Spoils of Success
What if your next ad campaign was a huge success? What if you advertised in the local paper, and your sales suddenly skyrocketed? What if customers came into your dealership in droves because of a letter you mailed out? You’d be announcing your retirement, I bet. Not so fast. Before you quit your day job,
13 Hidden Sales Boosters: Sales Sagging? Pick Them Up With These Not-So-Secret Opportunities
“Dang it! This is the fourth month we haven’t made our sales target. What’s going on? I’ll bet it was that last price increase. Those tire companies just keep hitting us for more and more, and we can barely get any tires! And, betcha that new discounter in the next town is getting all my
Steel Makeover: There Are Savings, But Not Without Concerns
If you’re a tire dealer that currently provides steel wheel refinishing to your commercial truck tire customers, it may be to your benefit to take a close look at recent progress in new machinery and processes for inspecting and refinishing wheels. If you’re a fleet maintenance manager facing dozens of well-used steel wheels, it®™s a
Staying Out of the Courtroom: Is Being Sued Inevitable? Maybe. Here’s What You Should Know If the Gavel Drops
“See You in Court.” Today, that’s just a fancy way of saying, “Goodbye.” Unfortunately, that’s often the harsh truth when your employees, your customers or government agencies utter that short but terrifying sentence. So, how can you stay out of court? And, how do you keep from panicking if and when someone says those ominous
Get Hitched!: Selling Specialized Trailer and RV Tires Easy Money for Dealers
Trailers and RVs are hot right now, and selling specialized tires for them can mean easy money for dealers Rick Coffey is feeling pretty good these days. As product manager for the high-speed division of Carlisle Tire and Wheel Co., which offers trailer tires, Coffey has watched his sales skyrocket. All high-speed tire plants are
Tuning In: How a Pennsylvania Dealer Tapped into a Growing Market
You wouldn’t expect the northeast quadrant of Pennsylvania to be a high performance hotbed. Four-wheel drive pickups and SUVs would be more like it. But from Scranton and Wilkes-Barre south to Allentown and Harrisburg, the high performance market did grow, aided by the emerging tuner segment and the proliferation of high-end sports cars. Well-heeled customers
A ‘Direct’ Mandate
Since last year, the writers of the rules have been working overtime at what might be D.C.’s most harried agency, NHTSA. It started in August 2003, when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit tossed out NHTSA’s call for indirect tire pressure monitoring systems (TPMS) in its final rulemaking on the subject.
Big Bang Theory
Experts say that if a football field-sized meteor hit our little planet, the resulting cataclysm would pretty much end all life as we know it. Giant dust storm blots out the sun, temperatures fall, nothing grows®ƒyou know the story. Did you ever wonder what would happen if an equally large unheavenly body unexpectedly crashed to
Five Ways to Slash Insurance Costs
Take control of rising premiums. Learn from those who’ve done it. These days, Bob Malerba, owner of Malerba’s Silver City Tire Co., is feeling a lot better about the cost of his business insurance. Just 18 months ago, Malerba was at his wits end as he helplessly watched his insurance rates skyrocket. Malerba knew he
Industry Report
Reports Say Georgia Site of Planned Toyo PlantIt’s existing capacity stretched to the limit, Toyo Tire & Rubber Co. took a giant step forward, announcing on Feb. 17 plans for a new $150-million passenger and light truck/SUV tire plant that would come on stream in 2006. News reports out of Atlanta in early February indicated the company received approval to build the plant in Bartow County, Ga., about 60 miles north of Atlanta. Toyo said the plant would have the capacity to produce two million consumer tires per year.