Latest / In Wheel Time Podcast / Inside Auto Shows: Evolving Trends, Planning Insight, and Market Dynamics with RoShelle Salinas

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Inside Auto Shows: Evolving Trends, Planning Insight, and Market Dynamics with RoShelle Salinas · In Wheel Time Podcast

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: Welcome to another In Wheel Time podcast From the Sugar Shack Studios in Houston, texas, usa.
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: It's the In Wheel Time Car Talk Show.
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: Just ahead, rochelle Salinas, houston Automotive Show or Houston Auto Show with Boats Right.
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: Well, that kind of couples it up Throw in a helicopter there.
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: Jeff has the cruise in calendar and the events calendar.
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: We'll have the stories making automotive news headlines this week.
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: Howdy, along with Mike out of this world, mars.
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: We always need more.
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: Jeff Zekin, I'm Don Armstrong.
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: Glad you could join us on this Saturday for our live edition of the In Real Time Car Talk Show.
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: Glad you could join us, and somebody that we're always glad to join us have join us.
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: That would be Rochelle Salinas.
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: Hey, good morning.
• 0:58
  Speaker 3: Good morning fellas.
• 0:59
  Speaker 3: How are you?
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: Well, we're doing well, and how are you?
• 1:03
  Speaker 3: I'm fantastic.
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: I don't know when the last time we talked.
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: I think it was a couple of years ago, wasn't it?
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: Seems like it Not quite that long.
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: It feels like it.
• 1:11
  Speaker 3: I know it does feel it feels like it, but I think it was about eight months ago, back at the auto show there you go?
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: Yes, it was so how are things?
• 1:20
  Speaker 3: Things are good.
• 1:21
  Speaker 3: Things are good.
• 1:22
  Speaker 3: It was a very busy summer and we've got a lot of progress happening, I say, in the auto show world across the country.
• 1:30
  Speaker 3: Lots of new things coming about and kind of a revival of auto shows, if I could, and so we're really starting to kick off Houston planning right now this month.
• 1:45
  Speaker 3: So it's a good time to be in my business.
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: So what is the latest skinning on the car shows?
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: I know that Detroit was what put on hold last year, or this year, I don't even know what's going on with Detroit?
• 1:59
  Speaker 3: Yeah, they're moving back to January.
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: So they will have a January show.
• 2:04
  Speaker 3: Yes, yes, they're moving back to January.
• 2:05
  Speaker 3: So they will have a January show.
• 2:05
  Speaker 3: Yes, yes, they're moving back to January.
• 2:07
  Speaker 3: Um, and everyone else pretty much is as they are and move, moving slightly based on the calendar year and convention center availabilities, uh, but everyone, everyone's pretty much coming back on board, uh, and the manufacturers are working to come back as well In many ways.
• 2:24
  Speaker 3: We had a big meeting this summer with about 45 different auto shows, and a group of us are coming together to make some changes that have been requested for many years by the OEMs so that they can come back and participate.
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: Anything that you can share on that.
• 2:46
  Speaker 3: Well, a lot of it is on the event logistical side.
• 2:49
  Speaker 3: So it's very much streamlining some of our planning long-term, looking at spreading the calendar out and making it regionalized so that the OEMs don't have to transport from Houston to Chicago, back to Dallas, back to over here and up there and all around so that we can really kind of coordinate our calendars better.
• 3:11
  Speaker 3: It will take a few years to do that because of Convention Center and and the dates that we're stuck to in contracts and everything.
• 3:18
  Speaker 3: But that's one thing.
• 3:20
  Speaker 3: Also you know, on the back end, streamlining how we're doing data collection and monitoring of information that's given out to the OEMs after the show.
• 3:30
  Speaker 3: So making sure that it's consistent and legible across all of our shows so that we're really looking at apples to apples in that sense.
• 3:39
  Speaker 3: So it's a lot of you know back in marketing aspects.
• 3:42
  Speaker 3: But when they have that then they can justify better to participate in the auto shows, because definitely the auto show managers at the OEM know that the auto shows are a lucrative place to be marketing.
• 3:54
  Speaker 3: They have to justify it clearly, transparently and correctly and we want to help them do that better.
• 4:00
  Speaker 3: So that's kind of our plan with with a big group of shows and we'll continue to move forward on it.
• 4:05
  Speaker 3: Hopefully we can continue to gain more OEMs back at the auto shows, as well as dealer groups.
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: And have you presented the mutual findings from this group and what you guys are going to do behind the scenes to the manufacturers so we can get things back like the big RAM display and the interactive and with Jeep and that sort of stuff, Ride and drives?
