Ziegler Supersystems, Inc. December 2003  Dealer Magazine Article

Revolution

I could feel blood boiling in my veins...my temples pounding and throbbing...beating like a drum line at a high-school football game during halftime.

I just finished reading the Oct. 28 issue of the Wall Street Journal article by J.D. Power III. My initial emotional reaction was... "What a pompous bag of crap" but, after I calmed down and had a little time to evaluate my initial emotional reaction and to intellectually study the article -- after studying the depth of the content as well as the validity and credibility of the author -- my opinion was still "What a pompous bag of crap."

For those of you who follow my articles you know that for many years I've been warning dealers and manufacturers that, in my informed opinion, J.D. Power and his company are our worst enemies. I have believed (based on common sense, logic, common decency, and the fact that I have an I.Q. superior to a garden snail) that J.D. Power and Associates has, perhaps, conceivably, maybe dishonorably, and certainly, by my standards, unethically manipulated our industry for personal and corporate gain through apparently questionable alleged research combined with incredibly far-fetched alleged perceptually twisted statistics, as well as alleged survey results which I perceive to be biased, slanted, and, perhaps, seemingly questionably bogus by the standards of all or most reputable intergalactic statisticians in the Federation. The preceding statement seems logical to me but it might be incorrect. Warp five Mr. Sulu!

Darth Vader and the Death Star

It appears to me that Dave Power, and his transparent, fanatical band of merry zealots will go to any length to destroy the retail automobile industry, as we know it.

First of all...have you ever heard Dave Power speak? When you were a kid did you ever hear the expression that someone was an "Old Fudd"? Well, if I were ever given the opportunity to illustrate Webster's dictionary, I would put Dave's picture next to the definition. Of course that's just the way I see it personally, after all he might not actually be as much of a Fudd as he appears to be at first glance. He might not actually be an Old Fudd at all. Dave might have been unjustly branded as an Old Fudd because of his perceived Old Fudd mannerisms and the highly believable illusion of pseudo-communist socialistic perceptions of reality.

Scientifically, the degree of the Fudd-factor is in the eye of the beholder.

When Mike Roscoe and Jim Leman interviewed Chris Denove, partner at J. D. Power and Associates, for an article in this issue, I was asked to participate in the questions. Truthfully, in all fairness, I had to decline to be in on it because, personally (my opinion) I intensely dislike (as in intensely despise) Mr. Denove, Dave Power, J. D. Power and Associates and everyone who works there as well as all residents who live in their immediate neighborhoods.

I refused to be part of an interview with Denove where my hidden agenda would be to lie in the weeds and try to ambush the interviewee. You see, unlike J.D. Power and Associates, my agenda is out in the open...in your face and honest. I don't like these people...I don't like a damn thing about them. I want them to get the hell out of our industry.

Power's Wall Street Journal article revealed still another glimpse of what I perceive to be his deep anti-dealer...anti-franchise anti-manufacturer sentiments. His inane, uninformed, statistically corrupt, morally unacceptable, babbling meandering article stated that states' dealer franchise protection laws add 30 percent to manufacturers' base cost per vehicle. I envision that he probably reached back, up to the elbow, and pulled those statistics out from deep within his anatomy, sort of like the way he allegedly and mysteriously seems to produce all of his industry statistical analysis...in other words, I give J.D. Power alleged statistics as much credibility and validity as the closing arguments in the Manson defense. Is it just me or is anyone else out there as fed up and pissed off with these people's interference in our business as I am?

I think...now this is just me talking here...my personal take on all of this Power stuff J.D. Power and Associates appear to be in the business of selling glass trophies for everything or anything that anybody will pay for. I might be wrong about this. In other words...it seems to me that "if you got the budget, we got the award" and ...hell...if we don't have an award category for that already, if the money's right, by God, we'll create a new award for that category. Maybe that's just the way it appears to me, but sometimes I get the feeling that these awards categories are created, massaged, customized, and manipulated to fit the advertising market demand. Like I said, I might be totally wrong about all of this but that's the way it appears to me.

Sarcastically and humorously speaking, I wonder if I could get a prestigious J. D. Power glass trophy endorsing my body parts, if the price was right. I can see it now...a showroom banner that reads..."Ziegler's Body Parts, rated number one in customer satisfaction by J.D. Power and Associates in the full-size domestic category".

