Commercial Auto Dealers

Are you looking for ways to drive new sales for your funeral home? If so, our Monthly Blog Series is worth checking out. Each month we write an article about how funeral home owners and funeral directors can use new technologies, mainly online tools, to market their business and drive new revenue sources. Last month we discussed how Funeral Home Owners and Funeral Directors can create blog obituaries in order to create a revenue source for Funeral Home Owners. In this month’s article, we are going to take Blog Obituaries to the next level, and throw out the idea of creating Memorial Websites as a new service for funeral homes.

Everyday people who have passed are remembered. They are remembered in the thoughts of their friends & family. They are also remembered through actions like leaving flowers at their grave site, or just the simple act of stopping by their grave site to say hello. While people are alive, they want to feel like they will be remembered when their time on this earth is up. Even though it’s not yet possible for technology to allow us to live forever, technology has made it possible to be memorialized forever. The Internet makes this possible. To us, the combination of people wanting to be remembered and the technology allowing us to do so, provides a great opportunity for innovative funeral home owners.

Funeral home owners can use tools like Ning or even WordPress to create a Memorial Website for the deceased. Customers can pay funeral home owners to develop, design, host, and maintain their memorial website. This can create upfront income for funeral home owners, as well as, residual income through hosting and maintenance fees.

Let’s use Ning as our tool of choice for creating the Memorial Websites. You can create a ning for your funeral home. Those customers who purchase the service will become a member of your Ning in the name of the deceased. A ning page can be created on behalf of the deceased. Friends & family can sign-up to add to the Ning and interact with one another on behalf of their lost loved one. The Ning can contain a blog, so that people can post their memories of the deceased, write about causes that are going on in the name of the deceased, etc. Images can be shared. Videos can be uploaded. Comments and interaction can take place, all through their very own Memorial Ning Website. The memory of their loved one will live on online.

Funeral home owners can make this a reality for their customers. It may be possible to charge anywhere from $500 – $1500 for the development of the site, and then you can charge a small monthly hosting/maintenance fee – only a few dollars, as this will add up the more of these that you develop. The actual maintenance needed will be minimal. Funeral Directors can even outsource the entire service to an online marketing agency if they wanted. Then you can simply take some profit off the top for selling the service, but you don’t have to worry about executing on something that isn’t in your core skill set.

Offering to create Memorial Websites as a service at your funeral home could be a great way to drive new revenue for your business. We think that people would be interested in having them created on behalf of their loved-ones, and the most likely place to go when someone passes away is to a funeral home. If you can offer this innovative solution, customers won’t look elsewhere.

What do you think about the idea of creating memorial websites? Has anyone offered a service like this in the past? We’d love to hear from you.

Extending the life of your Ford engine is essential for saving money and enjoying your commercial truck for many years. But do you actually utilize methods that will make it last?

The first thing you can do to extend the life of the engine in your Ford truck is to change the oil regularly. Be sure to check your owner’s manual for the scheduled maintenance, though. These days, you don’t necessarily need to change it every three months or 3,000 miles. Many newer Ford commercial truck engines can go 5,000 or even 10,000 miles before needing a change. However, check your manual before making that decision yourself.

Also, driving conscientiously will save a great deal of wear and tear on your Ford engine. Don’t try to race the car next to you at the red light, drive the speed limit and use some common driving sense to keep your engine from getting stressed and reducing its life.

Keeping the fluids filled is a third way to keep your engine running smooth in your Ford commercial truck. Antifreeze (coolant) keeps your truck engine cool when driving and oil keeps parts lubricated to reduce heat. Since heat and friction can damage your commercial truck engine faster than anything else, these two fluids are vital for getting the longest use of your engine.

For a complete checkup to ensure your engine is running smooth, visit your Ford commercial truck dealer today.

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The “Check Engine” light on your Ford can be one of the most annoying lights on the dashboard display, but it can also be one of the most important. The light could mean any number of things and not all of those things are necessarily bad. Here are two things you can do to diagnose the “Check Engine” light when it illuminates on your Ford commercial truck.

1. Check the gas cap – Many times, the light will come on if your gas cap is loose. This is because the computers on cars today measure the pressure in your gas tank. If the pressure drops below a certain point, it sets off the sensor which causes your light to come on. Before doing anything else, turn your Ford truck off, tighten the cap, and turn it back on to see if that fixes the problem.

