Wednesday, December 31, 2014

New Years Eve May Be Best Day To Buy Vehicle

(CBS) – Today is New Year’s Eve. But before popping the bubbly, you may consider buying a car.

Experts tell CBS that today is the best day of the year to get a deal.

As the hours of 2014 dwindle down to a precious few, car dealers are scrambling to meet year-end sales quotas and sell off inventories to save on taxes.

As they are about to close the door on the old year, they are creating what experts say is the best time of the year to trade up.

"Everything comes together," said John Webb of the Chicago Auto Trade Association. "Manufacturers are aggressive. Dealers are being aggressive. I think the customers have some either Christmas bonus money or what have you flowing through their pocket."

At Hendrick Durham Auto Mall, the deals are really flowing. The sense of urgency is high on the showroom floor as the GM dealer closes in on 200 sales for the month.

The savings can be as much as 25 percent off sticker price on certain vehicles. So, as the closk winds down toward 2015, the Hendrick Durham Auto Mall inventory of Cadillac, Buick, GMC and Chevrolet is dwindling by the minute.

Tuesday, December 30, 2014

On Birthday Of America's 1st Freeway, HDAM Helps Ease Stress Of Traffic Gridlock

Next time you’re stuck in traffic, excessively burning fuel as you idle on the freeway during your morning commute, you can thank Dwight Eisenhower.

You also can thank General Motors and the Hendrick Durham Auto Mall for manufacturing and selling a multitude of highway-friendly vehicles that can add to your comfort and decrease your fuel expense as you experience the world’s second-longest interstate highway system behind China.

The United States Interstate Highway System runs a total length of 47,714 miles. About one-quarter of all vehicle miles driven in the country are on interstates. The cost of construction for all those miles of roadway has been estimated at upwards of $425 billion.

North Carolina has the largest state maintained highway network in the United States.

Today marks the 74th birthday of America’s first freeway - the Arroyo Seco Parkway, which opened Dec. 30, 1940, in California. At the time, it was considered an engineering marvel, reducing travel time between Los Angeles and Pasadena from 27 to 12 minutes.

The six-lane, six-mile long highway was designed for 27,000 automobiles a day. These days, it carries more than 122,000 cars daily.

Although the concept of an interstate highway system was proposed in Congress in 1939, it wasn't until Eisenhower became President in 1953 that he made the revitalization of national highways a goal for his first term. Having spent time on the Autobahn during his military service in Germany, Eisenhower believed the U.S. also could benefit from an equally effective roadway system.

Well, turns out the creation of the U.S. Interstate Highway System gave way to the creation of a phenomenon known as Gridlock – a traffic jam in which no vehicular movement is possible.

Gridlock, in turn, led to depleted gas tanks as cars and trucks idled their way to empty, a chaion of events that continues to this day.

Fortunately, General Motors and the Hendrick Durham Auto Mall have teamed up to offer some of the most fuel-efficient vehicles in history to help ease the anxiety and expense of traffic jams and Gridlock.

General Motors builds 24 models of vehicle that can achieve an EPA-estimated 30 miles per gallon or better on the highway. All of those vehicles can be purchased at the Hendrick Durham Auto Mall, including the car with the best highway mileage of any gas engine in America - the 42 mpg Chevrolet Cruze Eco.

Furthermore, GM and the Hendrick Durham Auto Mall are offering incentives on the Cruze that can knock 20 percent off the sticker price.

Other vehicles in the GM arsenal against highway congestion and aggravating commutes are the Chevy Volt, an electric car that can achieve the equivalent of 98 miles per gallon, the Buick Lacrosse with eAssist technology, and the Chevy Spark. The eAssist Lacrosse and Spark both can surpass 40 mpg on the highway.

Although exceeding the speed limit is a factor in fuel efficiency, people may not be aware that automobiles can burn more than half a gallon of fuel for every hour spent idling. That is where the GM eAssist technology, which also can be found on the Chevy Malibu, makes such a difference.