One dealer sent me an e-mail that read in part...

Jim,

I assume you saw this garbage in the Wall Street Journal, but in case you didn't, here it is. I suggest having a vomit bag nearby. This jackass makes all of his money off of manufacturers and dealers and then writes an article like this.

After reading the article by Dave Power in the Wall Street Journal, one rural dealer wrote the following...

People have been predicting a revolution in auto retailing for the last 45 years. This nitwit doesn't know the difference between a car lot and his ass and that is why he is writing articles complaining about car lots not running one. Ford tried this experiment in Oklahoma and lost their ass. AutoNation hasn't run anybody out of business that I know of. The two largest dealers close to me are owned by AutoNation and Group One. Since these dealerships were bought from individuals my business has increased and I lose fewer customers to them. Last time I looked Wal-Mart still had go-carts left over from last Christmas, I wonder how many Ford Focuses they will have more than 300 days old. Long and the short of it, customers say they don't want to haggle but they do and Fred in the garden section isn't going to be able to appraise a trade in, and after me and the rest of my used car managers and the wholesalers get through stealing and screwing them over, they won't know what hit them.

Alan Starling, Chairman of the NADA, responded quickly in a letter to the editor:

To the Editor:

As the chairman of the National Automobile Dealers Association, I am surprised and disappointed that J.D. Power III would base his predictions about the future of auto retailing on factual errors, misleading statistics, and just plain fiction ("Next Exit, the Auto Megastore," Manager's Journal, 10/28).

Mr. Power says the future of auto retailing is the multi-brand Megastore like Wal-Mart, and he blames state franchise laws for preventing this from happening. But franchise laws have nothing to do with it. Manufacturer policy determines multi-branding, nothing else. And auto manufacturers clearly believe that multi-brand showrooms dilute their product image and brand value.

He also says franchise laws "add 30 percent to the base cost of a manufactured vehicle," but offers no data to support such a ridiculous claim. Why? Because there is none. This assertion has been debated and discredited so many times over the years that it is referred to in the industry as "the 30 percent lie." The most recent study to address this question found that the estimated cost to consumers of franchise laws on a nationwide basis is 1.7 percent (Brian Shaffer, Ph.D., "An Assessment of Franchise Laws "Aug., 2001). That's a small price to pay to support a dealer network that competes daily for product, price, and service at conveniently located dealerships in every community in the country.

Even Mr. Power's comment that ...'the current system hardly serves or satisfies anyone' ignores a whole series of recent customer satisfaction surveys by Consumer Reports, Ernst & Young, Gallup, and Wirthlin Worldwide. All found high customer satisfaction with new-car dealerships.

How Mr. Power could be so wrong on such central questions is anyone's guess. But it does lead to an inescapable conclusion: The next time someone wants to know about the future of auto retailing, they should consult the real experts. The franchise system is a time-tested model that works, and the car-buying public recognizes it, even if Mr. Power does not.

There you have it!

Alan Starling and I have never collaborated or shared information, but great minds do think alike. I admire the NADA for taking such a quick and definitive stance on dealers' behalf.

Our industry has been besieged by outsiders and interlopers with their endless bogus surveys and their intrusive and abusive, hidden-agenda, moronic CSI programs...Blue Oval Certification, Chrysler Five-Star, Honda Excell, and, of course, the new "Ziegler's Body Parts CSI programs."

Just to show you how apparently "Brain Dead" some factory executives are... several Honda dealers recently sent me a copy of a correspondence they received from their Honda representatives offering them the opportunity to "buy" additional surveys to be sent to their customers for the Honda Excell Program. What a crock of horse manure that is. Why would any Honda dealer be such a "Suck Up" as to buy additional surveys? Do you ever get the feeling that these outside companies, hired gun, factory lackeys are on a mission to slice and dice your dealership and separate the weakest from the herd for the kill?

Honda press releases seem to say they believe the dealers are overwhelmingly supportive of the program. Of course, Dick Colliver would drink to that.

It's time for you...the dealers...to make a fist and stick your head out of the window and scream... "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore."

