AutoPacific has announced its list, the 2014 Ideal Vehicle Awards, to distinguish vehicles that “best meet their owner’s expectations and desires” based on consumer feedback.
According to the research firm, the most ideal popular brand of 2014 is GMC, while Porsche maintains the title of most ideal premium brand for the second year in a row. The 2014 Chevrolet Corvette took the honors for the overall winner.
George Peterson, AutoPacific’s president, says that vehicle owners are looking for a consistently enjoyable experience throughout the entire ownership process.
“The vehicle buying and owning experience is often a love-hate relationship,” Peterson said. “Buyers purchase their vehicle for many reasons, including price, style, and lifestyle fit, but it’s often not until the vehicle is driven for a while that the little annoyances start to show themselves and people with things were a bit different.”
2014 Overall Winner: Chevrolet Corvette
2014 Most Ideal Premium Brand: Porsche
2014 Most Ideal Popular Brand: GMC
Passenger Car Winners
Premium Luxury Car: Mercedes-Benz S-Class
Executive Luxury Car: Acura RLX
Aspirational Luxury Car: BMW 3-Series GT
Large Car: Chevrolet Impala
Luxury Mid-Size Car: Lexus ES
Mid-Size Car: Volkswagen Passat
Premium Compact Car: Buick Verano
Compact Car: Volkswagen Golf
Economy Car: Ford Fiesta
Sports Car: Chevrolet Corvette
Sporty Car: Ford Mustang
Hybrid/EV Car: Ford Fusion HEV-PHEV
Light Truck Winners
Light Duty Pickup: GMC Sierra 1500
Heavy Duty Pickup: Ford F-Series SD
Luxury SUV: Land Rover LR4
Large SUV: Ford Expedition EL
Mid-Size SUV: Jeep Grand Cherokee
Premium Luxury Crossover SUV: BMW X5
Luxury Crossover SUV: Volkswagen Touareg
Large Crossover SUV: GMC Acadia
Premium Mid-Size Crossover SUV: Ford Edge
Mid-Size Crossover SUV: Honda CR-V
Compact Crossover SUV: MINI Countryman
Minivan: Honda Odyssey
Millennium Capital and Recovery Corp. recently achieved the SSAE 16, AT101 Service Organization Controls (SOC) 2 report representing the third consecutive year in which the recovery management service provider attained this coveted certification as recognized by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).
Executives highlighted a SOC 2 examination is widely recognized because it represents that a service organization has been through an evaluation of their control activities as they relate to the applicable Trust Services Principles and Criteria.
Millennium’s SOC 2 report not only includes the service organization’s system description, but also includes detailed testing of the design and operating effectiveness of its organization’s controls.
“This report serves to demonstrate for our company's market-leading clients and their executive management teams our commitment to excellence and determination in providing an unparalleled level of service,” Millennium chief executive officer Robert Bronchetti said.
“This has proven to be a significant benefit to our customers in assisting them when they are performing their independent audits on our company as one of their major suppliers,” Bronchetti continued.
"Over the past several years our company’s initiative related to compliance has made us the leader in our field in this regard and enabled us to grow our prestigious list of customers. This achievement, for which our company is the first in our industry, was undertaken this year with an increased emphasis on our vendor management process,” he went on to say.
Bronchetti insisted the auditors' “unqualified opinion” is the best one that can be issued, and the opinion included a stringent assessment of the company's processes for qualifying service providers, background check verification, monitoring, site inspections and compliance with stated standards and procedures.
Additionally, Millennium stressed its processes are aimed at compliance with Consumer Financial Protection Bureau mandates, too.
“It was evaluated for effectiveness and verified for consistency and accuracy,” Millennium officials said.
Millennium’s full report covers the areas of security, availability and confidentiality controls. The entire report is available to Millennium’s customers and prospective customers, and their auditors for use in satisfying their risk management and governance requirements.
For more information, visit www.mcrc.biz or call (877) 500-6272.
