Ziegler Supersystems, Inc. April 2004 Dealer Magazine Article |
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A Moment Like This ...Some
people wait a lifetime for a moment like this Written by: Unknown In everyone's life there's that moment. Well...actually, there are many moments that collectively make up the memories that are the fabric of our existence. It was during the 2004 NADA Convention in Las Vegas that I experienced several of those moments. Remember, it was Super Bowl weekend, and no...no...sneaking a peek at Janet Jackson's boob wasn't a very special moment in my life...no way. The truth of the matter is this is my time. I feel very optimistic about my personal future and the future of our industry. By the time this article is published, spring will be in full bloom and the earth will once again be reborn. It is the time to plan new and exciting things. The moment...that very special moment came on the Friday night before the convention officially started. I had performed two keynote speeches that day in two different hotels and I was exhausted. My wife Debbie and the women on my staff were out on the town...you know, girls' night out in Las Vegas. I was happy they had the opportunity to get out and do it. Me...I took this opportunity to hit the tables. Of course, those of you who know me, you know I will drink a little and gamble a lot whenever the opportunity presents itself. Here I was sitting at the Three-Card Poker table at the Las Vegas Hilton....with my wife's full permission, no less. I love Three-Card Poker...I think it's the best game in the house. Well, here's the scenario...I was playing $25 chips...$50 on the top spot and $25 on the Ante Bet. Up and Down...Up and Down...I won some and lost some....sort of breaking even. After about four hours of this my eyes were starting to cross. Right about then my friend, John Absher, from American Financial, dropped by the table and said... "Hey Jim, we're having a big party over at Benehana's Japanese Steak House...why don't you join us?" "Well," I said... "Hey look John, I have the night off without my wife to play cards all by myself...you know...If you don't mind, I think I'll pass this time." John and the rest of the guys from American Financial headed off into the crowd and I went back to playing cards. About two minutes later it hit me... I said to myself... "Ziegler, you dumbass, you just passed up an expensive free meal!" Luckily though, I realized there was still time to catch up with the guys before they got inside the restaurant. So I pushed all of my chips out onto the table. I was playing Kamikaze poker now...living life large...Jim Ziegler style. The strong manly stench of testosterone hung heavy in the air...this is a man thing. There was more than $260 on each of the top two slots....I was betting near the table limit...big time. In effect, this was what I call my walk-away hand...you know, we've all done it...win or lose....and it don't matter which. Adrenaline was throbbing through my veins; pulsing at my temples...I could feel my heart pounding. It don't get any better than this. The dealer dealt the cards...I picked them up and looked at them for a long time in total disbelief... It was a straight flush...A straight flush, the highest hand you can get in this game...and it pays 40 to 1 odds. I had just won more than $13,000 on a single hand. I was yelling so loud that everyone in the entire casino got involved... shouting at the top of my lungs raising my hands above my head screaming out... "I am the man!" For the rest of my life, this will be the hand I talk about whenever the subject comes up...the hand of a lifetime..."Some people wait a lifetime for a moment like this." Well folks, I've had more than my fair share of special moments over the last couple of decades. I am the consummate Cinderella story in our industry. Last October I wrote an article in this magazine titled appropriately enough... "Damn It's Fun Being Me". Somebody's Gotta Die In part I wrote at that time... "Now analysts are saying that the Japanese and the Koreans intend to dump nearly two million additional units annually into the US market in the next few years. Even if the US market rises to saturation levels above 18 million new vehicle sales...It's a mathematical certainty...the market can't support that production.. .we're over the point of saturation... unfortunately somebody's gotta die." Wouldn't you know it? Speaking to the prestigious Society of Automotive Analysts last month, Professor Garel Rhys, director of the Centre for Automotive Industry research at Cardiff University in Wales, expressed his views, predictions and opinions concerning the future of the auto industry