Super Car Guys

I Always Hated Math Class...

 

But you don't have to LIKE math to appreciate this.  We have 44 2008 Suzuki Forenza's left for sale at the unbelieveable price of $8,988 plus freight.  Seriously, a BRAND NEW car (Not a demo or program vehicle) complete with America's #1 Warranty (Suzuki's 100,000 mile/7 Yr Powertrain Limited Warranty).

This car isn't some stripped down base model with No A/C, No Stereo, and No Fun.  It comes with Power Windows and Locks, a MP3/CD Player with iPod integration, Floor Mats, Air Conditioning, and more fun than you can shake a stick at. 

Why buy a Used Car when you can buy a BRAND NEW ONE for less?

President's Club Award

 

Here are Scott, Brandon, and the rest of the team receiving the President's Club Award from Suzuki Motor Corp's, Koichi Suzuki.  "This has been one of our main goals for 2008 and we are excited about the accomplishment," said Scott Pitman.  The President's Club is awarded to the top 25 volume Suzuki Dealers in the nation with stellar Customer Satisfaction ratings.  Suzuki of Wichita finished 2008 as the 4th highest volume Suzuki Dealer in the U.S. mostly while selling out of a triple wide trailer as a temporary showroom.

The press release from Suzuki follows:

SUZUKI OF WICHITA HONORED FOR OUTSTANDING

SALES AND CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

·         Scott Pitman and Brandon Steven earn prestigious Suzuki Auto President’s Club status

 

Wichita, KS – (February 11, 2009) – American Suzuki Motor Corp. names Suzuki of Wichita to its 2008 President’s Club – making it one of the top 25 dealers in the company’s U.S. dealer network, which totals over 400.  Suzuki Auto dealers qualify for the coveted honor based on annual sales volume and by garnering high customer satisfaction scores in both sales and service categories.

 

“We are thrilled to be a Suzuki President’s Club dealer – and we couldn’t have done it without the support of the community,” said Scott Pitman of Suzuki of Wichita East.  “This is a great opportunity to share our success with other winners from across the country and to be recognized as an integral part of Suzuki’s national operations.”

 

For 2008, Suzuki of Wichita ranked fourth in sales for all Suzuki dealers nationally, and first in sales for the central region.   A key driver of Suzuki of Wichita East’s success was the dealer’s superior customer satisfaction ratings.  Compared with all dealers, Suzuki of Wichita ranked 10th in sales satisfaction as measured by JD Powers and Associates.

 

American Suzuki finished 2008 with sales of 84,865 vehicles, marking the company’s fourth all-time record sales year in the U.S.

 

“Suzuki’s sales, despite a difficult economic climate in 2008, were aided by outstanding dealerships such as Suzuki of Wichita,” said Kevin Saito, president of American Suzuki.  “I applaud Scott, Brandon, and their dedicated staff for their commitment to increase sales and provide exemplary customer service and satisfaction throughout the year.”

 

 

About Suzuki

The Brea, Calif.-based Automotive Operations of American Suzuki Motor Corporation was founded in 1963 by parent company Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC) and currently markets its vehicles in the United States through a network of approximately 400 automotive dealerships and numerous other motorcycle, ATV and marine distributors in 49 states.  With global headquarters in Hamamatsu, Japan, SMC is a diversified worldwide automobile, motorcycle and outboard motor manufacturer.  In 2008, SMC sold more than two million new cars and trucks and more than three million motorcycles and ATVs.  Founded in 1909 and incorporated in 1920, SMC has operations in 193 countries and regions.  For more information, visit www.media.suzukiauto.com.

 

# # #

Media Contacts

Jeff Holland, American Suzuki – (714) 996-7040 ext. 2464, jeff.holland@suz.com

Extreme MakeOver - Dealership Edition

After spending a little over a year in our Triple-Wide Temporary Executive Sales Office, it was time for the team to see the product of our hard work.  Tony Suzuki yelled, "Bus Driver, Move that Triple-Wide!"  And the rest, as they say, is history.

