Rival Santa Cruz to be cancelled

[Scott Asheville]

• If you have done your research and negotiations online, know what you want, know what you are going to pay, then it's an easy 30 minute transaction, fully negotiated before you've even stepped in the door. You're there to sign papers that have already been emailed or texted to you as a pdf, and reviewed at your leisure.
• If you have no clue or just hate the process, your best option is something like CarEdge - use a car buying service.
• If you hate your local dealership, this is 2026. You have access to any dealership in the USA. There is this magical thing called the Internet. You happen to be on it right now.
• If you don't even know what you want, your best option is to attend a major auto show. At a show, you can sit in pretty much every vehicle sold in the USA with no sales people in sight, but friendly OEM reps handy to answer your questions. And you can often test drive vehicles at auto shows.
• If you don't watch or read several professional reviews of the vehicle you want to buy, then don't whine when you miss something that they pointed out in the review.
• If you still hate dealerships, buy a Tesla or Rivian or Scout or Slate. No dealerships.

If you walk onto a dealer lot wearing a big sign saying "I am here to take my car buying 101 exam without having done any homework", well, you might get lucky and stumble onto a salesman with a heart of gold at a dealership that cares about your wallet more than their wallet. Could happen.

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[MaverickDragon]

OTOH, some people's "raisin detra" (raison d'être - reason for being) is to complain.
Also easier on the ego to blame everyone and everything else than on one's own shortcomings.

 

[kevinmccune]

I expect someone exists on a certain level when selling or offering a product. Widgets or tires doesn't make a difference and especially something which isn't a throwaway good. Nothing crazy. Nothing like asking the plug gap or what material makes up the air filter or something insane. My time is valuable.

In forty-two years at the same company and you don't think people should have a certain level of knowledge of what is being sold? We're not talking about a buy here, pay here or everyone is approved joint or a guy selling cheap steaks in a parking lot. We have a special name for people like you too, friend.

In business, especially in a place like a reputable Ford or GMC or Chevrolet dealer, "I don't know" or "Hmmm" is not the answer. The correct answer: I don't have the answer to that question, but I will find out right now. Even a Home Depot or Lowe's isn't much different. Does this dryer have a steam function? Not perplexing by a long shot. You're in the plumbing section, well, can you point me in the direction of toilets with a 10in rough in? Again, not difficult. Then again, if you require assistance, you don't ask the person who looks and acts as if he doesn't even know which hemisphere he is in.

big lumber rotates sales people around here and a very small fraction actually learn something about what they are saleing,on the auto dealers case in point,back in the eighties boss bought a new diesel Chevy truck,it was always clunking and shifting,the salesman told him it was going in and out of "overdrive" it seems the salesman had never heard of a "lockout torque converter" and its a heck of a lot worse then that,I was trying to buy a used 4 WD that the dealer advertised ,they told it was a piece of junk headed for the scrapyard,I think I met it on the road later on,I guess they were trying to get the saleslady setup with a new sale. And don't get me started on the "timeshare" bullshit,talking about a hard sell,a hard sell automatically puts me out the door. I stopped in a GMC on the way home from work one day( kinda dirty of course hard physical labor tends to do that) no one would come to wait on me,finally after several minutes I skipped the sales brochure across the sales desk and walked out.After the state of virginia( lower case) saw fit to incarcerate me ,my wife and daughter went car shopping,the Toyota salesperson dissed them and wouldn't give them the time of day,so they went down to another dealer that had 2 very nice Honda civics on the lot and traded a nice 2001 accord on the 2 civics( they were happy to deal-of course a few lies there as well) wife contacted Toyota dealer and informed the boss what happened the sales guy was shown the door,show a little enthusiasm sales people! so I am on the poor person who is at the mercy of the sales rep. At another lot a couple days ago I told the salesman the budget,he directed us to a "Aramada" with almost 200K miles on it,(blue plate special) I assured him that my daughter couldn't afford to keep gas in that monster as we were I noticed he had a poor looking three some looking at it,there are 2 types of people that are going to have some"splaining ' to do at the pearly gates used car salesman and lawyers.

 

[kevinmccune]

• If you have done your research and negotiations online, know what you want, know what you are going to pay, then it's an easy 30 minute transaction, fully negotiated before you've even stepped in the door. You're there to sign papers that have already been emailed or texted to you as a pdf, and reviewed at your leisure.
• If you have no clue or just hate the process, your best option is something like CarEdge - use a car buying service.
• If you hate your local dealership, this is 2026. You have access to any dealership in the USA. There is this magical thing called the Internet. You happen to be on it right now.
• If you don't even know what you want, your best option is to attend a major auto show. At a show, you can sit in pretty much every vehicle sold in the USA with no sales people in sight, but friendly OEM reps handy to answer your questions. And you can often test drive vehicles at auto shows.
• If you don't watch or read several professional reviews of the vehicle you want to buy, then don't whine when you miss something that they pointed out in the review.
• If you still hate dealerships, buy a Tesla or Rivian or Scout or Slate. No dealerships.