globally. Astoundingly, Professor Rhys predicted that manufactures will collectively produce more vehicles in the next 20 years than they did in the first 110 years. In other words this British dude is saying we'll be seeing a glut of cars exceeding 90 million units produced compared to only 50 million units today. Rhys went on to say that we will need an additional 180 new vehicle assembly plants able to produce 300,000 units annually per location.... at a cost to the industry (manufacturers passed on to the dealers) of in excess $80 trillion. He went on to regurgitate that the industry is currently operating at a rate of eight million units excess capacity... thus he concluded that is why it's a buyer's market. Professor Rhys deduced from his research that this problem will continue to plague the industry into the long-range foreseeable future. Bear in mind that Professor Rhys probably received a standing ovation from this audience of his peers...I suspect aristocracy and blueblood in abundance in that audience. We're talking about people who would never dream of peeing in a toilet unless it contained blue water. Of course, you guys and gals had the advance pleasure of reading it in this column six months ago written by a street-wise high school graduate from the west side of Jacksonville. S'cuse me professor...I will say it again...In the US market ( which, incidentally, is all I personally really give a damn about) in the next few years the manufacturers plan to dump more new cars than the market can possibly absorb.... Somebody's Gonna Die. Okay, let's get ready to rumble. If you've followed my ravings and ramblings over the last few years, you know that I have been repeatedly calling on DaimlerChrysler Corporation to take advantage of its incredible heritage and re-introduce a retro-designed Hemi-Cuda. Of course the Germans don't get it. They never cruised around a hamburger stand in a muscle car when they were kids like so many of us did. My memories of youth all revolve around a bad-ass Dodge Super Bee that I owned back in 1968. I'm sorry that they were kicking around soccer balls wearing those little leather shorts while we was all out cruisin'. Well maybe...just maybe, these guys are catching on. I can't help myself, I really like these guys. This guy Wolfgang Bernard with his theatrics... you can't help but applaud every time he shows up. When he drove the Chrysler ME Four-Twelve supercar onto the stage at the Detroit auto show in January you knew this guy has cajones. He demanded that the engineers produce a car with zero to 60 capability in less than three seconds... When I saw that photo of Wolfgang on the motorcycle on the front cover of the Snooze I had déjà vu memories of Arthur Fonzarelli (The Fonz) on Happy Days. Now the guy's back off to Germany to try to pull Mercedes out of the ditch after BMW has been regularly kicking its ass. Of course, I've always liked Dieter...even though the jury is still out as to whether or not he can turn the company. The biggest positive about Wolfgang (what a cool name huh?) is that he reminds me of a young European Bob Lutz...a superior product guy...a perfectionist...an innovator. Okay, here's the deal...Auto Snooze broke the story on March 8 in an article by Rick Kranz that Chrysler has plans to resurrect the Dodge Charger nameplate featuring the new Hemi engine. The timing is perfect, what with all of the youth enthusiasm for "The Fast and the Furious" movies starring Vin Diesel. (If you don't know who Vin Diesel is...don't admit it, you'll appear to be the dinosaur that you are). Remember, in the original "Fast and Furious" Vin Diesel drove a vintage Hemi Charger. I have got to warn the Germans... don't blow it. You've got a shot at greatness here. The shot in the arm your passenger car business really needs. Don't make the same mistake that General Motors and Ford have made in recent years by putting a brand equity nameplate on a piece of crap. A few years ago when General Motors put the Malibu name on a damn Opel piece of junk, I wanted to barf. I am holding my breath hoping the new GTO will be winner. Manufacturers have got to be very careful when they bring back a nameplate that has that kind of history. Be sure when you return to the Charger nameplate that the car has some lines reminiscent of the original 1968-70 Chargers. The new Chrysler 300 Hemi is going to be one hell of a great car but the Charger doesn't need to resemble it in any way. Truthfully, I believe the return to a rear wheel drive performance model will only enhance brand image. If the law enforcement community likes the car it will be an extremely profitable project all around. As for the Pacifica...I don't think that pig is ever going to fly. As