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Executive Interview
Executive Interview
with Nancy McLean, Director, ACDelco and Wholesale Marketing
June 7, 2010By
Amy Antenora
In this exclusive
AMN Executive Interview,
McLean talks with aftermarketNews about future plans for the
ACDelco portfolio as it continues its legacy with General
Motors. McLean provides more detail on some recent product
introductions, as well as the renaming of the GM Service and
Parts Operations division to Customer Care and Aftersales.
Nancy McLean began her career with General
Motors in 1978, with the former Packard Electric (now Delphi
Packard Electric) in Warren, Ohio, where she held a variety
of engineering and business planning positions. In 1990,
McLean became marketing and business planning manager at
Packard Electric’s European Operations headquartered in
Wuppertal, Germany. In 1993, she transferred to what became
Delphi Automotive Systems Corp., as the director of
marketing. In 1996, McLean transferred to General Motors
Service Parts Operations (SPO) as a general product manager
with responsibility for collision and powertrain. She was
appointed director of sales and marketing for SPO — Canada
in May 1999. She currently serves as director, ACDelco and
Wholesale Marketing. McLean graduated from The Ohio State
University with a bachelor’s in industrial and systems
engineering. She also earned an MBA from the University of
Virginia as a GM Fellow.
In this exclusive AMN Executive Interview, McLean
talks with aftermarketNews about future plans for
the ACDelco portfolio as it continues its legacy with
General Motors. McLean provides more detail on some recent
product introductions, as well as the renaming of the GM
Service and Parts Operations division to Customer Care and
Aftersales.
In late 2008 it was announced that General Motors
was considering selling the ACDelco brand as part of its
strategic plan to bolster its liquidity position. In April
2009 however, Fritz Henderson, GM’s CEO at the time, pulled
ACDelco off the market. Now that ACDelco is firmly back in
the GM portfolio, what are the plans for going forward?
The decision to keep ACDelco in the GM family reflected the
value this brand has brought – and continues to bring – to
our distributors, independent service centers and dealers,
as well as to General Motors. It is one of the most powerful
aftermarket brands in the world.
The direction to maintain ACDelco as a critical and valuable
part of the General Motors business portfolio has been a
major catalyst for change within our organization – and not
just for the ACDelco business channel. We had a unique
opportunity over the course of the past 18 months to (1)
look at every aspect of our business and value it for a
potential sale, while re-evaluating every strategy that we
had in place; and then (2) re-focus our business and
integrate into the New GM to create even more value for our
ACDelco customers and for General Motors. We were able to
strip out non-valuable business practices and paradigms, as
we focused on long-term sustainable growth.
It has been a cathartic process in every sense of the word.
Moving forward we intend to leverage our many strengths,
including a century of heritage and an unrivaled
distribution network, to grow both our dealer and
aftermarket sales. With consumers keeping their vehicles
longer, there is tremendous opportunity in the marketplace.
ACDelco’s future is bright because ACDelco delivers much
more than parts: we are part of something bigger. Our
extensive field support, e-commerce business tools,
industry-leading training support for our affiliated service
centers and marketing support provide value, opportunity and
profit to our customers.
What benefits does ACDelco receive from remaining
part of GM?
One of the greatest benefits, of course, is that ACDelco
continues to provide original equipment service parts for
America’s largest car parc, GM, through the largest dealer
and aftermarket distribution network in the U.S. We have an
unprecedented opportunity to grow our sales by providing the
industry’s most comprehensive parts portfolio at very
competitive prices.
We also maintain access to the engineers and designers
working on the latest systems and innovations – that helps
us leverage that knowledge base into our requirements,
standards and expectations. As ACDelco moves forward, we can
claim that we not only have the OE parts for the GM car parc,
we are the OE service parts source. And, we successfully
leverage this knowledge in our non-GM offerings, assuring
that every product line we offer, for all vehicle makes and
models, earns the ACDelco name. We leverage all aspects of
General Motors, which uniquely positions us in the
aftermarket.
In March, it was announced that GM was renaming the
Service and Parts Operations to Customer Care and
Aftersales. What does this entail and what does it
represent?
Yes, the organization was renamed Customer Care & Aftersales
from Service and Parts Operations in part to reflect our
company’s rededication to providing customers with the
world-class experience they deserve. While at ACDelco we are
primarily focused on our wholesale customers, independent
service centers and dealers, the name change also reflects a
culture within ACDelco to provide our customers with
high-quality, competitively priced parts as well as the
marketing, e-commerce and training support that helps them
grow their business.
Organizational name changes, when done right, can become a
spark or an aid to cultural change. By renaming GM Service
and Parts Operations to Customer Care and Aftersales, we are
clearly communicating to every person on our team the
importance of customer focus, in addition to great parts and
service sales. Some may not see the importance of this name
change, but similar to what we are trying to accomplish with
ACDelco, we want every big and small business strategy to
move the new GM into the most successful place in our
history.
Can you please talk about the brand’s various
offerings both to the OE marketplace and the aftermarket?
