Columbus Fair Auto Auction is pleased to introduce Gary Burkeen as our new Dealer Sales Manager. Welcome to the CFAA team Gary!

The Federal Trade Commission will host its second roundtable to gather information on consumers’ experiences in the sale and financing of motor vehicles at dealerships. The roundtable will be held in San Antonio, Texas, on August 2-3, 2011, and will cover topics regarding military consumers’ experiences in buying and financing motor vehicles, the role of financial literacy in consumers’ understanding of that process, and fair lending issues.The Federal Trade Commission will host its second roundtable to gather information on consumers’ experiences in the sale and financing of motor vehicles at dealerships. The roundtable will be held in San Antonio, Texas, on August 2-3, 2011, and will cover topics regarding military consumers’ experiences in buying and financing motor vehicles, the role of financial literacy in consumers’ understanding of that process, and fair lending issues.

The FTC held its first roundtable on consumer protection issues involving dealership sales and financing of cars, SUVs, and light trucks, in Detroit in April 2011. A third roundtable is expected to be held in the coming months.

The FTC release states “Buying or leasing a car is among the most expensive transactions that many consumers make. Financing obtained at a dealership may provide benefits for many consumers, such as convenience, special manufacturer-sponsored programs, access to a variety of banks and financial entities, or access to credit otherwise unavailable to a buyer. Dealer-arranged financing, however, can be a complicated, opaque process and could potentially involve unfair or deceptive practices.”

The roundtable will be held at St. Mary’s University School of Law, Classroom Building, One Camino Santa Maria, San Antonio, Texas. The first day will cover the issues of military consumers and financial literacy; the second day will cover fair lending. The roundtable is free and open to the public.

Pre-registration is not required but is encouraged to help staff plan the event. Details can be found at http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/workshops/motorvehicles/. The FTC will offer a live webcast of the event. The Commission staff will identify and invite people with relevant expertise to participate and may invite others to participate who have submitted requests. Those who want to be panelists at the roundtable may e-mail their name and affiliation toMotorVehicleRoundtables2@ftc.gov, on or before July 15, 2011.

The EPA issued fuel pump labeling and other requirements for gasoline blends containing more than 10 percent and up to 15 percent ethanol (known as E15) to help ensure E15 is properly labeled and used by consumers.  The new orange and black label must appear on fuel pumps that dispense E15 and is designed to inform consumers about which vehicles can use E15.

Remember, E15 fuel is not for use in vehicles from the 2000 model year and older.  It is also not designed for motorcycles or off-road units such as boats and snowmobiles and off-road equipment such as lawnmowers and chain saws.

Google is working in partnership with Ford to produce a fuel efficient car using Google’s Predictive API. The system would “learn” driver’s patterns, predict destinations, and then suggest routes that are energy efficient and tailored to driver and vehicle.

If so, you will have to do your homework and shop around to get a good deal. Bloomberg reports that automakers reduced spending on discounts & incentives to US customers in April by 14% to an average $2,320 per vehicle, the lowest level in 5 years.

CNW Research reports that franchise dealers enjoyed their strongest April for used-car sales in five years selling 1.32 million used vehicles, up 10.7% from April 2010.  Independent dealers saw an increase of over 17% selling 1.33 million units.  There were also 1.04 million casual sales of vehicles, up 8%. Overall, there were 3.69 million used vehicles sold last month, improving 12.3% over last year and 47.6% over last month.

Last night the Green Bay Packers football team played football in the first half. The bad news for us Steeler fans is that the Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t. Even though the second half clearly belonged to the Pennsylvania dwellers, what they clearly proved once again is that winners never give up but to win requires 100% effort 100% of the time.

Congratulations to the Green Bay Packers and thank you Pittsburgh Steelers for making it exciting again…………right to the end.

LINDSAY CHAPPELL
February 6, 2011 – 9:54 pm ET

SAN FRANCISCO — Too many retail sales personnel are waiters.

Sales traffic down, credit-challenged shoppers staying home, the dealership sales staff sticks with the comfortable technology of the past: They patiently wait for customers to pull into the lot and get out of their car.

