Loyalty

As a sort of follow up to my last post a week ago, I wanted to address Toyota just one more time. The Toyota brand name has taken a hit in the press and with some certain customers, but luckily with a name and quality like Toyota, some customers remain loyal.

That's why some people have teamed up to create the Loyal Toyota campaign. If you're on Facebook, you can check out the LOYALTOYOTA fan page to learn more. This fan page has created a forum of over 1,500 Toyota fans who are sticking up for the brand. A man who is not affiliated with Toyota Motors Company but just loves his Toyota Camry and the company so much created this page along with the Loyal Toyota campaign. The campaign primarily consists of the LOYALToYota bumper stickers which any e-Bay users may purchase. The stickers are used for people to simply show their support and of course loyalty to the company.

On the Facebook fan page, supporters and fans send in or post pictures showing off their Toyotas sporting the LOYALToYota bumper sticker. The campaign has also expanded into t-shirts and coffee mugs with the LOYALToYota logo on them. If you love your Preston Toyota and want everyone to know, purchase a LOYALToYota item here...http://www.cafepress.com/LOYALTOYOTA.

I did tell you last time that I drive a Toyota and come from a family of Toyota owners, so yes, my dad has already purchased the LOYALToYota bumper sticker.

We'd love to hear if you purchase an item, or just how much you love your Toyota!

Tiga Tiga Woods Y'all!!!!

Leave some comments!!!!!!

A quick thank you....

Having worked in the car business for over 7 years now I would like to think I know a thing or two about what makes a great business like ours tick. After going over our sales logs for the last few months I noticed one key element that really stuck out. When checking our advertising sources to see where our sales were coming from I noticed that the Preston Auto Group had an abnormally large amount of sales coming from our own previous customers. Weather it was our owner base coming back for a second or thrid car, or a previous customer sending us a referral, our customers have spoken loud and clear that they are happy with the products and services they have recieved from our store. I can't think of a better compliment our customers can give us then bringing us their repeat business or trusting us with helping their friends and family with their new or pre owned vehicle purchase. In this sense, our total commitment to customer service and satisfaction before, during and after the sale has really paid off and I can only say to all of our happy customers out there THANK YOU! This same comfort level and overall satisfaction with their buying expierence has even helped our customers propel our Honda store in New Castle to a 5 out of 5 star rating on dealer.com, a third party dealership review website! I wanted to write this blog post to let all of our owner base know your loyalty and business is greatly appreciated, and certainly does not go unnoticed. Your efforts to help us achieve this great accomplishment will only make us work harder to ensure your total satisfaction with your expierence now and for years to come. Again, Thank you!

The Righteous Regal

Ummm....







Tad-Dah.




"Buick Is Back!" shouts the cover of Motor Trend magazine, the first time since 1982 the enthusiast publication has featured a Buick on the cover.

Of course, there are plenty of people who would suggest Buick never left. Especially citizens of China, where Buick is overwhelmingly the most popular General Motors brand.

But let's face it: In the U.S., Buick's demographics are the oldest of any major car brand. With the demise of Pontiac and Saturn, GM is looking to get a few younger buyers interested in their products.

And, as the slightly hyperbolic Motor Trend suggests, the 2011 Buick Regal may be the best chance for that. About an inch longer and wider than the Toyota Camry, the Regal is an alternative to the popular Camry/Honda Accord/Nissan Altima trio. But it's aimed slightly more upscale, in content and price. It should be available by May.

The Regal is essentially an Americanized version of the Opel Insignia, and the first Regals sold in the U.S. will be built in the Opel plant in Russelsheim, Germany. Later this year, production shifts to the GM plant in Oshawa, Ontario, which is building the Chevrolet Camaro.

What is Signature??