ACDelco’s product offering includes three major tiers, in
addition to specialty products that we provide to serve
particular niches.
First, GM Original Equipment Service Parts: ACDelco’s
heritage and strength lie in our longstanding role as the
producer of OE parts for the world’s largest car parc – GM
cars and trucks. We currently offer nearly 40,000 GM OES
parts available both to distributors and through the GM
dealer network, including a comprehensive lineup of power
window regulators for GM, engine and transmission components
that are now available to the independent aftermarket.
Second is our Professional line of high quality aftermarket
products for not only GM but also many other makes and
models. Our major lines include batteries, filters, plugs,
brakes, chassis, rotating electrical, water pumps, A/C,
belts, hoses and more.
Finally, we have recently introduced a market driven,
competitive line of products that has earned the ACDelco
name called ACDelco Advantage.
Can you please tell our readers more about the
ACDelco Advantage product line that was recently unveiled?
I’d love to. We launched this new product lineup to help our
customers provide a competitively priced alternative to
certain unbranded aftermarket components. We understand
there has been a growing shift to “good” grade products as a
result of the economic downturn and changing consumer
priorities. We will only offer these products where the
market demand drives the need as our professional line
already addresses many of the needs of our customers. The
ACDelco Advantage portfolio delivers quality parts that meet
our high standards, yet are attractively priced for our
distributors, dealers and service centers. The ACDelco
Advantage lineup launched with brake rotors and drums and
will add a friction line this summer.
With all the recent changes at ACDelco – the new
division name, new product line and renewed commitment from
GM – will there be any subsequent changes to your marketing
and/or branding strategy this year?
There has certainly been great change in our organization
during the past 18 months. Despite the change, however, that
red, white and blue ACDelco box stands for a century of
durability and trust. We’ve leveraged this period of change
as an opportunity to drive continuous improvements to our
products and streamline our product offerings and business
channels; focus on strengthening our relationships with our
customers; and anticipate trends in the marketplace that we
can quickly capitalize on. The launch of our ACDelco
Advantage lineup is a good example of how we’ve been able to
accomplish this, and our customers have responded
enthusiastically.
Everything that we’ve just mentioned is part of our brand
strategy. We are taking one of the strongest brands in the
aftermarket and building to it. We are making more and more
GM Original Equipment Service parts available to the
independent aftermarket. We are adding more competitively
priced Advantage lines to our portfolio, reflecting the
changing demands of the marketplace. Our customers will see
an ever-stronger portfolio of products that have earned the
brand they have come to trust and have confidence in. We are
uniquely positioned in the aftermarket because of our
relationship with General Motors, but we have not and will
not lose sight of our coverage on all makes and models. Our
marketing and communications will all reflect the actions
that we are taking to serve our customers better and
strengthen the ACDelco brand.
About the Author
Amy Antenora
Editor,
aftermarketNews
aantenora@babcox.com
With more than a decade of experience in the communications
field, Amy has been Editor of aftermarketNews since 2002.
Prior to joining Babcox Publications, Amy worked as a
general assignment reporter for the West Akron Sun, as a
freelance Arts & Entertainment writer for AmericaOnline and
also worked in PR for two state Universities.
Remember to buy GM and tell your friends
and neighbors to buy GM. If the "new" GM doesn't make it, we
won't either.
Vi Springer HR GMNRA/OTHCP
Farewell to
GM, from a factory rat’s disloyal daughter
"It’s been nearly a quarter of a century since my dad
punched a clock for the last time, but he’s still got his tools,
the ones he used for 37 years in the die room at a Chevy spring
and bumper plant, though they don’t get much exercise anymore.
My parents moved into senior housing a couple years back, and if
something breaks, Dad just calls maintenance. The only thing he
fixes now is supper, a job he’s taken over from my mom, who
suffers from dementia. Dad is 83 and, like his former employer,
he’s seen better days.
Back when I was a kid growing up on the northwest side of
Detroit, everybody we knew was connected in some way to the Big
Three. The streets in our neighborhood were named after Ivy
League colleges, but it was a solidly blue collar area; block
after block of modest little houses plunked down like tokens on
a life-size Monopoly board, most of them crammed to the rafters
with kids. Every morning at six thirty, with the precision of a
choreographed dance, back doors would open and men would emerge
and, after hasty goodbye kisses from women in curlers, they
would vanish into the steel jaws of the great automotive giants,
only to be belched out again eight hours later, twelve during
model changeover time.
“Generous Motors” (with the help of the U.A.W.) put the food on
our table and the roof over our head and the money in my
parents’ bank account, money that financed much of my education,
supplemented by what I earned from my own well-paying summer
jobs at my dad’s plant, one of the perks that went along with
being in a GM family. My dad, the only son of an itinerant
laborer from Arkansas, was lucky to graduate from high school.
On the other hand, like most of the kids I grew up with, viewed
college as a birthright. I even tacked on three years of law
school. Such a huge change in just a single generation, made
possible by virtue of a strong union and a robust industry.
