CHANGING MARKETPLACE

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page 77

volume automobile dealers plan
to meet these challenges?
George Glassman is vice pres-
ident of the Glassman Oldsmo-
bile, Saab and Hyundai
dealership on Telegraph Road in
Southfield that was founded by
his father, Jerome. The younger
Mr. Glassman believes some of
the dire prophecies could come
true.
"There's no question that the
chains like AutoNation and Car-
Max have already had an impact
in terms of improving the-way in
which customers are being treat-
ed," he said.
That happened with Saturn
initially, and this is somewhat of
a follow-up. They're starting with
a clean sheet of paper, and there
certainly are a lot of positives from
that. But I don't think it spells the
end of car dealerships as we know
them.
"Conceptually, there is some-
thing very appealing about the

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Proponents of the automobile
superstores cite Best Buy and Cir-
cuit City as examples of the way
in which people want to do their
purchasing. However, Mr. Glass-
man said, "I know a number of
people, myself included, that still
look to negotiate as a means of
getting a better deal."
The winds of change generat-
ed by AutoNation are already
blowing. Although Mr. Glassman
is a critic of the superstores, he
said they have already produc-
tively impacted the industry.
"Longer and better warranties,
and better attention to a broad-
er selection has come out of that
concept. And that is just good
business, trying to appeal to as
many buyers out there as possi-
ble.
"I think people generally just
want to be treated fairly, polite-
ly and respectfully. So anything
that will foster that type of be-
havior is going to be productive.

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low-pressure, no-haggle concept,"
Mr. Glassman said. "Oldsmobile
has tried it, and unfortunately, it
was not particularly successful,
because customers continued to
want to do some negotiating." Mr.
Glassman called it just "another
failed venture in marketing."
Although it didn't work for
Oldsmobile, Mr. Glassman said a
number of dealerships have
adopted that policy. "Ultimately
the consumer says, am going to
buy now if you will just help me
out.' The tendency to do so is
there."
Mr. Glassman raised another
potential concern. "If a customer
goes to one AutoNation store and
doesn't like it, he's not going to go
to another AutoNation store.
What he's going to do is go to the
(franchise) dealer down the street
and see if there's a comparable ve-
hicle.
"By their ads, (the superstores)
have shown that they are charg-
ing a higher dollar amount for
their cars," said Mr. Glassman.
"Nor have consumers doing busi-
ness there claimed that they've
gotten any great deals. So you
wonder what the motivation is for
consumers?"

But that's just good business, too.
You don't need a superstore to
treat people right."
Right across Telegraph Road,
on 20 acres of prime Southfield
real estate, sits the vast auto com-
plex built by Marvin Tamaroff.
Both the Glassman and Tamaroff
dealerships are located in a
stretch of Telegraph Road which
between, 11 and 15 Mile roads, al-
ready offers car shoppers every
automobile nameplate with the
apparent exception of Suzuki and
Volkswagen. With all the brands
available, Telegraph Road is eas-
ily the world's biggest automobile
superstore.
Mr. Tamaroff has Buick, Hon-
da, Izuzu, Nissan and Dodge
stores at his complex.
He has great confidence in that
area of Southfield, poised as it is
at the junction of 1-696 and Tele-
graph Road. He thinks it is good
for another 20 years, a decision he
had to make before allocating the
$500,000 he recently spent con-
structing a new body shop addi-
tion he proudly calls the Palace.
Mr. Tamaroff also considered
putting another franchise into the
former Goodyear Tire building on
the edge of his complex when he