Good bye 2008 I can't say we'll miss ya!

It seems like our memories of 2008 will only go back to September when the chaos started on Wall Street. The turmoil of '08 touched nearly every facet of our lives: financial, retirement, cars, housing values, politics and banking! Well good bye '08 because '09 just has to be better! Remember when just 9 years ago just the opposite was the case? Y2K!!!! 12 midnight 1999 was probably the most anticipated time of the century. Let's see: air craft were going to fall from the sky, every one's computers would crash, entire savings accounts would be lost electronically, and yes, even stop lights were going to quit working! The dreaded and much anticipated Y2K was going to be a disaster! Ooops! Another media / scientific expert prediction fizzled like a Popsicle in the desert. Have a safe and happy new year! Let's hope that next year at this time we can all reflect on how much better off the world was made in 2009! I'm looking forward to it!

END OF THE YEAR FRENZY

In my 35 plus years in the auto and powersports business, I never am ceased to be amazed how BUSY we are during the last week of the year. It is a tribute to the astute and savy client base that we have. We certainly need to "scramble" in order to get as much business as possible added to the year's totals. It really is a time when we do some crazy things in order to earn your business. We always look forward to the "last" week. I think that a lot of our competiton goes into the "wait 'til next year" mode. Kinda like the Detroit Lions.
Thank you everyone for helping us "scramble". We certainly appreciate your business. Whatever your needs may be for the coming year, RIGHT NOW is a great way to save money and get a little extra thrown in to boot! Gotta go and answer over 20 email inquires since this afternoon. How fun!

What a Great Time of Year

I've just been very fortunate to spend Christmas at home with my three daughters. Time spent with loved ones during Christmas is so much more than exchanging gifts. I'm really lucky. Humor plays a great part in my family and my girls can keep me laughing all day long. They're a little upset that I have to return to the Motorplex today, but hey, we're in retail and our clients deserve our best. My dad taught me a work ethic that I wish more of the "younger" generation would take notice of: Do the little extras without being asked to. SMILE. Make your co-workers want to be around you by not being a "busy body" or a "whiner". I learned to be a team player from my high school basketball coach, MH White. The world doesn't revolve around "YOU". As we get older, time becomes more precious. My best gift this year? Hangin' with my ladies. What a great time of year!!!

If this is a blizzard, then my memory must be bad!

I awoke Sunday morning to a roaring wind and blowing snow! Since it is my Sunday morning ritual to walk our family's 2 Great Danes, I checked the thermometer before I ventured out. It said 9 degrees. The wind was blowing pretty hard and drifts were about 3 feet on the path headed into our woods. My daughter's 3 year old Great Dane Zander thought that the drifts were pretty darned fun to jump in. My 7 year old female Great Dane that can only be walked on a leash due to some neighborhood "social issues" immediately balked at any further foray into the cold and blowing snow. Jersey doesn't like wind or rain or snow and certainly does not enjoy having her belly rubbing in a snow drift! It took some serious prodding to get her to continue towards the woods where I was certain better conditions awaited. Well, I was somewhat right. The wind and snow were not as severe in our beautiful woods. Both dogs quickly dispensed with some hygiene issues and commenced to look for signs of deer tracks. Since there were none I guessed that the deer were just a bit smarter than us and were sheltered down by the creek! As the 150 pound Zander raced ahead down the trail he quickly vanished from sight. Jersey was pulling on her leash as a form of protest! Suddenly Zander came running ( a better description might be staggering) toward us in a state of bewilderment. I soon saw the reason for his displeasure: his eyelids were heavy with ice and he couldn't see very well. I looked at Jersey and her nose had icicles hanging down and she was starting to howl in protest. Needless to say, our mile and a half walk had to be aborted. What wimpy Great Danes to let a little snow bother them!
Once inside I turned on the news and saw that we were in a blizzard warning! And oh, yes, I let out a "when I was a kid" explanation of what a blizzard REALLY was! My idea of a blizzard is my memory (and yes, this is backed by actual photographic PROOF) of the blizzard of 1978 when our house was snowed in for over a week. I can remember hearing the front end loader working his way down our country road trying to cut through 8 to 10 foot drifts! Now THATS a storm, not this little 10" snowfall with little 3 to 4 foot drifts. I was dismayed that the TV station was making such a big deal out of a what used to be "normal" snow storm. Listening to the local TV station, you would have thought that we were getting hit by the 100 year storm! Have we gotten soft or what? This is MICHIGAN and it's DECEMBER! What do you expect? I would think that common sense would dictate some simple life saving techniques: SLOW DOWN; STAY HOME if you can't SLOW DOWN; and DRESS WARMLY.
And since I'm on my box, why does everyone have to let the TV station know that they are CLOSED? I mean come on, if you've got a group that is going to meet and you have maybe 10 people in that group, CALL THEM! It must be a status symbol to tell your friends, "hey did you see our cancellation on TV8?" It just seems that we have a tendency to dramatize, exaggerate and make everything "breaking news". If you want all of the details from "when I was a kid back in 1978" then I'd be happy to tell you about a REAL BLIZZARD! Remember, it's MICHIGAN in WINTER for cryin out loud!! Spring is less than 100 days away!