And how did I return the favor? How did I express thanks for my
newfound upward mobility? I packed my bags, moved to California
and, like millions of my fellow baby boomers, promptly went out
and bought a Japanese import, which I subsequently traded in for
a Volvo.
On News Hour late last week, I listened to an interview with
Micheline Maynard, New York Times senior business writer and
author of two books about the decline of the American car
industry. According to Maynard, the demise of General Motors
comes largely as a result of changing brand loyalties among baby
boomers. By 1990, half of all Americans under age 45 did not own
American cars. Just as we rebelled against our parents’ taste in
music and clothing and hair styles, so we came to reject their
choices in transportation as well.
Okay, maybe we had good reason. American cars didn’t last as
long, or so the thinking went. They weren’t as fuel efficient.
But how hard did we try, really? How much comparison shopping
did we actually do? The truth is, in my case, and in the case of
many of my peers as well, it never occurred to us to buy an
American-made car. And so we went blithely on our way, tooling
around in our imports, listening to Bruce Springsteen sing about
decaying cities and forgotten workers, and we never even made
the connection.
All I ask is that we take a second look. Start by reading this
article, Misconceptions about the Quality of American Cars
Continue.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=114x16660
My husband and I have decided to only buy American from here on,
figuring better late than never. He likes his new GM car, a
Yukon hybrid. It’s good for a big guy like him, and for hauling
big dogs and navigating country roads, and the mileage isn’t bad
for an SUV. When the new Chevy Volt comes out, I’ll trade in my
Mini.
Yesterday morning, as I drove home from San Francisco on Highway
101 in a sea of foreign-made cars, listening to the bankruptcy
news, I called my dad to see how he was holding up. He sounded
tired. Like many in his generation, he put his faith in big
institutions, things he thought would last forever. Now he
wonders what will happen next. His dental and vision care
coverage will end July 1. After that, who knows? (Though in
another few months, his own wife may not even recognize him,
which puts things in a certain perspective.)
My dad could always fix anything, from a toaster to a ten-ton
press, and even, on occasion over the years, his daughter’s
broken heart. He’s my institution. After we hung up, I thought
of a line from Middesex, the brilliant novel by Jeffrey
Eugenidies: “Grow up in Detroit, and you see the way of all
things. Early on, you are put in close relations with entropy.”
The traffic was sluggish, as it often is at that hour and, while
I waited for it to clear, I contemplated the rear end of a shiny
black BMW 750i idling directly in front of me. It had vanity
plates, surrounded by a frame that said “life is a caberet.”
Yeah, right, I said to myself. Tell that to the folks back in
Michigan"
Vi Springer HR GMNRA/OTHCP
Just in case you didn't know.. . .
I have been driving for over 50 years... I would think I should have noticed the little secret on my dashboard that was staring me in the face the whole time...but NO, I didn't...and I bet you didn't either...
Have you ever rented or borrowed a car and when arriving at the gas station wondered... which side is the gas filler cap on? My normal solution was to stick my head out the window, strain my neck and look, try to see in the side mirrors or even get out of the car!
Well ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, I'm going to share with you my little secret so you will no longer look like Ace Ventura on your way to the gas station or put your neck at risk of discomfort or injury. Why we were never told, is the mystery of the century.
If you look at your gas gauge, you will see a small icon of a gas pump?
The handle of the gas pump will extend out on either the left or right side of the gas pump?
If your tank is on the left, the handle will be on the left? If your tank is on the right, the handle will be on the right (see photo). It is that simple...............duh..............!
Don't feel dumb, just go out and share the world's best kept auto secret with your friends.
...and I'll bet you run outside and look at your gas gauge - just to check!!!
Submitted By Allen Lamberson
Is My Pension Safe?
Sen. Fritz Hollings Former South Carolina Senator
Posted: August 6, 2009 05:46 PM
No one's minding the store
Henry Ford developed the middle class in America by doubling the minimum wage, providing health care and retirement benefits for his employees. We in public service trusted business to look out for the economy. After all, business knew how best to protect its investment and the nation's economy. As General Motors' Charlie Wilson said: "What's good for General Motors is good for the country." That's when business depended on the nation's economy.
Globalization changed all that. Now business doesn't necessarily depend on the economy of the country where it is headquartered. Globalization is nothing more than a trade war with production looking for a country cheaper to produce. Business now looks to the economy of the cheaper country, with GM, Intel, and Microsoft not only locating research and production but awarding community grants in China. The problem with the economy is that Congress has yet to cope with this change. We in Congress got so used to relying on Corporate America to tell us their needs; to tell us the needs of the nation's economy, that we forgot that the economy was -- not the responsibility of business -- but of the Congress.
Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution calls on Congress to regulate trade. Any hint of this responsibility is avoided by Congress doing what Corporate America counsels - free trade, avoid protecting the economy. As Henry Clay said of free trade: "It never existed ... it never will." But all in Congress go along with the charade. We Democrats, particularly in the Senate, can repair a major flaw in our political armor by becoming pro-business, chanting "free trade," and doing nothing to have the nation compete in globalization. Investment, research, development, jobs, trade - literally the economy - follows production offshored. Congress has no idea of doing anything to stop the job loss from offshored production and strengthening the economy unless the President calls for it.
President Obama is talented, capable, and working hard, but he is inexperienced. It took me years in public service to learn of Corporate America's greed - its lack of patriotism. I worked closely with business in the United States Senate, passing many a trade bill to protect its investment and production - its jobs in country. But it wasn't until "on the road to NAFTA" that I was converted to learn of Corporate America's zeal for profit, which blinded them from the nation's economy. Today, Corporate America leads the opposition to any attempt by Congress to regulate trade or protect our economy.
Serving in the state legislature in Illinois and just two years in the United States Senate before running for the presidency, President Obama hardly ever debated trade or voted on trade. In the presidential race the nearest they got to a debate on trade was that NAFTA was a flawed agreement. But there was never any understanding or debate about the cause of offshoring. Everybody was for jobs, but no debate of the loss of jobs to offshoring, the real loss of the nation's economy. With Larry Summers in charge of the economy for President Obama, "mum" is the word on offshoring. Summers has just completed an appearance on Meet the Press to discuss the economy and jobs. Not a word about offshoring. Yet the Princeton economist, Alan Blinder, warned in February 2007 that in the next ten years the United States would lose thirty to forty million jobs to offshoring. When Summers was questioned on Meet the Press about a stimulus that was "supposed to create three to four million jobs when all is said and done," Summers never suggested anything to slow or stop an average loss of three to four million jobs to offshoring each year for the next seven years.
The eminent economist, Roger Lowenstein, in his recent article on jobs and the economy in the New York Times Magazine never mentions the problem of offshoring. Paul Krugman, the Nobel Prize economist, writes regularly about jobs and the economy, but no mention of losing an average three to four million jobs a year to offshoring. Business and their economists look upon offshoring as an opportunity not a problem. That's because anything that can be produced cheaper offshore from the United States is bound to be offshored from the United States - including research, software, law work, accounting work, and heart transplants.
Economists, like us politicians, respond to the problem of offshoring with the old axiom of "whose bread I eat, his song I sing." Economists rely on the shibboleth of David Ricardo's "comparative advantage" in international trade of productivity - "English woolens and Portuguese wine." Today, in globalization, government is the "comparative advantage." China's government protects and controls not only its labor, but how many babies in a family, and one's religion. To talk of "free trade" when China protects and controls everything is fanciful. China's government even offers incentives to invest and produce in China like us Southern Governors. China, protecting its economy, has become the superpower in the trade war as the United States refuses to protect its economy and remains AWOL in the trade war. Our country has so many problems and so many wars that President Obama is not going to confront the problem of offshoring by getting the country into another war - especially a war that his economists won't even admit is going on. No one in Washington is minding the store.
Globalization is grand for profiteers. But it could leave our nation unable to defend itself. The Harvard Business Review reports that items needed for our national security, such as light-emitting diodes, flat-panel displays, and carbon-fiber components of fighter planes, no longer are produced in the United States. The nation's defense should never depend on the favor of a foreign country. Worst of all, the Summers' plan for the economy of consumption is working - except most of what's consumed is imported - produced in another country. To create jobs, one must first create production.
We're well on the road to becoming a banana republic. If the United States is to remain a superpower, we've got to come in from the cold in the trade war and pass the stone of industrial policy. We have an industrial policy for domestic trade with provisions for interstate commerce, a minimum wage, anti-trust, price-fixing, etc. Now we must move deliberately into an industrial policy for international trade. Bit by bit, we can incrementally protect not the total production, but the basic production on those items necessary for our national security such as guns, airplanes and automobiles with tariffs and quotas. The nation's manufacture of automobiles permitted President Franklin Roosevelt to have Detroit manufacture the tanks and planes for World War II. To stop the offshoring and save the economy, we need to immediately replace the corporate tax with a 5% value added tax. A 3% VAT is more than tax-neutral with eliminating the corporate tax. Two percent more will pay for health costs with exemptions and eliminate deficits rather than increasing them. But the public must appreciate the problem of offshoring and its solution before Congress will move.
As Adlai Stevenson said, it is time to talk sense to the American people. We already have government health care and are rationing health care in the United States. The government provides Medicare for the senior citizens; Medicaid for the poor. The government subsidizes health care for business. The government provides health care for the veterans. And the "free market" rations health care from children and working America that can't afford it. The debate should be on how government can better provide and ration. Once and for all, let's do away with outmoded ideas about "protectionism" and "free trade." The fundamental of government is to protect. Our nation was founded on protectionism. And enough of this trade charade of entrepreneurship and innovation - windmills and diploma mills -- educate, educate. We're producing a BMW in Spartanburg, South Carolina, of equal quality as one produced in Munich, Germany. In fact, Intel used South Carolina's technical training program to get its Dublin, Ireland, plant up and running. The educated and skilled in the United States are without jobs. What's needed to be educated is the President and Congress.
