Drive UPDATE concerning the Van Buren County Road Commission

Our 3 year battle goes on! Most of you know of our dilemma attempting to get a driveway approval for a safe and convenient access to our Motorplex from the 4 lane road in front of our property: Phoenix Street. Linda and I have attended the past 2 Van Buren County Road Commission meetings in Lawrence. I have read a written statement during the "public comment" portion of the meeting, given the board a copy and asked that it be entered into the record. The board and their engineer manager have been asked to respond to 5 specific questions concerning the process of granting driveways. The Van Buren County Road Commission has not responded by phone, fax, email, letter, or smoke signal!
I then attended a Van Buren County Board of Commissioners meeting last week. I read a written statement and then asked just who the Road Commissioners were accountable to. The answer I got should concern everyone: In essence, I was told that the Board of Commissioners only get involved with the 6 year appointments of the individual and that ends their accountability until the end of the 6 year term! We have an elected county board that appoints folks to a 6 year road commission term with no accountability for their actions for the entire term? What's wrong with THAT picture?? This situation needs to be confronted and corrected to protect everyone who resides in Van Buren County. The Road Commission seems to think that if they ignore our requests we will just fade away. NOT A CHANCE. Things are going to get very interesting..... Stay tuned. I will never give up in my fight for what is right!!

The REAL COST of Cash for Clunkers? $24,000 per incremental sale!!

The Edmund car site just released a study on the true cost of the government's Cash for Clunkers program. They used the actual sales records for the period, units that were sold under the clunker program, compared the data to "non incentive" months and came up with this stunning number: $24,000 per car sold under the program! Great job feds. I'd sure like you running our marketing at the Motorplex! The sad fact is that many auto dealers are still waiting for their money! I've been told that each transaction under the program entailed 27 pages of required documentation.
The auto news only got better this week when ONE US automaker reported a profit: Ford Motor Company which is looking more and more like the ONLY intelligent auto maker as they turned down a government bailout. Stay tuned this week when Fiat will attempt to instill public confidence in Chrysler as they reveal future product plans. Listen carefully and you'll find out just how bare the new product cupboard is at Chrysler. The situation is beyond critical with virtually no new car updates until 2012 at the EARLIEST. The only new products coming in 2010-2011 are 3/4 and one ton trucks along with a new Jeep Grand Cherokee. Now those are 3 hot sellers in this market! Ouch! Some re-badged Fiat are being "Americanized" as we speak. I really don't think that FIAT is a car that comes to mind for most Americans considering a new car!
The automakers have things coming at them from all sides. New government regulations for fuel economy are certainly justified, but limiting the amount of sunlight entering the car is just bizarre. Ford Motor has a UAW that will not accept the same contract terms as they gave to GM and Chrysler. Now we hear the the government is "guiding" GM and Chrysler in product planning! This can only be a major disaster alert! Before it's over there may just be a whole new meaning to "postal van"!

VanDerZee Motorplex Expands Services!

The economic climate in Michigan continues to be a colossal challenge. We're listening to our clients and we are responding with new services: We now offer virtually every major brand of tire for your car, van, truck or trailer. We purchased the equipment from South Haven's OK Tire when they closed. You can be confident that our prices will be competitive. What makes us different is that your tires will be installed by a certified auto technician who will do a professional job and look over your vehicle for any necessary repairs. Just call Grant Hammock at 269 637 8788 for fast estimates and scheduling.
We have also expanded our personal watercraft winterizing services. We can winterize, shrink wrap and store your watercraft and maintain the battery! Just drop off your unit and we'll do the rest. Have a restful winter and then call us in the spring. We'll have your watercraft uncovered, battery installed, checked over and ready to ride! If you've been paying a premium for indoor storage, give us a call and I'll bet that we will save you some serious money!
Keep an eye on this blog for more updates concerning our VanBuren County Road Commission battle! It's going to get real ugly if they continue their current course! Stay tuned, folks!

GM's 60 Day Money Back Promo is a FLOP!!

