This is one of my all time favorite posts on Dealer Refresh. It never got the attention that I thought it would get.

With the shift in the market, this might be a good time for some of us to revisit this one.

I encourage everyone to not just scan this, but stop and think about it. Consider how this fits into our specific business models.

We have unquestionably been in a Funnel based industry for the past couple years. This is changing fast.

If you've ever driven an EV for a few weeks, ICE seems soooo last century.. (kinda like me! hahaha )

playersclubcars said:

They want electric vehicles. However, a lot of customers don't know that they want an electric vehicle. For example, the Mercedes GLB-Class is a popular model because it's reasonably priced and looks the part. A lot of GLB shoppers don't even know an electric EQB exists! When they find out that they could get an electric version and possibly some free charging credits, then it's an easy switch to that model. It's the same vehicle so there's a good chance they'll go with the one that's slightly easier to maintain.

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Why are so many aging on Mercedes dealers' lots? @Jeff Kershner - how are the EVs moving at your store? How do the older buyers feel about them?

kylewilliam said:

I'm an electric vehicle lover and study Marketing in the UK. I have been paying attention to electric cars for a long time since I first saw a Tesla Model X on the road in China in 2017. It was a really amazing car that I cannot move my eyes from it. However, when I came to the UK for my master degree, I found the electric cars are not very popular. So I'm curious about the reasons why people will choose electric cars especially the high-end/ luxury electric vehicles from top brands like Tesla, Jaguar and BMW etc. For me, I like the performance and high tech provided by the electric vehicles.

By the way, l have to say all responses are anonymous and individual respondents will not be identified by name in the final report. You are also advised that you may withdraw at anytime. The project has been subject to ethical review in accordance with the procedures specified by the University of Reading Research Ethics Committee and has been given a favourable ethical opinion for conduct.

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Can you share it with us?

By the way, I'm starting to notice more and more EV's here in rural Missouri.

Here's the thing, if they can get the infrastructure right (many would say this is still a big if) I believe that there is a portion of the "undecided" that will get into an electric vehicle and drive it and will never want an ICE vehicle again. There is, of course, the "over my dead body" crowd, but, as always, you have to decide whether there are enough people in that crowd to matter. IF you can get the infrastructure right, if that number is only 20% it might make sense to continue to move forward. As I always tell my people, don't tailor what you do to the 20%. Do what works for the 80%. Where I struggle is the economic/resources/environment side of things. I hate that, as with most controversial things, it is about impossible to decipher what is real and what is propaganda. That being from both sides.

Customers do not want EVs.

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I really beg to differ. I want an EV, but I don't want a current generation EV. Right now, the battery technology requires the battery temperature to operate within a required range. And the electrolyte is flammable. Next generation batteries won't have this problem and the energy density will be better. Plus the charging infrastructure sucks right now.

I think we'll be in this weird transitory period for a while. But I think the writing is on the wall. The gains from technology in electric outpace combustion.

I think it's a mistake to think automakers slowing EV investments is a signal they're looking to abandon the technology. It's just that it's taking longer than anticipated. Overall I think it's a multi-generation technology ramp and the world is going to require a lot more energy than available today.

No one is buying an F-150 Lightening and accepting of the 75 mile range when towing their boat or a camper. That's ridiculous.

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Yea 100%. But the Lightning is an awesome product for those it's designed for. Contractors, fleet vehicles, etc. They said up front if you're looking for a highway vehicle this isn't for you. If I had a construction company I'd have one.

EV's aren't for everyone. It's early technology. Remember plasma TVs? Twenty years goes by and you can buy a 85" 4K TV that weighs under 50 lbs for under $1,000. Just have to be patient...

Customers do not want EVs.

I feel if the government (Federal and some states) would've let the market dictate, these manufacturers would have pushed the hybrid game significantly and we would have higher acceptance than we currently do.

Problem is 1000% the government.

For instance, mfgs could build fun/exciting EVs and use technology like BMW's "range extender" which is a small gas engine that provides 20-40 additional miles if battery power is drained so that you do not have the risk of being stranded.

Then further more - in Europe the range extender can be utilized when battery % is at 70 or 50% but in the US it can only be utilized at 5% (or 10%, I don't recall the exact cut off). and this is entirely because it wouldn't be classified as an EV and meet arbitrary US Gov't standards.

No one is buying an F-150 Lightening and accepting of the 75 mile range when towing their boat or a camper. That's ridiculous.