The Congress must make it profitable, once again, to produce in the United States. Our task is to make business patriotic - to help instead of opposing the rebuilding of our economy. Our task is to compete in globalization.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sen-ernest-frederick-hollings/no-ones-minding-the-store_b_253386.html
Subject: possible salaried retiree losses
Sun, 7 June, 2009
Jack,
As we discussed on the phone here are some of my concerns which could impact salaried retiree overall benefits. Please recognize that I am just expressing my own opinion based on the overall 2/3 reduction which GM indicated the Government was mandating.
First, based on the changes which impacted those of us age 65 and over as of 1/1/09, I would not be surprised to see health care benefits for all retirees regardless of age to be altered. These alterations could range from elimination to dramatically higher premiums and deductibles. Since this is the largest cost program in those five areas to be reduced I feel GM will take the biggest savings from the health care arena. If the eligibility is eliminated for all under age 65 retirees and the corporation effectively mandates the retirees current health care provider to insure regardless of pre-existing conditions the premiums are going to be costly.
Second, I believe that the survivor spouse benefit could also be at risk. While the current benefit pays at a 65% rate on the applicable portions I think GM could possibly reduce the percentage payable in the same way they increased it from 60% a number of years ago. Worse case scenario they eliminate it. Huge cost savings in this arena. I don't believe they would affect surviving spouses who are currently receiving the payment as this would be a very negative perception in the new GM.
Third, my expectation is that retirees life insurance will be reduced to it final level probably 1/1/10. Future retirees will most likely see their life insurance reduced effective with the commencement of their retirement. Here again the corporation could assist by getting the life insurance companies to write coverage regardless of health but the premiums are most likely going to be costly.
Finally, I hope that I'm wrong on all these items but I don't think so. However with mandated government cost reductions retirees are going to be impacted and not in a positive manner.
Enjoyed talking to you and if I can be of assistance please let me know.
Joel Grosch
Benefits Consultant GMNRA/OTHCP
GM's New 2009 Health Care Plan For Salaried Retirees: For Medicare Benefit Updates
- Click Here!
The Facts You Need To Know About The American OWNED Auto Industry:
http://www.levelfieldinstitute.org/
Watch Our TV Ad
Results Of GM Conference Call March 30, 2009 & Video Statement From New CEO Fritz Henderson
Read GM's Plan Submitted To Federal Government
By General Motors - Feb. 17, 2009
Article
Click on the headline above to read the General Motors Corp. 2009 - 2004 Restructuring Plan presented to the U.S. Department of the Treasury on Feb. 17, 2009 as required under Section 7.20 of the Loan and Security Agreement dated Dec. 31, 2008.
February 06, 2009
Jack, with the current financial and economic situation this county finds itself in and the finger pointing that is or is not going on, I believe the attached link needs as wide a distribution as possible. Would you please forward it to the group.
Thank You,
Mike Yanachik
This says it all
This video shows that George Bush tried to warn Congress starting in 2001 that this economic crisis was coming, if something was not done. But congress refused to listen, along with Barney Franks. This video says it all.
The liberal AMERICAN media did not want this video on You Tube, so they had Time Warner threaten a law suit (proprietary rights) if it was not taken off.
This link is of the same video but is routed through Canada. Everyone in America needs to see this! - Video
Richard Shelby - Senator Alabama - He Says Let The American Auto Industry Die, "They Are Dinosaurs!" - Click Picture NOW!
Health Care....Why We Can't Afford It!
Keep in mind- this is just ONE hospital in FLORIDA ....
PLEASE WATCH THIS very SHORT VIDEO. EVERYONE NEEDS TO HEAR THIS. IT AFFECTS EVERY ONE OF US!!!
This is one reason why we Americans can't afford good health care...Or, who is able to and should be paying for this: Video
Polk Announces Automotive Loyalty Winners
Posted on : 01-21- 2009 | Author : R. L. Polk & Co.
News Category : PressRelease
General Motors Takes Overall Manufacturer Honors for Ninth Consecutive Year; Honda Debuts in Overall Make Category; First Ethnic Market Loyalty Award Presented SOUTHFIELD, Mich., Jan. 20
SOUTHFIELD, Mich., Jan. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- General Motors received top honors in the Overall Manufacturer category in R. L. Polk & Co.'s 13th Annual Polk Automotive Loyalty Awards, presented this evening during the annual Automotive News World Congress in Detroit. Polk is the automotive industry's premier provider of consumer loyalty information among new vehicles.
Honda Motor Company was honored as the recipient in the Overall Make category for the first time. Polk added a new award category this year - Ethnic Market Loyalty to Make. Toyota took top honors in the new category.