• 4:29
  Speaker 3: Yeah, all of that is currently in motion.
• 4:31
  Speaker 3: So we actually just had a meeting presenting to the OEMs, including Stellantis and Ford and Hyundai and Mazda and many others who are on the VW Nissan we're all on the call with us earlier this week and we presented a 10-show study that we had done last year Unfortunately, houston wasn't included in that but many other of our partners were and showing them you know how important the auto show is and how their demographics are really at these events, important the auto show is and how their demographics are really at these events and I think that's kind of the first step to get this ball rolling and showing them like we're all in to help them come back and make it a great event and I know that, go ahead, I'm sorry that stelantis is definitely considering returning.
• 5:19
  Speaker 3: I don't know about kind of the big ride and drive yet, but there's definitely an uptick in EV ride and drive requests, so we're already getting a lot of those in.
• 5:28
  Speaker 3: So I think it's going to come together to be a good year.
• 5:31
  Speaker 1: When is the Houston Automotive Show this year?
• 5:34
  Speaker 3: So this year we're January 29th through February 2nd.
• 5:38
  Speaker 2: Right.
• 5:38
  Speaker 3: This is the latest in my schedule of 15 years doing this show that we've ever had going into February.
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: So I think that'll help us as well.
• 5:47
  Speaker 1: Yeah, now are you going to have to compete with.
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: You know monster truck shows and rodeo and stuff like that.
• 5:55
  Speaker 3: I don't think so.
• 5:56
  Speaker 3: I think we're falling just accurately and we won't compete with the Texans this year either, even if they do well and make it to the playoffs.
• 6:03
  Speaker 3: So I think we're in a good place this year for the calendar, Because I know that we're bringing back Go ahead, go ahead.
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: I'm just going to say, because I know that the dates have been an issue from time to time, where you're competing with another event or the Texans are playing and we didn't schedule that.
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: You can't schedule a playoff game, but it can interfere and I know that that hasn't been well taken by the folks at the Houston Auto Show.
• 6:36
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean that just makes more for a parking inconvenience when the Monster Jam is there, but sometimes we can pull traffic from each other to attend both events, so that's not as huge of a problem the NFL playoffs would be, but we're definitely protected this year.
• 6:51
  Speaker 3: We're in the bye week of the playoffs this year, so it should be really good, and we're also working with our presenting sponsor, evolve Houston, to possibly bring in some of their new EV shuttles that they have around town to truck people in from the parking lot and save you some of that walk time if we do have full parking lots this year.
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: I was just going to say that would be nice.
• 7:12
  Speaker 1: Yeah, because I, as a matter of fact, went to a car show last week out there at NRG and I had to park in Lot 15, which is about a mile away, oh wow and I had to hoof it all the way back over to NRG, so you can imagine that was quite a walk that is a long walk and then walking in NRG alone is a lot.
• 7:32
  Speaker 3: Yeah, it is.
• 7:33
  Speaker 2: Michelle, how many, how many auto shows are there across the country during the year in your capacity?
• 7:39
  Speaker 3: I think, I think there's about 48 total.
• 7:43
  Speaker 1: Holy cow.
• 7:44
  Speaker 1: Yeah, but not the size of Houston.
• 7:48
  Speaker 3: Oh, not at all.
• 7:49
  Speaker 3: No, no, no, no, no, not at all, not at all.
• 7:51
  Speaker 1: There's, you know, smaller shows in each state, but yeah, in total, that's kind of what our group makes up.
• 7:59
  Speaker 1: I mean, I would consider, I mean the State Fair granted, the State Fair is coming up and they always have a presence, new car presence there at the State Fair.
• 8:11
  Speaker 3: But it's not like the Houston Auto Show, no, and I think that's kind of an ancillary event within the State Fair.
• 8:16
  Speaker 3: It's not such a focus on, like we do, you know, highlighting specifically for these five days.
• 8:21
  Speaker 1: Because Dallas does have its own show.
• 8:25
  Speaker 3: Yes, Dallas and San Antonio and Austin have their own shows as well.
• 8:29
  Speaker 3: They're smaller than ours in attendance, but it's definitely good shows to attend to.
• 8:36
  Speaker 2: So how do we rank near the top of attendance with these or the best show?
• 8:40
  Speaker 2: I mean, are we up in the top five of all the shows across the country?
• 8:48
  Speaker 3: Yeah, we're up there.
