1. Analyst: End of Dealers as we Know Them'
By Joseph Cabadas of (Aug. 10), are a thing of the primarily through the dealers and make out like bandits."
ws Director past." ·the companies n v r heard from David Lewis , University
This view was somewhat echoed the customer again until It . was Michigan business prof sor,
qual e-GM, but does tX:iM by George Colony, president and tlm to purchase a new car," the .that e-comrnerc Is the wav
r
equal the end of automotive deal- founder of the Massachusetts- former 'executive said. "Most pea- the future for retailing, whl
. we know them? based Forrester Associates mar- . pie feel that going to a car dealer 'deals can be made quickly.
General Motor Corp. unveiled keting service, and Scott McNealy, is like having root canal surgery, "Any steps made by Gen
Its new business group. e-GM, to president and chief executive ot­ however." Motors or anyone else Into
the world Aug. 10. L~M, accord- lIcer of . Sun Mlcrosystems of The creation of OnStar is ' a merce strengthens their posit
Ing to the automaker, will tncor- California, who both participated prime example of how .GM can all to the good," Lewis said, "8
porate all of its electronic bust- in the e-GM announcement. now directly keep 1n contact with it's easy to mak a :deal and
n S5 initiatives, including the By 2003, nearly half of all vehl­ customers, provldirig Information oth r.thing to implement It."
OnStar emergency/information ser- de purchases (8 million out of 16 continuously. pius, customers University 01Detroit-M rcy bl
vice and GM BuyPower, its cur- · million) in North America will be - have a relationship .with GMAC ness professor Michael Whl
r nt Internet buying site. · . bought directly on the Internet or (G nera! Motors Acceptance Corp.) said that e-commerce means II
The automaker intends to pro- Influenced by consumers' use of and through the GM Credit Card, you can order your car on I
vide Its customers with a greater the Internet, Colony said. the executive said. Internet. 1hat means you can
access to a wider range of prod- "People want to buy a car when ­ . The creation of e-GM means' that regrate sales and communlcatl
ucts .and services while working they want to buy a car." McNealy · the company's relationship with and service with e-comrn rc
In partnership with its dealers to .said. "The Instantaneous, sponta­ Its buyers will change, but there the Internet." Whitty said. "COl
make the y tem work.accordlng neous impulse buying can be sat­ is no reason why the dealers can't companies hav enough imillli
to GM Pr Ident and Chief Isfled right then and there and . be Involved, the former executive tlon and bravery, making 'us
Op rating Officer G. Richard now (with e-GM) and that's huge added." . their p oplc's talents, and h
Wagoner Jr., EXecutive Vice Presi- - as opposed to getting in your . The' use of the Internet is a 'the know-how to leap outside I
dent Ronald L. Zarrella and Mark car and going somewhere to go micro-leap lorward for the auto transportation industry? That':
T. Hogan, group vice president do this kind of thing." companies, said Myron Stokes, ..good question;
and head of e-GM. McNealy also said that he could -chlel executive officer of Automo- "All the trends In the
E-commerce will provide "one see auto dealers becoming more tlve Intelligence Group and pub- decade have shown the autom
seamless way for one-stop' shop- servlce-orlented, rather than . fo­ Ilsher of the eMotiun!.auto maga- ers divesting their non-core bl
pingacrossGM's broad spectrum cusing so much on new car sales. zlne. · · . nesses. Maybe they (GM) h
of products and services," Zarrella Yet, almost unnoticed, was an The Internet Is a "form of com- taken a long look at the futur
Id. It is not the Intention .of. the announcement made three we ks munlcations that is per onally em- transportation." :
e-GM Initiative to "blow up exist- ago that the Penske Auto Group' powering ... but In a way that we The new manufacturing t
lng systems" but rather to ·"har- . has signed an agreement to pro­ can, right now, only barely com- nology that Is becoming avalla
monlz them," he added. vide service for GM, Toyota and prebend," Stokes said. ·"The sky is will require' compani s to Ie
Wagon r said that -GM will In- Honda vehicle owners, the auto the limit - maybe the universe - the old system behind, one
elude all of the corporation's e- . analyst said. . and GM Is wise to have acknowl- dustry analy t said .
