Russian Holiday for Auto Transporters

I'm not making this up. I swear. Apparently, this is a holiday for highway construction workers, but at first glance, it sure looked like a vacation day for auto haulers!

MOSCOW, October 29 (RIA Novosti) - President Vladimir Putin congratulated the Russian auto transport industry's workers with their professional holiday, the Kremlin press office said Sunday.

"The auto transport and road complexes are rightfully considered to be among the key and strategic branches of the domestic economy whose development is prioritized by the state," the president's congratulatory letter says. The timely delivery of passengers and cargoes and the strengthening of interregional and international ties largely depend on the technical condition of automobile roads and transport and their efficient operation," the letter says.

"Today your most important goals include the tasks to improve the transport infrastructure, enhance road safety and make the environmental situation better," the congratulatory letter says.

Different Ways of Analyzing Success

This is from a Canadian newspaper that covers the auto business news. Honda is cautiously optimistic about sales, because profit slipped about 4%. GM said that only losing 115 million last quarter was due to the success of their reorganization. Daimler Chrysler's losses are so extensive, many scientists believe they may have actually "broken off" from our reality, and may in fact now operate from a parallel universe where women buyers yearn for Dodge Chargers and the new look of the Chrysler 300.

Full story below is from The Chronicle Herald:

GM, DaimlerChrysler post losses; Honda profits up

DETROIT (AP) — After months of restructurings, job cuts, management changes and other moves to lift their fortunes, U.S. automakers still are posting losses as market share slips further toward their Asian rivals.

General Motors Corp. and DaimlerChrysler AG’s Chrysler Group reported third-quarter losses Wednesday, joining Ford Motor Co., which on Monday posted a whopping US$5.8 billion loss. In contrast, Tokyo-based Honda Motor Co. reported a profit Wednesday, although less than the same period last year.

A $1.5 billion quarterly loss at Chrysler prompted some industry analysts to question whether its parent company would put it up for sale.

GM posted a $115 million loss for the third quarter on Wednesday, saying its results reflected benefits of its turnaround plan.

Honda said Wednesday that second-quarter profit slipped 4.3 per cent, but sales were strong especially in North America and Asia, where demand for fuel-efficient Japanese cars has been growing.

United Road

United Road has a pretty sweet website for POV. Probably has built-in functionality for auction and dealer freight as well.

Crash

ROUTE 18 JAMMED IN OLD BRIDGE Car carrier rams moving van
Minor injuries in a.m. accident
Home News Tribune Online 10/25/06
STAFF REPORT

OLD BRIDGE — A car-carrier loaded with new Jeeps crashed into a moving van on Route 18 yesterday strewing furniture and boxed items from the moving van across the highway and the grass median.



The crash occurred shortly after 9:30 a.m., according to township police, and stalled traffic in the area for hours.

No serious injuries were reported.

The moving van was attempting to cross Route 18 south from the Spring Valley Road jughandle when the car carrier, traveling south on Route 18 in the fast lane, hit the moving van, with the impact causing both vehicles to veer onto center grass median, township police Sgt. Robert Greenway said yesterday afternoon.

Only one lane of Route 18 south was open and northbound traffic was being diverted onto Marlboro Road around the accident scene and back onto Route 18 yesterday. Traffic was backed up for the better part of the day in both directions.

The auto-transport driver was taken to Raritan Bay Medical Center in the township for treatment of minor injuries and released.

A passenger in the moving van was treated at the scene for minor injuries.

A careless driving summons was issued to the moving van's driver.

Police interviewed three witnesses at the scene, but no further details were available. Police did not release the identity of the drivers or the passenger.

Contributing: Staff writers Mary Ann Bourbeau and Ken Tarbous

New: Loans for Auto Transport Equipment

OK, you almost have to be crazy to buy a new car hauler trailer right now, but I suppose if you have an established business, and your rig is worn out-- you gotta do what you gotta do.

Here is a place where you can get same day answers (theoretically) AND store your info on a secure server.

If this kind of stuff makes you nervous, you're not alone-- but here is something to look for whenever you're buying something online or using sensitive info. Look up in the URL pane (the little box thingy with the www address). It should say https:// if it's a secure site. If it's just a regular site, it will say http:// before the www.somecompany.com

General Motors Renault Nissan

As Nostril-damn-us predicted in the year 2005 AD, General Motors is looking to spin off an underperformer. I mean, why just shut it down (Oldsmobile) when you can sell it to the Korean companies who are getting ready to forfeit the lower price tier to the Chinese?

