The Beginning of the End for Car Dealerships
Chrysler’s promotion is the latest example of the lengths auto makers are going to in the U.S. to find customers amid a slowdown in overall demand.
You know you’ve gone too far when…you begin offering one-day test drives at churches in major cities like Chicago, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles. No, wait it can get worse. How about offering free tickets to a Patti LaBelle concert if you take one of these test drives at the church? Chrysler (DCX) is targeting mega churches in an attempt to get into the communities and the lifestyles of customers … “taking [their] products to people rather than asking people to come to us.” Chrysler isn’t the only auto maker pitching its cars in unconventional settings. In July, Ford Motor’s Japanese affiliate, Mazda Motor, participated in a two-day comic-book convention in San Diego to celebrate the debut of a comic-book series featuring Mazda cars and to give attendees the chance to win a new Mazda model. There seems to be a growing trend among the automakers. An idea that they can not just rely on the dealers to push their product. That they need to physically get out and be in the community.
The bottom line question, however that it leaves us to ponder is that if the automaker is going directly to the customer, doesn’t the dealer just become a middle man? True, state franchise laws protect dealers and so automakers can not go directly to the customer. But take a look at the block exemption laws that passed in Europe and you can see how almost over night changes in the regulatory environment can be complete game changers.