comm rand el ectronic cornrnu- "They are eliminating the dealer . edged th immediacy of the 'Net." "If you don't move in lock st
nlcations capabilities all over the network as we know it," the ana­ Still, Stokes noted that it has . you will b left behind;" the a
globe "and It lays the groundwork ' Iyst continued. "Then there's the been stated in the press recently . Iyst said. "The unions are at I
for us to think about our whole ' DaimlerChrysler deal with CarMmc that th shift of Ford to a con- . crossroads along with the m
bu in -model." and Ford's e-commerce. partner- sumer company that provides au- ' facturers and d alers,
Hogan added that the·e-GM bus1- ship with AutoNation that hints of to motive products might mean "We are gomg to sec the sw
ne Initiative will change GM something similar." that Ford and now GM are prepar- Ing away 01 the last v stlg
Irom "an auto company that moves A former General Motors exec­ Ing to get out of the carrnaktng the conventional 'fay of buil
on an automotive time .Irame to utlve, who spoke on the condition business ' and become marketing and sclltng cars - the proc
an automotive company that of ·anonymity, said that the .ere­ entities, with other automakers' just about done. ·Thls cur
mov on the Internet." : . atlon of e-GM ties Into a lot of el- following suit. round ot negotiations are jusl
a n automotive. Industry ana- forts made by Phil Guarasio, GM's "Right now, the megasuppliers stopgap for what must be
Iyst Id that the GM oftlctal's • advertising and marketing vice - the Delpht's.end Magna's of the dressed In the very near futur
comment have done nothing to president, to strengthen the No. I · world - are already capable of "That's why GM will be stn
allay the fears of auto dealers. automaker's relationship with Its producing cars and building an au- , the. talk of Ford
" he long and short of It Is that customers and improve brand: tomobile," Stokes said. "The .orlg- DaimlerChrysler be !g strike t
GM is going into direct sales - management. Inal equipment.· manufacturers g ts arelust shots across the
to s II and deliv r cars to buyers," ."In th past , the automakers' could design a product, license its The UAW will have to take on
the analyst said. "The dealers, as customer relations were handled production, get the royalties and take out GM."
Dealers Say'·that They Already Are .GM's .Partners
By Joseph Cabadas puzzled by comments made by GM terests to order cars oil the tomers," MacEachrcn said. "If
New Dir tor President G. Riel! rd Wagoner Jr., Internet If this works. It Is very took someone blindfolded inl
EXecutive Vice President Ronald L. difficult today for me to see how Saturn store and took the bl
General Motors Corp. plans to Zarrella and Group Vice Presld nt this is going to work." fold 011, they would know th
u e It new e-GM Initiative to let Mark T. Hogan that General Mo­ Ron .MacEachrell, g neral man­ in a Saturn store."
customers find products and ser- tors was going to try to ' partner ager of Saturn of Southgate and Yet GM hasn't Issued a i
vlce a effortlessly as po sibly. wilh dealerships. Saturn of Troy, which is owned b Intern t dir tive (or
.R t , ner-of·-Stl~torl-- ( J ha e been part- the uburban Collection, said that and Buick Irancht es, Shelton
Ponti -Bulck and chairman for ners with .GM as long as they've Saturn Corp. has been , on th . "Part Of my involvem 'lit
the upcoming orth American been in business. for 70 some fring of GM's oper tlons with its the Detroit Auto Dealer As
Internati onal Auto Show In D troit, years," helton said. "I don't think other franchises. tion has b n on our w bstte
i c ncerned about how e-GM and our way of doing bu lness is bro- ' -J look at two sep rate compo­ the Detroit Auto how, plu
oth r e-comrn rce lnltlatlv s by .ken. People will still want to go nents - I .ee wha GM 'ts doing own used car website," Sh
utorn k rs will "shak out down some place to touch, ' feel and ' with e-cornrnerc as a globally said .