Flush ‘em

Last night and this morning I checked in with two managers for whom I have the utmost respect: Bill Pearson at Finishline Ford in Peoria, Illinois, and Cary Donovan at Sam Swope in Louisville, Kentucky. Both Bill and Cary told me the same thing, and I thought that it would be worth passing along to everyone else.

The first thing they both said is that people are buying trucks and SUV’s, notwithstanding the high price of gas. The key to their sales success, however, is their ability to price them aggressively, in other words, there still is a market for these vehicles.

The second strategy that both of these managers are using, however, is a willingness to lose money on the old ones and the guts to replace them at lower costs. These guys are not afraid of the market. On the contrary, they’re getting after it in a big way.

This strategy stands in stark contrast to what I hear from many other managers that are refusing to take big losses and/or continue to play in the truck and sport utility market. To these managers, I would strongly urge them to reconsider their approach. Let’s face it, the market did an abrupt about face and caught almost everyone off guard. There should be no shame in facing the music, nor should there be any fear about serving the truck and sport utility market, albeit at lower price points.

Let me know what you think…