As I predicted a few weeks ago, the GM Money Back Plan has been a total FLOP. Yesterday GM's Bob Lutz announced that during the program 150,000 GM vehicles have been sold! That sounds pretty good, right? Well, the only problem is that GM actually LOST market share! Here's how the GM dealers presented the "deal of the decade": a potential GM purchaser was enticed with the huge national advertising campaign of "bring it back in 60 days if you're not happy"! What GM didn't tell you was that when you actually closed the purchase, you had a choice: sign the 60 day money back agreement OR (and this is one that most dealers wouldn't let their salespeople talk about) there was a 500.00 rebate in lieu of the Money Back deal. Bob Lutz "thought" that about 100 people signed up for the 60 day program while everybody else took the money! He claims that one person returned a Corvette to exchange his 6 speed manual for an automatic! So let's see if I understand. GM spent millions of dollars promoting a 60 day money back may the best car win program that had 100 takers? The result was 150,000 sales and LOSS OF MARKET SHARE? As Ricky Ricardo would say: "The person that came up with this winning idea has lots of SPLAINING to do!" I did hear that the guy behind the 60 Day MONEY BACK program had the confidence of GM management because his previous successful campaign was the SHAMWOW! I can't wait for the next GM promotion! I've heard rumors about buy a GM car and we'll include you in our health care program! Hey, the government owns GM so why not?

3 Year Battle With Road Commission Begs for Justice!

Any of you that have visited VanDerZee Motorplex has experienced the frustration of trying to find a way in to our parking lot! We have attempted to work with the Van Buren County Road Commission for over 3 years in an effort to get what should be a simple task: a driveway off of Phoenix Street, the 4 lane that runs in front of the Motorplex! Before we started construction in 2006, we followed the rules and applied for a driveway. Just a formality, right? After all, we are located on one of the main commercial arteries to South Haven on a 4 lane road. Our property has an EXISTING curb cut but we wanted to relocate it to a better location, further away from an intersection just to the east. Recent new construction included: Hampton Inn, Consumer's Credit Union, Wendy's, Locker Plaza, Holiday Inn Express, and Comfort Suites all of which were constructed just prior to our Motorplex. The Phoenix Road / I-196 corridor is the true gateway to South Haven. While the traffic count doesn't come close to congested retail areas like Westnedge in Kalamazoo; Pipestone in Benton Harbor; or Washington Avenue in Holland, it is the major retail center for South Haven with Wal-Mart, Menards and Lake Michigan College all choosing to locate in the area.
Just when you would think that something will be a simple task, politics enters in and the whole works gets complicated! As our completion date approached, the drive had not yet been approved. I wasn't too concerned since the existing drive could be utilized temporarily until the better location was approved. The very day we opened in September of 2006, the VanBuren County Road Commission, without any warning or discussion whatsoever, placed 3 large 2,000 pound BARRICADES across the existing driveway! Three years later, the barricades remain. At the VanBuren County Road Commissions request, we contracted for a $9,000 traffic study by Wade-Trim Engineering which substantiated our request! The Road Commission's response? NO. This is my reward for investing in my home town with an award winning facility that has been recognized nationally as one of the top 100 powersports dealerships in North America!
In future blogs I'll take you on an unbelievable journey of frustration, expense and economic damage done to our business. I've tried to go by the book, do the right thing, etc. You know what? It boils down to politics and it's truly an ugly experience. Distrust isn't limited to Washington DC. It's happening right here in VanBuren County. It is time to reveal just who, what, where, when and why this continues to go on. We're going to ask you to rally with us. Nearly 600 folks sent letters of support to the Road Commission and not one letter was ever acknowledged! The problems go deep and I owe it to my family, the employees of VanDerZee Motorplex and to anyone contemplating on investing in South Haven to make sure that this never happens to someones dream ever again. Stay tuned, winter may be coming but it's going to get real hot around here! I'm Ray VanDerZee. Call me directly at 269 637 8788 or email (sales@vanderzeemotorplex.com) with your questions or ideas on how you can help us. We're asking for your support! Thank you.