Automaker Stability?

GM and Chrysler got their early Christmas presents in the form of $17 bbbbillion! Both companies are expected and demanded to "get their house in order". Why did it take the White House to demand restructuring of these 2 huge auto makers? We all run our households and make financial decisions every day. I think that it works like this: (that's what my wife tells me anyway!) A certain amount of money comes into our household. There are bills to pay each month. If there are funds left over, that means we live on a pretty good budget and must be living in what our grandparents said was "within your means". If you were short at the end of the month you were living "beyond your means". Pretty simple, huh? This is a great country where honest, hard work is rewarded. Slough off or get complacent and things can get bad in a hurry. I can remember my Dad telling me that in the 1950's when someone bought a new car from his dealership, financing the purchase was never discussed. You just didn't buy a car unless you had the money! Today you can "charge" just about anything from gasoline to phone calls to a hot dog! The "gotta have it NOW" syndrome is a quick way to enter the "beyond your means" territory. I think that the auto makers just MIGHT be getting the message. This is truly their LAST CHANCE. I bet everyone at Chrysler and GM has 3/31/09 CIRCLED on their calender. Who'd a thought?

A BUSY HOLIDAY SEASON

I just had a local bank representative stop by to say hello. He thanked us for giving his bank some business and talked about the local economy. He had just spent his Sunday shopping at an area mall. He was amazed at how busy they were! He was sure that people in this area must not have televisions! If they had been keeping up with the news, shoppers would certainly be aware that the economic "sky" is falling! There is no credit, no jobs, no truth and no hope. I like to call that attitude "never, never land" just like the fairy tale. I think that our area truly reflects the MIDWEST work ethic and family values. We work hard, go about our business, and appreciate our friends and family. I have a very wealthy client who has lived in different parts of the USA. He says that he enjoys living in western Michigan because he can live a "low" profile and not in such a competetive environment as he experienced in large, urban cities.

Midwesterners have values. Something that seems to be absent on Wall Street and in Washington D.C. Clients coming to VanDerZee Motorplex this Christmas season are demanding VALUE for their money. Kawasaki and Yamaha have responded to the "slowing" economy with some of the strongest incentives that I have seen in the past 10 years! It is gratifying to know that these two leaders of powersports products have no intention of following the path of the BIG 3 auto makers. While it's true that we have an edge because we sell "fun" products, we still need to respond to world competition and offer unsurpassed quality. What's good for Kawasaki and Yamaha is not necessisarily what is good for the country! Both companies continually ask us what they can do better for us and want to know what our clients want in terms of products, features and service. It is that committment that gives me confidence that VanDerZee Motorplex is partnering with companies that share our vision! Sure, right now people aren't exactly breaking down our front door and buying everything in sight, but we see that MIDWEST ETHIC at work every day. And you know what? Today is the true definition of a "buyer's market"! Experience old fashioned hospitality at VanDerZee Motorplex. Remember, there is always an ICE COLD Coca Cola waiting for you at our soda fountain. And when you see that big smile on our faces as you enter our store, it's showing our sincere appreciation that you chose to visit our business!

