AutoNation's Mike Jackson and His Truth Serum Speech
From Automotive News David Sedgwick January 21st, 2009
Somebody must have fed truth serum to Mike Jackson. At the Automotive News World Congress today, he delivered a speech that was funny, biting and very, very blunt. Perhaps it was the credit crisis that pushed him over the edge. Dealerships across the country are struggling to line up loans for customers with less than sterling credit. And AutoNation is no exception, says Jackson, the company's CEO.
Meanwhile, Chrysler Financial accepted 22 contracts from AutoNation stores in December, down from 823 a year earlier. "You can't do business without credit," he said. "It's like running an airline without jet fuel. That plane isn't leaving the ground without jet fuel."
He had plenty to say on other topics. After asserting that the United States has no coherent energy policy, Jackson warned that consumers won't buy a new generation of fuel-efficient electric cars, plug-ins and diesels unless it's in their economic interest.
And with gasoline costing less than $2 a gallon, saving fuel is no longer a pocketbook issue. "We are letting the American consumer be whipsawed back and forth" by gyrating gasoline prices, he said.
He proposed an increase in the gasoline tax -- say, a $1 hike spread over a five-year period -- to give consumers an incentive to buy fuel-efficient vehicles. Congress shouldn't raise the gasoline tax immediately, Jackson cautioned. Its first priority should be to revive the economy.
During the Q&A session, Jackson was asked for a "buy, sell or hold" rating on various brands. He obliged. Honda is a "buy," while Dodge is a "sell." Jackson said he "didn't understand" Acura or Lincoln, and he joked that Volkswagen managers couldn't understand why Americans would reject such clearly superior cars.
Chevrolet is the only brand that GM needs, and Jackson adds that he is "not a big fan" of the Korean automakers.
And on, and on. Jackson got his share of laughs, but one got the impression that he was telling exactly what he thought. No filters, no censorship, no Miss Manners.
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