• 8:48
  Speaker 3: So LA, new York and Chicago are probably the top three, and then we've got Philadelphia, washington DC and Detroit, you know kind of filling that top 10.
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: Gotcha, so we're in the top 10.
• 9:09
  Speaker 3: Oh, definitely Not in the US.
• 9:11
  Speaker 3: But Toronto is another massive show as well, and they get a lot of good traction up there too.
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: So when you guys meet with your fellow auto show production groups, what, what do you discuss?
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: What?
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: What is always the biggest topic of discussion?
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: The, the amount of cars that the manufacturers are bringing to the show, or how they're cutting back, or what's changing within each of the shows across the united states on a general basis that you guys share with each other those are definitely things we're talking about.
• 9:48
  Speaker 3: We're sharing news on who's talked to which manufacturers and what they're doing, what decisions they're making.
• 9:54
  Speaker 3: We know that, because of this meeting and conversing with each other, that Lexus is not returning as the OEM to any auto shows, and so we share that kind of information.
• 10:04
  Speaker 3: We also share good vendors that we've worked with and you know ticketing companies, social media companies, etc.
• 10:11
  Speaker 3: And then we just share some great marketing ideas and looking at how we can better promote and better present ourselves and talk about what the customers are asking for and saying, ok, well, we decided to put in.
• 10:24
  Speaker 3: You know all the different innovative things that shows are doing around the country upping their test drive experiences, adding a food truck park or a putt-putt golf game inside their show to increase dwell time at the event.
• 10:38
  Speaker 3: So different things.
• 10:39
  Speaker 3: We just share all kinds of ideas across each other and best practices to see what's working and what's not.
• 10:45
  Speaker 1: See, just like regular car show reviewers, I mean, you steal ideas from other people, just like we used to do in radio yeah, yeah, I mean, you know yeah some radio station comes up with a brilliant promotion, hey, everybody jumps on board and steals it.
• 11:02
  Speaker 1: I mean, why not?
• 11:04
  Speaker 1: Yep, because if it works for them?
• 11:05
  Speaker 3: chances are well.
• 11:08
  Speaker 3: We know that we're not competitive, competing in that sense for our ticket buyers, right?
• 11:13
  Speaker 3: Our customers that are coming are all local to our cities where we're hosting these events.
• 11:17
  Speaker 3: So if we're doing some sort of promotion and it and it works well, it's not competing with each other, it's making the best of the situation I do.
• 11:25
  Speaker 1: I find it interesting what you say about lexus.
• 11:27
  Speaker 1: Uh, one of the premier brands that has more makes and models of cars that you could shake a stick at.
• 11:36
  Speaker 1: I mean, if you go to any website and look at all of the cars that lexus has, I mean it's got to be 50 different models and them, them not to show up.
• 11:47
  Speaker 1: It puzzles me, I don't understand.
• 11:49
  Speaker 1: So I guess the question that I have for you, rochelle, is the fact that who is it within the manufacturer let's just use Lexus as an example who is it that makes the decision not to appear at a car show?
• 12:05
  Speaker 1: I mean it's sales.
• 12:08
  Speaker 3: I wish I knew, because we would try to get their ear.
• 12:12
  Speaker 3: But you know, I think it comes down from the executive level and looking at budgets and they have decisions to make and I know it's hard ones and this is something that they push down, unfortunately, to the dealers, so it affects them, and then hopefully, the dealers will come together and put the display which we know is not the same caliber as the OEM.
• 12:33
  Speaker 2: You've got transportation.
• 12:34
  Speaker 2: You've got to pay the people there, you've got to move them around.
• 12:36
  Speaker 2: You've got hotels, all that.
• 12:42
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I understand all that, the Houston Auto Show in particular.
• 12:46
  Speaker 1: We're talking about thousands upon thousands of people that are exposed to the brand, that typically would not walk into a Lexus store thinking they can't afford it or whatever the case may be and in essence they can't afford it because I know that Lexus does have brands in the $30,000 category that today is a bargain.
• 13:09
  Speaker 3: Yep, and that's what we want to show these OEMs and that's why this group of auto shows is coming together to say look, the demographic is here.
• 13:18
  Speaker 3: We've surveyed our people, this is our ticket buyers.
• 13:22
  Speaker 3: We can now share this information and say your demographic is here.
• 13:25
  Speaker 3: We also, in that Penn show study, saw the discrimination of if you weren't at the show, then you weren't no longer a choice of the car buyer that came to the show and it was a pretty high percentage to say you know someone that came and their brand wasn't at the show.
