Ten Las Vegas auto dealers assume AutoNation name

Phil Levine

Tuesday, Dec. 7, 1999 | 11:01 a.m.

Las Vegans shopping for new or used cars will find it increasingly difficult to avoid doing business with AutoNation USA.

Beginning last month, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.-based AutoNation's 10 local dealerships started marketing themselves under the parent company banner. The move comes as part of a national branding campaign designed to promote the idea that bigger means better value to customers.

The 10 local dealerships are: Desert Buick GMC; Desert Lincoln Mercury; Desert Pontiac-GMC Buick; Desert Dodge; Desert Volkswagen Audi; Toyota West; Nissan West; Las Vegas Honda Automobiles; Chaisson Motor Cars; and AutoNation USA.

Chaisson BMW in Henderson is also owned by AutoNation, but is not included in the name change initiative.

AutoNation USA first initiated the branding campaign in the Metropolitan Denver market. Expanding that initiative nationwide, the company is also promoting a variety of uniform sales promises. Pledging to eliminate the need for price haggling, AutoNation touts "everyday low price guarantees" as well as a 12-month, 12,000-mile warranty on service work.

Despite their already formidable Las Vegas presence, company officials say they intend to acquire more local dealerships.

"We expect to continue to look for (local) dealerships with good reputations, that are known for quality customer service," said Larry Carter, head of AutoNation's Las Vegas operations. "We'll be focusing primarily on dealerships with models we don't as yet offer, such as Ford or Chevrolet."

However, Carter said the affluent Las Vegas car buyer will be exempt from his company's universal branding campaign as Chaisson BMW is excluded.

"The company has decided that luxury car franchises won't be affected by this name change," he said. "Those franchises are different from the rest. Customers in that market don't want to feel like they're involved in a large volume campaign."

Despite hikes in interest rates, Carter said 1999 will likely be another strong year for Las Vegas' auto dealerships.

"I expect we'll see even higher sales numbers this year," he said. "There's no signs of a slowdown, and the minor increases in interest rates haven't affected sales at all."

For the three months ending Sept. 30, AutoNation reported revenue of $5.5 billion, up from $3.5 billion one year earlier. Last year, AutoNation had revenues of $16.1 billion, up from $9.1 billion in 1997. The company had operating income of $535.2 million in 1998, compared to a loss of $11.9 million in 1997.

Company officials are convinced that a national branding campaign will familiarize customers with a single name, and provide cost savings. It's estimated that AutoNation's 400 dealerships collectively spend about $230 million on print and television ads each year; that amount will likely decline with marketing one brand name, said Carter.

The company's also looking to make its mark in the world of e-commerce through its website, AutoNationDirect.com. As part of that effort, dealership showrooms feature Internet sales guides offering customers the ability to search for cars online.

"To date, we've sold about $750 million worth of autos online," said company spokesman Oscar Suris. "We've set a target of $1.5 billion in online sales in 2000. That's still a relatively small part of our business, as we will sell about $20 billion in cars this year. But it's a figure that we expect will continue to grow over time."

This month's national branding campaign plays a key role in that online growth, Suris said.

"Beginning this month, our customers can access online all the vehicles in stock at our 400 locations nationwide," Suris said. "We're truly hoping to expand that 10-mile radius dealerships normally work within."