Other Nostril-damn-us predictions:

Watch for used truck prices to drop 15-20% in the second quarter of '07.
Peterbilt will announce a restructuring.
A heavy truck division of a (sort-of) foreign company will change hands.
Fuel prices will jump up to 4.23 in California.
Load prices will slide down in the middle of the country, but start picking up on the left coast.
Hillary Clinton will begin her bid for the presidency, going on a "Listening Tour" in which she visits every county seat of every southern state. Bill will be by her side, but will be forced to wear mittens stapled to the sleeves of his suit coat. (Lots of interns on the bus.)
Intelligent life from another planet will finally make contact. They will meet with a dispatcher. They will decide to return wait another 10,000,000 years and see if another form of life evolves.

Web Dev. for Carhaulers

You should be thinking about how you are going to survive 2007. Orange Fractal could be part of that survival plan.

Free carhauler leads for all my friends.

OK. We're going to try something and see where it goes. Click on the uShip link and see what's up with these guys. In the long run, their concept could be good for consumers and car haulers... assuming consumers are smart enough to figure out that car haulers that have insurance and experience are preferable. Please report any experiences that make you hear a big sucking sound.

Got Auto Transport Equipment to Sell?

This is probably the best deal around!

Autohauler Shopper
Written by Editor
Monday, 02 October 2006
Advertising & Web Development Menu

Site Sponsorship

Whether you're a manufacturer or service center for auto transport equipment or a recruiter for a fleet, a sponsorship of The Autohauler Shopper website is a cost-effective wayt to get your message out to auto transporters.

Your logo or image will be displayed prominently on the right-hand side of our site’s front page as well as pages within our site that users navigate to. Users who click on your logo or image will be taken to your company’s website. If your company doesn’t currently have a website, be sure to ask us about our extremely affordable web-hosting option.

* Sponsors are given right of first refusal for space in other publications where space is limited. (directory or printed newsletters)
* Sponsors will be given a discounted rate for classified advertising upgrades.
* Sponsors may also qualify for equipment sales leads or employee leads.

Our business philosophy is simple. We believe the more we can cooperate and help each other out, the better it is for all of us. For more information, please call 503-342-2085.

Classified Advertising Upgrades
[Per Equipment Listing]

30 Day Front Page

Get maximum exposure for your truck by putting it on the front page of our site for all to see. (available on a first-come, first-served) basis: $29.99 ea., 30 days

Boxed listing with attention-grabber: $9.99 ea, 30 days

One And Done Service!: We monitor your listings on any one URL that you choose, update your free listings once per week and apply any pre-authorized upgrades such as Front Page or Boxed listings. $2.99 ea., 30 days

Adesa starts construction of new car auction facility

When completed, the new ADESA Kansas City facility will feature:
(*) A brand new auction facility on 196 acres
(*) Parking for more than 15,000 vehicles
(*) 10 auction lanes with digital video and audio
(*) Easy access for dealer check-in
(*) Drive over inspection in facility mechanical shop
(*) Increased dealer parking
(*) Designated areas for carhauler loading and unloading
hmmm... could be good.
(*) State-of-the-art body shop with 200 unit-per-day capacity
(*) New mechanical repair facility with 16 bays and 10 lifts
(*) New dealer lounge with Internet access and terminals
where's the driver lounge?
(*) A full cafeteria
(*) An on-site floorplan financing office
>>

The prime contractor for the new ADESA Kansas City auction is Shiel
Sexton Construction Company of Indianapolis, Indiana. The new facility is
expected to be open for business in late 2007.

Budget Tow Dolly Trailer Straps

Here is a product I'll bet folks have been having trouble finding.


Replacement Strap for Budget Rental Tow Dolly


SKU#: SP-EBTDLOOP
List Price: $39.95
Our Price: $24.95 $16.20


Adjustable tow dolly strap with loop sewn in end to fit on rod. Fits Budget Rental tow dolly. This one is better than the one that came with it, because the four inch strap that goes over the top has three adjustments. Allows you to tow cars with 13" to 18" tires and get a good, snug fit.


Product Details


3000 pound safe WLL Steel ring on the end of 2 inch lasso strap wears better than the old sewn loop. Manufactured in western Pennsylvania. Apparently, when Budget sold all their old Tow Dolly trailers, they misplaced the number of the company who sold them their replacment straps. The picture shows a flat hook: this is what goes on our standard tow dolly strap. The Budget tow dolly strap has a sewn loop instead of a flat hook. Much thanks to one of our latest new customers, Brad in Indiana , for making us aware that folks were having trouble finding straps for the Budget Rental Tow Dolly. Apparently, there are thousands of these Budget trailers out there that have been orphaned after the company changed ownership. If you are an employee working for Budget Rental, and someone like Brad calls looking for replacement tow dolly straps, now you know where to send them! Thanks, Brad! We'll be putting these up on Ebay and Craig's list soon to get the word out to all the Budget trailer owners with frayed tow dolly straps.