• 13:42
  Speaker 3: Then they checked them off of their decision list and comparison list and they weren't going to go look at that vehicle any longer.
• 13:50
  Speaker 1: Well, and that's not surprising.
• 13:51
  Speaker 1: But it is surprising because you know you just assume things that okay, well, lexus doesn't have that particular model car here.
• 14:00
  Speaker 1: I'm still interested in Lexus, but if Lexus doesn't even show up, it's like are they out of business?
• 14:05
  Speaker 1: I mean, we're car people, right, and we kind of get it, but most people aren't.
• 14:11
  Speaker 1: They look at a car as a means of transportation and aren't into it as far as car shows or anything like that.
• 14:18
  Speaker 1: They go to the Houston Auto Show to actually look about cars and what the competition is like in the particular price point or the style of vehicle, that sort of thing.
• 14:30
  Speaker 2: They feel snubbed when they're not there.
• 14:32
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it's like well, why aren't they there?
• 14:35
  Speaker 3: Well, I also look at it as a lot of people that are going are really like you said.
• 14:39
  Speaker 3: They're not car enthusiasts.
• 14:40
  Speaker 3: They need a means of transportation.
• 14:42
  Speaker 3: So I would make the analogy.
• 14:44
  Speaker 3: It's like you're going to a restaurant.
• 14:46
  Speaker 3: So I would make the analogy.
• 14:47
  Speaker 3: It's like you're going to a restaurant.
• 14:48
  Speaker 3: Let's say you're going to a sushi restaurant and you go and you look at the menu and you pick out whatever's on the menu.
• 14:54
  Speaker 3: You don't ask for a hamburger, it's not there, so you're going to pick something off the menu.
• 14:59
  Speaker 3: And if your menu item is not at the auto show, then your vehicle is not being selected.
• 15:04
  Speaker 3: They want to make a good decision that's educated right there at the event be able to go and make it quick and efficient, make purchase that vehicle at the dealership later, not have to go to three more dealerships because the brand wasn't well, which that's one thing I don't understand about how they look at, how the oen looks at it, because typically, in my mind, that's what they expect.
• 15:25
  Speaker 4: they expect somebody to come on onto the car lot to look around, pick one out and buy it.
• 15:30
  Speaker 4: That's what they want.
• 15:30
  Speaker 4: They don't want you to come back two or three times, they want you to buy it right then and make the decision based on the menu or the inventory they have.
• 15:39
  Speaker 4: So to me, I would think they'd be jumping at the car shows for that reason.
• 15:43
  Speaker 1: Let me change direction here, change gears, so to speak, if you will, before we run out of time.
• 15:53
  Speaker 1: I wanted to ask you how is the Houston auto dealers themselves?
• 15:55
  Speaker 1: How are they doing?
• 15:55
  Speaker 1: You know we've had a downturn in the economy.
• 15:56
  Speaker 1: Price of cars are through the roof these days, so to speak, and I would imagine that sales are kind of hurting.
• 16:04
  Speaker 3: Yeah, q2 sales were slightly down over Q1 this year.
• 16:07
  Speaker 3: We're still pacing pretty closely to last year's sales.
• 16:11
  Speaker 3: I've been with a lot of dealers this week and everyone is saying we've got good inventory back and that's a good thing.
• 16:20
  Speaker 3: Some of them are seeing incentives return, especially on EVs, because the OEMs are really pushing the EV market right now.
• 16:30
  Speaker 3: So I think it's steady sales, we're steady, we're stable.
• 16:34
  Speaker 3: Things are going well.
• 16:35
  Speaker 3: You know the dealers aren't complaining at all.
• 16:38
  Speaker 3: Definitely, selling cars is needed, for sure.
• 16:42
  Speaker 1: So do they drive kind of in a way the actual show itself as far as inventory is concerned in the show?
• 16:55
  Speaker 3: Sometimes depending on the brand.
• 16:57
  Speaker 3: Yes, sometimes.
• 16:58
  Speaker 1: Yeah, okay, I would imagine that there are some brands that say no, we're bringing what we're bringing, it's our show too.
• 17:05
  Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah.
• 17:07
  Speaker 3: Yeah, they definitely look at what's selling here.
• 17:09
  Speaker 3: You know what's popular, what's available here.
• 17:12
  Speaker 3: You know sometimes a model is not available in Texas that might be available in California, so they're going to bring what's available.
• 17:19
  Speaker 1: So when do tickets go on sale?
• 17:21
  Speaker 1: When do we learn more?