How many of these Tesla owners are going to be buying another one?
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I'm onboard the EV train and not just for auto's but for powersports, boats, motorcycles, etc. The gains from engineering just run circles around what you can do with traditional combustion products. If you watch the battery day video from Tesla last year and what one of their co-founders is doing with his startup, using safe materials and recycling are problems they're solving now. But the critiques for today's tech are completely fair. I think it's going to take longer for OEMs to deliver compelling EVs that sell but I think ultimately the writing is on the wall, the world is moving away from combustion motors large and small.

Yet another Tesla leap forward.
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So many EV stuff coming into my desk

GM to introduce 23 new EVs by 2025.

Did you see the new Tesla interior?

1. The new steering wheel is more like a video game.
2. Look at all the new interior shots, THEY ALL HAVE THE SAME INTERIOR (save $ and ordering complexity is gone).
3. Elon looks at manufacturing like it's a science project. He will manuf'er 1million units per yr out of the CA factory alone.

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Whitney Williams said:

Alex, I hear your point. The crudeness wasn't necessary to make it.

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When it comes to political hot potatoes it is.

Our society wishes mankind to evolve far beyond what evolution will allow. We are forced to be politically correct to go along when we are actually emotional beings at our core. We disagree on things, but if society has a different "popular" perspective our voice is not allowed to be heard. Because we are still emotional beings at our core, the popular perspective is usually free to grow without reason; saturated in emotion.

I punch through with crudeness. My aim is to bring reason back into the conversation, or maybe just my emotional take.

This is DealerRefresh. It is full of car dealers. Electric Vehicles, to date, have translated into one word for dealers: Tesla. This is a company who has been spitting on car dealers by trying to break down the franchise laws that allow car dealers to exist. If they were to be successful DealerRefresh would also cease to exist. This is topic that is deeply rooted in emotion for people who participate on this website.

Whitney, I'm not holding you at fault for the topic. And I do like the kind of driving thrills EVs provide. I'll probably own one when OEMs like Mercedes, Porsche, Ford, BMW, etc are selling them through their dealer networks. The point of my crude post was to point out how silly society is about these things and bring the reason back about what is truly being done to manufacture them.

If you've ever driven an EV for a few weeks, ICE seems soooo last century.. (kinda like me! hahaha )

Jacob... please clarify #2, are you saying that dealership website URL and Vehicle Website URL on facebook would be the same?

it's is just a big problem... either vendors (me) have not educated the client/sold them junk, the turn over at the dealership... or just lack of no one taking charge of things... what are we dealing with 20-30+ vendors for online marketing... look at the mix for inventory feeds, DMS, Lot Management Companies, Pricing Tools, Website Vendors, 360 Vendors, Video Vendor, Inventory Managers, Distribution, PPC companies, chat vendors... just thinking about this hurts... and no wonder... its like just f*** it, its at least up their...

Any thoughts on photos of in-transit or ordered vehicles? We have some dealers who are applying cloned images to incoming units. We will do whatever the dealer wishes although I typically advise them to put an "in-transit" stamp on the image or in the listing for at least some disclosure but I'm curious to others thoughts on this.

Had a demo for one of our pre-owned lots with ACE/CarsDirect AKA "Auto Credit Express" and the product rep was completely unaware of the Oct 19th changes to targeting of "credit". Part of their presentation deck specifically points to their credit keyword and zip-code strategies with Google SEM. @jon.berna they would have to be directly impacted in their ability to drive credit shoppers to their aggregator sites, wouldn't they? How does this impact this particular lead segment in our industry? Or does it just drive up their expense in those (broad vs targeted) campaigns and they shouldn't really see a change in their ability to provide credit leads?

Stop featuring liars and frauds and just make @jon.berna a regular visitor. He's one of a very few actually helping dealerships and honestly. Pasch is jealous.

Ok, how did this happen? Is this a disgruntled past employee that did this? It is only appearing on the GMB Map, and not on Google Maps.

Jeff Kershner said:

"Penis Puffers"

WOW. Funny, not funny.

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In this entire thread, nobody has put the word "Penis Puffers" into the text. If we start ranking for penis puffers, I know who to thank

Rick Buffkin said:

Man... These reviews are seriously cracking me up!!!

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I am trying to remember a time that I laughed this hard while on Dealer Refresh.

"Now I have another restraining order on my record". That is just fabulous!

Man... These reviews are seriously cracking me up!!!

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I guess it takes a little longer for the Map to update.

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Woah, that is some serious damage, these guys are just north of our home in Ohio. Name is changed back, but got seriously review-bombed over the last 24 hours.