Commercial Auto Dealers

On Wednesday, we wrote about Derek Lewis, a Cadillac hearse lover in Mesa, Arizona. He has turned his love of Cadillac hearses and funeral cars into a fun hobby that turns heads when he drives down the street. Although he is a full-time spa repair technician, he still finds time to enjoy his 1975 Cadillac hearse.

Lewis is the creator and founder of the Kaos Funeral Cars club, an organization that attracts hearse lovers in the area. As a matter of fact, it’s the only club of its kind in Arizona. Recently, it co-sponsored a charity event for the Phoenix Children’s Hospital. The club participates in charitable events and “good causes” like this throughout the year, too.

Another Cadillac hearse lover in Arizona – Gary Burroughs of Chandler – enjoys customizing and “tricking out” hearses. He began his career working on motorcycles and hot rods, but he got into Cadillac hearses about seven years ago. So far, he has put thousands of dollars into making his 1970 Cadillac hearse unique.

Glen Wacker is another Cadillac hearse lover in the area. He learned of the beauty of hearses after Lewis donated a hearse to him for his appearances on a show on CMT. He now owns a 1988 Lincoln Towncar hearse that he uses in the show.

With all these hearse enthusiasts, these funeral cars are starting to become more common on the roads and part of the mainstream. You’ll probably see many of them on the roads this Halloween weekend, too. Just be sure to be safe this weekend so you don’t end up in the back of one.

Throughout the year, hearse dealerships typically do not see a lot of business. They might get a flow of funeral directors looking for new Cadillac hearses or the occasional person wanting a car that is out of the ordinary. But generally, they might not see too many customers.

That all changes when it comes to the Halloween season. Many hearse dealerships may rent out their hearses to people for a variety of reasons. Some simply want to go from party to party in a chauffeured hearse. Others might want to rent a hearse to set on display outside of their haunted house or some other Halloween attraction. This weekend is when it all comes alive (so to speak) for hearse dealerships.

One owner of a hearse dealership in Mesa, Arizona gets dozens of people asking about hearse rental and other services in the weeks leading up to Halloween. However, he gets a lot of negative reactions in his city when he drives around in his 1975 Cadillac hearse. He has entered it in several car shows, but some have refused him entry because they think it is offensive. He says he has also been refused service at some fast-food restaurants, too.

Since this is Halloween week, we’ll write more about this man and his love for hearses on Friday. Be sure to come back for more!

With Halloween on Friday of this week, you’re going to see a lot more funeral cars on the roads than usual in the next few days. You’ll even see some funeral cars and Cadillac hearses parked at local haunted attractions through the weekend.

The Haunted Ball at Pearl is one place where you can get your “fright on” this weekend. Described as a place that is for “the most sexy, sophisticated and successful spooks in the city,” it’s guaranteed to be a fun and exciting time for everyone that attends.

First of all, it’s highly sophisticated because it was created by the same person that designs some of the fashion events in Philadelphia throughout the year. In addition to that, it attracts some of the biggest names in the city and beyond as it takes place at the “most elegant new Miami-like dance venue in the city PEARL.”

You can hobknob with hundreds of other “sexy young partygoers” for an exciting Halloween event you won’t find anywhere else in the city. Make an impression and show up in funeral cars or some other unique Halloween vehicle that will make others take notice and just have a good time!

This is just one thing going on in Philadelphia for Halloween. Who knows? We could be celebrating a world championship with the Phillies this weekend, too!

We might not like to admit it, but buying a car is a game. In essence, it’s a game between the car dealer and the car buyer. It’s a game of negotiations, in fact. It’s really no different at a hearse dealership, either. Let’s say you found that perfect Cadillac hearse at your local hearse dealership. You just have to have it. But how do you negotiate a price with the salesman and come out with a great deal? Following are a few tips on how to negotiate at a hearse dealership for that vehicle that you want.

Never accept the first price the sales representative presents to you. There is almost always a better price coming if you say “no” to the first one. Just be calm and patient and wait for a better deal.

Flinch. This might take some practice, but flinching when the sales person offers a price shows that you are shocked by the “outrageous” offer. A little bit of body language can go a long way in the game of negotiation.

Be quiet. This is a psychological tactic. Tell the sales person that you’ll need a better price than that and then don’t say anything. Let them do the talking. Silence is often uncomfortable and causes people to say things unwittingly.

Save your concession until the end. If you are willing to give in on something, don’t admit it until you’re near the end of the negotiation. This makes the other side feel like they have a small victory.

These tips aren’t designed to imply that the sales representatives at your local hearse dealership are less than honest. But buying a vehicle is a game that takes skill and negotiation tactics. These tips just help everybody involved come out a winner.

Think about this: Going to your own burial site in a casket covered with logos from your favorite band or sports team and being transported in a customized Cadillac hearse that you designed. That’s exactly what’s happening at funerals these days.

The recent convention for funeral directors in Florida showcased a number of items that feature this idea. As more and more “baby boomers” pass away, many of them are choosing to design their own funerals before they die to include a number of personalized features.

One mortician, for instance, has seen several unique things happen at funerals. One person decided to have his own Corvette take the place of the typical Cadillac hearse to transport him to his burial site. Another person chose to have his tractor lead the procession of Cadillac hearses and funeral cars.

