What’s Really Going On

J. D. Power recently released the results of their study on owner retention. According to the study Mercedes Benz showed a significant incr...

It’s Ed and the Board’s GM Now!

Just as President Obama has taken "ownership" of the U. S. economy, Ed Whitacre and the GM Board of Directors have taken "own...

Published in Auto Finance News

Fanning the Flames By David Ruggles Recent quotes from high-profile individuals have really kept the pot boiling in recent days. First, Ariz...

Rattner's "Tell All"

I have been trying to resolve a mystery for months. When it was announced that General Motors and Chrysler were terminating dealers as a par...

How Do You Measure Quality in the Auto Business?

A m I presumptuous enough to lecture J.D. Power on how to measure quality? Not really. My point is that there is more than one way to calc...

Ruggles in Wards, reprinted with permission

T a- T a C lunkers; N ow W hat? Let's hope a dead spot won't follow successful program B y David Ruggles, Ward's Dealer Business...

No Smoking Gun? -- Financial Innovation

Mike Smitka T he appellation "luddite" rings nasty, at least to this economist. I am after all an erstwhile student of the history...

Followup

Mike Smitka O ne quick point: if the underlying analysis of the previous post of a specific link between the housing bubble, the use of home...

No More Clanging Clunkers, No More Sales

Mike Smitka W hat, now that the clunkers program has clanged to a close? In a couple days we'll see what total August sales were like – ...

Japan's Headlines: China not Clunkers

Mike Smitka T he top headline in the Nikkei today (Aug 7th) was neither their recession, nor their pending general election (and the potenti...

Opel & GM

Mike Smitka F urther to my earlier post, Is there a GM without Opel? , the sticking points of GM's negotiations with the Magna-Gaz/Sberb...

Toyota and General Motors

Mike Smitka T he new General Motors was spun out of bankruptcy on Friday, July 10th. Its prospects are uncertain. The new cost structure and...

WMRA Radio Show Mon 13 July

Michael Smitka will be on a live program, Virginia Insight, on WMRA Public Radio in Harrisonburg Virginia Monday, July 13 at 3 pm EDT. You c...

Ruggles Report - I Was Wrong!

I Was Wrong! But Don't Tell My Wife I Admitted It! David Ruggles I predicted that Chapter 11 bankruptcy for Chrysler and GM would cause...

Business Week Article ... then back to autos

An interview today with Business Week...

Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics!

David Ruggles See also Cliff Banks article in Wards A s I watched the Senate hearings today on CSPAN my blood boiled. When asked about the ...

Dealerships are a Cost? - I Don't Think So!

Mike Smitka T he statements of the CEOs of GM and Chrysler at today's Senate hearing on dealership closures make very little sense overa...

The "Throughput" Myth!

David Ruggles M uch has been written and spoken by the administration and in the media about the bankrupt Chrysler and GM Dealers lack of “t...

The Task Force

David Ruggles I 'm a vocal critic of a lot of what is being done in the auto business, but it is clear to me that "corporate restru...

More on Dealers: My Opinion in NYT

Mike Smitka H ere are a series of brief items in the New York Times "Room For Debate" online forum on their Opinion page: Link he...