• 17:25
  Speaker 3: Yeah, tickets will go on sale Friday after Thanksgiving on our website HoustonAutoShowcom or HoustonBoatShowcom and look out for some early bird ticket specials.
• 17:35
  Speaker 3: We're definitely going to be offering some ticket discounts when tickets go right on sale and the VIP party first look party hosted by Modern Luxury will be returning.
• 17:45
  Speaker 3: So that'll be on Tuesday, january 28th.
• 17:48
  Speaker 3: Who a good $75 value of that to come for a VIP experience to the show when the boat shows gonna be bringing some great things as well, and we're collaborating on a pretty cool scavenger hunt experience where you can win some great prizes.
• 18:05
  Speaker 3: So there will be a lot of news coming, I would say, back in November when tickets go on sale and things are more firmed up.
• 18:11
  Speaker 1: Very nice.
• 18:12
  Speaker 1: Well, you know, unfortunately I missed last year's press event because I had to fly late.
• 18:19
  Speaker 2: It was two years ago.
• 18:20
  Speaker 2: No.
• 18:22
  Speaker 1: I wasn't there last year either for the same reason and it was very disappointing and I know that you were disappointed that you didn't see me.
• 18:31
  Speaker 3: Of course, I was also disappointed.
• 18:33
  Speaker 3: We had some pretty bad weather that week of the auto show this year, so I'm hoping for some good weather this year too.
• 18:39
  Speaker 1: Yes, absolutely Well, it's always a pleasure to talk to you and we're hoping that once the tickets go on sale maybe in November, December, First part of December that we will have you back on again.
• 18:52
  Speaker 4: Yeah, we'll set something up.
• 18:54
  Speaker 1: Absolutely, and I'll have a full list of who we're going to have at the show then too Okay, movie stars and big bands, and in real time.
• 19:03
  Speaker 1: We love you, rochelle Salinas.
• 19:05
  Speaker 1: Thank you very much.
• 19:06
  Speaker 1: Thank you, take care of yourself.
• 19:07
  Speaker 1: It's great talking to you.
• 19:08
  Speaker 1: You do Bye-bye.
• 19:09
  Speaker 1: Hey, the In Real Time Car Talk show is available 24-7 through the iHeartRadio app.
• 19:14
  Speaker 1: Just look for In Wheel Time Car Talk.
• 19:16
  Speaker 1: Grab a podcast anytime from your favorite podcast provider.
• 19:19
  Speaker 1: We also video stream our live two-hour weekly show on Facebook, youtube and InWheelTimecom.
• 19:24
  Speaker 1: The In Wheel Time Car Talk Show continues after this break.
• 19:27
  Speaker 1: Well, I said that this break.
• 19:30
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  Speaker 1: There you go, all right.
• 21:32
  Speaker 1: Welcome back to the In Wheel Time.
• 21:34
  Speaker 1: Car Talk Show Time now for Jeff's Cruise In and Events Calendars.
• 21:38
  Speaker 2: Yeah Well, you know it's a typical Saturday.
• 21:40
  Speaker 2: You know we're on a tent it's hot man yeah.
• 21:43
  Speaker 2: And everything goes on from 8 o'clock to noon or 7 o'clock to 11, whatever the case.
• 21:47
  Speaker 2: So a lot of the shows are actually going on right now.
• 21:49
  Speaker 2: So it's really difficult for us to announce them and have folks get up, get their coffee and go.
• 21:54
  Speaker 2: But the typical ones today are the Conroe Cruisers, the weekly meetup in Montgomery County Redemption Square.
• 21:59
  Speaker 2: Many things are going on.
• 22:01
  Speaker 2: And then of course tomorrow, sunday, the same thing.
• 22:03
  Speaker 2: You've got a lot of folks going out and doing their church events and then they go out to a car show or a cruise-in.
• 22:09
  Speaker 2: So you've got the meetup in Willis, texas, tomorrow.
• 22:11
  Speaker 2: That's a weekly thing.
• 22:12
  Speaker 2: You ain't talking about Willis, I know, I just did so.
• 22:15
  Speaker 2: If you've got a car event, you've got a cruise in.
• 22:18
  Speaker 2: Let me know Jeff at InWheelTimecom, I'll put it all together and we'll talk about it.
• 22:23
  Speaker 2: We might even have a discussion on the panel.
• 22:25
  Speaker 2: So that's what's going on.
• 22:26
  Speaker 2: So far as events, same thing.
• 22:28
  Speaker 2: We've got Woody's 6th Annual Waterfront Rod and Custom Car Show.
• 22:31
  Speaker 2: Car show, mike, you're going to be there.
