[BruceK]

Quote:

Originally posted by erazo
No doubt CAFE (corporate average fuel economy) may have something to do with it. Vipers are "cars" (as opposed to "trucks" such as SUVs), and their MPG skew the CAFE to the right. Thus, they need to sell a Neon (or equivalent) or two for each Viper sold. So Chrysler can use CAFE as an excuse to circumvent the franchise laws to allocate Vipers to the dealers who sell the most subcompacts.

Meeting CAFE is a DaimlerChrysler corporate-wide concern, it shouldn't have any impact on deciding which particular dealer gets to sell a small cache of Vipers while another gets none. (Same with Prowlers).

Perhaps Chrysler has not had any radical renegade dealers go after their throats like a certain Dallas BMW dealer allegedly did when it was overlooked to distribute the X5.

[Wynn]

Whether or not the state's requirements are ludicrous, unreasonable, or politically motivated is irrelevant. MINI's position, too, is irrelevant. The state has requirements from which it WILL NOT BEND, and it is not the car company's place to make demands of the state. Nor will such demands have any chance of success.

The issue is very simple, and there is only one solution: MINI must comply with the Texas requirements, exactly as every other car company here has done.

MINI, swallow your pride, pare the list, and start selling us our cars. You're hurting yourself by hurting us-- I am frustrated with your pointless finger-pointing, no matter how reasonable your argument. That you choose to argue at all is clearly futile.

[Wynn]

Let's put away the pointing finger of blame.
Let's pare our lists.
Let's do what we must, and then do what we like.
Let's admit to our mistakes.
Let's be better than we have to.
Let's go the wrong way, if we must, to reach the right destination, and let's enjoy the ride.
Let's sign, not bicker.
Let's not patronize "Great Texans."
Let's tell the truth, and face it.
Let's believe that humility will sometimes set us free.
Let's put people before business.
Let's swallow our pride, and JUST DO IT.
Let's motor, in Texas.

[erazo]

Quote:

Originally posted by BruceK
Meeting CAFE is a DaimlerChrysler corporate-wide concern, it shouldn't have any impact on deciding which particular dealer gets to sell a small cache of Vipers while another gets none.

Oh but it does, for the reason you state. No doubt there are plenty of dealers who would be happy selling nothing but Vipers. But because of CAFE, the high-volume Neon dealers need to be compensated with better allocation.

Quote:

Originally posted by Wynn
Whether or not the state's requirements are ludicrous, unreasonable, or politically motivated is irrelevant. MINI's position, too, is irrelevant. The state has requirements from which it WILL NOT BEND, and it is not the car company's place to make demands of the state. Nor will such demands have any chance of success.

The issue is very simple, and there is only one solution: MINI must comply with the Texas requirements, exactly as every other car company here has done.

MINI, swallow your pride, pare the list, and start selling us our cars. You're hurting yourself by hurting us-- I am frustrated with your pointless finger-pointing, no matter how reasonable your argument. That you choose to argue at all is clearly futile.

Excuse me, but do they teach economics at Rice?
(Sorry, but I couldn't resist that.)
It is all relevant. We must be careful not to anthropomorphize BMW. They are not an altruistic NGO. They are a for-profit automaker, not Doctors Without Borders. As such, they have an obligation to their shareholders and employees. Dealers and customers fit into the equation, but only as a means, not an end.

You speak about the state's requirements. Yet no one has answered my question regarding the source of those requirements, and the DMN journalists haven't even asked. Statutory or bureaucratic? Is BMW being singled out? What is the reason for the list in advance of the license? Were other automakers required to do the same? No answers. Maybe BMW, as a foreign company, doesn't know the ropes in Texas as DaimlerChrysler does.

As a foreign-owned company, BMW is understandably shy about dealing with the Texas Dealers Association, who bit them badly in the X5 case. Why does everyone criticise BMW while ignoring TDA and their influence with the Texas legislature and MVD?

You seem to be under the impression that there is an argument or conflict involved here. In fact, there is none. The Texas situation has arisen because of efforts to AVOID arguments or conflicts in the current regulatory and litigious environment. You can criticize the judgment of company executives, who frequently make bonehead decisions which cost their company's profits. But in this case, as I've said repeatedly, BMW and MINI USA are acting in a perfectly logical and reasonable manner. No one has yet given reason as to why their decision not to confront MVD and TDA is a bad business decision.