“More personalization is the big trend. It can help a family with their grief,” said one funeral director at the convention. Personalized items help grieving friends and family members remember their loved one fondly, too. “It makes it more meaningful to the surviving family,” said another attendee. “You’re honoring the way the person lived and what they liked.”

Do you have any ideas for what you would like to have at your funeral?

This article about the common sight of funeral cars in Philadelphia was written nearly a year ago. Unfortunately, things in “The City of Brotherly Love” aren’t much different today.

Last December, a group of funeral directors got together to create a site that nobody could miss. They gathered 29 funeral cars and Cadillac hearses in a row and drove through some busy streets of Philadelphia. Their purpose was to raise awareness of the high homicide rate throughout the city. At the time, those 29 funeral cars only represented about seven percent of the 391 murder victims in the city of Philadelphia alone.

Unfortunately, the display of funeral cars and hearses didn’t elicit the response the organizers were hoping for. Few people gave the procession a second look. Others just turned their heads as if it was a common site for them to see. The directors even noticed some small children giggling at the display while other Philly residents merely shook their heads and went on about their day.

Have we become so desensitized to death that even the site of nearly 30 funeral cars driving through the city doesn’t elicit much of a response? I’m sorry to say, but I think this type of display would elicit the same casual response in just about every big city in the nation.

It’s no secret that the United States economy has had its share of problems in recent months. But if you’re in the funeral industry, there’s no need to worry. That could mean that hearse dealerships are also in for a sales boom as funeral directors many need a variety of Cadillac hearses and other funeral cars to serve grieving families in their time of need.

Analysts predict that mortality rates will increase by 8.1 people for every 1,000 each year to about 11 per 1,000 each year. That’s going to increase the funeral industry’s current bottom line of about $11 billion annually by a couple billion at least.

However, there is one concern in the industry. A new trend is for families to hire an event planner to take care of all of the arrangements and details while funeral directors will simply take care of embalming and transportation to the burial grounds. One thing that could offset that, however, is the more personalized items available for funerals. You can get a casket decorated with logos from some of your favorite baseball teams and there’s even a special one covered with the rock band KISS. These will add to the funeral industry’s bottom line as well.

Although you may see fewer and fewer GMC 2008 SUVs on the dealer lots these days, there is a good reason for it. Dealers are selling the GMC 2008 SUVs with great incentives and bargains to make way for the new GMC Traverse, the automaker’s newest crossover.

One of the interesting and attractive qualities of the GMC Traverse is its car-like appearance. The front-end styling makes it look almost like a Malibu, but the rest of the vehicle has a mini-SUV style. Dale Aaron, an assistant sales manager at American Chevrolet Cadillac in Muncie, Indiana is delighted by the new crossover. He is pleased with the amount of room and cargo space that the Traverse has in addition to its fuel efficiency. He says most of the other competing models wither have one or the other – lots of interior space and bad gas mileage or good gas mileage combined with very little interior space.

The Traverse comes standard with four-wheel drive capabilities and gets about 24 miles to the gallon on the highway. The crossover has a six-speed automatic transmission, too. You can pick one of these 2009 models up at your local GMC dealer for prices starting out at about $29,000 for basic front-wheel drive versions. More “souped up” versions with more bells and whistles can cost up to $40,000 or even more depending on the features that you’re looking for.

Have you ever visited the Museum of Funeral Customs (MFC) in Springfield, Illinois, you’re missing out on some great pieces of history. Few things fascinate us in this life more than death and death-related customs and industries. The Museum of Funeral Customs is a tasteful and educational facility that can answer nearly any question you may have about the history of the funeral industry in the United States and abroad. Here are some exhibits and things you will find at the MFC:

• Horse-drawn carriages and old Cadillac hearses used to transport bodies to burial sites.
• A variety of caskets and how they have changed throughout the last several decades.
• A life-sized reproduction of the coffin in which Abraham Lincoln was buried.
• Various clothes and adornments that grieving people have worn over the years.
• Embalming books and resources that date all the way back to the 16th century.
• From time to time, the museum has temporary exhibits that showcase various themes and items that aren’t available regularly.

So if you enjoy seeing Cadillac hearses, caskets and other funeral-related stuff, make plans to visit the Museum of Funeral Customs. You’ll never forget it!

I read an article yesterday that discussed the future of General Motors in the United States. With the slumping sales throughout the auto industry and the recent economic crisis, some “doom and gloom” analysts do not have much hope for the nation’s largest automaker. However, the writer of this article gives several reasons why GM is good for America and why it will likely be here for many, many more years. Following are some highlights of that article:

• During World War II, GM was the automaker that was successful in building most of the war machines used during the battles. As a result, General Motors helped save America from its enemies.
• Within weeks after 9/11, General Motors began offering “no interest” car loans to customers to help stimulate the economy and “keep America rolling” through one of the most devastating events of our lifetime.
• General Motors has given millions of workers some of the most generous paychecks, pensions and health care benefits over the years.
• GM has offered some of the best vehicles in the world through its new truck dealers. The automaker still makes some of the best SUVs and full-size trucks in the world that are available at your local GMC dealer.

Come back tomorrow and we’ll have some highlights that show why GMC is here to stay.