I am asking all of you dealers who share this line of thinking to stick together for just this once. Recently, I have seen Honda dealers coast-to-coast complaining to their manufacturers about this allegedly idiotic Honda Excell Program. One strategy for like-minded dealers is to be sure to rate your manufacturer honestly by the same standards they screw you over when you receive the NADA dealer/manufacturer surveys.

My suggestion is that we work to educate the manufacturers to start working these people out of our industry. You, the dealers who are opposed to what is happening, you have the power (to oust J.D. Power).

Here's the deal...What if we all refused to participate? I am serious here. What if we all refused to fill out any more surveys sent to use by anybody about anything? What if all of the Honda dealers refused to renew the Excell Program and most of you were to fire your in-house Excell administrators? The President's Award be damned...it is now worthless since you now have to pay for it. What if you refused to allow any Ford Blue Oval inspections of your dealership?

I am asking all dealers to buckle up and get some testicular fortitude here. Have you guys and gals the balls to stand up for yourselves? We are surveyed and measured to death by incompetent out-of-touch outsiders operating with hidden agendas. Dave Power's latest article proves what I have said repeatedly...in article after article and in speech after speech...these people are not your friends they are obviously mortal enemies attacking our industry. It appears, by the words of the Power article, that they want us to die. In the Wall Street Journal article Power said in no uncertain terms he wants to see your protective franchise system torn down and replaced with mega-store, multi-franchise department stores. He is advocating that your laws be changed which would make it easier to eradicate you...the franchised dealer.

Keep JDP out of your database

I have spoken to many dealers I call The Industry Ostriches. These people somehow want to believe that J.D. Power and Associates is some kind of well-meaning, benign, nice folk who have come here to help them. Make no mistake...in my heart I personally believe these people are vicious predatory piranhas who want to destroy you. Repeatedly I have warned dealers who are friends of mine... Do not allow J.D. Power and Associates any access to your database. I have heard that many, many are canceling participation in The Power Network PIN Network and any apparent intrusion resembling that. Personally, I think that's a great idea.

Remember, I am operating under the personally perceived opinionated premise that these people are not your friends in any way. Especially you Nissan dealers...I can't envision why any clear-thinking dealer would allow J.D. Power and Associates to have any access into your business or your records, especially your databases or customer information! I have encouraged many dealers who are friends of mine to protest loudly to their factories. I know a number of nationally prominent dealers and groups who have said in no uncertain terms "We do not want to deal with these people...never-ever again. Many have said We are fed up to here...we've had enough!"

My personal feeling is that it's time for those who agree with these theses to get militant and nasty about this. Your stance on these issues is certainly your choice after weighing the apparent facts.

The question is do most car dealers want all of these outside survey companies and program administrators and other assorted interlopers thrown out of our business? No more surveys... no more focus groups...no more program developers...no more factory CSI programs with rewards and punishments.

I believe we are seeing a growing grassroots movement. People are writing letters and making phone calls. Dealers, coast-to-coast, are calling, e-mailing, and talking to other dealers, openly and honestly, about what is happening. They are debating a strong course of action. There is a call coming from many fronts for every one of you to call or e-mail dozens of other dealers and manufacturers' reps. Are we seeing the beginning of a counter-revolution a movement that will shake the industry? Dealers are speaking to other dealers they know, getting them energized and activated. Many dealers and corporations are sending a message to the factories that they aren't going to play this game anymore.

You are certainly welcome to make copies of this article and fax and e-mail this article to anyone you choose to. I would not mind if you sent these words to every dealer and to every manufacturers' representative and officer that you know. (You can cut and paste this article from the web site at www.DEALER-magazine.com. It doesn't matter if a dealer or manufacturer has already received a hundred copies of this article...I give you permission to send them one more.

What if like-minded dealers, who are in agreement with my thinking, stopped filling in any surveys from J. D. Power and Associates? In my opinion, the only survey you need to fill in anyway the only one that counts, the only one I trust, is the one your NADA sends to you. I have encouraged my personal friends to take every J.D. Power survey they receive, write across the face of it Get Out of Our Business and send it back without filling it in.

