What Not

I’ve said it before, but need to air my thoughts again.

After switching to a car from an SUV, my body is telling me I made a mistake. It misses the large seats and roomy interior of the 2007 SAAB 9-7x. It was nice having something that fit my body AND the size of my family. All five of us could sit comfortably in the vehicle without the “he’s touching me” dialogue from the back seat. The cargo room was also helpful on the occasional trip out of town. So, when I hear reports that the government is pushing for smaller, more-efficient vehicles, I cringe. Have they considered the fact that car-pooling in a mini-van is more efficient than driving two small vehicles? What about the atypical family that numbers beyond five persons? I’m all for efficient, non-polluting vehicles, but let’s start thinking outside of the small car box.

Before you know it, they’ll be mandating smaller families. Yikes!

Geely has signed a purchase agreement to purchase Volvo Cars from Ford Motor Company. The press release from VCNA says they plan to keep Volvo and Geely as two separate companies. They will also keep Volvo in Sweden. The deal will be completed during the third quarter of this year.

_____

The other news is that Volvo will reveal the new S60 at the New York Auto Show. It was recently displayed on the Regis & Kelly Show. They only spent a few minutes on the car, but you could definitely see the similarities between it and the new front end of the 2011 C30 and C70. They also mentioned that it has a pedestrian detection device which will brake for people like City Safety does in the XC60.

_____

We’ve been taking in quite a few SAABs recently on trade. And they are selling also. One of our salesmen is currently delivering a 2004 SAAB 9-3 2.0t as we speak. But we have five others available including a convertible and an SUV. Take a look at our website for a complete listing.

_____

We’re trying to use our own real estate to advertise our website. By this time next month you should see our domain name posted in several prominent locations at the dealership. And why not? If our own customers don’t know we have a website, who will?

Q: Why?

This week, I had the opportunity to have an outside source evaluate the way we do things here at the dealership. My interest was how we handle the leads we receive every day. Having a vested interest in the success of the business, I wanted to know how we can improve our procedure. The conversation was very helpful. The trainer was able to pinpoint several areas in which we could improve.

In the advertising category, we worked on a list of items that could point people to our website. Something as easy as placing the URL on repair orders, buyer’s orders, parts tickets, showroom windows, waiting room walls, (maybe the bathroom wall would be a good idea, too?), service loaners, etc. You get the idea. And while I was thinking about that, I thought about my own office. How was I, the internet manager, advertising the website?

My glass office door has been my bulletin board for a number of articles, NCAA tournament brackets, cartoons, and etc.  So, why not use that prime real estate to advertise our website for people who visit the Buick showroom?  As a trial, I’ve used one of my favorite photographs from last fall and added text to it. It’s now proudly adorning my doorway.

Click on the picture to view Motor Trend’s positive outlook on the new Buick line-up.

Not being alive during the 1960′s, it’s easy for someone like me to forget how popular the Corvair was. In the early half of the decade, the Corvair almost became its own brand with a coupe, sedan, convertible, wagon, truck, and van. That’s what I thought when I watched this video for a Corvair powered AGL. If it hadn’t been for Ralph Nader, more ideas like this might have been realized.

H/T HemmingsThen I came across this Corvair powered military track. Very cool.

H/T Corvair Forum.com

Why does the 2010 Mercedes-Benz C300 4MATIC cost approximately $5k more than a similarly equipped 2010 Volvo S40 T5 AWD R-Design? When you put together a chart comparing the two, that’s exactly what happens.

As I consider the two, it would seem that it comes down to size, looks, and economy.  We don’t currently have an S40 T5 AWD R-Design, so you’ll have to forgive me for using a 2.4i in the pictures below.  In any event, you can see that the S40 seems to be slightly smaller than the C300 Sport.  As to the looks, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  So, you’ll have to judge that for yourself. But I will say that the C300 has more of a luxurious interior than the S40. When it comes to economy, both engines have almost identical power, but the Volvo (19/28 mpg) edges the MB (17/24 mpg).

So, which one is the better car?  That depends on who you ask.  Both have the options you require, so your best bet is to schedule a test drive to see which would work best for you.

Irony is lost on fools and children.

In an earlier post, Marketing Volvo at the Auto Show, I mentioned the difficulty some patrons were having with my “Don’t Buy a Volvo…” article at the Cleveland Auto Show. A salesman suggested that I change the format so that people weren’t left with a question. But, after thinking about it for a while, that’s exactly what I wanted to happen. People should be moved to pick up the article and see what it’s about. In fact, veteran English/Literature teacher, Bruce Cline, agreed, offering the following comments:

There are fine literary precedents for your marketing ploy, but they often were lost on audiences that weren’t too smart; I think of Johnathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal” (audience: British imperialists who were “feeding off of” Ireland’s poverty; suggestion: have Irish mothers breed and sell their children for food and “leather” [gives new meaning to the phrase "kid gloves, huh?]). Another one was called something like “Rules by which a Great Empire May Be Reduced to a Small One” by Benjamin Franklin. (audience: British imperialists who were mistreating American colonists; suggestion: keep doing exactly what you are by antagonizing already irate subjects, and your empire will become smaller!) Which leads me to think that eighteenth century British empirialists and 21st century potential Volvo drivers may have something in common…hmmmmm. That’s a little scary!

Thankfully, most Volvo customers are not like the casual visitors at the Cleveland Auto Show. But, if for some reason, you don’t understand a future advertisement … feel free to pick it up and read it. You might learn something.

2005 SAAB 9-2x Aero 2.0T engine

After a customer asked for a SAAB 9-2x, I did a little research. Sure, I already knew that the car was a joint venture between SAAB and Subaru. But when the car came with a 2.0T, I thought it was the SAAB engine.

I was wrong.

The moment of truth came as I looked at a current eBay auction for a salvage Aero model in Michigan. When I looked at the picture of the engine, I was shocked. The engine in no way looked like the typical SAAB 4-cylinder. What’s the deal here? The deal is that it would make no sense to cram in a horizontal SAAB engine when Subaru already has a 2.0 liter Turbo charged H4 engine that would fool “losers” like myself into thinking it was the SAAB original.

You learn something new every day.