AutoNation’s Jackson sees a bright future for the car biz
In a Forbes interview Mike Jackson offers his view of the next six or seven years
(9/24/2009)
DealersEdge Daily Headlines
DealersEdge always listens when Mike Jackson speaks. Often blunt, but always thought provoking, Jackson has led AutoNation through the recent dark times and now appears to see nothing but opportunity.
The Forbes article indicates that, according to what was said in their interview with AutoNation CEO Mike Jackson and CFO Mike Short, the largest public dealer group in the U.S. is ready to go on the offense. Defensive strategies served them well during the downturn and they appear ready for a long and steady recovery.
Here are a few Mike Jackson quotes from the article:
“We’re through the abyss. We’re through the trough. There’s no question in my mind.”
“We’re not afraid to buy Ford or Chevy franchises where we were in the past. We’ve increased our orders by 50 percent for inventory. We’re doing a whole range of things as we move out of a defensive posture.”
“From my time in the auto business, I have never been more optimistic about the long term. The sword hanging over the industry is gone.”
“We’re seeing that there’s going to be a gradual recovery, but there’s going to be six to seven years of open recovery.”
“We game-planned the worst and acted on it. We’re going to come out of it stronger than ever. Now we can go on offense because the day of reckoning has finally occurred.”
AutoNation is looking to add stores to its 264 franchise chain, according to Jackson, “I think it’s only a matter of time until prices come down, just like in housing. When prices come down, we’ll do deals.”
“Chevy, Ford, Toyota, Honda, Nissan, BMW and Mercedes. That’s the holy grail.”
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Comments:
Thursday, September 24, 2009 12:41:46 PM by Ghengis Ron
I thought Michael Jackson was dead.
Friday, September 25, 2009 7:59:35 AM by Anonymous
He's still drunk from the CARS deal. I wonder if GM or Chrysler terminated any of their stores. Oh wait, that was only the old mom,pop,son,grandson,great grandson family stores that were eliminated. What the hell was I thinking!
Congratulations to Mr. Jackson. If there is one thing this industry needs right now is a lot more forward thinkers in the retail auto industry! Too many dealers are running there business day to day with negative thoughts running their lives! Today is a heck of a lot better than yesterday was and tomorrow will be even better. Why? Because you and I still have our store or stores! After 35 years GM told our dealership goodbye! My Reply? I'm a lot stronger Chrysler, Dodge, and soon to be Jeep dealer today. Is it better? After a 148 days of CASH ONLY with no floor plan, we are alive and well with a floorplan and a mission to grow. I agree with Michael Jackson....The sooner we all attack this in a positive forward thinking plan, we will get this industry back on its feet. Happy Thanksgiving to all of you! Lets be Thankful for what we still do have.