Ignore the little man behind the curtain

I would like to take a moment to thank Mr. Jim Padilla of Ford Motor Company for all of the incredible positive publicity he gave me in a recent speech he gave to the Ford Dealer Development Alumni Association National Convention in California October 21. Coming from a man who is a top Ford Motor Company executive...it gives me great pride to know that a man of your stature (figuratively, evidently and substantially) would stand in front of 80 or 90 of the top Ford dealers in the country and hold up DEALER magazine and debate and analyze every line of my September article from the podium as it relates to Ford Motor Company: I am especially proud that you took a moment to discuss and admire my ad in the magazine and share that with the crowd, which was a spoof of me with an Arnold Schwarzenegger-type body superimposed with my face.

Of course, I don't personally know Mr. Padilla...I remember when I read an article a couple of months back when he was interviewed by Auto Snooze that my initial impression was that he was smug, full-of-himself, and out-of-touch with the dealers (as in brother of Beavis)...of course that might be incorrect.

The funniest part of this whole scenario is that I received no less than a dozen phone calls and e-mails from dealers in the audience...many of them called while he was still speaking...I even have a (partially complete) word-for-word transcript of some of his remarks. I suggest Dale Carnegie courses for some excellent speaking tutorials.

Mr. Padilla, excuse me here a second...did you for one moment think that was your audience you were speaking to?

The dealers in that audience ...those were my friends you were talking to in that audience. I've stayed at their homes and they've stayed at mine. We've vacationed and partied together...their wives and their husbands are friends of mine, friends of my wife as well as my family. Their children have visited mine and mine have visited theirs...I have stood in their dealerships and trained their sales people and managers. I've worked with them side-by-side when they were in trouble. I have defended them in print and from the speakers' platform. I have eaten with them, drank with them, and celebrated with them. I have laughed with them at their family's weddings and cried with them at funerals. You silly, silly man don't ever feel you can be standing up there comfortably taking me on in front of an audience filled with 80 or 90 of my closest friends. Now don't you feel a little foolish?

I am not offended nor am I angry. As a matter of fact, I am greatly amused. In the past I have taken some very hard, well-deserved, shots at Ford Motor Company. Truthfully, you guys deserved everything I have ever written about you. Never attack me for standing up for the dealers it's what I do.

Of course I can't really fault you for so ineptly, inanely and feebly trying to take a tongue-in-cheek shot or two back at me... but... 'scuse me here big fellow; you're a little out of your league when you start Jacking around with the Jacker. Despite your physical appearance, you're a lightweight at playing this game...and if you really feel you are ready to step into this arena...remember this... Jacking is my trade...I hold a 10th degree Black Belt and several national championships. I am the national poster boy for world-class Jacking.

Mr. Padillacan I call you Jim? I honestly believe we really could be friends...if not, I would enjoy whatever game you would choose to play. (I love publicity and I know how to make it grow better than anyone you've ever met). Maybe you could meditate a little and realize just how much I really do love Ford Motor Company. What I am offering you here is a bridge or a war...there is nothing I would love to see more than the renaissance of Ford. I am holding out a hand to you (take it).

Oh well, its midnight in Michigan...I am sitting in a hotel in Clinton Township just outside of Detroit. I have been training and consulting for several days here and I leave for home tomorrow. A few minutes ago I realized the article was nearly at its end and the bar downstairs was about to close. Out of breath...panting now...I managed to talk the bartender into reopening the bar for one more shot...It's not Louis XIII but it is a nice Remy XO...in a plastic cup. Swirling and breathing in the bouquet of another cognac here at the end of another article, I look forward to returning home to Atlanta tomorrow and being with my family. Tomorrow is Halloween and I am looking forward to a little festivity with my family. I have been on the road more in October 2003 than I have at any time in the 20 years I have been traveling. My company has realized record profits this month and I want to thank all of the dealers and managers that made it happen. I am speaking again at the 2004 NADA Convention in Las Vegas and I am inviting you to attend my sessions.

In closing let me remind you that Mike Roscoe and DEALER magazine have made these articles possible. Mike has taken a lot of heat about this column but he has never wavered or chickened out. Sometimes the pressure for standing up for your beliefs is barely bearable. This man has dedicated this magazine to you, the dealers, and to your interest. Please plan to visit us at the DEALER magazine booth at NADA and say hello. Please be sure to copy and circulate this article to other dealer and factory executives if you feel it is a good idea to get some sort of groundswell movement started ...Thanks...Ziegler.

This Man Means Business!