2. Buy a code scanner at your local auto parts store. You can hook a scanner up to your Ford commercial truck and it will give you a code that refers to the reason your “Check Engine” light has come on. You can then look up the code online and determine the problem. If you know how to fix it, that’s great. If not, bring it to your commercial Ford truck dealer for a complete diagnostic and repair.

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After years of use or thousands of miles of driving, brake problems are going to be inevitable. But do you know how to determine what the problem is without taking your Chevy commercial truck to a mechanic? Here are some simple ways to diagnose your brake problems to give you a better idea about what’s wrong so you can make an informed decision.

Squealing
If the brakes on your Chevrolet commercial truck squeal until you push on the brake, you have worn the pads down. The high-pitched squeal you hear is a little sensor that is designed to alert you so you know the pads have worn down and need to be changed.

Soft Braking
Soft braking refers to pushing on your brake pedal and having it go down before the brakes actually “kick in.” This is usually because of air bubbles in your brake line and can often be solved by bleeding the brakes. It could also be an indicator that you have a bad brake master cylinder in your Chevy commercial truck.

Pulsating Brakes
When you push on the brakes and they feel like they are pulsating, you probably have warped rotors. This can affect your stopping distance so it’s vital to have this checked.

These are just a few of the things that can go wrong with your truck brakes. For more information or a complete checkup on your braking system, visit your Chevy commercial truck dealer today.

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Elegance. Style. Classic luxury. These are the attributes of the 2010 Cadillac S&S Medalist.

When it comes to funeral coaches, S&S doesn’t set the standard. It is the standard. Synonymous with prestige, you’d expect one of their funeral coaches to offer class and style. And that’s exactly what the S&S Medalist from Cadillac offers. Nothing less.

Standard features include:

• Heavy duty Cadillac chassis
• Choice of exterior paint OEM
• Pinstripe choice
• Full vinyl top
• Coach lights
• Leather seats
• Cloth headliner
• One-piece cloth drapery with velcro
• Vinyl or cloth interior sidewall
• Laminate rear compartment flooring
• 3-piece rear partition glass
• Closed church truck

And it just keeps getting better. The Medalist options include:

• Limousine style rear windows
• Oval rear windows
• Hidden side-door umbrella storage
• Flag staff holder
• Manual extend table
• Electric extend table
• Chrome wheels
• Stainless steel roof band
• Flip-up church truck compartment door
• Rear floor storage
• One-piece partition glass
• Cornering strobe lights
• Beacon ray roof

And a whole lot more.

The 2010 Cadillac S&S Medalist is designed for comfort and style. It meets the following dimensions with all the elegance and style you’d expect from Cadillac.

• Length = 245.2 inches
• Height = 70.3 inches
• Width = 77 inches
• Casket floor length = 116 inches of usable space
• Loading door height = 34.3 inches
• Loading door width = 43.5 inches
• Loading door angle = 135 degrees

The inner body structure is completely steel all the way around and crash-test proven. Cadillac went all out and made the S&S Medalist as safe as it is elegant and you can’t get any better style if you spent twice as much time shopping.

The 2010 Ford Transit Connect puts the utility in sports utility. But it’s not really right to call it an SUV. It’s more of a CUV – a commercial utility vehicle. Nothing really sport about the way it looks. But don’t call that a negative. It’s practical and honest.

This is the perfect vehicle for transporting cargo and passengers from Point A to Point B, as in an airport shuttle or local private bus service.

One of the key selling points for the Ford Transit Connect is its massive cargo space: 135 cubic feet. That’s enough to carry luggage for several passengers. And there’s no precocious sophistication either. The engine block is a simple Duratec 2.0-liter 4-cylinder 4-speed automatic with 138 horsepower. And with a fuel efficiency of 20 mpg in the city and 24 mpg on the highway, it’s perfect for cruising.

On the way are two all-electric versions of the Transit Connect.

Ford planned this one well. They manufactured an awesome commercial vehicle with a simple commercial look. And it’s built with the standard Ford toughness.

The entertainment system consists of AM/FM radio, but it is upgradeable to a CD player.