That’s a big mistake for retailers, urges Patrick Kelly, senior vice president for CAR-Research XRM, a dealer management services business. Kelly says it’s a behavior learned from the past 20 years when industry sales were strong and more constant. It was more productive to stand in the showroom waiting for the next customer because one was certain to come along any minute now.

Not so in 2011.

Kelly presses his dealer customers to work the phones, e-mails, Facebook and all other forms of person-to-person communications to connect with sales leads. It’s not merely a better use of their times, he tells dealership managers — it’s a statistically more rewarding pursuit.

He cites research by J.D. Power and Associates in his presentations: On average, he tells dealers, only 9 percent of the purchase-ready customers who walk into a dealership for the first time will buy a vehicle on that visit — 91 percent will walk away empty handed.

But, he emphasizes, with a little follow-up work, one-third of those same empty-handed customers will return for a second visit. And of the one-third who return, more than half will end up buying a vehicle.

Reasons Kelly: the magic isn’t getting customers to come in the first time — it’s following up with them and getting to come in that second time.

New maximum loan size increased to $5 million by Small Business Jobs Act

WASHINGTON — A pilot loan program aimed at increasing access to inventory financing for auto, boat, RV and other dealerships will be re-launched Tuesday (2/8) and will be effective through Sept. 30, 2013, the U.S. Small Business Administration announced today.

The Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 included a provision for re-launching SBA’s Dealer Floor Plan (DFP) Pilot Loan program, which first became available in July 2009. The pilot is part of the SBA’s overall 7(a) loan guarantee program. The Jobs Act also increased the maximum size for 7(a) loans to $5 million, up from $2 million, which includes loans made through the DFP pilot program.

“As a result of the credit crunch in late 2008 and early 2009, dealerships saw a significant decline in the availability of this type of inventory financing,” SBA Deputy Administrator Marie Johns said. “SBA’s original DFP pilot program was launched as a way to expand the availability of floor plan financing and the Jobs Act added further enhancements to that program, including allowing for larger loan sizes.

“Dealerships are a cornerstone of local business communities,” Johns continued. “As we continue to see our economy recover, the re-launch of this pilot provides another tool, alongside SBA’s other programs, to help them succeed and create jobs in their local communities.”

The rules and regulations for the pilot will be available Tuesday on the website of The Federal Register, and in print editions on Wednesday. A procedural guide to the program will be posted on the SBA website at: http://www.sba.gov/content/dealer-floor-plan-financing-program-0.

Floor plan financing is a revolving line of credit that allows a dealership to obtain financing through SBA’s 7(a) program for inventory that can be titled, such as autos, RVs, manufactured homes, boats and trailers. As each piece of collateral is sold by the dealer, the loan advance against that piece of collateral is repaid. As the loan is repaid, the dealer can borrow against the line of credit to add new inventory.

The program is available to qualifying small businesses, including new and used automobile, motorcycle, RV, manufactured homes and boat dealers. SBA has issued a new maximum alternative size standard to allow businesses with $15 million net worth and $5 million in net income measured over two years to have access to the program.

All SBA-approved lenders may make DFP loans. Lenders with more than $1 billion of floor plan lines of credit in their current portfolios may apply for delegated authority, which would expedite the lending process.

Borrowers interested in obtaining a DFP loan should contact their lender or their nearest SBA field office to get a list of SBA-approved lenders in their area who may be participating in the program. Local district offices and contact information, as well as information on this and other SBA programs and resources, can be found at www.sba.gov or by calling the SBA Answer Desk at 1-800-U-ASK-SBA or TDD 704-344-6640.

Automakers’ ads a bargain If Super Bowl audience is record

February 3, 2011 – 3:14 pm ET

LOS ANGELES (Bloomberg) — Super Bowl advertisers such as Volkswagen AG and General Motors Co. may end up getting a bargain for 30-second spots costing a record $3 million or more — if the audience for the Fox telecast reaches new highs as forecast.

The Feb. 6 National Football League championship between the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers may top the record 106.5 million viewers who watched last year’s game on CBS, according to New York advertising executives Peter Gardiner of Deutsch Inc. and Andy Donchin of Carat North America.