If you walk onto a dealer lot wearing a big sign saying "I am here to take my car buying 101 exam without having done any homework", well, you might get lucky and stumble onto a salesman with a heart of gold at a dealership that cares about your wallet more than their wallet. Could happen.

if you cant tell me how many cylinders it has,whether its naturally aspirated or how many speeds in the transmission I am not buying from you,the price is not my first priority,I noticed there are so many posters seemed to get a
'golden deal" when in my area they laugh at you when you mention anything like that,and by golly don't ask a salesman what"GDI' means and why in the long run it could cause trouble"ad nauseam"

 

[MaverickDragon]

if you cant tell me how many cylinders it has,whether its naturally aspirated or how many speeds in the transmission I am not buying from you...

Yet somehow, car dealers manage to stay in business.
Truly amazing, isn't it.

 

[kevinmccune]

Yet somehow, car dealers manage to stay in business.
Truly amazing, isn't it.

most of them have went out of business in this region( amazing isn't it?) not as many"Super wheels" dealers either ,if you would do a little research you will see how FoMoCo shed many dealers that didn't want to go out of business,most of these mega dealers have the dealerships these days ,at Harrisonburg ,VA one guy owns most all the dealerships on the "motor mile"

 

[MaverickDragon]

I feel fortunate to not live in your state.
The Ford dealer I bought from has been in business since 1912.

 

[Solaryellow]

big lumber rotates sales people around here and a very small fraction actually learn something about what they are saleing,on the auto dealers case in point,back in the eighties boss bought a new diesel Chevy truck,it was always clunking and shifting,the salesman told him it was going in and out of "overdrive" it seems the salesman had never heard of a "lockout torque converter" and its a heck of a lot worse then that,I was trying to buy a used 4 WD that the dealer advertised ,they told it was a piece of junk headed for the scrapyard,I think I met it on the road later on,I guess they were trying to get the saleslady setup with a new sale.

Big lumber is the logging/milling or the selling at a business or something else?

Get a bad taste from somewhere and chances are you don't return and if possible, you find out quick enough that you don't give them money. A lot of dealerships have come and gone because they lack the acceptable service that costs people money.

 

[kevinmccune]

Big lumber is the logging/milling or the selling at a business or something else?

Get a bad taste from somewhere and chances are you don't return and if possible, you find out quick enough that you don't give them money. A lot of dealerships have come and gone because they lack the acceptable service that costs people money.

well gas stations are run by big oil so to speak.

 

[kevinmccune]

I feel fortune to not live in your state.
The Ford dealer I bought from has been in business since 1912.

there used to be Ford dealership in most communities around here,now the closest is 50 plus miles away.

 

[Darryl]

Yet Ford is the Winner every Year of # of Trucks Manufactured and Sold, Not GM.

Seems you can't buy a new Kia at a Hyundai Dealership, and you can't buy a new Hyundai at a Kia Dealership.

Seems they have their own product lines and make their own marketing decisions.

Your Ignorance doesn't change facts on the ground.

Why the hostility? I was just stating things from my perspective. It's not that serious. Hyundai and Kia remind me of Ford and Mercury back when both were strong Where you had a few unique products, but most Mercurys were upscale Fords . But Ford was the parent company. That was my thought process. I wasn't trying to insult your intelligence. And your point was valid as well. Again, it's not serious to the point of talking down and using words like ignorance about a difference of perspective. That reaction doesn't quite match the praying hands under the profile . Peace brother.

 

[kevinmccune]

Why the hostility? I was just stating things from my perspective. It's not that serious. Hyundai and Kia remind me of Ford and Mercury back when both were strong Where you had a few unique products, but most Mercurys were upscale Fords . But Ford was the parent company. That was my thought process. I wasn't trying to insult your intelligence. And your point was valid as well. Again, it's not serious to the point of talking down and using words like ignorance about a difference of perspective. That reaction doesn't quite match the praying hands under the profile . Peace brother.

mercury usually got the best engines first from the flatheads to the MELs including the FE series( probably even the "Yblocks"( which got unmerited bad rep)

 

[jpdurr]

Why the hostility? I was just stating things from my perspective. It's not that serious. Hyundai and Kia remind me of Ford and Mercury back when both were strong Where you had a few unique products, but most Mercurys were upscale Fords . But Ford was the parent company. That was my thought process. I wasn't trying to insult your intelligence. And your point was valid as well. Again, it's not serious to the point of talking down and using words like ignorance about a difference of perspective. That reaction doesn't quite match the praying hands under the profile . Peace brother.

Ford and Mercury shared Dealerships. Hyundai and Kia never did that.

Hyundai and Kia have separate stock listings on the Korean Stock Exchange. As such they have different boards of directors that they report to. Different Product and Management teams. They report their audited financials separately too.

Cross-Shareholding ≠ Full Merger

Hyundai Motor Group uses a complex cross-shareholding structure typical of Korean chaebols.

Hyundai Motor owns a large stake in Kia. Kia owns stakes in other group entities. There are circular holdings.

This is fundamentally different from A fully merged operating company.

Hyundai and Kia have different product lines and target different customers (All car companies share underpinning platforms, even with competitors).

Your assumption works for Ford & Mercury because it was true.

It doesn't work for Hyundai & Kia because it is not true.

Glad to clear this up for you.

 

[MaverickDragon]

mercury usually got the best engines first....

Mercury also was the sole producer of an automobile designed for mature women who liked younger men, that being of course, the Cougar...

 

[babytruk]

Mercury also was the sole producer of an automobile designed for mature women who liked younger men, that being of course, the Cougar...

And if she hooked a young rich man she would then drive a Sable while wearing a Sable fur jacket.

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