The Ford Motor Co. will host its 2014 Ford Neighborhood Awards for the eighth consecutive time this weekend. For the first time in Atlanta, the ceremony, hosted by Steve Harvey, will continue its tradition of honoring local leaders and organizations for their contributions to their neighborhoods.
For the second year, a $30,000 check will be given for the winner of the Community Leader of the Year Award, which will be used as a donation to the winner’s nonprofit organization of choice.
The Neighborhood Awards will kick off on Friday with Ford’s first-ever “Pink Friday,” which will raise money for breast cancer research via the Susan G. Komen local affiliate from the Ford Warriors in Pink, who will donate $20 for each of the first 250 test drives the company offers at the event.
Shawn Thompson, Ford’s manager of multicultural marketing, looks forward to continuing the event’s legacy of giving back to those who give to their communities.
“Our goal as a brand is to not only go further when it comes to our products, but also as it relates to our communities,” Thompson said. “With this award and donation, we are able to play a role in directly impacting the local community of this year’s winner – extending our involvement beyond the actual awards show.”
Thompson added: “For eight years, Ford has remained committed to this event and what it represents. We look forward to recognizing everyone who is being honored this weekend, in addition to sharing some of our newest products and technologies with attendees.”
Described as “the Oscars with an urban flair,” there will be a bevy of awards presented at the event. Ford will also be showcasing several of their new models on site including the 2014 Fusion and 2015 Expedition. For more information about the event, visit the 2014 Ford Neighborhood Awards website here.
Manheim and AutoTrader.com recently presented the first-ever National Association of Minority Automobile Dealers (NAMAD) Innovation Award to a dealer who the companies described as having positively impacted organizations and the industry.
The 2014 NAMAD Innovation Award went to Steve Ewing, president and chief executive officer of Wade Ford of Smyrna, Ga. The award was presented to Ewing during a reception on Friday as part of the 2014 NAMAD Conference, held at the Fontainebleau last week.
“I am humbled by this award,” Ewing said. “It is very rewarding to be honored by NAMAD, but I must take a moment to credit my talented team at Wade Ford for their dedication to our customers, the dealership and the Ford brand.”
Ewing was selected as the first recipient of this award for the leadership he demonstrated through implementation and adoption of new technology and improvement of processes at Wade Ford. Under Ewing’s leadership, the 40,000 square-foot dealership recently underwent a $2 million renovation to help provide an enhanced customer experience at all the franchises’ touch points.
Ewing is also a multi-year recipient of the Ford Motor Company President’s Award. He also is a member of the Ford Dealership Advisory Board.
“We are grateful to Manheim and AutoTrader.com for the sponsorship of the conference and for the partnership on this award,” NAMAD president Damon Lester said. “We are pleased to honor Steve Ewing for his contributions to the automobile industry.”
During the selection process, the NAMAD board recommended members who embodied this award, and representatives from Manheim, AutoTrader.com, Kelley Blue Book, vAuto and VinSolutions voted on a recipient based on the following criteria:
• Demonstrates the ability to innovate, inspire and lead their organization and effect change, relevant to the industry
• Demonstrates the ability to create and implement a vision for their organization, and drive insights and opportunity through technology
• Demonstrates success at implementing or promoting technology, and applying it to people and processes that impact customer value
“We are proud to not only sponsor this award, but to be an important part of this conference,” said Bruce Jackson, vice president of sales for the Southeast division at AutoTrader.com. “It’s a privilege to honor Steve Ewing for the leadership he has shown at Wade Ford.”
A Detroit native, Ewing has held various positions in his 20-year career in the automotive industry, including salesman, sales manager, general manager and operator.
Ewing purchased Wade Ford, which started in Atlanta in the 1930s before moving to Smyrna in the 1980s, 12 years ago after selling his Ford dealership in Pennsylvania.
Wade Ford, located off South Cobb Drive near King Springs Road in Smyrna, was the first Motor Trend dealership, which ensures buyers of previously owned Ford vehicles that they are fully inspected and under warranty. The dealership averages 1,500 pre-owned and 1,400 new-vehicle sales annually.