General Motors celebrated its ninth consecutive honor for the Overall Manufacturer by demonstrating its customer retention ability year over year. GM also received awards for several of its vehicles, including the Chevrolet Silverado, Suburban and Impala, all repeat winners in their respective categories for the 2008 model year, which ended Sept. 30. The Chevrolet Corvette also won in the Luxury Sports Car category.
"At General Motors, we continue to focus on strategies aimed at retaining our customer base. Being acknowledged by R. L. Polk & Co. and receiving the Overall Manufacturer Loyalty Award for the ninth consecutive year is a testament to the success of those strategies and the strength of our products," said Mark LaNeve, vice president, GM North America Vehicle Sales, Service and Marketing. "We are proud to be recognized again this year with this honor."
Honda, making its debut as winner in the Overall Make Category, also was recognized as its Accord led the Midsize Car segment. Toyota and Chrysler both had repeat winners from last year's Loyalty Awards, including Toyota Tacoma in the Midsize Pickup category, along with its luxury division's Lexus ES repeating in the Luxury Car segment, and its LS repeating in the Prestige Luxury Car category. Chrysler had one repeat winner as Town & Country won in the Minivan category.
Ford captured two awards: Mustang in the Sports Car category and Focus in the Compact Car segment. Subaru Forester won the award in the Compact SUV category, Jeep Grand Cherokee received the award for the Midsize SUV segment and Land Rover's Range Rover was honored in the Luxury SUV category.
"In today's business climate, customer loyalty is key to business success," said Stephen Polk, chairman, president and CEO of R. L. Polk & Co. "GM is making great strides to keep customers returning to its brands for new vehicle purchases. Honda's win is a testament to its increased efforts to improve products to keep their customers coming back."
POLK AUTOMOTIVE LOYALTY AWARD WINNERS - 2008 MODEL YEAR
CategoryWinner Loyalty %
Overall Awards:
Manufacturer LoyaltyGeneral Motors* 62.53%
Make LoyaltyHonda 56.50%
Ethnic Make Loyalty Toyota 54.55%
Vehicle Segment Awards
Minivan Chrysler Town & Country*37.04%
Midsize Pickup Toyota Tacoma* 18.10%
Fullsize Pickup Chevrolet Silverado*32.77%
Compact SUV Subaru Forester 32.59%
Midsize SUV Jeep Grand Cherokee 21.31%
Fullsize SUVChevrolet Suburban* 20.42%
Luxury SUV Land Rover Range Rover 32.43%
Compact Car Ford Focus 26.15%
Midsize Car Honda Accord32.84%
Fullsize CarChevrolet Impala* 34.01%
Luxury Car Lexus ES* 34.62%
Prestige Luxury Car Lexus LS* 34.83%
Sports Car Ford Mustang16.73%
Luxury Sports Car Chevrolet Corvette 23.90%
*Denotes 2007 Automotive Loyalty Winner
Polk Manufacturer Loyalty Excelerator(TM) Report
Polk's Manufacturer Loyalty Excelerator(TM) Report, which is the basis for the Polk Automotive Loyalty rankings and annual awards, is the latest insight into consumer loyalty. This report was introduced to the automotive industry in 1995 and was created to provide household loyalty information to manufacturers at many different levels. It is now used to provide loyalty percentages for the entire automotive industry and allows for cross-industry comparisons of loyalty behavior. The report measures loyalty throughout the entire model year so that manufacturers may keep abreast of loyalty trends as they occur in the industry. The Polk Automotive Loyalty Awards recognize manufacturers for superior owner loyalty performance. Loyalty is determined when a household that owns a new vehicle returns to market and purchases or leases another new vehicle of the same model or make.
About R. L. Polk & Co.
R. L. Polk & Co. is the premier provider of automotive information and marketing solutions. Polk collects and interprets global data, and provides extensive automotive business expertise to help customers understand their market position, identify trends, build brand loyalty, conquest new business and gain a competitive advantage. Polk helps automotive manufacturers and dealers, automotive aftermarket companies, finance and insurance companies, advertising agencies, media companies, consulting organizations, government agencies and market research firms make good business decisions. A privately held global firm, Polk is based in Southfield, Mich. with operations in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States. For more information, please visit www.polk.com.
SOURCE R. L. Polk & Co.
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/polk-announces-automotive-loyalty-winners,686080.shtml#
January 21, 2009
What’s Happening Now: 2008
GM Announces 2008 Global Sales of 8.35 Million Vehicles
Record-setting sales performance in GM’s Latin America, Africa and Middle East and Asia Pacific regions, and a third consecutive 2 million vehicles sales performance in Europe during 2008 helped General Motors sell more than 8.35 million vehicles globally last year.
GM’s nearly 3% growth in both the Asia Pacific and LAAM regions partially offset North America sales that declined 21%, and growing pressure in Europe that resulted in 7% fewer sales. Compared with 2007, GM’s total sales were down 11%, reflecting continuing global economic pressures that include tightening credit, falling commodities prices and lack of GDP growth.