You have a 1,600 pound payload capacity and the 2010 Ford Transit Connect can be outfitted with a split forward-folding bench seat in the back and with extra alterations could make an excellent family vehicle. But the real value in its utilitarian interior.

An in-dash computer makes DeWalt’s Tool Link available easily. RFID tags cling to tools to allow the cargo van to scan them and other inventory items before you leave for the jobsite or start your delivery route. You are able to easily manage your tools and on-board inventory by keeping an electronic record of what should be on board. You not only have vehicle security, but commercial tool security as well.

This is beyond nice. It’s practical. Commercial. And useful. And the starting MSRP is $21,475. Once again, the name is 2010 Ford Transit Connect.

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What vehicle has power, pizazz and class? The 2010 Chevy Silverado 1500 LS Crew Cab Short Box.

Chevy Silverado is a truck that pickup lovers respect and there is good reason. It’s the perfect driving vehicle and is able to carry large loads with ease. Good for work or play.

The 2010 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LS features a 4.8-liter 8-cylinder V-8 engine and an automatic transmission. The drivetrain is your choice of rear wheel drive or 4-wheel drive.

Every Chevy lover knows you won’t settle for less when you drive a pickup with the Chevrolet brand attached. Here’s why:

The 2010 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LS Crew Cab Short Box features:

• 302 horsepower at 5,600 rpm
• 305 pound feet of torque at 4,600 rpm
• Variable valve control
• 14 mpg fuel efficiency in the city, 19 on the highway
• Sequential mulit-point fuel injection
• Power steering
• Front wheel independent suspension

For offroading, the Chevy Silverado 1500 LS is equally impressive:

• Approach angle: 15 degrees
• Minimum 9-inch ground clearance
• Maximum 12.3-inch ground clearance
• Departure angle: 23 degrees

The interior seats are comfortable bench seats with a rear seat center
armrest between split-bench seating. The front center armrest includes storage and there’s a split folding rear seat. The truck seats 6.

Comfort features include power windows, remote keyless entry, overhead console, emergency communication system, speed control, tilt steering wheel and a lot more. The entertainment system consists of 6 speakers, a CD player, radio data system, MP3 decoder and AM/FM radio.

Those are what is offered with the 2010 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LS Crew Cab Short Box RWD.

The 4WD trim gets slightly less to the gallon, but it’s still powerful and

impressive on the road.It’s got all the same creature comforts as the rear wheel drive and looks just as sexy. With both vehicles you get an overhead airbag for safety, ignition disable, electronic stability, dual front impact airbags, ABS, panic alarm, occupant sensing airbag, security system, dual front side impact airbags and traction control. All of that for safety and security and you still get either vehicle for less than MSRP.

When it comes to power on the road or off the road, the 2010 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LS Short Crew Cab is unstoppable.

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The 2008 Ford F550 Chassis Super Cab is a workhorse and if a workhorse is what you are looking for, stop looking. You’ve found it.

For starters, the engine is a 6.4-liter 8 cylinder V-8 with an automatic transmission. The Super Cab is a double cab with four doors and it’s 4-wheel drive. There’s no better power anywhere on the road.

The sequential multi-point fuel injection powertrain with mode select transmission is enough for just about any terrain. And the suspension is just as remarkable:

• Tires: 225/70SR19.5G
• Dual rear wheels
• Front and Rear anti-roll bars
• Power steering

But it gets better than that even.

The body length of the Ford F550 Chassis with the Super Cab is 247 inches. Width equals 93.6 inches. And the towing capacity is an impressive 16,000 pounds. That’s enough to carry one full-size adult male African elephant and then some.

If you like off-roading, you’ll appreciate that your ground clearance is 7.9 inches. Lots of room there to bounce and get to where you’re headed.

What makes buying a 2008 Ford F550 Chassis Super Cab nice is no immediate depreciation. With a new vehicle you’ll see its value decline the moment you sign the paperwork. But with the 2008 model you get every ounce of value out of your truck. And this vehicle has less than 16,000 miles on it. It’s just getting broken in!