Kid's Presents Built to LAST !!

I'm really impressed with the number of clients who have purchased "YOUTH" motorcycles and ATV's for Christmas presents. Many of you have told us that outdoor, FAMILY experiences are very important! Sure, kids will stay glued to the new video game for a short period, but then it's time for the next, best, greatest, gotta have game! An ATV or motorcycle is a lasting outdoor activity with an excellent benefit: It can make your child a better driver when their 16th birthday comes around! Understanding acceleration, steering, braking, anticipation and responsible operation are all attributes of a save driver! We all know how "invincible" our children think they are. I was always that way too, but now my "recovery time" has gotten a lot longer! Just something to think about.

Remember as a kid how great it felt after spending all day outside? There's just something about the outdoors and fresh air that makes us more creative!

For those of you who prefer indoors, well, come to VanDerZee Motorplex, take a seat at the soda fountain and have a Coca Cola on us! You can hang out here and have some fun.

A Unique Shopping Experience at VanDerZee Motorplex

We just had the Motorplex "critiqued" by the person who designed our store. It's not easy having someone evaluate everything that you do! We're proud to say that he gave us an excellent report. He was very impressed with our efforts to give everyone who enters VanDerZee Motorplex a "unique" experience. We greet everyone with an offer of a complementary Coke in a bottle direct from the 1950's! We give you a chance to relax and take a look at all of the memorabilia in the Motorplex like our fully restored soda fountain!

We're also a source of Christmas gifts for your whole family! Kawasaki has given us drastic price incentives on YOUTH motorcycles and ATV's. You'd also be surprised at how many gifts we have for under $50. Sweatshirts, jackets, rain gear, cleaning / polishing kits, and t shirts are just some of our great selection for your motorcycle enthusiast. Boots, leather jackets, chaps, helmets and chrome accessories are great choices too. We also have an excellent selection of O'Brien water toys: wake boards, knee boards, combo skis, inflatables for up to 3 passengers and YOUTH skis are all on sale for CHRISTMAS. So come to the Motorplex. Relax, have some refreshments and find that special gift for the family!

VanDerZee Motorplex will help you S-T-R-E-T-C-H your budget with quality gifts! Merry Christmas and Happy Hannukah to everyone.

Value Shopping

It never ceases to amaze me how informed our clients are about the products we offer. I've been told that over 80% of you research your purchase via the internet before you enter the Motorplex. That fact places a huge responsibility on us as we realize that you can "electronically" compare VanDerZee Motorplex to competitors throughtout the US, not just "down the street". Our goal is to provide you with superior products like Kawasaki, Yamaha and Schwinn in a place where you feel at ease, confident and relaxed. Every member of the VanDerZee Motorplex team knows that you are vital to our success. If one of us fails to meet and exceed your expectations, then all of us fail. We live by our belief that the person who walks through our front door is the most important person in the Motorplex.

I guess my Dutch heritage has always made me think "thrifty" even though my daughters may say something a little more severe when it comes to shopping! We know that now more than at any other time, VanDerZee Motorplex has to offer you products with the utmost in VALUE. Come and visit a truly unique powersports dealership: VanDerZee Motorplex. Spend a few minutes in our store, have a FREE Coke at the soda fountain, and take a step back in time. A time when things were relaxed and life was a bit slower. The way it USED TO BE was really a pretty nice way to do business. We're confident that when you visit VanDerZee Motorplex, you'll feel just a little better about things when you go back out in the hustle of the season. Merry Christmas from all of us at VanDerZee Motorplex in South Haven.