[Wynn]

It's obviously bad business to be doing NO business. It's worse to be actively ****ing people off.

It's very simple, MINI is simply wrong, they should simply fix it by complying, end of story. That's it.

[Legion242]

MINIUSA announced on another board that they are now licensed for Texas. I called the 866 # and they confirmed!! Now, where are the dealers gonna be?

[JohnPaul]

Hey Legion242

on what other board did you read that announcement?

and what 866# did you call?

give us more details!

[Legion242]

It has been announced on roadfly.org and also under this board's General Discussion board. The number is 866.ask.mini
Also heard this morning that Mini of San Antonio is the only confirmed dealer so far. Sorry Wynn, your secret is out.

[Wynn]

Yes, MINI of San Antonio; glad to hear they're letting people know now of their confirmation.

They've been really good to me, and I can recommend them with enthusiasm. Sales rep Tracy Gutierrez has been especially warm and helpful.

[erazo]

Here's a Dallas Morning News Article (registration required):

http://www.dallasnews.com/business/s...ini.6b637.html

This is great news for Texas MINI buyers. Unfortunately, only one dealer was designated, and it's not in the DFW area (where the troublesome dealers reside), nor even Houston or Austin, but in San Antonio. They say it's because this dealer is the only one in Texas that is "single-point" BMW. But that doesn't make sense. Surely there are other BMW-only dealers in Texas. Did Terry Box research this allegation?

Also, the article said,

Quote:

From the outset, BMW has objected to the state's requirement that it provide a list of prospective dealers as part of its license application. The company said it prefers to select its dealers after the sales license is awarded. But all automakers are asked for the same sort of list, and BMW was aware of the requirement before it applied for the Mini license in Texas, state officials say.

This contradicts an earlier report that said that a list of dealers was a "new" requirement. So what other automakers before MINI have been required to submit a list? And why was MINI's first submission of franchise applicants rejected as not being the same as prospective dealers?

I'm hoping a little more investigative reporting will reveal why more dealars in the big metro areas have not been announced.

[olddad]

Congrats Texans!!!!

Been reading about your problem for a while and am glad you are finally getting dealers.

Please, no steer horns on the hood.

And don't forget, Wynn, free window etching from the Houston P.D.

[Legion242]

Moritz BMW in Arlington
John Roberts in Dallas
Bmw of North Houston
Momentum BMW- Houston

[Jake]

Hey ya'll,

Has anyone heard any new news on dealers opening(when?) in Texas(Houston).

[BruceK]

Quote:

Originally posted by Jake
Hey ya'll,
Has anyone heard any new news on dealers opening(when?) in Texas(Houston).

The only news of any sort that I know of comes from an article last week in the local newspaper about MINIs in Texas:

http://news.mysanantonio.com/story.c...aen&xlc=792993

The article indicated the San Antonio MINI dealer probably would not open until February, (what's another 6 more months? ), because a showroom separate from the BMW showroom must be built. Duh!

But of the other 4 MINI dealers-to-be (two dealers in Houston, one in Dallas and one in Arlington according to the article which supports what Legion242 posted almost 2 months ago) 2 of those already have existing buildings that will be converted to MINI dealerships. So supposedly these 2 dealers will be able to be open sooner than the dealers who must build separate showrooms from the ground up. Unfortunately, the article did not indicate which BMW dealers had the almost ready to go showrooms.

Perhaps its time to call the dealers and see what they have to say?

[Deuce Coop]

Moritz hopes to be open in January, Dec if things go extremely well. That is what I was told by Tim Jenkins (he is the one to contact about the MINI from Moritz) about six weeks ago. Drove past last week and can't figure out exactly which building will be ready by then as they all seem to be going about business as usual.

[Legion242]

...that they actually had a new BMW showroom, so they planned on moving into it and leaving the old BMW showroom as the new MINI showroom. Make sense?
I would love for someone to call John Roberts and find out what they have to say. I'm too scared after they showed their true colors to me a couple of months ago.