The Incubator

autonews.com ® SEPTEMBER 17, 2018 Entire contents © 2018 Crain Communications Inc. All rights reserved. $159/YEAR; $6/COPY future product pipeline THE INCUBATOR NINTH IN A 10-PART SERIES What are the wizards at BMW working on? The Vision iNEXT, an all-electric, semi-autonomous crossover, offers a sneak peek at the future. I PAGE 8 I In the pipeline at Fiat What are the wizards at BMW Chrysler Automobiles working on? The Vision iNEXT, an are midsize pickups from Ram and all-electric, semi-autonomous Jeep, a new line crossover, offers a sneak peek of luxury SUVs, at the future. I PAGE 8 I a high-tech supercar Nissan: Sedans will be back and the company’s rst all-in foray into electric vehicles. I PAGES 15-17 I U.S. chief Le Vot sees decent future; Europe not so sure Lindsay Chappell cars can make a comeback, and his beliefs under- [email protected] score Nissan’s product strategy — at least in the U.S. merica’s historic consumer shift away “We think 30 percent is the bottom,” he told Auto- from cars is a done deal, right? motive News last week. Ram midsize Sedans have slipped from about 50 Le Vot’s logic: Market factors will bring consum- percent of the U.S. market six years ago ers back to the segment. Ato roughly 30 percent in 2018 — and below 30 per- “Market intelligence is telling us that Generation and Wrangler cent in August. Z’s favorite body style is sedans,” Le Vot said. “e So who is talking about a sedan resurgence? big wheel is turning.” trucks buddy ANGELINA CZARNECKI Well, there’s Denis Le Vot. He says higher interest rates will push many Denis Le Vot: “We think 30 e spirited Frenchman who became chairman up in Toledo percent is the bottom.” of Nissan North America in January is convinced see NISSAN, Page 35 Dakota heir body-on-frame Larry P. Vellequette [email protected] Ram’s new midsize pickup will be a body-on- frame truck built in the same plant in Toledo, Ohio, as Jeep’s upcoming Wrangler-based pickup, supplier sources tell Automotive News. e revelation means the Ram pickup, which will compete against the Chevrolet Colorado and upcoming Ford Ranger, will not be a Fiat-based unibody compact, such as the Ram 750 sold in Latin America. Mike Manley, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles’ head of Jeep and Ram, promised the Ram pickup at the automaker’s June 1 presentation in Balocco, Italy. But he provided few details about the truck, which is expected to arrive in U.S. dealerships in 2020 as a 2021 model. Manley: Pledged Manley is now CEO of FCA. midsize pickup Production of Ram’s last midsize pickup, the Dakota, ended in 2011 after a 25-year run. “If you’re going to … expand your Roughly half of FCA’s sprawling Toledo Assem- business, the time to do it is in the bly Complex has been shut for retooling since late downturns,” said Blaise Alexander, left. April, when the last JK Wranglers were built there. He’s one of the entrepreneurs who 10 FCA is scheduled to begin recalling workers there years ago seized the moment. next month. e line regularly built more than I PAGES 20-28 I 230,000 JK Wranglers per year, well more than its planned capacity of 160,000. But the new Jeep pickup is not expected to sell in those volumes, leaving FCA with an underused plant unless it adds another body-on-frame product. a AUTOMOTIVE NEWS ILLUSTRATION The Dakota ended production in 2011. NEW SPEAKERS • ADDED See p. 19 NEWSPAPER JANUARY 15–16 DETROIT 20 • SEPTEMBER 17, 2018 INGENUITY UNLEASHED Part 3 of 4: How American Car Dealers Survived the Great Recession Opportunists amid the economic wreckage he authentically original surviv- Take Charlie Brown, who 10 years ago Associated Press had dubbed “America’s Automotive Group. But when the reces- al strategies that grew out of the was used-car manager at Chrysler-Dodge- Loneliest Neighborhood” because of busi- sion hit, he sold company founder Tom Great Recession tended to result Jeep of Eugene, in Oregon. While most ness closures. Plugging into grass- roots Ganley on creating for him a new position from lateral thinking — that is, the Chrysler dealers frantically slashed inven- energy generated by the crisis, Haydocy overseeing all the group’s service, parts indirect approach; the solving of tory, Brown hit the road in search of prod- helped restore the community, starting an and body-shop operations. Housholder problems through reasoning not uct. He spent the recession traveling from organization that attracted a $400 million soon discovered the soothing powers of immediately obvious. auction to auction, snapping up vehicles casino and altogether more than 40 busi- centralization. It’s how many dealers and deal- as their values plummeted. nesses. ey were opportunists amid the