Dealership
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The top CT court is hearing an appeal from the state's auto retailers, alleging that Tesla had been operating its stores as traditional dealerships.
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Low-budget Chevy Bolt EV dealer ad normalizes electric cars
Ah, local car-dealer ads on television. You've likely seen them, usually during the local ad minute on national shows, often late at night or in the cheaper slots. They're mostly formulaic, but each one mixes several elements for its own unique blend of attention-grabbing pitch. DON'T MISS: This...
John Voelcker -
Oregon mulls bonuses for salespeople who sell electric cars
The Beaver State, otherwise known as Oregon, may implement an intriguing solution to spur higher sales of electric vehicles. A new piece of legislation introduced in the state senate calls for a $1 million fund to provide $250 bonuses to salespeople each time they sell an electric vehicle...
Sean Szymkowski -
Virginia dealers double down on Tesla attack, demand probe of sales
Virginia auto dealers are calling for an investigation into Tesla's sales practices.
Stephen Edelstein -
Tesla wants to sell electric cars in Michigan; state couldn't care less
You don't see a lot of Teslas in Michigan. It's not because the three U.S. automakers headquartered there aren't interested in the electric cars produced by a Silicon Valley company founded just 12 years ago. It's because state laws bar the company from selling its cars online to state...
John Voelcker -
VA auto dealers sue Tesla, DMV over hearing to 'hide' proposed store
The state-by-state battles between electric-car maker Tesla Motors and lobbyists for state auto-dealer interests often take unusual twists and turns. But the situation in the state of Virginia may be among the odder episodes in Tesla's eight years of selling cars online directly to buyers. In the...
John Voelcker -
It's often said that franchised auto dealers are one of the bigger impediments to sales of plug-in electric cars. Vehicles with plugs require more explanation, the financial calculations are often more complicated, and home and public charging stations add a further layer of complication. Commissioned salespeople whose pay rises as they sell more cars often don't want that hassle—if they even understand the cars in the first place, which many don't. DON'T MISS: Most Car Dealers Are Lousy At Selling Electric Cars: Here's Why So it's a pleasure to learn of a mass-market dealer in the...
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GM Adds Used Cars To Online 'Shop-Click-Drive' Tool; Buyers Still Finish At Dealer
In almost every state, you can't buy a car online from its maker, owing to language in franchise laws that forbids direct sales, written at the behest of auto-dealer lobbyists. Whether or not that's a good thing, a majority of car buyers now research new cars online well before they ever set foot...
John Voelcker -
How Bad Was Nissan Dealer When Buyer Wanted A Leaf Electric Car? THAT Bad
Five years after the first modern mass-market electric car launched, stories of recalcitrant car dealers continue to surface from buyers. Walk into a dealership, explain that you want to buy an electric car ... and then endure a litany of reasons why you don't. But a meticulously documented...
John Voelcker -
High-Volume Chevy Volt Dealer: How To Sell Successfully, Lessons Learned
Plug-in electric vehicle pioneers perennially proclaim that the electric driving experience is as pleasant as the dealership experience isn't. (Tesla stores excepted, of course.) Recently the organizers of the EV2015VE electric vehicle conference in Canada invited Quebec-based Bourgeois Chevrolet...
Matthew Klippenstein -
Tesla Brings Electric-Car Popup Stores To Summer Resorts: Santa Barbara, Hamptons
So-called popup stores are an increasingly common way for retail brands to get media attention and attract new customers, without the expense of building and staffing a full-time location. Now California carmaker Tesla Motors is extending the concept to bring its luxury Model S electric car to...
John Voelcker -
Tokyo's Toyota Mirai Dealer & Hydrogen Fueling Site: Photo Gallery
The 2016 Toyota Mirai hydrogen fuel-cell sedan will go on sale in limited regions of California later this year, but it's already available in Japan. On a recent trip to Japan, your correspondent had a chance to head to downtown Tokyo to take a look at the combination of a dedicated Mirai showroom...