I said previously, it's the second time Celine Dion had the opportunity to sing the theme song from Titanic. Mitsubishi chasing mature buyers While Daimler is re-inventing Chrysler and Dodge, Mitsubishi is chasing a more mature buyer. I'm a little worried about Mitsubishi's new marketing strategy...Get this...the honest truth...no lie...I am not making this up: The man heading up Mitsubishi's marketing effort is a guy named "Beavis". Did I mention that my son, Zachary, is now 15 years old? If you have teenagers, no doubt you've heard of the cartoon characters Beavis and Butthead. Well, I am assuming that Butthead must have been one of those Canadian ex-Saturn guys with good hair that has recently left the building...but... this guy's name is really Ian Beavis. Well, now that I've had my little joke at Mr. Beavis' expense let me say that I think this guy is definitely the right guy...with the right plan...at the right time. When I broke the story that Mitsubishi was in financial trouble months before the mainstream industry press got wind of it, I was highly critical of Pierre Gagnon's perceptually asinine, as in evidently and apparently conceptually moronic, youth targeted marketing philosophy...in other words, putting teeny boppers in $25,000 rides with loose credit criteria. At that time many people were, as usual, upset with me. History once again vindicated me. Now, Ian Beavis is saying what I was saying all along: "We were all over the map with our communication and trying to sell cars to kids," he said. "It's a great brand, and it needs to be focused...Even on the dealer level, we talked about the deal, not the benefits of the vehicles. We pigeonholed ourselves to a finite group, and, the fact is, we have great products for the masses." There you have it...Mitsubishi's new marketing guru quoting Ziegler in national press conferences. In previous articles I emphatically told my dealer friends to avoid Mitsubishi franchises as if they had the plague. Now, exactly the opposite...I can see Mitsubishi rapidly returning to a respectable position in the market. My newfound positive outlook concerning Mitsubishi comes from a return to sanity in its marketing concept...the fact that it got rid of all of that pompous dead weight at the top of the organization....and...the fact that the new management team is made up of some of the brightest, most talented top management in the industry today. I have always liked Finbarr O'Neill when he was with Hyundai and, I think he was the perfect choice for the Germans to bribe away with promises of greater positions with Daimler once he cleans up this mess. (Speculation based on the fact that I have an IQ superior to an earthworm). Of course, now they've thrown Renschler in the briar patch. I never doubted that Mitsubishi would survive...and actually, I always knew this story would turn out okay in the end. The reason...isn't it obvious? DaimlerChrysler has a dog in this fight! With Daimler owning more than 37 percent of Mitsubishi did you really think it was going to sit by and watch these allegedly bumbling Canadian ex-Saturn incompetents with good hair flush this puppy down the toilet? I think not! Andreas Renschler will replace former Mitsubishi CEO Rolf Eckrodt, who is reportedly voluntarily retiring (snicker). In other words, Eckrodt's contract is about to expire and there is apparently a fat chance anyone will be jumping up and down trying to get his contract extended. I still liked it better when they ripped the buttons off their uniforms and made them march off into the sunset. This guy Renschler is one of the top guns in the organization with an incredibly good track record. He revived Mercedes more than a decade ago when the franchise was headed in the same direction as Oldsmobile and Buick. As I mentioned in previous articles and speeches...look for Daimler to pump a larger investment into Mitsubishi. Now, you know I love my Cadillacs Currently driving my fourth Escalade and now my wife Debbie is stylin' and profilin' in our incredible new Cadillac XLR. Let me tell you something...I love Bob Lutz...he is one of the greatest innovators of our time in this industry...but...all of the credit and praise for the renaissance of the Cadillac brand belongs to John Smith. It was Smith who took the chances and staked his career on the Evok grille and the stealth fighter lines that have set sales on fire. This was in motion long before Lutz came into the organization. Of course, you may remember, my Escalade has 23-inch Ice Metal Rims and a custom grille and gold package emblems. Jokingly, I once said all I need now is a doo-rag...a posse...and a rap group. Did you see the front cover of the March 1 issue of Auto Snooze? I