Ward's Dealer Business lists the 150 top-performing franchised dealer service departments in America, including their income vs. total dealer revenue. The report also offers a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the biz of selling repairs. According to the article, franchised dealers' service department revenues tumbled by nearly $5b last year; improving vehicle quality is leading to less warranty work. With razor-thin new car margins, that's gotta hurt. To staunch the wound, dealers are getting more aggressive about selling repair work. "Part of the problem is that service advisors are too busy answering the phone setting up appointments rather than walking the customer around the vehicle in the service lane upselling necessary repairs." Remember that the next time you get shunted onto the service department's voice mail.  

King of Prussia Mall, outside Philly. At the "Chevy Court," most people clock the static displays, follow Dionne Warwick's advice and walk on by. The Chevy Store– easily mistaken for a NASCAR shop– contains a last gen Vue and Silverado, a Cobalt SS and a Z06. Shoppers can buy car models, t-shirts, hats and other bow tie-branded chazerai. The full time assistant's AWOL. I ask the temp if the truck on display is a GMT-800 or -900. He shrugs his shoulders; he's a "Ford guy." I take an online survey. Afterwards, I win a Chevy key ring via a free scratch card. Apparently, 200 people per day wander into the store. I ask Mr. Ford if they generate any vehicle sales. One customer was set to buy a 'Vette, saw the Z06 and decided to upgrade. A lady ogles a pickup truck. She's driving a Honda Odyssey. Her teenage son is due to inherit his father's Civic. Dad's next vehicle? "Probably another Honda." I can only imagine what this Chevy store costs, plus the public display area, plus the signage. 

Automotive News [sub] reports that the Chrysler Corp. has banned 463 (out of 3700) dealers from its dealer-only used car auctions. Their crime? Failing to meet 50 percent of their new car sales target set by the corporate mothership. In fact, many of these stores have become little more than used car dealers specializing in late model, low-mileage Chrysler product. Representing the banned dealers, Doug Alley of Alley Chrysler in Kingsport, Tennessee says the company's goals are unachievable: "We got no choice but to be in the used-car business if we want to stay in business." Representing Chrysler, Steven Landry, Chrysler executive vice president of NAFTA sales, global marketing, service and parts, says once Chrysler notified dealers that the rule was going into effect, "it was amazing how many dealers propped themselves up over 50 percent." What's the bet that the booted dealers will sell someone else's product?

The vast majority of today’s SUVs and CUVs share the same modus operandi. They’re good for a bus, bad for a car. They’re thirsty, overpriced, overweight and over here. Most now come complete with a market-mandatory third row that’s as about useful as a werewolf at Trader Vic’s. So when I read BMW’s characteristically modest tagline for their new X5 SUV CUV SAV on their official website– “Room for everything except improvement”– I considered myself an honorary Missourian. Ultimate driving machine on stilts? Show me.

New Zealand's modern art loving pistonheads are on tenterhooks, eagerly awaiting Wednesday's unveiling of BMW's "art cars" at the Auckland Museum. The traveling exhibit includes Bimmers modified by uber-pimpers Andy Warhol, Roy Liechtenstein, Frank Stella and Ken Done. (7er.com has the full collection here.) IMHO, BMW hasn't produced a really compelling art car since Esther Mahlangu's BMW 525i. I make this observation in the hopes that TTAC's culturally aware audience can suggest some artists from the naughties who should have a bash at painting one of Chris Bangle's cubist-influenced cars. For my part. I'd like to see a Z4 tagged by Jazz83.

As Albany legislators head for an 11th hour decision on whether or not to authorize an as-yet-undetermined congestion charging scheme for New York City, anti-charge activists in Manchester [UK] claim that a clear majority of local residents oppose Manchester City Council's plans to implement road tolls. The Association of British Drivers (ABD) reveals that Manchester Against Road Tolls (MART) members hit the streets with an anti-charging petition. Some 81% of 1577 households signed. ABD Manchester Coordinator Sean Corker said "The Manchester authorities have spent £400,000 of tax payers money on glossy leaflets and American models featured in bogus case studies. Despite the huge propaganda campaign, this survey by ordinary people of ordinary people clearly shows that the overwhelming majority of residents object to the imposition of a congestion charge." Will NYC face a similar groundswell? Watch this space.   

Someone ought to tell H2daily.com's wonderfully-named O.J. Fagbire that it's not DaimlerChrysler anymore. And then someone can tell us why the hydrogen-powered Mercedes-Benz A-Class F-Cell goes to Iceland for test, rather than some more polluted country. Isn't Iceland an energy independent country with a limitless supply of geothermal and hydropower energy? Why would THEY need a zero-emissions vehicle? Alternatively, why wouldn't they? Who else can power hydrogen fuel cells without burning hyrdrocarbons to do so? "This means that totally environment-friendly motoring is already a reality in Iceland," says Prof. Dr. Herbert Kohler of DaimlerChrysler. Hey, it’s a start.