On Monday, Ally Financial and TIME opened the nomination period for the 2015 TIME Dealer of the Year program, which has incorporated a new strategy to determine who will be in the running for the honor.
The process kicked off at the annual Automotive Trade Association Executives (ATAE) Summer Conference in Laguna Niguel, Calif.
This year, the winner and finalists will be selected by a panel composed of faculty from The Tauber Institute for Global Operations, a partnership between the Ross School of Business and the University of Michigan’s College of Engineering (CoE).
The panel will choose the 2015 finalists from each of the four National Automobile Dealers Association regions, and from those four finalists, the judges then will select the national winner.
ATAE, who represent state and metro area dealer associations throughout the country, can begin the process of selecting and nominating extraordinary dealers within their regions for the upcoming 2015 TIME Dealer of the Year award by visiting timedealeroftheyear.com.
To recognize the exemplary community involvement and leadership of these dealers, Ally provides a $1,000 grant to a qualified nonprofit organization chosen by each nominee, as well as additional grants for the winner and finalists.
The ATAE who nominates the 2015 TIME Dealer of the Year winner will also receive a $5,000 donation to the charity of their choice.
This year, Dennis Jungmeyer, of the Arkansas Automobile Dealers Association, nominated winner Jeff Teague, of Teague Auto Group in El Dorado, Ark. Jungmeyer chose to provide his grant to the CARTI Kids Program, which provides a support system for pediatric cancer patients. Ally has provided approximately $250,000 in grants to nonprofit organizations in connection with the TIME Dealer of the Year program.
Nominees for the 2015 award will be announced in October, and the winner will be named at the NADA Convention and Expo in San Francisco next January.
To learn more about the TIME Dealer of the Year program, visit timedealeroftheyear.com.
Risk management company Remarketing of America (ROA) launched a new program to recognize outstanding performance among auto auctions this week.
The company revealed its new ROA Blue Award program on Tuesday, which ranks auctions for their performance against its productivity scorecard.
Along with the announcement, the company reported its first set of winners for Q1, as follows:
- Northeast region: Manheim Ohio
- Southeast region: ADESA Atlanta
- Southwest region: Manheim Phoenix
- Midwest region: Manheim Milwaukee
- Northwest region: Brasher's Idaho
The scorecard is based on five areas of service, the company explained:
- Percentage of sell price compared to MMR (Manheim Market Report)
- Time/days to pick up
- Time/days to prepare condition report
- Number of arbitrations
- Time/days to release funds from sold units
“The ROA Blue Award program quantifies all the hard work each auction puts in to servicing our account and rewards those that go above and beyond. This program was designed by our new remarketing manager Kevin Parmenter and gives us greater purview over our auction network to assure outstanding customer service and identify areas of improvement,” said Emory White, ROA’s president and chief executive officer.
He continued, “This is an opportunity for us to closely monitor the auctions within our network and provide them with valuable feedback in the areas that are most important to the success of our clients, the auctions and ROA.”
The new program can also benefit auctions looking to stand out from competition.
Each quarter, auctions will receive a scorecard showing how their service levels compared with competitive auctions in the region.
On top of the regional winners, at the end of the year, ROA will honor the auction with the highest average score from all four quarters as the national auction of the year.
Topping the rankings in Strategic Vision’s 19th annual Total Quality Index (TQI) for 2014 are Tesla, Audi and Kia.
The honor for Best Model in Total Quality went to the Tesla Model S, garnering a near-perfect score on the TQI scale. Kia led the way in the mass market segment while Audi, followed closely by Jaguar, capped the luxury market.
Christopher Chaney, Strategic Vision’s senior vice president, uses Tesla as an example to recommend to automakers aim at appealing to customers with an ever-evolving knowledge of the auto market.