• 22:34
  Speaker 1: So are you?
• 22:35
  Speaker 2: I'm going to have the salad.
• 22:36
  Speaker 2: It's free to the public.
• 22:40
  Speaker 2: Sponsors include Corvette World, lawson's Auto Works, moe Muscle Cars, moe Gateway, classic Cars, frank's Car Barn and, of course, in Wheel Time.
• 22:49
  Speaker 2: We'll be there, we'll be signing autographs and all that good stuff.
• 22:52
  Speaker 2: So it's the 6th annual.
• 22:54
  Speaker 2: They've got different classes and the regular classes from 1920 to 2004.
• 22:59
  Speaker 2: Awards for best show, best interior, best engine 2004,.
• 23:03
  Speaker 1: I could bring the Corvette.
• 23:04
  Speaker 2: Yeah, you can.
• 23:04
  Speaker 2: I thought about that when I was putting this down.
• 23:06
  Speaker 2: Best engine, best paint, best truck, best rat rod, best import 40 awards in total.
• 23:13
  Speaker 2: And of course, at the event it's cash only.
• 23:16
  Speaker 2: So I think there's no credit cards or things of that nature.
• 23:19
  Speaker 2: But you can buy Bloody Marys with a credit card.
• 23:22
  Speaker 2: You can buy Bloody Marys with a credit card.
• 23:23
  Speaker 2: Yes, you can.
• 23:25
  Speaker 1: Is there going to be a limit on the amount of Bloody Marys we have?
• 23:29
  Speaker 4: I think after last year he's going to put a limit on it.
• 23:31
  Speaker 2: But he didn't say you know, I he didn't say Y'all had Bloody Berries, I was drinking iced tea.
• 23:34
  Speaker 2: You're a liar.
• 23:35
  Speaker 2: You're a liar.
• 23:37
  Speaker 2: That's it, period.
• 23:40
  Speaker 2: So send it to me if you've got an event or a cruise, jeff at InWheelTimecom, and I'll pick it up and we'll discuss it.
• 23:45
  Speaker 2: Alright, we shall.
• 23:46
  Speaker 2: There you go.
• 23:48
  Speaker 1: Some of the stories making news headlines in the first half of 2024.
• 23:52
  Speaker 1: Us Nissan dealership profitability plunged to the lowest level in nearly 15 years as the Japanese brand hemorrhages market share About 38% of Nissans.
• 24:07
  Speaker 1: 1,071 dealerships across the country are losing money.
• 24:12
  Speaker 1: According to a retailer with knowledge of the matter, I told Automotive News, from which we get this story, dealers are struggling more than they have in a long time.
• 24:22
  Speaker 1: He said, echoing several others that they interviewed.
• 24:24
  Speaker 1: We need volume and we need volume fast.
• 24:28
  Speaker 1: According to Nissan financial data obtained by Automotive News, the dealership network's return on sales a key measure of profitability news.
• 24:39
  Speaker 1: The dealership network's return on sales, a key measure of profitability, slumped to 1% in the first half of the year from 3.2% a year earlier.
• 24:43
  Speaker 1: Give you an idea Return on sales 2021, 4.6%.
• 24:50
  Speaker 1: 2022, 5.6%.
• 24:53
  Speaker 1: 2023, 3.2% so far.
• 24:57
  Speaker 1: 2024, 1%.
• 24:59
  Speaker 1: The average net profit for a dealership in the first half cratered 70% to $262,000.
• 25:07
  Speaker 1: The red ink has led to attrition, with Nissan losing eight franchise stores so far this year.
• 25:15
  Speaker 1: The pace and extent that store profitability has fallen is alarming, another dealer said.
• 25:20
  Speaker 1: Five dealers interviewed for the story asked not to be identified for fear of retaliation.
• 25:27
  Speaker 4: Are they saying, then, that they don't have the inventory?
• 25:30
  Speaker 4: They?
• 25:30
  Speaker 1: got the inventory, they just ain't selling them.
• 25:34
  Speaker 2: That's not the right inventory.
• 25:35
  Speaker 2: I will say this.
• 25:35
  Speaker 2: I will say this Must not be.
• 25:37
  Speaker 1: No, I will say this have you seen any Nissan advertising lately?
• 25:42
  Speaker 2: Oh yeah.
• 25:43
  Speaker 1: Okay, all the time.
• 25:44
  Speaker 1: And what do you remember about it?
• 25:45
  Speaker 2: Well, there are Nissan Rogues.
• 25:46
  Speaker 2: There's a guy driving down the road.