The Story of the SUV-Asaurus

The Story of the SUV-Asaurus...

Once upon a time, SUV-Asauruses roamed the earth.  People happily drove them everywhere and anywhere.  They took them skiing and surfing, and to the mall.  People didn't really think about what they were doing, they just did it.  The BIGGER the Saurus, the BETTER the Saurus.

Now the SUV-Asauruses loved to guzzle gasoline, but their owners didn't really care because gas was cheaper than cheap.  Then suddenly things changed.  Gas Prices went through the roof and people began to sell their SUV-Asauruses.  BUT nobody want them because they were too blasted expensive to drive.  And this made everyone VERY unhappy.  So like a bad rash, the SUV-Asauruses slowly went away.

Bu then, just when everyone thought all the SUV adventure and fun was done, a new kind of SUV called the Suzuki Grand Vitara, or the GV for short, arrived.  It was compact in size so it got good gas mileage - 26 miles per gallon on the highway.  And it had excellent power, in fact its V6 had 64 more horsepower than a Honda CRV.  And unlike most other compact SUV's, it had true 4x4 capability available, so people could take it to all the places they loved to go AND do all the things they loved to do.  So once again, EVERYONE was happy.

Well everyone except the SUV-Asaurus.

LIVE LARGE...  DRIVE SMALL...

Suzuki Equator Named 4X4 of the Year for 2009...

The following press release was issued today from Petersen's 4-Wheel and Off-Road Magazine and is SUPER EXCITING...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Petersen’s 4-Wheel & Off-Road

Names Suzuki Equator Crew Cab RMZ-4 Pickup 2009 4x4 of the Year

Los Angeles, CA (October 27, 2008)—Petersen’s 4-Wheel & Off-Road magazine, the largest truck enthusiast magazine on newsstands, and a publication of media and marketing services company Source Interlink Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ: SORC), announced to today that it has named the 2009 Suzuki Equator Crew Cab RMZ-4 pickup the winner of its coveted 4x4 of the Year award. This is the 27th year of the enthusiast magazine’s in-depth competition of new 4x4 vehicles, and the first time a Suzuki product has taken home the award.

"The Suzuki Equator Crew Cab RMZ-4 pickup handily won this year’s test, despite being pitted against top-of-the-line competition," said Rick Péwé, Editor-in-Chief of Petersen's 4-Wheel & Off-Road.  "The pickup consistently placed well ahead of the competition in most areas, and great value and fun factors sent it over the top. Basic, solid construction gave us the confidence to take the truck wherever we wanted."

The Suzuki Equator Crew Cab RMZ-4 pickup topped the field of seven competent competitors and ranked high in every category of this year’s in-depth test. The grueling 1,000-mile trial evaluates each vehicle’s suspension, engine, transmission, and transfer case along with the style and creature comforts they provide. Most importantly, the 4x4s are judged on how well they perform off-road. This year’s competitors included the Dodge Ram 1500 TRX4 Quad cab, Ford F-150 FX4, Hummer H3 Alpha, Hummer H3T Adventure, Kia Borrego EX V8, and Toyota Sequoia Platinum.

"To win the Petersen’s 4-Wheel & Off-Road 2009 4x4 of the Year Competition is a very high honor," said Kevin Saito, American Suzuki’s President. "The editorial staff at Petersen’s are some of the toughest truck critics because they know how hard core truck customers really use—and occasionally even abuse—their trucks. We’re gratified that Petersen’s 4-Wheel & Off-Road recognizes the new Suzuki Equator’s class-leading off-road hardware and durability, whether it is hauling our Suzuki cycle, ATV or marine products, or tackling off-road challenges itself," he added.

To be eligible to compete, a vehicle must be all-new, or have improvements that make it perform significantly different from the previous model year. Vehicles must also be available for sale before January 15 of the model year, have a production run of at least 2,500 units, and have a two-speed transfer case. The complete test results and vehicle evaluations for the 2009 4x4 of the Year competition will appear in the February 2009 issue, available December 2, 2008, and will also be available on the Petersen’s 4-Wheel & Off-Road website at www.4wheeloffroad.com.

