Commercial Auto Dealers

With the uncertain economy and prices of fuel, many people are choosing to save their money this year and forego a vacation. Many of them, however, are taking a “staycation” instead. A staycation typically means you are staying close to home and enjoying something in your area and enjoying something you may have never tried before. Your GMC dealer offers these tips if you want to take a staycation instead of going somewhere far away.

Unique Tours
Many towns have museums and other facilities within driving distance that you can take advantage of during this summer. But if you have kids, you can also ask other places for behind-the-scenes tours. See if you can get a tour of a fire station, a bowling alley or anywhere else where you frequent. You may get a new appreciation for those places when you know what goes on behind the scenes.

Local Water Parks
Just like museums, water parks are plentiful in many parts of the country. Take the kids and make an entire day out of it.

Local GMC Dealer
Visit your local GMC dealer and take a look at the newest vehicles on the market. Take one for a test drive and see what it’s like to have a luxurious ride. You may just end up buying one this summer!

We all know now the dangers of talking on your cell phone when you are driving. However, we continue to do it even in places where the legislature has made it against the law. So how can we stop drivers from engaging in this dangerous activity? Your GMC dealer offers these tips from a column in a Dallas newspaper to help combat this problem.

1. Designated talking areas. What if there were small places along the roads and highways where drivers could pull over and make their phone calls? Would that cut down on drivers talking on their phones while driving?

2. Carpool with others. If you have a habit of doing a lot of important business on the way to work and on the way home, carpooling may be a good idea. That way you can still talk on your cell phone without needing to worry about the road.

3. Use mass transit. You can talk on your cell phone all you want when you’re sitting on a bus. If some buses do not allow it, you can at least text while on your way to somewhere.

4. Blocking system. Some companies are creating software devices that block cell phone signals while the car is moving. This would be an ideal way to stop the activity, but that would mean others in the car could not talk on their cell phone either.

Talking on cell phones while driving seems like a problem where there is no easy solution. The best thing to do is to just avoid it altogether because it might just save your life.

Your GMC dealers would like to discuss and get your thoughts on a recent article that says the federal government withheld information regarding the correlation between cell phone usage and driving. According to a consumer advocate group, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration “shelved” a study in 2002 that showed the dangers of talking on your cell phone when behind the wheel of a car.

According to researchers who discovered the report, distracted drivers were to blame for almost 1,000 traffic deaths and more than 240,000 accidents in 2002 alone. The report also showed that talking on your cell phone when driving tripled or even quadrupled your risk of getting into an accident. If the government released that information when it was collected, who knows how many lives could have been saved?

“The idea that the federal government can withhold important safety data and its research on public safety is really disasterous,” said Margaret Kwoka, an attorney for Public Citizen, a consumer advocate group.

What are you thoughts about this? While it is a little shady that the report was withheld from the public, do you really think it would have made a huge difference? I mean, state after state is banning talking on your cell phone when you are driving, but people keep doing it despite the risk of a ticket.

If you truly must use your cell phone when you are driving, visit your Trenton area GMC dealer for a deal on a model that features Bluetooth connectivity so you can be safer when having a conversation.

A new OnStar feature is available on several vehicles at your local GMC dealer and it could save you tons of money if your car gets stolen.

The Remote Ignition Block feature was announced earlier this week and went into effect last week. The new service lets an OnStar adviser permission to keep the vehicle from restarting after the ignition is turned off.

“This capability will not only help authorities recover stolen vehicles, but can also prevent dangerous high speed pursuits from starting,” explained officials at GM in a statement. According to Chet Huber, the president of OnStar, the service has already been utilized seven times since last Friday. Surprisingly (or not), the first time it was used was in New Jersey.

OnStar is trying to add a number of new services for subscribers for safety and other reasons. The service already pinpoints the location of stolen vehicles and OnStar advisers can also slow a stolen vehicle down to an idling speed if needed. The service gets about 600 requests each month to help with stolen vehicles and advisers have helped with more than 28,000 requests in the last ten years.

If you have been looking for a practical SUV with a smaller size and better fuel efficiency, the new 2009 GMC Acadia may be exactly what you need. Your Philadelphia area GMC dealers would like to tell you about some of the more exciting and practical features you will find on the new Acadia.

• One of the most exciting features you will find on the new Acadia and many other GMC models for that matter is a 100,000 mile/five year warranty. This extensive warranty plan also includes roadside assistance and courtesy transportation or reimbursement for transportation needed while your vehicle is being repaired.
• A touch-screen navigation system and radio is available for the 2009 GMC Acadia. Maps and music are at your fingertips!
• Bluetooth capabilities allow you to use hands-free calling and other activities without taking your hands off the wheel. This is safe because you can keep your focus on the road and your hands on the steering wheel while doing other things you need to do.
• A power rear liftgate is available on the 2009 Acadia to make loading and unloading easier. You can even control it remotely.

Visit your GMC dealer today and see why the Acadia is one of the more popular SUVs on the market today!