Marketing your business.

Found this post on The Autohauler Shopper. Should give you something to think about, if you're the thinking sort.

I see a lot of discussion online about the effect on load price of car dealers posting loads on Central Dispatch-- with or without their own authority. I also see discussions about whether buying auto transport leads is a good way to find cars to haul.

Whatever shortcomings it may have, Central Dispatch obviously serves a purpose in the marketplace. Same goes for the marketing companies that sell auto transport leads. Good, bad or indifferent-- these companies are a way for you to find loads to put on your trailer.

The question you might want to ask is: what kind of loads? Both auto transport lead companies and load posting boards make auto transport companies compete against each other for business, just in different ways.

If you have to discount your normal load price to get a load on Central Dispatch, then the amount of money you didn't collect on that load is the amount you are (in essence) paying for the luxury of not marketing your company's services.

The amount by which you discount your load price AND the amount you pay for the auto transport lead is the same thing.

Marketing, sales, advertising-- whatever you want to call it-- it all amounts to the same thing: making sure prospective customers understand why it is in their interest to use your company. This is the bedrock of all marketing.

If you don't know why people should use you over some other guy, then that's your homework for tonight. What do you do differently? What services do you offer? Do you have special routes that might really help certain dealers who have multiple locations in your general service area? Do you run only three year old or newer equipment? Do you employ only drivers with five years experience or more? Do you only use soft ties to tie down cars?

If you still can't think of anything, then how about your present customers. What do they say about you? Would they give you a letter of endorsement? It might not hurt to ask!

"John Q. Driver has been providing reliable service for The Big City Auto Dealer for the past thirteen years. Since we started using his company, we've only had one damage claim, and that was handled in a straightforward and professional manner. John is an excellent communicator, and does what he says he's going to do!" -- John Q. Manager, The Big City Auto Dealer

"We've used John Q. Driver to help us with our overflow ever since 1998, and have been pleased with his committment to helping us maintain a high level of service our clients expect." --John Q. Terminal Manager, Sumbig Auto Transporter Company

"John moved our Honda Odyssey from Seattle to Maryland, and he made the whole process easy for us. We read a lot of horror stories online about auto transport, but John returned all our phone calls the same day, and our van got here without a scratch. We strongly recommend John Q Driver for all your auto transport needs!" -- John and Jane Doe, Customer

Once you know what your strengths are, play to them! Get some high quality flyers printed up (if you don't have business cards, do that as well.) Give them to prospective customers, or better yet, give them to people in a position to refer new business to you. Have you ever bothered giving your business card to a realtor? When someone moves somewhere, they usually have to sell their car! How about the directors of 55+ communities in places along your route in the sunbelt. A lot of retirees may go back up north in the spring.

Do you keep track of your old customers? Why not send them a thank you letter for their past business, and throw in a couple business cards. If they liked the service you provided, it'll help them remember you when someone they know needs your service.

If you provide a special service that auto dealers might like, have you told all of them about it? What about banks? After they've had to repo a car, who is transporting that car to auction? Are their towing companies in the area who don't offer auto transport service? What about the human resources department at big employers near your shop? If they are transferring an executive or manager, a lot of times they'll be the ones paying the relocation costs when he or she moves to a new branch or office. Who is helping them with this aspect of relocation?

These are all sources of new referrals. Put together a professional sales flyer and send some out on slow days. Pick up the telephone and make some calls. Explain in one clear statement who you are and what your purpose is.

"I'm John Q. Driver. I provide an extremely high level of service for all my auto transport customers, and I'm looking for people who might need my services, or know people who do. Would it be OK if I mailed you my business card?"

You may not consider yourself a salesman, but if you can clearly define what it is you do best, and communicate what it is you love the most about your work, your enthusiasm and honesty will be more productive than any slick marketing guy with tasseled loafers. So the next time it gets slow, don't just sit around waiting for something on Central Dispatch. Try marketing-- because they say that having a great service but not marketing it is kind of like winking at a girl in a dark movie theater. You know what you're doing, but nobody else does!

Joke

Found this joke on unitedabc.com.
How do you make a million dollars hauling cars?
Start with two million.

Small OEM Auto Transport Trailer Manufacturers, Part 2

Last week, I received word that there is soon going to be a brand new high mount quickloader coming on the market. Like JM Trailer (the company I discussed not too long ago), this company specializes in affordable, lightweight trailers. Haven't got word yet on what it weighs out yet, but as soon as it comes back from the paint shop and they attach all the cylinders and hoses, we should have a pretty good idea.

As soon as I get some pictures, I'll run them on Carhauler News.