Those who excelled in “Art and Science” of automotive retailing rewarded

Reaching a pinnacle of performance in South Africa’;s intensively competitive motor business and being adjudged the best-of-the-best in today’;s challenging economy, takes enormous commitment and very special skills, said Dr George Nyabadza at the Sewells Group Businessman of the Year awards banquet in Johannesburg last night (Tuesday 10th March).

‘Each of our 17 nominees has had to master the “Art and Science” of automotive retailing in our sub-continent, and each of them would be able to equal or better motor dealers across the world.’;

‘The “art” side of that equation is in winning the hearts of customers and dealer staff, and the “science” is exemplified in the 8 leadership spheres which produce 5 distinct models which Sewells Group advocates with its dealer clients in this challenging business sector.’;

These models encompass:

• Achievement of impeccable financials (as typified by the Sewells MRA system)
• Sustenance of appropriate business practice systems
• Developing the capacity to deliver and sustain outstanding customer experiences
• Leadership provided by the dealer principals, and
• Implementation of an overall strategy and vision for the business

The winners of the 2014 Sewells Group Businessman of the Year announced last evening are:

Large Category – Gerhard van Zyl NTT VW East London
Medium Category – Shaun Scholtz Buffalo Toyota Mthatha
Small Category – Chris Drummond Suzuki Pretoria

The most improved Performance Group member for 2014 is:
Craig Gillesen Eagle Ford Johannesburg

The Sewells Group Businessman of the Year, endorsed by the National Automobile Dealers’; Association, is South Africa’;s longest-running measurement of excellence in performance of motor dealers.
Most franchised dealers in South Africa participate in the benchmarking process where Dealership financials and a large range of key statistics are uploaded using the Sewells Online System (eSOS) which then allows dealers to immediately view their own individual results. Sewells can then view collective industry benchmarks and rate the business achievement reflected in a spread of the key performance indicators (KPI). 5 nominees are then selected in each of the 3 size categories, and the winners are announced at the prestigious awards banquet.

Also view:

Vehicle Finance, Car Insurance and Road Safety

Buying and Selling a Vehicle – Informed decisions and the Vehicle Retailer

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Those who excelled in “Art and Science” of automotive retailing rewarded

Readers tell survey in automotive publication that C-Class and S-Class are the best cars

Stuttgart - The Mercedes-Benz C-Class is the best medium-size car, whilst the innovative S-Class is the best car in the luxury category. This is the result of the latest reader survey by the specialist automotive publication “auto, motor und sport”. It had asked readers to name the best cars of the year. Mercedes-Benz is continuing a grand tradition, for every year cars with the star earn top places as the readers’; favourites.

Some 112,471 readers took part in this year’;s vote organised by specialist car magazine “auto, motor und sport” to find the best car of the year. Models from Mercedes-Benz succeeded in securing 2 pole positions: the S-Class won in the luxury category, whilst the C-Class was the resounding winner in the medium-size category.

This acknowledgement consolidates the reputation of the S-Class as a technological trendsetter and the epitome of luxurious travel. The saloon boasts innovative safety systems and is the first vehicle worldwide to feature suspension technology that is even able to react in advance to road unevenness. It therefore offers an unprecedented level of ride comfort.

The C-Class won favour with the readers with its modern, aesthetic design, high-class interior and also cutting-edge technology. Its features include exemplary safety and high efficiency, and it boasts sporty and agile handling.

Readers tell survey in automotive publication that C-Class and S-Class are the best cars

Female motor journalists chose Mercedes-Benz S-Class as best automotive newcomer of the last year

Stuttgart.  According to female car experts from 5 continents the Mercedes-Benz S-Class is the world’;s best car.

On behalf of “Women’;s World Car of the Year Ltd.” from New Zealand, twenty international female motor journalists from 15 countries chose the best automotive newcomer of the last year. Not only did they consider design, technical functions, comfort and similar criteria, they also evaluated aspects such as the “wow factor”, sex appeal and value for money.

Cars in 6 categories were rated. The experts were unanimous in choosing the “luxury car” and selected the Mercedes-Benz S-Class as their favourite. As the luxury sedan from Stuttgart received the most points of all category winners, the experts also awarded it the highest distinction – the “Supreme Award”. The S-Class therefore holds the title “Women’;s World Car of the Year 2014″.

This acknowledgement consolidates the reputation of the S-Class as a technological trendsetter and the epitome of luxurious travel. The sedan boasts innovative safety systems and is the first vehicle worldwide to feature suspension technology that is even able to react in advance to road unevenness. It therefore offers an unprecedented level of ride comfort.

For more info on buying a vehicle also view:

Vehicle Finance, Car Insurance and Road Safety

Buying and Selling a Vehicle – Informed decisions and the Vehicle Retailer

Female motor journalists chose Mercedes-Benz S-Class as best automotive newcomer of the last year

Cord Total Recalls an Automotive Icon [Book Overview]

1937 Cord 812 Cabriolet

In this day of e-books, an undertaking to publish a book—an actual, tangible book made of paper and ink—can look virtually quaint. When you pick to publish that true, actual book on the topic of automobiles, the thought is not only quaint, but quite possibly sales-proof. A book about Corvettes or Mustangs might locate buyers, but a book about the Cord automobile, arguably the most sophisticated and sophisticated American vehicle of the 1930s? A car that ceased production almost 80 years ago? Such an endeavor would have to be driven by a true passion for the marque, not by some publisher’s bottom line.

And so it is with Cord Comprehensive, a book that is the culmination of a lifelong infatuation with that magnificent front-wheel-drive legend by its author, the late Josh B. Malks, and aided by the book’s art director/publisher, Robert Pease. Malks and Pease together not only owned a lot of examples of Cords, but Malks also spent years spelunking in the archives of the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum, researching the brief but pyrotechnical history of his beloved automaker. His initial operate on the topic, Cord 810/812: The Timeless Classic, became the reference book for the models, only to be supplanted by his far more current Cord Complete.

The use here of the word “complete,” is most likely inaccurate, nevertheless. “Comprehensive” may well be a much more fitting selection, or “ exhaustive” or “unabridged.”

No matter the wording the outcome is the identical. The book is an enormous tome, weighing in at a hefty 6 pounds, with 304 dense pages lovingly adorned with hundreds of diagrams, charts, period advertisements, and illustrations, as nicely as rich color and black-and-white photographs. Attentive readers will be rewarded with details such as the slipcase design that echoes the terrazzo floor of the Auburn Cord Duesenberg showroom. The style of the book’s cover pays tribute to the embossed service-manual binder offered to dealers. The cover itself is crafted in leather dyed to match the hide interior of Cords trimmed in green.

Here you will understand what variety of oil was utilised in the testing of the 810’s transmission (40 grade), how many featured the installation of a factory-engineered rear-mounted spare tire (6), and the diameter of the supercharged engine’s fuel line (3-eighths of an inch). Sadly, you will also understand how much the remaining Cord components, assemblies, toolings, dies, and patterns at the factory in Connersville, Indiana, were sold for in 1938 right after bankruptcy ($ 45,000).

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As a piece of automotive ar2rk and history, Cord Full is now priced at a bargain equivalent to the company’s bankruptcy sale: The book’s price has been marked down from its original $ 159 to $ 80, plus $ 10 for domestic shipping. It’s well worth it—I bought a copy for my personal library. I recommend you do the very same.

To order:

cordcompletebook.com

(800) 935–6913

Cord Total Recalls an Automotive Icon [Book Overview]