Greg Gerber posted on November 24, 2008 15:47
TAMPA, Fla. -- Focus Inc, one of the largest direct response auto marketers in the country, today announced a national campaign called “Save My Local Dealer,” a movement dedicated to drawing congressional attention to automobile dealerships at local levels across the United States.
Focus believes the area of greatest impact for the automotive industry is the dealership floor plan, the bridge-financing a dealership receives from the point at which they purchase inventory from a manufacturer to the time they sell the inventory to consumers. If dealerships lose their floor plans — and they currently are — then they have no way to continue business and must close their doors. This essentially creates a domino effect in the industry, impacting both lenders and manufacturers, because there are fewer avenues available for revenue.
Over 1.1 million people are employed by new-vehicle auto dealerships across the country, a number vastly larger than the Big Three auto manufacturers combined, and dealerships greatly impact local economies, accounting for over 20 percent of retail sales. The National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) has projected that 700 dealerships will close by the end of 2008 and, if the current problems persist in the industry, another 1000 will close in 2009. So, before Congress makes major decisions about the proposed auto industry bailout, they need to be aware of the impact automobile dealership floor plans have on the overall industry. Save My Local Dealer proposes Congress federally insure floor plan lending to help the industry from top to bottom.
“Everyone is directing Washington’s attention at the auto manufacturer, but consumers don’t buy from manufacturers, they buy from their local dealerships. If local dealerships go out of business, then manufacturers have fewer places to sell inventory,” says Raul Vazquez, CEO of Focus, Inc. “Pulling a dealership’s floor plan is essentially the same thing as freezing an individual’s bank account, and if lenders continue to back out of floor plan lending, then the auto industry problems will persist.”
In addition to launching a website for the campaign (www.SaveMyLocalDealer.org), Focus has also posted a YouTube video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbBM_E5uvnA) wherein Vazquez explains the campaign’s position and highlights significant points about the auto industry. This video is shot at the Tampa site of the world’s largest Chevrolet dealer, which recently closed due to floor planning issues. The video and website were both posted Nov. 21.
For more information, visit www.SaveMyLocalDealer.org or call 813-574-8379.