SATURN SLIPS IN POLL OF BUYER EXPERIENCE.Byline: Brian S The name Brian (sometimes spelled Bryan) comes from an Irish backround. It is of Celtic origin and its meaning may be "hill" or "strong, noble, and high"[1]. . Akre Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. Saturn buyers were less satisfied with their dealers than customers of five other automotive franchises, which ousted Saturn from the top position in the annual J.D. Power and Associates study of automotive sales satisfaction for the first time in five years. Cadillac, Jaguar and Volvo tied for first place, followed by Land Rover See LANRover. and Mercedes-Benz. Saturn finished in a tie with BMW BMW in full Bayerische Motoren Werke AG German automaker. Founded as an aircraft engine manufacturer in 1916, the company assumed the name Bayerische Motoren Werke and became known for its high-speed motorcycles in the 1920s. and Lexus, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the market-research firm. Saturn, the small-car unit of General Motors Corp., apparently fell out of the top spot because more customers were feeling pressured during the purchase of their new car. J.D. Power said the percentage of buyers under pressure increased to 18 percent from 13 percent a year ago. ``We noted what the customer interpreted as being a little more negotiation with the deal, especially with the trade-in or the financing and insurance,'' Loretta Seymour, J.D. Power's director of sales satisfaction research, said Wednesday. That came as a surprise to Saturn officials. Saturn's success has been based in large part on its friendly, down-home atmosphere and no-haggle pricing, which makes the sales process A sales process is a systematic approach for performing product or service sales. The reasons for having a sales process include seller and buyer risk management, achieving standardized customer interaction in sales and scalable revenue generation. faster and less stressful. It has attracted a loyal following of owners and repeat buyers. Spokesman Tom Wilkinson
Tom Wilkinson, OBE (born December 12th, 1948) is an Academy Award-nominated English actor. said Saturn's own research showed its customers remained pleased with the Saturn sales process. He said officials planned to meet with J.D. Power ``to help us decide what continuous improvement steps we might need to take.'' Officials with Agoura Hills-based J.D. Power speculated that lower sales at Saturn in the past year have put more pressure on Saturn's sales staff to maintain profits. Saturn sells just one line of subcompact cars Noun 1. subcompact car - a car smaller than a compact car subcompact auto, automobile, car, motorcar, machine - a motor vehicle with four wheels; usually propelled by an internal combustion engine; "he needs a car to get to work" , but plans to add a midsize model in the 2000 model year. The study also found that overall customer satisfaction with the experience of buying a new vehicle remained virtually unchanged. POWER RANKINGS For the first time in five years, Saturn customers aren't the most satisfied automobile buyers. DEALER RANK (x) Cadillac 1 Jaguar 1 Volvo 1 Land Rover 4 Mercedes-Benz5 Saturn 6 BMW 6 Lexus 6 (x) J.D. Power and Associates released the top dealer rankings, but not how their scores were derived. CAPTION(S): Box BOX: POWER RANKINGS (see text) SOURCE: J.D. Power and Associates |
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