• 25:47
  Speaker 2: In a test drive he buys the car as they're driving down the road.
• 25:51
  Speaker 1: Okay, I can't tell you any of those.
• 25:52
  Speaker 1: The only thing that I can remember is the Nissan logo at the end of the commercial.
• 25:56
  Speaker 2: The red square Nissan logo no there's always some kind of story going on.
• 26:00
  Speaker 2: You've got one where the bride leaves the church and she's running down the road, and if I really think about it.
• 26:04
  Speaker 4: You know, yeah, okay, but to the point of Nissan advertising, what comes to your mind?
• 26:09
  Speaker 4: That red logo?
• 26:11
  Speaker 4: None of their cars, none of their trucks.
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: None cars, none of their trucks, none of the spots, none of the commercials.
• 26:19
  Speaker 1: That's the first thing that I would look at if I were them, and the second thing is that I would do something different to draw attention to Nissan and the local Nissan dealer.
• 26:30
  Speaker 1: But that's not happening.
• 26:31
  Speaker 1: No, it's not happening.
• 26:33
  Speaker 1: It's not driving people that are buying the market for a car to the Nissan dealership.
• 26:38
  Speaker 2: Well, there's a big Nissan dealership on the freeway out here, not far from here, big Taj Mahal.
• 26:44
  Speaker 2: They just went through a big remodel of it.
• 26:47
  Speaker 2: They put new signage up.
• 26:48
  Speaker 4: Is that the one that's got the indoor showroom for the used cars and all that stuff next to it?
• 26:53
  Speaker 2: I haven't been in it, but it's there on the corner of 59 and, I think, west Airport.
• 26:57
  Speaker 2: Let me just say this about that.
• 26:58
  Speaker 1: Sometimes it is the dealer, but many times it is the manufacturer that makes the dealer change the appearance of the store.
• 27:07
  Speaker 2: Gm did that all the time with Buick and GMC To attract people.
• 27:11
  Speaker 4: They wanted a certain kind of they were trying to reach a certain clientele.
• 27:15
  Speaker 2: Well, they're upgrading their image, so they could do better marketing.
• 27:17
  Speaker 4: Right, but for the Nissan I got one within six blocks of my house and I couldn't tell you he's there, unless I drive by there.
• 27:25
  Speaker 4: I could not tell you he's there or he's open, there's nothing, wow.
• 27:31
  Speaker 4: And then there's one over in Beaumont.
• 27:32
  Speaker 4: It's the same thing, you know.
• 27:34
  Speaker 4: It's the same thing, you know, it's just you don't see anything about them.
• 27:40
  Speaker 1: Wow, there's a problem there.
• 27:42
  Speaker 4: Well, and then you start thinking about.
• 27:43
  Speaker 4: You know the products that excite you.
• 27:45
  Speaker 4: You think about Dodge, you start thinking Challengers, hellcats, chargers.
• 27:47
  Speaker 2: They're not there either.
• 27:49
  Speaker 4: Well, I know, but I mean, it all comes to mind.
• 27:51
  Speaker 4: But Nissan, what?
• 27:55
  Speaker 2: happened With Dodge.
• 27:56
  Speaker 2: I think of those commercials where they had the Dodge brothers and they were competing, those old school ones.
• 28:01
  Speaker 2: That's what attracted me.
• 28:02
  Speaker 1: You've got a Hemi in it.
• 28:03
  Speaker 2: You've got a Hemi in that You've got a Hemi in that.
• 28:06
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean.
• 28:06
  Speaker 4: But there's things you know, ford's done some, chevrolet's done some, but Nissan they seem to have gotten quiet, gotten quiet.
• 28:16
  Speaker 1: United Auto Workers said on August 13th it's filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board against Donald Trump and Tesla over attempts to threaten and intimidate workers.
• 28:24
  Speaker 1: The action came after Musk and Trump held a two-hour conversation on social media platform X the evening of August 13th, during which the two discussed workers walking off the job and going on strike.
• 28:36
  Speaker 4: Okay, well, you got to have something to hang your hat on, yeah.
• 28:41
  Speaker 1: Okay, I'll remember that.
• 28:42
  Speaker 1: Got to have something to whine about.
• 28:44
  Speaker 1: Gm is recalling 24,200 all-wheel drive midsize electric crossovers in North America because of a software fault that causes the anti-lock braking system to falsely activate.
• 28:55
  Speaker 1: Oops, the recall affects 23 and 24 model Cadillac Lyric models.