Here are some 2008 highlights:
Chevrolet sales in China grows 16% to nearly 200,000 vehicles; 1.09M vehicles sold in China sets record with 6 percent volume growth
Chevrolet sales breakthrough 500,000 mark with record share; Opel sets sales record in Central and Eastern Europe with volume up 13%
GM beats the industry with more than 1.27 million total vehicle sales in Latin America, Africa and Middle East Region, led by top-selling Chevrolet Corsa, Celta and Aveo
GM continues emerging markets leadership with 2008 market share growth in 14 of 26 markets.
Please read the entire press release:
http://email.graction.com/cgi-bin15/DM/y/jdQV0KOLGx0D4Y0mgt0Eu
Wagoner: No Need to Cut Benefits
to Retirees
Last Edited: Thursday, 08 Jan 2009, 9:05 AM
EST Created: Thursday, 08 Jan 2009, 8:08 AM EST
NEW
YORK (AP) -- General Motors Corp. Chief Executive Rick Wagoner said
Thursday the Detroit automaker can survive long-term without cutting
benefits to retired workers.
Wagoner made the remarks on NBC's "Today" show, where he was joined by
United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger. The two made the
appearance from Warren, Mich., ahead of their renewed labor negotiations
scheduled to begin next week.....To read more click here:
http://overthehillcarpeople.com/wagonerletter010809.htm
I was involved with a
conference call today (October 22, 2008) from SPO and they have
verified they are going to sell ACDelco as soon as possible. They do
not know who the buyer will be, but the process of selling the
company is underway.
They are trying to
calm the employees and customers. They did state that employees
considering the "buyouts" will have until Friday the 24th to make a
decision. They do not know how many employees will survive the sale.
It appears to be up to the new owners. We will continue to post
information on the GM web site group.
Regards,
Jack Dickinson
Click Pictures To Enlarge
Click Picture To
Enlarge
Send this to
Americans
You Americans Are So Naive!
Click Picture To See Why He Thinks We Are Stupid
Bye America - we get you this time!
Barry Johnson ask
- "Who is this old
fart?"
Who Are These Folks? See
"Members Suite" -
"Pictures Archives -
Page 15 For The Answer!"
Click Pictures To Enlarge
Who Are These Folks? See
"Members Suite" -
"Pictures Archives -
Page 15 For The Answer!"
Click Pictures To Enlarge
Click "Volt"
Picture
American People Need Help!
You could change
the country name to China, Japan, Germany, India, or any other country
the USA trades with and the story would be the same. Why? Please write
and express your opinions at the address listed below. And please
forward this article to all those foreign car purchasers you know. They
are killing the America we love so much!
LOCAL COMMENT Detroit Free
Press
Korean trade pact fails U.S.
BY U.S. REP. SANDER LEVIN •
April 27, 2008
Tom Walsh got it wrong in his April 17 column on
the pending U.S.-South Korea Free Trade Agreement ("S. Korean trade deal
worth close look; But emotional debate casts doubt on it getting
approval in Congress"). It is not an emotional debate, but an economic
one, that has derailed the Korea FTA.
Trade
agreements are about the terms of economic competition between
countries. Our negotiators should be fighting for U.S. businesses and
workers by breaking down tariff and non-tariff barriers to U.S. goods
and services.
Consider
the facts: Korea is the fifth largest producer, and the ninth largest
consumer automotive market in the world. We now have an
$11-billion deficit in automotive trade, which is 87% of the total trade
deficit between our two countries. In 2006,
Korea sold
700,000 vehicles in the United States; the United States sold only 4,556
in Korea.
The FTA as
negotiated will simply lock in a structure of one-way trade between the
two industrialized nations and allow the Korean auto industry to
continue an export-driven strategy using the profits from its protected
home market to fund R&D and broader incursions into the U.S. and other
major markets.
The FTA
fails to eliminate the extensive use of discriminatory tax structures
and non-tariff barriers used by Korea to keep its auto market closed. We
also know through experience -- two previous Korean formal automotive
trade agreements that the United States called the 1995 and 1998
"Memorandums of Understanding" -- that it is very difficult to move the
Koreans to end these non-tariff barriers.
By giving
away the 2.5% auto tariff and negotiating down the 25% pick-up truck
tariff without linking it to concrete results in assuring the end of
Korea's unfair non-tariff barrier structure, the Bush administration &
congress has locked in the status quo and worse. Korean
automakers win $217 million in auto tariff reductions from the FTA while
tariff reductions for
U.S.
automakers amount to just $12 million.
We cannot
accept a model of trade that fails to stand up for U.S. businesses and
workers in the area that now represents 87% of our trade deficit with
South Korea.
U.S. REP.
SANDER LEVIN, D-Royal Oak, chairs the trade subcommittee of the
Ways and Means Committee in the U.S. House. Write to him in care of the
Free Press Editorial Page, 615 W. Lafayette, Detroit, MI 48226
or at
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080427/OPINION04/
e-mail
to:
oped@freepress.com
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=Contact
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008804270555
Pension funds used for retirement offers March 23, 2008
Sunday, January 13, 2008
GM bets on $1-a-gallon
ethanol maker
David Shepardson /
Detroit News Washington
Bureau
DETROIT --
General Motors Corp.
announced today that
it's taken a stake in a
biofuels research firm
that aims to widely
market $1-a-gallon
renewable fuel as soon
as 2011.