“Tesla built a vehicle that generated love in attributes that were most important to segment buyers,” Chaney said. “Tesla isn’t an electric vehicle that just has good features, but instead it’s a luxurious sports sedan that has ‘True Innovation’ as well as a rocket-like speed and drive feeling that just happens to be an electric vehicle.
“Consumers are powerful, have the Internet and know how to use calculators," he added.
Among the 28 separate TQI segments, 21 specific brands were represented with individual models ranking highest or near highest in each category, ranging from everything from small cars and coupes to heavy duty pickups and minivans. In addition to Tesla’s accolade, another good sign for the domestic market was represented by Ford, who had six separate top-ranked vehicles, with particular dominance shown in the pickup, utility and alternative powertrain categories. Chrysler Group followed closely behind with five vehicles listed.
Strategic Vision’s annual total quality assessment is powered by customer surveys, which gauge consumer opinions of various vehicle aspects, including reliability, problems, driving excitement and other measures. These responses are ranked on a seven-point scale, ranging from “Love-it, Delightful, Excellent and Satisfactory” to “Unsatisfactory, Failure and Hate-it.”
The complete 2014 TQI results reflect the top-ranked vehicles determined by collecting data from Strategic Vision’s study of 38,361 vehicle owners’ perception of their new vehicles and can be found here.
For a look at how this year’s rankings stack up to those from 2013, check it out here.
Flint Auto Auction recently picked up a pair of top awards from two of its commercial consignors — US Bank and Automotive Credit Corp.
First, the auction received a rare recognition from US Bank, which presented the auction with its Director’s Award for 2013. US Bank has presented this award only three times and honored Flint AA for 2013 as US Bank’s most outstanding auction in the nation.
“We are so pleased to receive this singular honor from US Bank,” Flint AA president Bill Williams, Jr. said. “We work hard to provide superior service to our customers and are thrilled to have those efforts recognized with the US Bank Director’s Award.”
Flint AA holds a sale for US Bank every other Wednesday.
“It takes a team to win an award of this caliber, and we recognize the extraordinary efforts put forth by everyone at Flint Auto Auction,” general manager Lawrence Cubitt. “Every single person at Flint Auto Auction contributes to our success.
“The US Bank Director’s Award is a confirmation of the hard work put forth by every member of our staff who goes above and beyond the call of duty to serve our customer,” Cubitt continued. “Staying late, working in the cold and snow, getting last minute repairs completed and processing reruns, are just a few of the special touches that distinguish Flint Auto Auction as an award-winning auction.”
Vice president John Luce also touched on Flint’s staff as part of the reason the operation can be award winning.
“There is no better team in the business than the team here at Flint Auto Auction,” Luce said. “We’re grateful for our partnership with US Bank and pledge to redouble our efforts to remain their top auction in the nation.”
The honors for Flint AA didn’t stop there. The auction has been named the nation’s top-performing auction for Automotive Credit, receiving the remarketer’s 2013 Auction of the Year Award.
In determining its leading auction, Automotive Credit scores its auction partners on all processes involved in bringing a vehicle to auction and selling it on the auction block.
“Automotive Credit Corporation is proud to acknowledge our vendors who work so hard to maximize our return on our assets. This is the first time we have given this award, and we are proud to recognize Flint Auto Auction as the 2013 Auction of the year,” said Greg Duff, remarketing manager for Automotive Credit.
Flint AA has been working with Automotive Credit since 2012, and conducts a sale for the subprime lender every other Wednesday.
“Being recognized as the top auction in the country for Automotive Credit Corp. is a tremendous honor for all of us at Flint Auto Auction,” Williams said. “Our commitment to providing unparalleled service is deeply ingrained in our culture here at Flint Auto Auction, and we work hard to make sure that our focus on customer service is evident in everything we do.
“We are delighted to receive the 2013 Auction of the Year Award from Automotive Credit Corp., and we share it with our auction team,” he added.
Luce reiterated the value of the operation’s personnel.