GM "Confessions" Ad

This is beyond sad. GM has just placed an ad in the trade journal Automotive News confessing to "betrayal" , product shortcomings and quality issues. The ad seems to be targeting Washington politicians who hold the purse strings to the billions of dollars dangling before GM, Chrysler and maybe Ford. I'll agree that in the '80's and '90's GM sure didn't know what the heck they were doing. Every GM platform was shared by every division as dealers wanted to be assured the "Chevy doesn't have something that we should have!" Hence GM "rebadged" everything in the stable and could not support each model with sufficient marketing. The end result? Try this: do you think that GM needed a cookie cutter mini-van for Chevy, Pontiac, Buick and Saturn? I'm surprised that Cadillac and GMC didn't get a version with GM's way of thinking. The public not only became confused but finally walked away from GM in droves. Market share went from 51% to 23% in a very short span of years. GM lost sight of the old adage that PRODUCT SELLS CARS! Make something that the public WANTS and sales will take off! Distinctive styling and world class quality evaporated at GM.
The GM "confessions" ad makes it sound like today is the start of an ALL NEW GM! Just give us billions and we'll make everything good from now on. The fact is that RIGHT NOW GM is making some BEST IN CLASS products! GM should INDEED admit that they have SCREWED UP in the past but ASK the public to RESEARCH the reality of some truly WORLD CLASS PRODUCTS: The Malibu/Aura ; the Acadia/Outlook/Enclave will stand up to the offerings of Toyota and Honda in both QUALITY and STYLING. And guess what? Those GM products will COST LESS than the comparable offerings from both Honda and Toyota! I think that GM has begun to realize you can't have even the slightest product shortcomings or you'll be exposed immediately on the internet. Your products are under instant scrutiny from day one!
The GM "confessions" ad makes it sound like the cupboard is bare and that certainly is NOT THE CASE. GM certainly does have a whole bunch of major problems: about 3,000 too many dealers just might be the most pressing problem. The job at hand is to INCREASE confidence in GM. Let the public know that you indeed have SCREWED UP but at the same time plead with consumers to take a look at what you are DOING RIGHT!
Its just another sad day from what used to be the most powerful corporation in the world! Mr. Wagoner, you should come to west Michigan for a glimpse of the "real world". Detroit and Washington DC are closer to the Twilight Zone than the real world!

Improving our communication with clients!

My dad taught me a great deal about client satisfaction. He often said that businesses have a tendency to take clients for granted and then get upset when they purchase somewhere else. VanDerZee Motorplex is currently installing a complete new business software system that will allow us to communicate with our clients in a far more efficient manner. We will be able to email our clients with pinpoint accuracy. With such a diverse number of products, we needed a better method of telling our clients about brand specific offers and information. (If you own a Kawasaki motorcycle you may not be excited about an O'brien wake board sale!) Our new program will allow us to invite you to special summer cookouts, boat shows and community events hosted by the Motorplex.
Rest assured that all of us at VanDerZee Motorplex value each and every client. You deserve special care and attention. Today we think that too many businesses just want to impress and gain new clients. While that certainly is our goal too, VanDerZee Motorplex appreciates and values the relationships that we have with an exceptional group of folks: our valued clients. The investment in this new software program is an example of how we value your business. We just want to do a better job of letting you know how much we care!

So when does the good news start?

