Thank You, Mr. Michelin, For Adding Value To GM, Hendrick Durham Auto Mall Inventory

Thank you, Mr. Michelin - and happy birthday.

On this date 162 years ago - Jan. 16, 1853 - Andre Michelin was born in Paris, France. In 1888, at age 35, he founded with his brother the Michelin Tire Company, which invented the pneumatic tire found today on many vehicles at the Hendrick Durham Auto Mall.

Michelin is one of the three largest tire manufacturers in the world, along with Bridgestone and Goodyear. In addition to the Michelin brand, the company also owns the BF Goodrich tire brand.

Hendrick Durham Auto Mall sells a complete General Motors product line that includes Buick, GMC, Cadillac and Chevrolet vehicles. Adding to the value of those brands - all of which enjoyed historic success in 2014 - is the fact that they can be equipped with Michelin tires, considered the premier tire brand in America.

Buick vehicles are known for their luxury, which includes available Michelin tires.

The Michelin company announced two months ago - November of 2014 - that it had plans to open a plant in North America dedicated to the manufacture of airless tires called "Tweels."

A punctured tire can cause a bad, not to mention expensive, day for many vehicle owners and drivers. Michelin's proposed $50 million plant will be used to make the Michelin X Tweel Airless Radial Tire and others for commercial and agricultural applications - a move toward eliminating the possibility of tires that puncture.

Happy Birthday, American Motors Corporation

Say what you want about General Motors vehicles. You cannot say they are unattractive.

Since the days of Bill Mitchell - perhaps America's most famous automobile designer - GM has placed extraordinary emphasis on the design and styling of its product line. You can see that for yourself when you examine and drive the latest and greatest inventory at the Hendrick Durham Auto Mall.

Mitchell was responsible for creating or influencing the design of more than 72.5 million automobiles produced by GM, including such landmark vehicles as the 1938 Cadillac Sixty Special, the 1949 Cadillac Coupe DeVille, the 1955-57 Chevrolet Bel Air, the 1963-65 and 1966-67 Buick Riviera, the 1961-76 Corvette Stingray, the 1975-79 Cadillac Seville and the 1970-81 Chevrolet Camaro

Since then, GM's vehicles have continued to get more and more beautiful. Recent redesigns of the Cadillac SRX and Chevrolet Equinox, Malibu and Impala are testament to that, as well as the creation of elegant new products like the GMC Terrain and Buick Encore.

The appealing pricepoints and low-maintenance qualities of GM vehicles have been well-documented reasons that many consumers choose GM vehicles for their purchases and other transportation needs. But the aesthetic qualilty of all the vehicles across all the GM brands has been moving to the top of the appeal meter.

Anyone who believes any GM vehicle is unattractive needs to just remember back to the days of the now-defunct American Motors Corporation.

It is appropriate that we go back there today because it was on this day in history - Jan. 14, 1954 - that the American Motors Corporation was founded. The company was formed by the merger of Nash-Kelvinator Corporation and Hudson Motor Car Company, which at the time was the largest corporate merger in U.S. history.

AMC was known for producing such beauties as the Pacer and the Gremlin. Remember those? The nmuber of people who drove those vehicles with pride has got to be small.

If you Google "Ugliest Cars In America," pages and pages of artlcles and lists appear. Prominently featured on most of those lists are the AMC Pacer and AMC Gremlin. Those cars were ugly.

The Pacer has been described as a fishbowl. It was the widest car on the road, with room in the backseat for four people to sit side by side, but also was terribly heavy and slow. It was in production for just five years - between 1975 and 1979 - and its unconventional styling was commonly cited in its lack of success.

The AMC Gremlin, meanwhile, is ranked on many lists of the 50 worst cars of all time by several measures. But you will be hard-pressed to find an uglier vehicle. It was manufactured for just eight years, from 1970-1978, at the same Kenosha, Wisconsin, plant that rolled out the Pacer.

Unlike the Pacer, the Gremlin today has a following among old car hobbyists and collectors of historic vehicles. In some cases, the Gremlin enjoys a cult-like following in today's collectible car market.

Perhaps we can credit the founding of the American Motors Corporation 61 years ago today for influencing and adding to the beauty of today's vehicle designs and styles. Certainly GM engineers have taken note and used the many years since to tweak and add to the beauty of Cadillacs, Buicks, GMCs and Chevrolets.

We should all be thankful for that.

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.

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.