Mercedes-Benz Dealership Opens Driving School for Teens to Build Loyalty

First Up 05/16/22

Mercedes-Benz Dealership Opens Driving School for Teens to Build Loyalty

Mercedes-Benz of Sugar Land is building customer loyalty and making roads safer at the same time. Automotive News reports since 2014, the Texas dealership has sent more than 260 teenagers through a driving safety school that uses an array of Mercedes vehicles to teach various maneuvers. The initiative started as a perk for dealership clients' children as part of a VIP benefits program, but it was expanded in 2019 to include the local Clements High School as the store made the experience available to those outside its customer base for the first time. The training has been a hit with Mercedes-Benz of Sugar Land clients in the dealership's "First. Class. Access." program, which is built around a package of lifestyle sweeteners. Besides the teen driving school, these customers get offers through businesses such as travel concierge services, member pricing at a spa and special rates at the Grand Hyatt Baha Mar in the Bahamas, to name a few. "We pitch it as taking care of our clients inside and outside of our dealership," said Derek Brown, the store's vice president of marketing. "I definitely think it's a retention tool. It's definitely a loyalty component." Click here for the full story.

Kevin Frye on Jeff Wyler Automotive’s First Crypto Car Sale

In late April, the Jeff Wyler Automotive Family sold its first car using cryptocurrency at its Mercedes-Benz of Fort Mitchell dealership. CBT News reports the international client paid for his 2021 Mercedes-Benz S580 with Ethereum cryptocurrency. Today on CBT News’ Inside Automotive, Kevin Frye, Marketing Director at Jeff Wyler, discusses this unique transaction. Jeff Wyler Automotive began exploring crypto payment options last year and launched the option for car buyers in February. Frye says the process is much simpler than car dealers think, and accepting crypto opens up many more payment channels for the convenience of customers. The dealer group uses a third-party exchange service to facilitate the transaction. So, Jeff Wyler never takes possession of the cryptocurrency, just the U.S. dollar amount. From Frye’s perspective, the real challenge now is marketing the service and making customers aware that crypto is accepted. Customers can choose to pay for their vehicle with 12 different types of cryptocurrency. They can also decide how much of the transaction they want complete with it. Click here for the full story.

Electric Cars' Turning Point May Be Happening as U.S. Sales Numbers Start Climb

American car shoppers seem to have discovered the electric car. Car and Driver reports. After a decade of slow but steady sales growth, electric vehicle registrations in the U.S. shot up 60 percent in the first quarter of 2022 even as overall new car registrations dropped 18 percent. It’s the latest indication that domestic EV acceptance may have turned some important but invisible corner recently. The sharp increase in electric-vehicle registrations at the start of this year meant that the EV share of the overall market hit a historic 4.6 percent. While places like Norway — where more than 86 percent of all new vehicle sales were electric in March — may laugh at that number, EV advocates know that change happens slowly, then all at once, or something like that. One big reason we’re seeing more EVs in people’s driveways is the explosion in exciting new models, from the Ford F-150 Lightning to the Kia EV6 to the Hyundai Ioniq 5. Click here to learn about the growth of EV sales.

23 of the Most Popular Crossovers Under $30,000

The last two years have been trying, and not just socially. Combined pressures saw car prices soar and availability get slim. Yet with news that cars are starting to become more available, you might actually be letting yourself dream about your next new ride. Still, money’s tight, Autoweek has come up with 23 of the most popular crossovers under $30,000. 1. Honda CR-V. If you don’t need the size of the larger Honda Pilot but still want the elevated view of a crossover, Honda has you covered. The Honda CR-V made its introduction in the 1990s but has kept up with the times. Powering the base CR-V is a 190-hp 1.5-liter turbocharged I4. If that’s not enough, Honda also offers the CR-V in a more powerful hybrid model that sends 212 hp to the wheels. Click here to learn more about the CR-V. Click here for the rest of the list and view the 22 remaining crossovers.

Study Warns of Tight Schedule to Switch to EVs

A brisk transition to zero-emission vehicles is underway, but it's still unclear whether the global transportation sector's makeover is enough to stave off the worst consequences of climate change. Cars and trucks account for three-quarters of all transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions, including planes, trains and ships, according to McKinsey & Co., and automakers and commercial truck manufacturers will have to accelerate their push to reach net-zero targets by the middle of the century. Those goals are firm, but the path to achieving them is less so. "How we get there is not written in stone," Eric Hannon, partner in McKinsey's Center for Future Mobility, told Automotive News. "Frankly, we're moving too slow. We aren't on a trajectory that gets us there yet." Hannon is co-author of "Mobility's Net-Zero Transition: A Look at Opportunities and Risks," a new report that assesses the state of electrification efforts and how they may affect the auto industry and climate itself in the decades ahead. Click here for the full story.

Around the Web

2023 Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-In Hybrid Comes to America, Will Go on Sale Later This Year [Carscoops]

The Safest New Cars for 2022 [Car and Driver]

2023 Honda CR-V  Leaked [Motortrend]

BMW Takes Eco-Friendliness to the Next Level [Carbuzz]

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