Win a New 2008 Grand Vitara from Suzuki of Wichita and FOX Kansas

Play the Suzuki Scramble for your chance to win a Brand New 2008 Suzuki Grand Vitara...a real SUV not a poser SUV!  Stay tuned for details...

Jay Walking with Big Jay

Big Jay (Jake Ramstack) was a Super Car Guy, now he spends his time serving kids with YoungLife here in Wichita.  Jake is an Everyday Hero serving the community here in the ICT. 

I have the privledge of attending the annual Young Life banquet on October 12, 2008 and it was a great time.  In an environment where the media reminds us of lots of bad news it is nice to see people making a difference in the lives of others...

Young Life staff and volunteers:  Thank you for giving to the Lord and our community here in Wichita!

Watch Jay Walking with Big Jay for a good belly laugh:

Your Bill of Rights for Car Shopping...

At Suzuki of Wichita we are more than a dealership selling great vehicles. We actually care about helping people which is why we believe when it comes to car buying everyone has the right to Life, Liberty and the pursuit to Ride Home Happy! You'll Ride Home Happy because we've installed these Bill of Rights to Car Buying:

View the Non-Commissioned Team explaining "Bill of Rights 1-5"

1. The Right to HAVE FUN

2. The Right to WIN

3. The Right to SAVE TIME

4. The Right to SAY NO

5. The Right to SELECTION

View the Non-Commissioned Team explaining "Bill of Rights 6-10"

6. The Right to STAY HAPPY

7. The Right to POSITIVELY OUTRAGEOUS SERVICE

8. The Right to INFORMATION

9. The Right to SHOP AT YOUR LEISURE

10. The Right to RIDE HOME HAPPY!

DON'T MISS THE GREAT AMERICAN CAR BUYING REVOLUTION!

Switchfoot Rockin the GV with Dare You to Move

For fans of the band Switchfoot and their amazing song Dare you to Move (lyrics below) here is the bootleg first release of the Brand New 2009 Suzuki GV TV Spot called "Live" feat. Switchfoot.   

Little Known Fact:  The name Switchfoot came from the band's love of surfing (Switchfoot is a surfing term).  Great choice for the Live Large Drive Small Suzuki Grand Vitara.  Coming Soon!  The best part of the video is the guy surfing behind the GV (must see video)...

This video will get you off the couch to seek some fun...The GV will get you down the road to seek some adventure...The Band will help you question your existence and seek salvation...

Dare you to Move, Switchfoot:

Welcome to the planet
Welcome to existence
Everyone's here
Everyone's here
Everybody's watching you now
Everybody waits for you now
What happens next?
What happens next?

I dare you to move
I dare you to move
I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor
I dare you to move
I dare you to move
Like today never happened
Today never happened before

Welcome to the fallout
Welcome to resistance
The tension is here
The tension is here
Between who you are and who you could be
Between how it is and how it should be

I dare you to move
I dare you to move
I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor
I dare you to move
I dare you to move
Like today never happened
Today never happened

Maybe redemption has stories to tell
Maybe forgiveness is right where you fell
Where can you run to escape from yourself?
Where you gonna go?
Where you gonna go?
Salvation is here

I dare you to move
I dare you to move
I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor
I dare you to move
I dare you to move
Like today never happened
Today never happened
Today never happened
Today never happened before

Suzuki of Wichita - RideHomeHappy.com click click

Japenese Square Watermelons

This is Genius...

They stack perfectly.  They slice perfectly.  Brilliant!

If they can do this with watermelon, imagine what they can do with vehicles...

Happy Customers are a Good Thing (Check them Out Here)

Ride Home Happy in your New Suzuki...from Suzuki of Wichita...RideHomeHappy.com Click Click

Press Play (inside the photo below) to see some of our 912 recent Happy Customers...Who knows, maybe you know someone of maybe you'll even see yourself...

[Construction Update]  First Time visiters do not worry...The new Suzuki Sqare completion target is November 1st, 2008...if customers are this happy in a triple-wide, just think what their smile will look like in the new building. 