By buying up all the ads from News Corp.’s Fox in October, advertisers avoided paying higher prices closer to the game, when the cost can soar for the few spots that typically remain. Advertisers didn’t want to risk waiting because recent Super Bowls surpassed forecasts for viewers, said Scott Keogh, chief marketing officer of Audi of America.

“This is something we view as a very smart investment,” Keogh said in an interview. “This is our fourth Super Bowl, and every year has over-delivered.”

The cost of a 30-second Super Bowl spot peaked two years ago, when the Steelers, led by quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, defeated the Arizona Cardinals, 27-23. Advertisers paid an average $3 million that year, according to Jon Swallen, senior vice president of research for Kantar Media in New York. The price slipped to about $2.97 million for last year’s matchup between the New Orleans Saints and the Indianapolis Colts.

For this year’s game, Fox may have commanded more than $3 million, according to Laura Martin, an analyst with Needham & Co. in Pasadena, Calif. Swallen estimated the price at about $3 million.

Fox record

“Sunday, Feb. 6, 2011, will be the single highest-revenue generating day in the history of Fox,” Lou D’Ermilio, a spokesman for Fox Sports in New York, said in an e-mail. He said the network doesn’t comment on advertising rates. Keogh declined to specify rates paid by Audi.

Martin estimates a 3.5-hour to 4-hour Super Bowl will generate $288 million to $300 million in advertising sales, exceeding the $213 million record set in the 2009 Super Bowl, according to figures provided by Kantar Media, owned by WPP Plc.

This year’s Super Bowl in Dallas stands to attract the biggest audience ever after NFL regular-season and postseason viewing reached records, said Gardiner, chief media officer of Deutsch Inc., part of Interpublic Group of Cos.

“If the regular season and playoffs are any indication, you have an American populace salivating for NFL football,” Gardiner said in an interview. “Football is on a roll.”

NFL ratings

“NBC Sunday Night Football” led prime-time television ratings in the first half of the TV season, averaging 21.6 million viewers, 11 percent more than a year earlier and the most since the program started in 2006. CBS’s American Football Conference playoff games scored their highest viewer average in 23 years, CBS Corp. said last week.

The Super Bowl’s audience has grown for each of the past five years, according to Nielsen Co. data. In 2009, advertisers reached 98.7 million viewers on average with a 30-second spot.

The Super Bowl is sold at a flat rate, unlike per-viewer prices advertisers pay for most other programs — typically $25 per 1,000 prime-time viewers, Martin said. When deciding whether to buy time, marketers usually assume the game will attract a similar-size audience to the prior year, she said.

“Despite the high prices, there’s a steady march of advertisers to replace those that drop out or reduce their buys,” Swallen said. “That gives a certain level of price support. It also helps make the Super Bowl one of the most coveted spots on television.”

‘Traffic jam’

New models and the auto industry’s rebound from the recession have led to a record six carmakers pitching as many as nine auto brands during the game, according to Swallen. Viewers may experience a “traffic jam” of competing ads, according to a Jan. 18 report from Kantar.

Mercedes-Benz is advertising for the first time. GM bought its first Super Bowl spots since 2008, prior to its bankruptcy, and BMW will run an ad for the first time in 15 years, according to Kantar Media.

To make sure its spot stood out this year, Audi considered six to eight variations and had test audiences vote on two finalists, Keogh said.

‘Cinematic moment’

“You need to entertain and have some humor,” Keogh said. “You also need to tell a story. It’s a cinematic moment.”

Audi is using its Super Bowl spot to showcase a redesigned A8 luxury sedan, listed at the company’s Web site with a recommended base price of $78,050. The ad pokes fun at “robotic” luxury-car buying decisions, Keogh said. The A8 competes with the Mercedes S-Class and BMW 7-Series, he said.

In past years, Audi has seen foot-traffic spike at its dealerships and web-traffic spike on its sites after Super Bowl spots aired, Keogh said.

“Four years ago Audi wasn’t on the shopping list of tier- one luxury car shoppers,” Keogh said. “The Super Bowl has helped us tell our story and now Audi is among the top of that list. It’s not just a coincidence.”