Options that have been added to this Ford pickup include:

• 4-Wheel disc brakes
• ABS
• AM/FM Radio
• Dual front impact airbags
• Front bench seats
• Passenger cancellable airbag
• Rear split-bench seats
• Split folding rear seat
• Trip computer

Now is the perfect time to buy pre-owned vehicles. With the 2008 Ford F550 Chassis Super Cab you’ll get all the value right up front with a vehicle that is ready for the road – or the off road.

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First, please let us welcome you to the Faulkner-Ciocca Truck Center blog! We are really excited about getting our blog up & running. We hope that you find the articles that we publish on the Faulkner-Ciocca Truck Center blog informative, and that you’ll continue to check back with us throughout the week to get access to our latest articles.

Right off the bat, we want to inform our readers of a monthly program that we will be running on our blog, and Facebook. The monthly program was setup to support the local community, which is why we call it our, Local Partner Program. In the current economic environment, we believe that it’s more important than ever to support our neighbors. We want to keep our business in the community, and we hope that our Local Partner Program encourages everyone in our local Quakertown community to do the same.

So here’s how it works…Each month, Faulker-Ciocca Truck Center is going to partner with a local Quakertown business, and through that partnership, we are going to provide the local Quakertown community with a special discount coupon to our local parnter’s business. One month we might partner with a local Quakertown restaurant, and send out Free Appetizer coupons, and another month, we may partner with a local bowling alley to offer you Free Shoe Rentals. All that matters is that each month the local Quakertown community benefits by receiving a discount at one of their favorite stores, and local businesses benefit from added exposure, and increased store traffic. Any money that’s spent, stays in the local Quakertown community. Everybody wins!

We will be posting a blog article every month, and in that article, we will feature our local partner. We will then post our local partner coupons on Facebook, so that the local community can log in, and print out the coupons. If you’d like to be notified when new coupons are available, please consider signing up for the Faulkner-Ciocca Truck Center Insider Program. On top of our local partner coupons, Faulkner-Ciocca Insiders receive exclusive savings opportunities on service, parts, and vehicles at Faulkner-Ciocco Truck Center. We hope that you’ll consider participating in our local partner program, by becoming a Faulkner-Ciocca Insider today.

At this time, we are currently looking for local partners. If you, or anyone you know, owns a local business, in or around, Quakertown, please leave a comment below, or connect with us on Facebook.

Last month we discussed how Funeral Home Owners and Funeral Directors can add a funeral home to Google Places in order to build awareness of their services and drive more traffic to their website, blog, and other online assets. For this post, we are going to discuss a new revenue source for Funeral Home Owners.

Obituaries printed in the local newspaper allow readers to know if anyone they knew has died. Obituaries usually describe the individual who died, provide funeral arrangements, and state the surviving family members. Obituaries have been around for a long time, but they haven’t really evolved much. This provides an opportunity for creative Funeral Home Owners. Funeral Home Owners can create a service whereby they produce Blog Obituaries for their customers.

The benefits to family members in having a Blog Obituary versus a standard newspaper obituary are:

• Much more information about the person’s life can be included, as space is not an issue
• Images can be inserted
• The Blog Obituary can technically be online FOREVER — Keeping the memory of their loved-one alive
• A Blog Obituary can link out to other sites that are relevant to the deceased, such as a charity or even a Flickr Slide Show about their life.

A blog obituary would probably take 2-3 hours to create, and funeral home owners can probably charge anywhere from $250 – $300 for each blog obituary. If you get really creative with your pricing, being that blog articles can be hosted forever, you can price the obituaries two separate ways. The first price would be to create the blog obituary and host it on your blog for 1 month, which would be in that $250 – $300 range. The second price would include the same as the first price, except that you’ll host it as long as the blog is live (theoretically, forever), which you can charge say $400 for. For an extra $100, the family can keep their loved-ones’ memory alive forever.

To create a Blog Obituary Service, you must first start a blog. WordPress offers a great free platform, as well as, a paid service. You should blog about more than just obituaries, as blog articles are a great way to drive traffic to your website. The Obituaries Section can be one section of your blog, just like it is in a newspaper. For those customers who purchase this service, simply schedule some time to learn about the life of the deceased, collect images, and find out how the family wants the person portrayed. Then write the article and send out your invoice. Blog Obituaries are a great way for Funeral Home Owners to add new revenue sources for their business.