Don't lol me bff

I am getting all of these crazy text messages and emails from my kids and my team that look like cryptic code.  How am I to respond when I can't make sense of the lingo? 

BBL = Be back later, CYA = See Ya, GJ = Good Job, H/O = Hold On, JK = Just Kidding, K = OK, L8 = Late, TY = Thank You, UR = You Are, Y = Why?  Just to name a few...

Photo from the "LG National Texting Championship"

I tend to complain about not using proper punctuation and sentence structure...maybe I'm getting too old? 

In the spirit of being cool we have implemented our own set of Suzukian Communication Code words...designed to benefit our clients.  So if you are around the dealership and you hear any of the following phrases, you will automatically know what we mean...

NP = No Problem

BHT = Be Happy Too (works great at home as well)  eg:  Honey, can you take out the trash?  "BHT"

EPOMJ = Easiest part of my job

IU = I Understand (only possible for a well trained non-commissioned salesperson)

IC = I'm confident

PAM = Please Allow Me

It's about time a car dealership started speaking the customers language! 

Improving your MPG

Drive Smart

Aggressive driving (speeding, rapid acceleration and braking) wastes gasoline. It can lower your MPG by 33 percent at highway speeds and by 5 percent cruising around town. Smart driving is also safer for you and others, so you may save more than gas money.

MPG Benefit: 5% to 33% improvement | Equivalent Gasoline Savings:  $0.19 to $1.23 per gallon

Obey the Speed Limit

While each vehicle reaches its optimal MPG at different speeds (or range of speeds), gas mileage usually decreases swiftly at speeds over 60 mph.

You can assume that for each 5 mph you drive over 60 mph is like coughing up an additional $0.26 per gallon for gasoline.

Obeying the speed limit is also safer (though, self-admittedly, very difficult).

MPG Benefit: 7% to 23% improvement | Equivalent Gasoline Savings:  $0.26 to $0.86 per gallon

Avoid Excessive Idling

Idling will earn you 0 miles per gallon. Cars with larger engines will waste more gas at idle than do cars with smaller engines.  Turn the engine off if your are going to be sitting long!

Use Cruise Control

Using cruise control on the highway helps you maintain a constant speed and, in most cases, will save gasoline.

Note: Cost savings are based on an assumed fuel price of $3.74/gallon (which should be enough today: 9/24/08, but could be fun to look at in the future).

Credits

Estimates for fuel savings from drive smart are based on Energy and Environmental Analysis, Inc., Owner Related Fuel Economy Improvements, Arlington, Virginia, 2001.

Estimates for the effect of speed on MPG are based on a study Development and Verification of Light-Duty Modal Emissions and Fuel Consumption Values for Traffic Models, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, March 1999.

Top 10 New Car Colors

In 2007, White replaced Silver as the most popular vehicle color in the North American New Car Market according to DuPont.  Here's the list in very particular order:

Colors Listed by Popularity with the respective percentage of vehicles sold by color...

1.  White or Pearl White - 19%

2.  Silver - 18%

3.  Black - 16%

4.  Red - 13%

5.  Gray - 12%

6.  Blue - 12%

7.  Beige or Brown - 5%

8.  Yellow or Gold - 3%

9.  Green - 2%

10.  All Others - Less than 1%

What's your favorite? 

PS:  According to DuPont, 2009 is expected to be a BLUE Year (Vapor Blue for you SX4 fans)!

We finally got our new airplane!

We're selling tons of Suzuki's, so it was finally time to get our plane.  I've been putting it off for far too long now...instead, spending the cash on our customers and our co-workers...but now it's time to do something just for me...

Most car dealers have airplanes.  They fly to play golf, they fly to dinner, they fly to go shopping...so obviously we need an airplane. 

I wanted a BeechJet but couldn't afford it...LearJet was out of reach...

Cessna?  Boeing?  Any employee discounts out there?  Remember this is the Air Capital. 

Should I place a bid on Obama's plane or McCain's?  Who won't be needing theirs?