• 28:59
  Speaker 1: Software fault that causes the anti-lock braking system to falsely activate.
• 29:01
  Speaker 1: Oops, the recall affects 23 and 24 model Cadillac Lyric models, the first electric vehicle produced by Cadillac.
• 29:04
  Speaker 1: Abs may activate at speeds below 25 miles an hour on dry surfaces, reducing brake effectiveness and increasing the risk of a crash.
• 29:11
  Speaker 1: Duh, so they'll call you, but be aware if you're driving a Lyric.
• 29:19
  Speaker 4: Speaking of EVs, did you see the comment that Richard Buzz Smith, the EV, made on your review of the Blazer?
• 29:29
  Speaker 4: What's that?
• 29:31
  Speaker 1: I didn't see it.
• 29:33
  Speaker 4: He said he was so shocked he had to get up off the floor.
• 29:36
  Speaker 4: He was so shocked.
• 29:38
  Speaker 2: Oh, because you gave it on a positive side A positive side.
• 29:41
  Speaker 2: Yeah, no, that's a nice quote.
• 29:42
  Speaker 2: Well, he was honest, he prefaced that.
• 29:45
  Speaker 4: I know, but Buzz just said he was shocked that you were so positive about it.
• 29:50
  Speaker 2: Buzz seems to be on the floor a lot he does, doesn't he?
• 29:54
  Speaker 1: Truly amazing.
• 29:54
  Speaker 1: We can't understand why.
• 29:59
  Speaker 1: Hey, we'd love to hear from you.
• 30:00
  Speaker 1: Shoot us an email.
• 30:01
  Speaker 1: The address is info at inwheeltimecom.
• 30:04
  Speaker 1: Back with more of the In Wheel Time Car Talk Show after this.
• 30:07
  Speaker 1: Well, I said that, oh, I did something over here that I wasn't supposed to do.
• 30:14
  Speaker 1: We're not watching.
• 30:15
  Speaker 1: Pro-am Auto Accessories has been serving Houston's auto enthusiasts since 1984, providing world-class products for sports cars, european sedans and American muscle.
• 30:24
  Speaker 1: Pro-am is known as the place to go to find exclusive and hard-to-find parts and accessories.
• 30:29
  Speaker 1: Pro-am is one of the very first distributors in the USA for brands such as Recaro, redline, momo Corbo and Simpson.
• 30:35
  Speaker 1: Located in the USA for brands such as Recaro, redline, momo Corbo and Simpson.
• 30:38
  Speaker 1: Located in the heart of Houston's premier retail and service corridor, the Galleria area, pro-am's walk-in storefront includes an 8,000-square-foot warehouse, showroom and installation bays.
• 30:45
  Speaker 1: Pro-am not only sells parts and accessories, but also offers installation and service.
• 30:50
  Speaker 1: Pro-am is now reaching a worldwide audience through Pro-Amcom, taking its local reputation to the rest of the world.
• 30:56
  Speaker 1: At Pro-Am Auto, you'll be dealing with a small group of professionals who truly want to help you with your automotive needs.
• 31:02
  Speaker 1: If you don't see what you're looking for on the website, call and Pro-Am will lend you a hand.
• 31:06
  Speaker 1: Pro-am Auto 6125 Richmond at Greenridge in Houston's Galleria area.
• 31:11
  Speaker 1: Call them at 713-781-7755.
• 31:14
  Speaker 1: The award-winning In-Wheel Time Car Talk Show brings you great guest interviews each week, from manufacturers and suppliers to the aftermarket, racers, enthusiasts and other friends just like you and me who love to talk about all things automotive.
• 31:26
  Speaker 1: The In-Wheel Time Car Talk Show takes it to the road too, with remotes at Tailpipes and Tacos Woody's car show in the Hemi Hideout.
• 31:42
  Speaker 1: In Wheel Time's live video and audio stream can be found on the iHeartRadio app, youtube, facebook and InWheelTimecom every Saturday 10 am to noon Central Time, or grab a podcast anytime from your favorite podcast provider.
• 31:46
  Speaker 1: That's it for this podcast episode of the In Wheel Time Car Show.
• 31:48
  Speaker 1: I'm Don Armstrong, inviting you to join us for our live show every Saturday morning on Facebook, youtube, twitch and our InWheelTimecom website.
• 31:58
  Speaker 1: Podcasts are available on Apple Podcasts, spotify, stitcher, iheart Podcast, Podcast, addict TuneIn, pandora and Amazon Music.
• 32:07
  Speaker 1: Keep listening and we'll see you soon.