On the open road, once they get moving again after the latest round of Gridlock, drivers want to make up for lost time with speed. But, according to the U.S. EPA, every five miles over the 60 mph level is equivalent to paying 20 extra cents per gallon for gas. GM has designed vehicles that help in that circumstance, as well, equipping many of its vehicles with Active Fuel Management that will shut off half the cylinders in the vehicles’ engines once ideal cruising speed is reached.

Because highways and the accompanying Gridlock will not go away, GM has plans to introduce a Cadillac model in two years that can travel on the highway without the driver holding the steering wheel or putting a foot on a pedal. The 2017 Cadillac model will feature "Super Cruise" technology that takes control of steering, acceleration and braking at highway speeds of 70 miles per hour or in stop-and-go congested traffic.

"With Super Cruise, when there’s a congestion alert on roads like California’s Santa Monica Freeway, you can let the car take over and drive hands-free and feet-free through the worst stop-and-go traffic around," GM CEO Mary Barra said in a 2014 speech at the Cobo Center in Detroit. "If the mood strikes you on the high-speed road from Barstow, California, to Las Vegas, you can take a break from the wheel and pedals, and let the car do the work. Having it done for you -- that’s true luxury."

So, as we say "Happy Birthday" today to the Arroyo Seco Parkway and "Thank You" to Dwight Eisenhower for the Interestate Highway System, let us celebrate the evolution of motor-vehicle travel the best way possible – in a vehicle from General Motors and the Hendrick Durham Auto Mall.

Monday, December 29, 2014

Hendrick Durham Auto Mall, General Motors To Carry Momentum Into New Facility, New Year

As the Hendrick Durham Auto Mall prepares to move to its spectacular new facility next to The Streets of Southpoint Mall and General Motors continues to move back into prominence as an automaker, the stage is set for 2015 to be an outstanding year for those two entities locally.

Less than 10 years removed from a record plunge that saw GM stock reach a 20-year-low of $18.33 a share, the manufacturer recently has been mentioned on the list of Forbes' top-10 favorite stocks in 2015. As of Dec. 29, 2014, GM stock prices were up to $34.51 a share.

That's great news for fans and followers of GM and the Hendrick Durham Auto Mall, which sells and services the entire line of GM vehicles, including Cadillac, Buick, GMC and Chevrolet.

Beginning in the first quarter of 2015, the dealership will be conducting business out of its spacious new, state-of-the art location that will feature not one, but two service drives and a regular shuttle service to and from the busy mall across the street. This facility was designed and built with our incredible Hendrick customers in mind, and will be a great benefit to our customers.

The new facility has been in the works for some time, which is a good thing given how brisk business has been in 2014.

The success of the dealership has mirrored the 2014 success of General Motors. Widely publicized recalls have done little to diminish sales or service volume at the dealership's current downtown Durham location. The recalls actually have given us an opportunity to reconnect with many of our customers. We feel like this interaction has built a lot of value with our customers, both in our company, and the GM brands that we represent.

We think that most of our consumers have seen our excellent customer service, and GM’s commitment to them.

An outstanding new product line, a visionary executive branch of leadership, an emphasis on an impeccable business process, reputation management and accountability all have combined to propel the national GM resurgence. Add to that mix unprecedented sales discounts and incentives, as well as strong communication with and resources for its local dealers, the success only can continue.

At the Hendrick Durham Auto Mall, its employees are its greatest asset.

"It's all about the people," said Rick Hendrick, owner of the Durham dealership and its parent Hendrick Automotive Group - a network of nearly 100 dealerships nationwide. "I don't care what you're doing or what your business is; it's all about the people. They have to be able to work together, believe in each other and be able to share information. They have to be motivated to come in and go through it every day."

Mr. Hendrick also requires of the dealership a high-level of transparency, accountability at all levels, and commitments to customer enthusiasm and continuous improvement. In a time of change at General Motors in particular and the automotive industry in general, those Hendrick hallmarks will continue to make both the Durham dealership and its flagship manufacturer standouts in their field.

Furthermore, Mr. Hendrick rarely has a conversation in which he does not stress the importance of our customers. We are here to serve our customers, whether it be from our current location or at the new place.