Great News!  Thanks to our friend John Halligan we got our airplane. 

Meet the official Suzuki of Wichita Aircraft...

Radio controlled but affordable...look for it in the sky near you!

Thanks John Halligan...it looks great! (See John below)

Suzuki SX4 vs. Toyota Prius

The Toyota Prius is the most fuel efficient and the best selling Hybrid on the market.  A Prius Touring with options has comparable equipment to a SX4 Sport Touring. 

According to www.fueleconomy.gov (MPG estimates from drivers like you) the SX4 averages 37 mpg and the Prius averages 46 mpg. 

Today, the Prius MSRP is $24,804 with $0 in rebates and the SX4 Sport is $17995 and offers a $1000 rebate (I sell them cheaper because of volume pricing).

The fuel cost (per year) for a Prius is $1304.35…15,000 miles per year @ $4.00/gal.
The fuel cost (per year) for a SX4 is $1621.62…15,000 miles per year @ $4.00/gal.

The Prius will save you $317.27 per year in fuel costs. 
The SX4 will save you over $7,809.00 in your pocket book on price. 
Thought:  You will have to keep your Prius 24.6 years to make up for the price difference. 

I realize that some Prius buyers purchase on environmental issues alone, but that's a different day. 

PS:  According to a September 1, 2008 article from Bankrate.com the Suzuki SX4 is THE #1 LEAST EXPENSIVE car in America to drive over a five-year time frame.  Yeah!

Here's a look at what are expected to be the 10 most expensive and the 10 least expensive 2008 model cars for maintenance and repairs over a five-year time frame.

Watch the Suzuki SX4 Sport Video Presentation:

Watch the Suzuki SX4 Crossover Video Presentation:

The Death of the SUV-Asaurus...

The Story of the SUV-Asaurus

Once upon a time, SUV-Asauruses roamed the earth.  People happily drove them everywhere and anywhere.  They took them skiing and surfing, and to the mall.  People didn’t really think about what they were doing, they just did it.  The bigger the Saurus, the better the Saurus. 

Now the SUV-Asauruses loved to guzzle gasoline, but their owners didn’t really care because gas was cheaper than cheap.  Then suddenly things changed.  Gas prices went through the roof, and people began to sell their SUV-Asauruses.  BUT nobody wanted them because they were too blasted expensive to drive.  And this made everyone VERY unhappy.  So like a bad rash, the SUV-Asauruses slowly went away. 

But then, just when everyone thought all the SUV adventure and fun was done,  a new kind of SUV called the Suzuki Grand Vitara or the GV for short arrived.  It was compact in size so it got good gas mileage; 26 miles per gallon on the highway.  And it had excellent power, in fact its V6 had 64 more horsepower than a Honda CRV.  And unlike most other compact SUVs, it had true 4X4 capability available, so people could take it to all the places they loved to go AND do all the things they loved to do.  So once again, EVERYONE was happy. 

Well…  Except for the SUV-Asaurus.

Live Large Drive Small

Suzuki SX4 Crossover #5 - Rally Car

Sometimes you just get lucky (or blessed) on Ebay. 

I was having one of those really busy, super crazy days getting pulled in every direction when I suddenly had an overwhelming feeling that I needed to go to Ebay and search for Suzuki stuff.  So I took a self-justified Ebay break (it's like a smoke break for us non-smokers) to look around. 

The interesting thing is that I have been so busy starting and running our business over the past year(sales, construction, marketing, etc.) that I had NEVER searched Ebay "just for fun" to look for Suzuki stuff.  Little did I know what I would find...

Amazing, I know.  Don't be mad. 

Steve Levy with C16 magazine built this car for the Sema Show.  He was given the car by SuzukiAuto (the 5th 2007 Suzuki SX4 Crossover according to the MSO) and his team went to work on the conversion (custom roll cage, light kit, seats, seatbelts, wheels, and on and on and on).  They did a breathtaking job on the car!

Come by and check out the oohsome (better than awesome according to Kayley Pitman) SX4 at Suzuki of Wichita. 

See the pictures on the C16 website