Matthew Klippenstein -
Electric cars are still a rarity in most of North America, and for that matter most of the world. But California, which has led automotive trends pretty much since the Second War, is different. Electric cars are increasingly popular there, and they're becoming positively commonplace in Silicon Valley, south of San Francisco. DON'T MISS: California, Washington Lead All Other States In Electric-Car Ownership Rates Which is why Stevens Creek BMW in Santa Clara will open the brand's first full-service standalone BMW i facility, devoted exclusively to BMW's plug-in vehicles, this weekend...
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First Eight CA Dealers Announced For 2016 Toyota Mirai Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Car
With the 2016 Toyota Mirai set to go on sale this October, Toyota has now announced the first eight dealers that will be selling its first production hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle. Four are in Northern California, four in the southern part of the state. Production of the Mirai will be limited to about...
John Voelcker -
Where Can Tesla Legally Sell Cars Directly To You? State-By-State Map: LATEST UPDATE
Every month, and often more frequently, a new story appears about the state-by-state battle between Tesla Motors and auto-dealer lobbyists. In some states, Tesla is permitted to sell its electric cars online, deliver them to customers, and open as many Tesla Store showrooms as it wants. In others...
John Voelcker -
Seattle Honda Dealer Adopts Tesla & Apple Sales Elements, Learns Lessons
A Seattle dealer attempts to eliminate haggling, but has trouble adjusting.
Stephen Edelstein -
Buy An Electric Car Online? In Japan, BMW i3 Is Sold On Amazon
The BMW i3 electric car goes on sale on Amazon.co.jp.
Stephen Edelstein -
You Shouldn't Want To Buy A Kia Soul EV, Says Kia Dealer
It's often said that one of the bigger impediments to sales of electric cars is car dealerships. Among plug-in car shoppers, stories abound of salespeople who know little or nothing about electric vehicles, misrepresent their abilities, and aggressively steer shoppers away from them toward gasoline...
John Voelcker -
It's long been known that getting some car dealerships to sell plug-in electric cars can be a challenge. Now, one reporter tested the thesis for himself, by visiting both his local Tesla store--to inquire about the Model S electric luxury sedan--and his local Chevrolet dealer, to ask about the Volt range-extended electric car. DON'T MISS: Dear Tesla: Car And Driver's Hilarious Take On Why Car Dealers Are Awesome The results of his little experiment just underscore what many electric-car buyers have experienced or heard: Dealerships for existing carmakers can pose a major hurdle. In this case...
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Dear Tesla: Car And Driver's Hilarious Take On Why Car Dealers Are Awesome
Ah, satire. From Jonathan Swift's "modest proposal" to MAD Magazine in the formative years of many pre-teen boys, it serves as a bracing reminder of the absurdity of life. Fast forward to the ongoing state-by-state battles between Tesla Motors and lobbyists for state and national car-dealer...
John Voelcker -
Report On Tesla-Style Direct Sales Cites GM Brazil Program Ended In 2006
The topic of Tesla Motors and its direct-sales model continues to roil state legislatures, with bills for and against the practice under debate in several states. In May 2009, the U.S. Justice Department issued a paper that looked at the economic effects of state bans on such direct sales. Now it...
John Voelcker -
New NADA Chairman Will Continue Anti-Tesla 'Get The Facts' Campaign
Last June, the National Automobile Dealers Association launched a publicity campaign to convince car buyers why it's in their own best interests that dealers make it illegal to buy a car from Tesla Motors. The campaign is called "Get the Facts," and it now includes a handful of animated videos...
John Voelcker -
Anti-Tesla Laws In AZ, MI, NJ & TX Nominated For 'Luddite Award'
Awards to dealerships and car-dealer groups are common, and often both appreciated and promoted by their recipients. A new award nomination that recognizes the work of state dealer lobbyists, however, is not likely to get that appreciation or publicity--at least from dealers in those four states...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Sales Model Intrigues Volvo, Lexus, AutoNation--Though Dealers Must Remain, By Law
Electric-car maker Tesla Motors has shaken up the auto industry in many ways, and it continues to do so. Now, aspects of Tesla's online direct-sales model are starting to influence other companies in the car business--and their executives are saying so--even as lobbyists for franchised car...
John Voelcker