“Every member of the staff in every department at Flint Auto Auction contributes to our success,” Luce said. “Service is a team effort, and when we receive a superior grade for performance from the start of the auction process to the finish, we acknowledge the efforts of everyone who has a part in getting the job done, from transport to lot operations, from the shop technicians to the office staff, from the clerks and the auctioneers to the managers who ensure that the flow is smooth and our customers’ expectations are met.”
Cubitt closed by emphasizing what Flint AA tries to do on a regular basis.
“Going above and beyond the call of duty isn’t just a saying at Flint Auto Auction. It is something that happens every day,” Cubitt said. “We are proud of the results we achieve for our customers, particularly when our performance distinguishes Flint Auto Auction the No. 1 auction in the nation.”
Flint Auto Auction is a member of ServNet and has been serving dealers in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois and beyond since 1953.
In addition to dealer auctions, the operation also provides reconditioning, body and mechanical repair, marshaling and inspection services. More information on Flint AA can be found at www.flintaa.com.
The General Motors Regional Auction Operational Awards for the first quarter of 2014 were recently revealed, and taking home the honors were five auctions spread throughout the country.
By region, they were:
—North Central: Manheim Detroit
—North East: Pittsburgh Auto Auction
—South Central: ADESA Houston
—South East: Manheim Orlando
—West: ADESA Los Angeles
Manheim released a statement congratulating two auctions, Manheim Detroit and Manheim Orlando, that received honors.
“It is exciting anytime our auctions are honored by our customers,” said Mike McKinney, regional vice president for East Region Operations at Manheim. “These locations continually provide stellar customer service and help our customers achieve results. The staffs at Manheim Detroit and Manheim Orlando use their expertise and experiences to deliver solutions that help our customers succeed.”
Manheim and the National Independent Automobile Dealers Association took time at the annual NIADA Convention and Expo last week to recognize a dealership for its dedication to its community.
This past week, Manheim and NIADA presented the fourth annual NIADA Manheim National Community Service Award to Members Auto Choice of Suwanee, Ga.
Tim McKinley, senior vice president of sales for Manheim, presented Members Auto Choice with a check for $5,000 to be donated to Georgia Chapter of Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.), the dealership’s charity of choice.
The dealership’s community projects began with the purchase of a custom-made smoker they named “Ol’ Geeze Barbecue”.
The smoker was initially bought with the intent to rent it as an income generator for the business, but MAC leadership chose instead to use it in an effort to provide food at area charity events and donate the profits back to charity.
The slogan for “Ol’ Geeze Barbecue” is “Help MAC Give Back.”
“It’s a privilege to be able to honor Members Auto Choice for their commitment to the community,” said McKinley. “Independent auto dealers who share their time, talent and resources to improve the lives of others deserve to be honored. Michelle Groover and Dan Stryzinski of Members Auto Choice have embraced charitable giving and volunteerism through their support of more than 40 charities.”
Over the years, the dealership has sold food at 5K runs, festivals and other fundraising events throughout five counties in the northern Georgia area and donated the money to charities.
The company’s staff evaluates all the applications received for “Ol’ Geeze Barbecue,” and decides which charities will benefit from the fundraisers.
The list of charities supported by MAC includes Athens Community Council on Aging, Children’s Miracle Network, Concerns of Police Survivors , Gwinnett County Public Schools, Meals on Wheels, the National Football League Players Association, Relay for Life, Ronald McDonald House Charities, The Salvation Army, Shriners Hospitals for Children, Toys for Tots and The Will to Live Foundation.
“We are so pleased to support their outstanding community spirit and partnerships, and commend Michelle Groover and Dan Stryzinski and their team for their giving efforts in the metro Atlanta area,” NIADA president Keith Hagler said. “To reinforce its commitment to giving back, the dealership distinguished itself by raising money for more than 40 charities using their signature barbecue as a driving force.”
Two other dealerships were honored at the NIADA National Leadership Awards Banquet as finalists for the award, as well.
• Grant Motors & Mint Motors, Ft. Myers, Fla.
• Country Club Auto, Greenville, Ohio
