Powersports Business has announced that the 2010 Powersports
Business Conference and Expo - ProfitX - will take place September 19-21 at Red Rock Casino Resort Spa in Las Vegas.
Manheim Specialty Auctions was among the more than 350 attendees at the first ProfitX event in 2009. We learned a lot, developed some great relationships with dealers and felt like the event struck a very good balance between trade show, educational seminars, one-on-one discussions and networking.
You can follow event updates at www.powersportsbusiness.com/PSBCE, and we'll blog about where you can find us as the event draws closer. We'll look forward to seeing you there.
Chris Hood is a Senior Marketing Manager at Manheim and has 15 years' experience in auction, sports and event marketing.
Conversations with dealers these days don't last long before the
topic of financing comes up. Across all Manheim Specialty categories we hear dealers talking about challenges matching Black Book, NADA and other book pricing to retail and in finding banks to finance consumer purchases. Some dealers report some loosening for consumers and their own businesses, but certainly not enough to support as quick a recovery as we'd all like.
We came across a free F&I webinar on PowerSportsBusiness.com on March 24. And to support the wholesale business, Manheim has a floor plan arm, MAFS, that offers floor planning to a variety of Specialty customers, including RVs and motorcycles. Manheim sales can help dealers connect with GE Capital for boat financing as well.
We want to hear what's going on in your world - how are you getting customers financed these days? Are you seeing a bigger percentage of credit unions and small banks doing the financing? Do you anticipate the bigger banks getting back to (or even close to) previous financing levels? Has your dealership found other ways to get customers into new and used product? We look forward to hearing from you.
Samantha Greene is Inside Sales Representative - RVs - for Manheim Specialty Auctions
Chris Hood is a Senior Marketing Manager at Manheim and has 15 years' experience in auction, sports and event marketing
I really enjoy looking at the posts from Neil Pascale and Karin Gelschus from PowerSports Business, particularly this post on BMW. I was actually going to take a flying leap and go for BMW on this one and then I just didn't. I've been kicking myself ever since.
This one was a surprise to quite a few people. I'm glad for BMW, although a 22% loss isn't anything to celebrate in a normal economy. But this isn't a normal economy. There are several new roll-outs for 2010 across the board, but production will be down for most manufacturers. How do you think the new S 1000 RR Superbike will fare for BMW in the coming months? I know delivery started this week on 600 pre-paid units, and with the new versions of the R 1200 GS, R 1200 Adventure & R 1200 RT's still to come, it will behoove the industry to keep an eye on the Motorrad for 2010. What impact do you think the future has in store for BMW?
Karla Ausonio is the Customer Service Representive - Motorcycles/PowerSports for Manheim Specialty Auctions