Many people have found themselves in the tough situation of deciding between which bills to pay each month. If they pay the mortgage, they cannot afford to pay the car payment or vice versa. Your GMC dealer does not want you to fall in the trap of getting your new or used vehicle repossessed. As such, we offer these suggestions if you find yourself in a predicament of being unable to make your car payments each month.

The best thing you can do is to contact your lender the day you start having financial problems. Most lenders will work with you on payments and schedules, but you have to be willing to make that phone call and work something out.
Consider refinancing it. If you have been making payments for awhile, your lender may consider refinancing your car loan which may give you lower payments each month.

Get a private loan. A private loan for the amount you owe on the car can often save you money if you can get a lower interest rate.
• Sell it. If you sell your car yourself, you are more likely to get what it’s worth rather than trading it in. Be sure to get as much as you can out if it so you can use that money to pay off the car loan.

First it was cell phones and texting. Now I can see the next law for drivers: No eating while behind the wheel. A new report shows that some foods are more dangerous than others for drivers while they are driving. Your GMC dealer would like to discuss this article and we would like to know what you think about it, too.

The report about dangerous foods, which was released by Insurance.com in conjunction with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, said about 80 percent of traffic accidents occurred because of distracted drivers. Unfortunately, food leads to a distraction when you are behind the wheel. Here is a list of the most dangerous things you can eat while driving:

Coffee
Hot Soup
Chili Dogs
Tacos
Hamburgers
Ribs and Wings
Fried Chicken
Jelly Doughnuts
Soda
Chocolate

Most of these are dangerous because of the “slop factor,” which means they are messy and the driver may focus their attention on cleaning up the dripping sauces instead of on the road ahead of them. Others, like coffee and hot soup, may burn and cause the driver to lose their focus.

If any of these foods were banned for drivers, would you have to make changes? How many people actually drive without a coffee or a soda next to them? Does this mean you cannot eat a candy bar when driving? How much would your driving routine change if you could not have these things?

Now that the darker days of General Motors are over and the automaker has emerged from bankruptcy, GMC dealers are more optimistic than they have been in months. The new General Motors has restructured and streamlined its company to become a more efficient business and a stronger competitor in the entire auto industry.

“I feel very positive about GM,” said Mary Jamerson, one of the GMC dealers in Anderson. “For it to emerge from Chapter 11 so quickly is a good thing, not only for our customers, but for the country as a whole.” The Buick, Pontiac and GMC dealer went on to say that she thinks the company is now a “leaner and more nimble” company now that it has gone through bankruptcy.

Another dealer – Jerry Kutcha – is confident that GMC can compete with the newest and latest products from companies overseas.” There was a time when the cars were inferior, but that was in the past,” he explained. “Our cars, our competitive price wise, fuel-economy wise, and quality wise. I think GM has more fuel efficient cars than Toyota.”

With confidence like this, why not visit your GMC dealers today and experience the latest products by one of the world’s most recognized automakers. Come see what you’ve been missing!

If you have been keeping up with the auto industry at all, there’s not doubt you have heard about the “cash for clunkers” program recently passed by the federal government. But do you know what the program entails? Your GMC dealer would like to take this time to explain part of it in case it’s new to you.

• If you have a vehicle that was built since 1984, you can qualify for a voucher to apply toward the cost of a new vehicle.
• Vouchers typically range between $3,500 and $4,500 for qualifying vehicles.
• The new car that you purchase must get at least 22 miles to the gallon.
• If the new car gets between four and nine more miles per gallon than the one you are turning in, your voucher is $3,500.
• If the car you choose gets at least 10 miles more to the gallon, your voucher is for $4,500.
• Light trucks and SUVs must get at least 18 miles to the gallon to qualify for a voucher.
• Your new truck or SUV must get at least two to four more miles per gallon to qualify for the $3,500 voucher.
• To qualify for the $4,500 voucher, the new truck or SUV must get at least five gallons more per gallon than your used truck or SUV.

Visit your GMC dealer for a clearer understanding of these guidelines so you can choose something from our inventory that qualifies for the voucher. We’re here to help you save money by getting a great deal and using your voucher to its full potential!

Since coming out of bankruptcy, General Motors has been hard at work to bring customers back who may have been scared off. One of the ways officials are going to do this is by reshaping the car buying experience.

Fritz Henderson, GM President and Chief Executive, said one way the automaker is trying to reshape the buying experience is to offer new cars on eBay. He said GM is working on a test program with some dealerships in California that would allow car auctions on the popular website. “Customers will be able to bid on actual vehicles, just like they do in an eBay auction, including the option of choosing a predetermined “buy it now” price,” explained Henderson in a recent interview.

This would have major effects on dealerships who are trying to cut costs. For one thing, they could cut down on their staff of salespeople. They could also reduce the need for huge facilities in prime locations that cost a fortune. Instead, they could keep less inventory and a smaller facility in a less expensive location.

Currently, details are still being worked out on the project. We’ll keep you updated on any developments as they come up. Until then, why not check out the inventory at your GMC dealer and see what they have to offer?