wreck- ership managers spotted opportu- Dealer Chris Haydocy was operating his Bill Housholder had applied to be a gen- age, and we o er several examples this Tnity as the crisis raged. store in a section of Columbus, Ohio, the eral manager at a store in Ohio’s Ganley week. a~ SPECIAL SECTION I PAGES 20-28 I “When the bankruptcies “ ended, whoever had the merchandise sold the cars, and whoever sold the cars got more cars. It was a turn-and-earn, and we were in a really Blaise Alexander good spot.” Title then: President Dealership group: Blaise Alexander “Blaise Alexander Family Dealerships Where: Muncy, Pa. Strategy: Over-order vehicles going into the recession, setting the stage for rapid growth afterward PHOTOS BY DAVID MILLER THE BOLD ONE Blaise Alexander’s daring strategy led to rapid growth after the downturn Larry P. Vellequette were making good, average money, and we were feeling [email protected] good about where we were in business,” the silver-maned Al- t is human nature to run from danger, to seek shelter exander said. “ at’s when our problems started.” when a storm approaches. In late 2008, “our bank that had our oorplan was taken Yet there are always a few — the courageous, the over by Santander, and Santander at the time wanted no gamblers, the crazies — who run toward trouble. part of the car business,” Alexander said. “Our rst objec- ey look at a world in chaos and see opportunity tive was to get out of that bank and into another bank, but and a clear path for bold action. it got harder and harder to talk to any bank.” e Great Recession made most of those who sur- When January 2009 rolled around, General Motors and vived better dealers. But it made Blaise Alexander great. Chrysler — representing half of Alexander’s dealerships — Alexander, now 70, is president of Blaise Alexander were facing potential bankruptcy and he was still hunting Family Dealerships in tiny Muncy, Pa., near the cen- for a replacement oorplan lender. ter of the state. He leaned hard into the recession, “So simultaneously we’re juggling two balls here. We’re zigging as others zagged and buying as others sold. trying to decide how we’re going to get into another bank, And it made him a fortune. and what we’re going to do in this recession: Are we going “I’ve been through about four recessions since to pull our horns in and stop ordering cars and go dark? 1971 when I started as a manager” in a Chevrolet dealer- all in north-central Pennsylvania, with Chevrolet, Pontiac, We had two big decisions, and one of them, we couldn’t ship in nearby State College, Pa., Alexander said. “ ese GMC, Toyota and Nissan represented, along with a Chrys- even address because the banks wouldn’t even return our things come and go, and every situation is di erent. But if ler-Jeep-Dodge-Ram store that he had acquired in 2007 in calls,” Alexander said. Iyou’re going to buy stores or expand your business, the State College. As the storm clouds darkened over his facto- In late January, Alexander went to the National Automo- time to do it is in the downturns.” ry partners in Detroit, Alexander’s dealerships were all - bile Dealers Association convention in New Orleans. A decade ago, Alexander’s empire was a lot smaller than nancially stable, with strong balance sheets and high cus- “I started talking to some dealers, and the majority of the today’s 29 franchises spread across 18 rooftops. tomer and service satisfaction scores. Heading into the recession, the group had eight rooftops, “We were in a nice, comfortable situation. e dealerships see ALEXANDER , Page 28 SEPTEMBER 17, 2018 • 21 INGENUITY UNLEASHED COMMUNITY CATALYST Facing its own problems, group helped revitalize ‘America’s Loneliest Neighborhood’ Alexa St. John ty, which has since spurred the development of more than [email protected] Chris Haydocy 40 businesses in the neighborhood. n the middle of a crisis lies opportunity.” Title then: Dealer principal “ is area would be a ghost town” if Penn National Gam- at quote hangs on the wall of Chris Haydocy’s of- Dealership group: Haydocy Automotive Group ing Inc. had not opened Hollywood Casino Columbus, ce. e president of Haydocy Automotive Group in Where: Columbus, Ohio Haydocy said. Columbus, Ohio, was already reeling from punches Survival strategy: Revitalizing a decaying “It was an opportunity to revitalize the neighborhood “ when the Great Recession hit: the shutdown of two through an unconventional manner,” Haydocy added. neighborhood General Motors franchised dealerships and the clo- “ e alternative to not nding out these opportunities sure of a nearby auto parts plant that decimated the would have been bankruptcy.” neighborhood.

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