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| » February 22, 2007 |
Violence greets Canadian car dealer who opens
on weekends
Dealership manager attacked, protester arrested. Sales manager
Sam Hajjar was opening the gate to the lot of Pie IX Dodge
Chrysler in Montreal last Saturday when he was hit on the
forehead with a chunk of ice, reports the Montreal Gazette.
The projectile was thrown by one of about 30 protesters upset
that the east-end dealership has broken ranks with the Montreal
Automobile Dealers Corporation and is open for business during
weekends. "I'm not hurt, but the gesture bothers me," Mr.
Hajjar said. "Violence has no place in this difference
of opinion." Police were called after the incident and
a 35-year-old man was arrested. The demonstrators had gathered
on the sidewalk outside the showroom and lot to show their
displeasure over the decision to operate on Saturdays and
Sundays. Pie IX Dodge Chrysler opened its new-car showroom
last Saturday, breaking a 1972 regulation agreed to by the
dealers group to give staff weekends off. Pie IX Chrysler
Dodge’s owner cited consumer demand - and an effort
to save the jobs of his 75 employees in the increasingly
competitive car business - as his reasons for opening. He
said he did not want to start a fight with other dealers.
Last week, he was kicked out of the Montreal Automobile Dealers
Corporation for violating the agreement on opening hours. "This
rule is not a law - it was an agreement passed by the association
in 1972 and this is a different time, a different century," the
dealer said. It's not the first time the opening-hours debate
has sparked trouble. In 2003, more than 100 demonstrators
attended a MADC meeting to fight a proposal for dealerships
to open three weekends a year starting in 2004. The opponents
argued that they already were working 12-hour days, five
days a week. In 1998, dealers two dealerships faced 200 protesters
when they tried to hold a one-shot weekend super sale. In
1994, a group of 200 car salesmen harassed the staff and
damaged some cars at three Montreal dealerships that were
doing business during weekends.
Car dealer rescues woman fired in "cheese
bra" controversy
The woman was fired after an attention-getting stunt at
a Green Bay Packers football game. A local Ford dealer appreciated
her initiative People get fired for all kinds of reasons.
Case in point: the latest winner of the "I Got Fired
Because" contest from Website SimplyFired.com as reported
on the Business Wire. The site is a humorous adjunct to the
www.simplyhired.com Website. Mia Quistorf and a friend were
given a pair Green Bay Packer Monday Night football tickets
and they decided to take full advantage of the opportunity. "I’d
never attended a Packer game, it’s everyone’s
dream in Wisconsin," said Ms. Quistorf. "I was
determined to get on TV so that my brothers in California
and Washington would be able to see me." So Ms. Quistorf
and her friend decided to transform a couple of "cheese" footballs
into Madonna-style cheese brassieres. They made their fashion
statement by cutting the yellow foam footballs in half with
a meat cutter and sewing them onto their bras. Adorned with
their pointy creations and Packer pride, the two arrived
at the game. "We were a big hit. Some of the half-time
show band members ran up to have their picture taken with
us. It was the best Packer experience any-one could ever
have!" reminisces Ms. Quistorf. The cheese bra duo got
their wish and made it onto TV in a segment of HBO’s "Inside
the NFL." Unfortunately, the story didn’t end
there. When Ms. Quistorf returned to work that week, the
lights to her office were off; her computer wouldn’t
turn on; the facility manager she called for help was evasive.
Then her boss walked in. "You are no longer employed
here," he told her and asked her to leave. She left
in tears and only later found out that she was fired for
her display of a "dairy product" that was unbecoming
of an employee. It turns out that Ms. Quistorf’s employer
was a local dairy-free bakery. Cheese, dairy products and
fast food were strictly prohibited from the company property.
The owners were "lactose intolerant," one might
say and apparently, they didn’t appreciate her homage
to the cheese gods. Ford dealer to the rescue: Fortunately,
the story didn’t end there. Determined again, Ms. Quistorf
set forth looking for a new job. On her application at a
local Ford dealership, she filled out the "Reason for
section with: "Will explain if asked." And they
did. Then they hired her, telling her that it was clear that
she had "personality and creativity." "It
turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me," says
Ms. Quistorf. They gave her a raise and a demo. Green Bay
Packer wide receiver, Antonio Freeman visited the dealership
and signed the infamous cheese bra. The next season, Packer
Fan "Cheese Bras" hit the mass market and now sells
on eBay for $24.95.
Volvo offers $1 billion for full acquisition
of Nissan Diesel
Swedish truck maker AB Volvo made a $1.07 billion offer
Tuesday to take over Japan's Nissan Diesel in a strategic
move aimed at gaining a solid presence in Asia. The move,
which would give Volvo full ownership of Nissan Diesel from
the current 19 percent, highlights Volvo's ambitions in Asia,
where the company has lacked a local brand while owning Mack
Trucks in the U.S. and Renault Trucks in Europe. Volvo is
the world's second-largest truck maker after DaimlerChrysler
AG of Germany, while Nissan Diesel is Japan's fourth-largest
truck maker. Volvo said it estimates Nissan Diesel's net
interest-bearing debt at $1.07 billion, bringing the total
cost of its planned acquisition of the Japanese truck maker
to 15 billion kronor, or $2.14 billion. Nissan Diesel Motor
Co. President Iwao Nakamura expressed support for the tender
offer, saying the move will save costs in development and
purchasing, including emission-reducing technologies, and
present opportunities for efficient investments for long-term
growth. "What we want the most is growth," he told
reporters at a Tokyo hotel after the offer was announced. "This
move is the most effective way to achieve growth." The
540 yen ($4.52) cash per share offer, which represented a
premium of 32 percent based on the Japanese company's average
share price during the past three months, both sides said.
Nissan Diesel shares jumped 18 percent in Tokyo to a bid-only
523 yen ($4.37), up from its Monday's close at 443 yen ($3.71).
Renault, Nissan Not Interested in Chrysler
The Renault-Nissan auto alliance is not interested
in buying DaimlerChrysler's Chrysler division, despite
exploring a North American partnership last year, a
Nissan official said Wednesday. Tokyo-based Nissan,
44 percent owned by Renault SA of France, is always
open to new partnerships, but not right now because
it is focused on its own financial woes, spokeswoman
Madoka Soma said. Carlos Ghosn, head of both automakers,
entered unsuccessful partnership talks with Detroit-based
General Motors Corp. last year and had said a North
American ally would be a good balance for the company.
But after Nissan reported a 22 percent slump in earnings
in the October-December quarter, priorities have changed. "As
Mr. Ghosn has said, the company right now is as it
is today because it has its own problems inside and
we're not going outside to look for the solutions," Soma
said. "We're not in a rush for a partner.
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