It’s hard to argue against a law enforcement device that automatically scans license plates, checks the police data banks for infractions (stolen vehicle, traffic violations, etc.) and immediately informs the officer of any outstanding warrants or “issues.” According to the cop showing the $22k roof-mounted system to Newsday reporter Michael Frazier, the “Plate Hunter” reduces an entire day’s [theoretical] checking to 30 seconds. The New York Civil Liberties Union makes the case against using these electronic number plate readers to create a proposed “Ring of Steel” inside Manhattan. "From our perspective, police should be in the business of investigating crimes, not tracking law-abiding citizens," said Christopher Dunn, the group's associate legal director.

For reasons both cultural and non-commercial (I’m looking at you, tax-payer funded Top Gear), the British press feels less inhibited about telling the truth about cars than their American cousins. And when it comes to yank tanks, let’s just say the car hacks’ Super Ego takes a nice long holiday in Majorca. To wit: The Independent on Sunday’s review of the Cadillac SRX, in which Michael Booth tears Caddy’s crossover a new one. “Cadillac says it is ‘targeting’ the BMW X5 and Mercedes ML; ‘stalking’ would be a better description. Peering at them from behind the bushes while rubbing itself suggestively is about as close as the SRX is going to get to the premium German market.” And you thought TTAC was tough on the General. As Dick Van Dyke would say, 'cor blimey!

Congestion charging has been a fact of life in London since February 17, 2003. And now, New York City wants some of those extra tax revenues environmental benefits. Mayor Bloomberg’s hopes for a congestion charge currently face a tight deadline. As Newsday explains, if the New York State Senate enacts a bill clearing the way for a congestion charge on Monday, the city scores a $500m federal grant for its implementation. If not, not. To get it done, Mayor Bloomberg’s Albany shock troops have drafted an “act now, think later” bill. If passed, a 12-member commission will develop recommendations for putting an unspecified congestion charging plan in effect. Now that's what we call forward thinking!

Poor Ford Motor Company! Even when FoMoCo produces a good car, the product is still weighed down by the stigma of Tempos and Escorts of yore. In his latest column, MSNBC 's Roland Jones takes stock of the Ford Fusion's dismal sales in June 2007 (12,435 examples sold), what it means for FoMoCo, and how they can generate Impala-like numbers (35,489 examples sold). In this bread-and-butter segment so thoroughly dominated by Camcords, Jones asserts that people don't want an import-clone from a domestic automaker. He's right. Fighting Toyota and Honda on their own turf is a losing battle for Detroit. The market has shown a willingness to buy boldly-styled, rear-wheel drive Americana from America. That’s what Ford should build.

The Motor Authority says the the flying Wallenbergs have joined a consortium in the hunt for ownership of Volvo. The Swedish family already control an investment group that owns an 11 percent stake of Scania, the truck-maker. In his book "The Rise of the Wallenbergs," author David Bartol claims the W's are serious players, controlling most of Sweden’s top companies. “In no other Western country, does a single family enjoy the same degree of influence or authority." There is some irony here. Henry Ford was one of the world's most notorious anti-Semites. Raoul Wallenberg was famous for saving tens of thousands of Hungarian Jews from the Nazi slaughter.

A commentator (whose comment was removed for violating our no-flame posting policy) took violent exception to the Tribeca review’s three paragraph dalliance upon its, uh, "questionable" exterior design; specifically the model’s new front end. Vindication comes via a study by CNW Marketing Research of Brandon, Oregon, which concludes that 70 percent of drivers judge their vehicles primarily by the headlights and grilles. OK, they only interviewed 40 subjects. Still, CanWest scribe Peter Ketner offers an excellent piece of parsing, riffing on the study’s conclusion that pistonheads have a tough time remembering human faces. So now you know. 

Help me out. Once again, Parisian youths have “celebrated” Bastille Day by taking to the streets and burning cars. According Russian news agency RIA Novosti, the vandals topped last year’s one night total by 12 vehicles, destroying some 266 whips. Other than all the socio-economic politico-religious motivations for this orgy of criminal property damage, I don’t understand what this report means by “detonators.” Apparently, the French authorities attempted to forestall the conflagrations created during these “routine riots” by banning the sales, storage and use of “detonators.” Something’s been lost in translation. 

The Truth About Cars (TTAC) news blog started on Wednesday. By Friday, we were in trouble. That’s when I posted an item about illegal immigrants getting driver’s licenses in Maine that they could use to purchase a firearm. Some commentators cried flame bait! Others were dismayed that TTAC was wading into political waters. And a few wondered why TTAC was news blogging anyway. In response to the troll accusations, I changed the picture (from a firearm to a gun store) and toned down the text. As for the other questions, well, let’s talk.