Is there a Gender Gap at Your Car Dealership?

If you believe that employee credentials matter more than gender and you make it a practice to hire women for sales positions at your dealership, you deserve some kudos for that because, according to the 2015 National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Annual Workforce Study, the percentage of women in sales, or managerial positions is dismally low at just 8 percent. In fact, women make up only 18.5 percent of the overall workforce at car dealerships.

The Auto Industry Wants More Women Dealers

The NADA stats are low, but there are efforts being made within the auto industry to lessen the gender gap at car dealerships. Initiatives such as General Motor’s GM Women’s Retail Network, started in 2001, has been getting good results. Director Celeste Briggs, said, “Our goal is to attract women into automotive retail careers such as dealers, general managers and employees to create more gender balance and to create a pathway for women to become dealers.” As of August 2015, 230 GM dealerships are women-owned.

However, it’s still very much a man’s world when it comes to buying, selling and servicing cars. That doesn’t mean that women are any less capable than men to successfully do the job. They may, however, be less inclined to work for a dealership that demands long hours and pay through commissions.

Closing the Dealership Gender Gap

There are ways auto dealerships can buck the norm and close the gender gap by attracting more women to apply for jobs. Flexible work hours, set salaries rather than commission-based pay, and/or job-sharing arrangements are some suggestions to consider, especially for qualified women with families, for example.

More importantly, you want high-performing team players, regardless of gender, working to bring in the sales at your auto dealership.

Is Your Dealership Armed Against a Cyber Attack?

Cyber crime happens, and without warning. Hackers, those nasty, tech-savvy demons hell-bent on stealing online data, such as bank accounts, credit card numbers, Social Security numbers, personal identities and more, are costing businesses big bucks every year.

Car dealerships are just as vulnerable as any other business, which is why, if you are a car dealer, you better make sure your business networks are protected against a cyber attack. If you don’t take steps to do so, you run the high risk of a hack that could potentially crush your dealership into the ground like a mound of scrap metal at a junkyard.

A free ebook from Helion Automotive Technologies entitled “Don’t Get Cyber-Clobbered,” details the damage that just one cyber attack can wreak upon an unknowing dealership. It says that the cost of just one cyber attack could run up to two million dollars or more, and that one major expense from a security breach “is the cost to contact all customers and then manage and monitor their credit to ensure they are not adversely affected.” If this should happen to your business, the penalty you’ll feel is a lack of confidence and trust from your customers, along with tons of money. Could your dealership survive just one cyber attack? You don’t want to find out.

What data do hackers want? According to the Helion ebook, they’ll go after service repair orders, the info in deal jackets, customer credit reports, driver’s licenses, auto insurance cards, customer banking information, whatever they can find. They can even access copiers and scanners to hunt for any documents that may be digitally stored.

It’s a brutal picture. Don’t waste another minute. Read more about what you can do to prevent cyber attacks at your dealership.

Why Sticking with Neutral Car Colors is a Good Value

You’ve been on the search for a good used car for your wife, and you’ve finally found the perfect one. It’s the right make, model, the mileage is low for the year, and, most importantly, the price is right. You come home all excited to tell her the news. “That’s great,” she says. “But what color is it?” Of course, it’s silver, and she tells you to keep on looking.

The thing is, it may not be all that easy to find the color car she wants. When buying used, there may not be a lot of choice. She may just have to settle with what’s available.

Silver is one of the three most popular car colors in the United States. The other two are white and black. 

Proof is everywhere. Just scan a full parking lot or take notice of the cars whizzing by you on the highway. Based on demand, car manufacturers are pumping out what consumers want, and it looks like the popularity of the basic three isn’t waning anytime soon.

When buying a new car these days, it makes sense to stick with the neutrals – silver, white and black – if you want to boost the resale value of your car. Obviously, it would take a specific buyer – maybe your wife – to want, say, a yellow or purple car. So, if you had given in to her whim five years ago, and bought a brand new purple car, chances are you’re going to find it much harder to sell or trade it in today.

So, as you search around for that perfect used car, expect to find plenty of silver, black and white makes and models to choose from, and good luck with trying to please your wife.

Why Vintage Cars are Special to Car Enthusiasts

What makes an old car “vintage?” To car collectors, cars from 1919 to 1930 are classified as “vintage.” And vintage cars are in demand.

Think about what modern cars are like today. Can you tinker with a modern car? It used to be, if you were at all into car mechanics, you could figure it out if your car broke down. It’s not that simple anymore. The engine may not turn over because of a computer chip, not because your battery died. How do you fix a computer chip? You can’t.

But an old car is something else again. It’s basic, and beautiful, especially after it’s been restored, with loving care, to its original nostalgic glory. And that’s when a vintage car becomes an investment.

It’s a big business, buying and selling vintage cars. Some are worth thousands of dollars, once restored. For those who love old cars, the restoration is the fun part.

And owning one is like showing off a prize. Have you ever seen a vintage car on the road? Did you smile? Wave? Did the driver honk back? Even the sound of an old car horn brings smiles. And seeing one roll on by is like a flashback to another time. It’s fun.

Vintage car shows are all the rage. Events are happening all over the country. For vintage car lovers there’s nothing like the thrill of seeing a 1920 cream-colored Locomobile, a shiny black 1925 Packard Sport Coupe and a 1914 hunter green Hupmobile Model 32 Touring Car lined up together in one place.

And then there’s Henry Ford’s Model T, first produced in 1909, which changed the world of transportation. He said, “I will build a motorcar for the great multitude.” And thankfully that’s what he did.