Harboring Hope for Saturn's Future with Penske

The announcement of Roger Penske abandoning his acquisition of Saturn is devastating news. Sources claim or hope that this is just a negotiation ploy and not the end of the road for Saturn. It just boggles my mind that GM has chosen to cut it's most client oriented dealer body. What are they thinking? Talk about value of the brand! Do you recall the THOUSANDS of happy Saturn owners driving to Spring Hill to celebrate their cars? We're not talking high performance sports car "nuts", but moms and dads and their kids all making a pilgrimage to Spring Hill just to visit the home of their little SL2's and SC1's! GM couldn't have been happier. It was a marriage of client, dealer and manufacturer the likes of which we will never see again.
Saturn quickly became the envy of all GM dealers. Chevy, Buick, Pontiac and Oldsmobile dealers were jealous. Chevy, especially wanted to be the small car division of GM. Product development and model mix suddenly caused infighting among the divisions. It reminded me of a Brady Bunch episode: Marsha, Marsha MARSHA! The result was product starvation for Saturn dealers. When management finally became concerned, warmed over Opel products were re badged as Saturn and the results were disastrous. The Aura, Sky, Vue, and Outlook completed a total revamp of Saturn giving them tremendous products that can compete head to head with all comers. Just when things were looking up.....GM says bye, bye, see ya! I can only say this is just another example of the "new" GM. I don't know if there is a true gas-in-their-veins car person left in the whole organization. Roger, don't give up just yet!! You've got an opportunity to dominate the small car segment in the USA!

GM's MONEY BACK FREE VACATION RENTAL CAR PROGRAM! GET YOURS TODAY!

Maybe I'm just a little too skeptical, but GM's 60 day money back guarantee program is going to inspire a lot of "work the system" folks looking for a cheap rental car for a family vacation. Picture the Clark Griswold family headed to Wallyworld! Just keep it under 4,000 miles, don't spill ketchup or mustard, park way far away from everybody and we've got ourselves a brand new free rental car! Believe me, a lot of deviant minds will figure this out! Our dealership used to be next to Walmart when they had their "don't like it, just bring it back and we'll refund your money" program. We would be amazed during each change of season. In the fall you would see a line up of returned lawn mowers and bicycles. When spring came, snow blowers by the dozen were returned. Now granted, it is a minute percentage of the population who actually take advantage of such a situation, but it does indeed happen.

I agree with the GM message. GM now has a majority of their offerings that are excellent in quality, styling and reliability. They will more than hold their own in a "may the best car win" scenario despite what the media critics will lead you to believe. But come on now. Will the 60 day program really get non GM folks to consider purchasing a Chevy, Buick or Cadillac? Hardly. I just can't imagine a family sitting in front of the tv and this long, tall Texan comes on and makes the GM pitch for the 60 day money back plan causing Dad to say: "hey everyone, I know that we've been happy with our Camry, but let's run down to the Chevy store and pick up a Malibu. If we don't like it we can just bring it back!" The American consumer does a whole lot of research before considering a major purchase like a car. No one likes to think that they made a "wrong" decision. I can see the neighbors now. "Hey, Jeff, I thought you just bought a new Malibu a couple of months ago? What happened?" You'll have to spend an hour trying to justify why you made a mistake in purchasing a GM car.

So what would I do? Ditch the 60 day purchase plan and try this. How about a free car for a weekend? Instead of the long tall Texan, have some new Malibu owners talk about their car including what they used to drive and what lead them to purchase a new Chevy. Then make the invitation: "Folks, we know that it may have been some time since you considered a GM car. For some of you, it may have been an entire generation. At GM we understand that a lot of our products just didn't live up to your expectations. So here is what we'd like to offer. Do you have a trip to grandma's house next weekend? We'd like to offer you a new GM car of your choice to drive for the weekend with no strings attached. We think you'll be impressed. GM has come a long ways in the past 5 years. We had to because a lot of the competition had passed us by and many of you lost confidence in General Motors. We've changed for the better. Just give us a chance and we think that you'll agree."

That is my "if I ran the company" moment. I don't know about you, but I can't remember the last time that I brought something substantial like a refrigerator back to the store. Do you? Maybe it's an ego thing. None of us likes to feel that we made a mistake! I just have a bit of a credability issue with the GM chairman who has only been on the job a few months pitching products that I doubt he knows a whole lot about! I wonder if he actually drives to work or does he have a driver pick him up? CEO's don't have the trust of a whole lot of consumers lately, do they? My oh my how the auto industry has changed!