. He has flown church for his business acumen and his community service. Teague, members on charity trips and once provided transportation 59, was chosen to represent the Arkansas Automobile Dealers for a child from New Orleans who was a victim of domestic Association in the national competition—one of only 56 auto kidnapping. Teague and his wife, Sarah, have three sons. dealers from 17,600 nationwide—for the 45th annual award. TIME sponsors the award in association with Ally Financial, and in cooperation with NADA. Teague and his father pooled their resources to acquire their first franchise in Walnut Ridge, Ark., in 1981. “My father mortgaged everything he owned and made me a 50-50 owner in the Chevrolet- social.ford.com dealership,” he says. They could afford the first purchase in part

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local revenue, employ more than one million people nationwide, and contribute millions of dollars to charities and local causes. While many industries struggled to rebound in 2013, the auto industry led the way to recovery. American auto dealers sold 15.5 million new cars and light trucks in 2013, and 2014 is shaping up to be even stronger. The National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) predicts that new-car sales could reach as high as 16.4 million this year, a 6% increase. Looking further ahead, NADA is predicting nearly 16.8 million new sales in 2015. If consumers want a good deal on a new car and truck, local dealers are always there, ready to serve them. The fact is that this go-to network adds value and efficiency to the car-buying process, putting the customer in the driver’s seat the whole way. A Snapshot of Your Dealers not only drive the national economy. They are also an asset to their communities. One example is 2014 TIME Dealer of the Year Jeff Teague, who Driving Habits Pays regularly puts his skills as a pilot to work for charitable causes (see sidebar on p. S3). Ultimately, even for tech-obsessed young buyers, dealers are the human Big Dividends factor in an important and complex process of selecting, financing and servicing a very important buying decision. Consumers also benefit from technology that Ever since auto insurance was invented more others in the industry offer. One example is Progressive Insurance’s Snapshot than a century ago, the cost of premiums has telemetry device, which analyzes data and offers an opportunity for a discount on been based on statistical data. What you paid your premiums according to how you actually drive (see sidebar on this page). for insurance depended on how old you were, your gender, how far you drove each day, Great Deal For Everyone whether you were married or single, what city Thanks to the 17,600 new-car dealers competing and working for their cus- you lived in and other facts. None of these tomers who want a good deal on a new car, dealerships are a great deal for factors actually determined whether you were everyone. a good driver, but they helped your insurer When you take a hard look at today’s retail auto industry and how it operates, make an intelligent guess about the risk you one thing stands out: Auto dealers benefit their customers. From sales to service presented. and everything in between, dealers provide a long-term relationship that’s good While many of those factors are still used for their customers and manufacturers alike. today, Progressive Insurance has a better way— To get the facts about the benefits of the dealer franchise system and more, one that involves heavy doses of technology. go to NADA.org/GetTheFacts. “The simple idea was that it would be much more fair if you could price insurance on how people actually drive, rather than age and other factors,” says Dave Pratt, general manager of usage-based insurance for Progressive, which is headquartered in Mayfield Village, Ohio. The word “usage-based” in Pratt’s title reflects a completely different approach to setting premiums. It’s based on a product called Snapshot, a small, sleek device that easily fits into the palm of your hand. Progressive mails you the Snapshot and you plug it in to your car’s diagnostic port for up to six months. The device can track how far you drive and how hard you apply the brakes, and it sends data periodically back to the insurer. “People who tailgate all the time are more likely to have to hit the brakes,” says Pratt. More than 2 million Progressive customers have volunteered to install the Snapshot, and on average they save 10% on their premiums, or around $150 a year. Progressive says a third of new policyholders are electing to plug in a Snapshot to monitor their driving. Plug it in your car, and see if your good driving could help you save big with Progressive. We’ll even let you try Snapshot® before you switch to us, so you’ve ©2014 Progressive Casualty Ins. Co. & affi liates. Insurance prices LEARN MORE. SCAN HERE. got nothing to lose. Rewarding good drivers. Now and products are different when purchased directly from Progressive that’s Progressive. or through independent agents/. Snapshot not available in all S5 www.time.com/adsections states or situations.