Just the other night my wife attempted to "wrestle" the remote away from me in order to watch the 11 o'clock news. My response was "why would I want to get depressed just before bed?". Are there any feel good news stories anymore or can we only hear about how "bad" the economy is? Is there any reason that we need to know the minute by minute status of the stock market? What do the Dow Jones averages mean to me anyway? Remember the day by day rise of gas prices? It's all anyone could talk about when they came into the Motorplex! I haven't heard any mention on the news about how far crude prices have dropped lately!
I guess the BIG THREE are going to occupy every newscast for days to come. Since I grew up in a GM dealership and owned one for 13 years, it is hard for me to see just how far GM has fallen. And you know what? I think what has happened can be reduced to a simplistic form: Management at the Big 3 lost focus on who was buying their cars and were blinded by the huge profit per vehicle that big SUV's and trucks provided. I remember a phone call I got from a good friend who had "moved up" in the GM hierarchy. He used to call me from Detroit for what he called "reality checks from someone who lived in the real world." It was summer of 1993 and he called to tell me that GM had just set a "record" for profit per vehicle and wanted me to guess which unit set the mark! I correctly guessed a Suburban (the biggest SUV at the time) and he asked me to guess the amount per unit. I told him that if GM made $3,500 per unit that it would be tremendous (especially since the dealers made about $1,800). He laughed and said to guess again. I said that if it was over $8,000 that it would be disgusting and that GM didn't have a conscious! The record setting number was $12,000 per unit! Do ya think that those kind of cash cow profits may have "blinded" reality? Could you imagine a GM executive wanting to push for development of a hybrid or highly fuel efficient car? Not a chance. Small cars were money "losers" and were only used to help raise the Corporate Average Fuel Economy which meant that they could sell even more big $UV's. You build a few gas misers in order to help the sales weighted average. Even TOYOTA couldn't resist the temptation to "invade" the sacred cow full sized truck market in the US and built a new high output truck plant in Texas, the mainstay of big GM trucks. That is a move that they now are having serious doubts about!
The end result is now we have the CEO's of what used to be the BIG 3 waltzing in to DC hat-in-hand asking for 30 plus BILLION (is that 30,000 millions?) in order to survive through THIS DECEMBER? I guess you could say that GREED just left the Big 3 out of touch with reality.
And to think. All during my youth I idolized General Motors. They got blinded by reckless consumption and as long as big suv's were the "in thing" times were good. LIVING WITHIN YOUR MEANS goes for big corporations, too! It's the consumer who needs to be listened to the most. Let's hope that the Big 3 get jolted back to reality before it's too late.

Grand Rapids Boat Show

It may be snowing outside but VanDerZee Motorplex is already planning for the Grand Rapids Boat Show scheduled for February at DeVos Hall! We'll be showing all of the 2009 personal watercraft from Kawasaki and Yamaha. If you want to purchase a 2008 Jet Ski or Waverunner for a fantastic Christmas present, we can give you the Boat Show SPECIALS right now! Remember, SPRING is only 110 days away!

Caught without a snow brush?

For those of us in West Michigan, winter has arrived EARLY. Have you ever been caught without your snow brush and find your windows covered with ice? Here's a little tip that may save you time. A credit card will work almost as good as a scraper! Be careful because they can break. I always use a frequent flier card just in case it snaps in two!

Welcome to the Motorplex Blog!

Welcome to the VanDerZee Motorplex Blog. We'll use this format as a fun means to communicate what's going on at one of America's most unique powersports dealerships. I'm sure that we'll have some "growing" pains as we become proficient bloggers! We'll feature product news, service tips, and keep you informed about what is happening at the Motorplex. There are some interesting characters who work here and I'll get them to share some of their unique experiences. We take pride in being a fun place to visit where you'll truly step back in time. Our 1950's decor reflects a time when things were a bit "slower". We invite everyone to have a seat at our soda fountain and we'll treat you to a Coke in a bottle! (Coke just tastes better from a glass bottle, don't you think?)
We'll get working on bringing you interesting perspectives on our products too. We offer the full line of Kawasaki products along with Yamaha Waverunners, Schwinn Scooters, O'Brien watersports products, and our "Nearly New" cars and trucks. Along the way we will tell you about some great experiences that our clients have had using our products!
So here we are! VanDerZee Motorplex is ready to eager to hear from you!