am looking at it as I write these words and laughing so hard that vintage cognac is spewing out my nose. There he is bigger than life on the front page of Automotive News...Andre' 3000...the hip-hop rapper with Outkast. Bigger than life with his big natural fro and ample bling-bling (I can relate to that). Believe it or not...I am actually somewhat of an Andre' 3000 fan. You just gotta love that video where he plays like seven or eight different characters. The caption on the picture reads... "Don't want to meet your daddy...just want you in my Caddy." It seems that General Motors actually has offered a title of "King of Bling" to the rapper or athlete who can best trick out a Caddy or Hummer. This is incredible marketing. Tell me; 10 years ago would you have ever believed Cadillac would appeal to the youth market...or the ethnic urban market? Under John Smith's leadership and Lutz's genius, this manufacturer is product-driven and fighting its way back from the depths of the hole I believe Zarella dug. Speaking of product driven... Ford is about to come thundering back into high visibility this summer with the reintroduction of the Ford GT. Street-legal at 500 horsepower...this car is more about making a statement than it is about profitability. Of course the real story might conceivably be the new Mustang. With Firebird and Camaro out of the picture, the new retro designed Mustang is going to be virtually standing alone in its class. I gotta tell ya...I want one and I am going to get one. I think Ford is banking on the new Ford 500 to revitalize its passenger car segment, replacing the ugly-ass Taurus that isn't even a good program car anymore. Truthfully, I am excited to see Ford finally making the attempt to come back with great product after nearly two decades of chasing technology solutions and cost-cutting idiocy. Nissan dealers are telling me that now that the franchise is on fire the company has started to develop an arrogant attitude toward its retailers. It seems like the DOMs are starting to make a muscle and some dealers feel they are being shoved around a little. Well, all I can say about that is these guys and gals stuck by Nissan when this franchise was the biggest loser on the planet. I would like to remind Nissan that your dealers carried your allegedly sorry asses when you could hardly give your cars and trucks away. Now that your ship has arrived, how dare you cop an attitude with your retailers. You, Nissan, the manufacturer, should step back and reassess your priorities. You know, all in all, this is one of the most positive articles I have been able to write in a long time. Oh, there are always going to be some things you can write about concerning the idiotic things this factory or that one is doing...but...for the most part, it's really starting to get good again. I would appreciate it if you factory guys and gals would please do something really stupid or evil soon so I can write a really good nasty article next month. As it is...I am sitting here in a hotel room in California wrapping this article up at the stroke of midnight. I just returned from a four-day weekend with my family and in-laws in Biloxi, MS where we stayed at the Beau Rivage resort (and Casino) Yep...that's right, I was playing cards again just two days ago...Three-Card Poker as a matter of fact. Well, in Mississippi the table limit is only $200 a spot on each hand maximum. So there was no way I was going to do what I did in Vegas...impossible. But...there was that one moment where I bet table limit...$200 a spot for three hands in a row...and I lost all three hands. Debbie and my father-in-law and my sister-in law were sitting there when the dealer dealt the fourth hand...I looked at the cards and a scream came up from the bottom of my throat that shook the very foundations of the casino. People came from all over the building to see what was going on...why was this man yelling? You see the dealer had dealt me three sevens...three of a kind pays 30 to 1 and I had $200 on two spaces. The house paid me over $6,800 on that one hand. You know folks...some people wait a lifetime for moments like these. It's that time again. Swirling vintage cognac in a plastic cup...I've done this before. Now, a weary warrior's sitting here writing late at night. I have to be up at 6 to do an in-house seminar at a dealership. But, you know what? It don't get any better than this. I am so grateful for my friends. Please write to me about your issues and concerns. If you wish to discuss this article with other dealers, or with the author, please go to the "Discussion Forums" at www.DEALER-magazine.com and enter the "Dealer Advocate" forum
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