Hey guys! I wanted to start a series of blogs about Toyota of Boardman becoming a Signature Certified dealership. As the Process Coordinator for our dealership I will be involved every step of the way in our progression of becoming certified and I’d like to give you all an exclusive inside look. Today we just had our first meeting so I thought I’d start out the series just by introducing the idea to you. So what is Signature and what does it mean to be Signature Certified? Signature is a process management initiative that focuses on improving dealer operations to enhance both the customer experience and increase employee satisfaction. There are three Signature Guiding Principles which we will implement throughout all of our processes and those principles are: 1) No Defects 2) Timeliness, and 3) Caring. So basically by means of developing new processes with use of employee feedback and ideas we are going to involve the entire dealership to enhance customer satisfaction and increase customer loyalty. Sounds pretty in depth, huh? Well it is and it isn’t. We already know what we do wrong and what we do right. So we’re going to change what we do wrong and make even better what we do right all to benefit you, the customer! So throughout my blogs I encourage anyone with any questions or suggestions to please comment so that I can bring the ideas to our meetings. Some questions to consider would be, what do you hate about buying a car? (Yes, I’m serious) What would it take for you to continue to purchase your vehicles from the same dealership? What are some reasons you do or do not get your service done from the dealership in which you bought your vehicle? These are just some of the questions we are going to address in creating better processes so who better to hear from than the customer themselves? For next time, we will hopefully have had our launch meeting where we tell all of our employees what we are doing and we also will create our CITs, or our Continuous Improvement Teams. I can’t wait to let you know how it goes!

What's Happening in April

We received more great news this morning in regards to the incentives on new Toyota's this month!! Believe or not, 0% is back on 8 different models this month. That's right 8!! Whether you are interested in a large or small vehicle, Toyota got you covered. Customers can get 0% on the 2010 Yaris, Corolla, Camry, Prius, Avalon, Rav4, Highlander, and Tundra.

Looking to lease rather then buy? No Problem! Toyota is running lease specials the 2010 Camry, Corolla, Prius, Venza, Rav4, Highlander, and Tundra. Not to mention that there are even special leases on the brand new 2011 Toyota Camry's, gas and hybrid models!!

And guess what?? It doesn't stop there. Get this, anyone who buys or leases a new Toyota will receive a 2 year maintenance package absolutely FREE. Doesn't even matter if it's your first Toyota , the maintenance package is FREE.

Also, be sure to check out the advantage in doing business with Preston Toyota. We provide our customers with a value package that can't be beat. I have included the link to our value package. http://www.prestonauto.com/preston-advantage.htm

California Prius scam

Hello blog readers, I am Kate, a new student intern at Preston Auto. I am delighted to join the team as an Internet Director Assistant. I came into this job in the midst of the huge Toyota recall. I also happen to come from a 5 person family who owns 5 Toyotas. Through the years, my family and I have enjoyed Toyota's quality and we still remain loyal to the Toyota brand. I drive a 2008 Toyota Prius and absolutely love it. Now, I'm sure you have all heard of another 2008 Toyota Prius owner, Mr. James Sikes of San Diego, CA. On Monday, March 8 Sikes made a 911 emergency phone call claiming that his Prius' accelerator was stuck and that the car was out of control and could not be stopped. California Highway Patrol intercepted Sikes and directed him to push on the brakes, emergency brake and to turn off the car in which after, the car did stop safely.

The story made national news and I personally receieved a few calls and text messages from friends and family members urging me to get my Prius checked out immediately. Unfortunately the national news did not have any comments from a Toyota spokesperson during the story.

However, on March 15 Toyota released their preliminary findings from the runaway Prius on the Toyota news website. The Toyota engineers discovered that Sikes' account of the story does not match up with their findings after assessing the vehicle. The Prius engine is designed to shut off if moderate brake pressure is applied while an accelerator is pushed over 50%.

All in all, an investigation is underway to find out the truth in Sikes' story. For now, it's important for everyone to remember that not everything we hear is necessarily true. To read the entire story, check out http://www.toyota.com/about/news/corporate/2010/03/15-1-statement-prius.html.

Hope you all had a great holiday weekend with friends and family. Be sure to check us out on Twitter at PrestonHonda and PrestonAuto. Also, become a fan on Facebook of Preston Auto and Preston Honda.

--Kate