Click Here For Story:
GM bets
on $1-a-gallon ethanol
maker
David Cole
Click Picture To Enlarge
Malibu may be Chevy's
best sedan in decades
12/05/07
11-16-07
Letters:
The myth of foreign car
superiority
Submitted By Ray Powell
Ya Gotta Love This. Jim
Heller & Martin Carter
Click Picture To Enlarge
The racing website "Jalopnik"
is featuring this photo
taken at the Texas State
Fair on 26 September
2007. It shows a Toyota
racing trailer being
towed by a Chevrolet
Silverado. Jalopnik
concludes that Toyota
does not have a pickup
capable of hauling such
a heavy trailer and
says, "...it's probably
a little embarrassing to
have the competition
hauling you around by
your trailer hitch."
Even Toyota needs a
Chevrolet Silverado.
WHO AND WHAT IS ACDELCO?
This GM man has talent!
Click Picture
To See Why !
Thanks to Al Canales for all the work he put into this!
From time to time,
Overthehillcarpeople.com will "poke" fun at
GM , but we agree with the statement below:
"The
bottom line is we need to be positive and
supportive of the positive things GM is
doing and do our best to promote our
products..........It
would serve no purpose to be otherwise."
Don Thomsen
Member of Overthehillcarpeople.com
|
Click Pictures To Enlarge
Dear Folks,
The attached was taken last June 2008, as Lynette was finishing up with her
Radiation treatments. She is doing just fine now and her hair is growing
back nicely (mine hasn't yet).
We wish everyone of you a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year!!!
Click Pictures To Enlarge
Visit "Members Suite" - "Members Current News" to see who these folks are!
Click Pictures To Enlarge
In October
2007 the Old
Southwest
Region once
again came
together for
a little fun
time. We
met on the
Texas-Oklahoma
border for a
little
gambling,
golf and
just plain
fun. The
weather
wasn't so
good for
golf this
year but we
still
managed to
have a good
time.
Sam Brown
Click Picture To Enlarge
Visit "Members Suite" - "Members Current News" to see who these folks are!
“No one is completely worthless.
You can always hold them up as
examples of what someone should
not be”
Ray Don Powell
Philosopher - Zone Manager
Click Either Picture For The Real Story!
This Will Make You Think And Then Cry!
Interesting To Look Back Now!
August 5, 2009
October
04,
2006
Rick Wagoner Story
Click Picture To
Read Story!
Cover By Bob Supino
From time to time, Overthehillcarpeople.com will
"poke" fun at GM , but we agree with the statement below:
"The bottom line is we need to
be positive and supportive of the positive things GM is doing
and do our best to promote our products..........It
would serve no purpose to be otherwise."
Don Thomsen
Member of Overthehillcarpeople.com
Click Pictures To Enlarge
Do you know these folks? You can see
who they are in "Members Suite" - "Picture Archives" Page 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8,
9,10,11,12,13,14 & 15
Click Pictures To Enlarge
Find Many More Pictures Like These In The Members Suite!
Click Pictures To Enlarge
June 1973
- Broken Arrow, OK.
Submitted By Al
Canales & Allen Lamberson
Click Pictures To Enlarge
Click Pictures
To Enlarge
Find Many More
Pictures Like These In The Members Suite!
Rencen
SPO
GM Building
Durant Hotel
Delphi
Finally - News Media Tells The American Public Some
True Facts!
This Michigan News Paper article
will not be seen in many News Papers across America! Why? Why
has U. S. bashing become the fashionable thing to do? Why do
Americans get in line to drink the Kool-Aid provided by the
Japanese and the News Media. Why can we not see, we (Americans)
are slowly destroying the American economy and our great
country? Please take time to read this article and please take
some action NOW!
Finally - News Media
Tells The American Public Some True
Facts!
http://www.tctimes.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=14615828&BRD=2524&PAG=461&dept_id=497461&rfi=6
American Companies now OWNED By The Japanese!
Click Here For More Archive News/Articles
Contact
Us Here
If you have
news, pictures and/or documents you will share with the group please e-mail to
spoacdc1@aol.com
or regular mail to Over The Hill Car People, 5184 Caldwell Mill RD., Suite 204, Box 190, Hoover,
AL. 35244. Please put a note on anything you want returned and it will be done.
Thanks to Dick Hillman, Ron Humerickhouse,
Sam Brown, Bill Dum, Mike Bommarito, Bill Gay, James Conlee, John
Covel, Dick Arntzen and Mario de Castro for the pictures, documents
and information they have supplied! Thanks
guys! 6-01-04 Many thanks to Mario de Castro for the batch of 1986,
1987 & 1989 pictures!
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ACDelco is going to be
SOLD!
