Always a very hard worker here at Capital Ford Lincoln, Ryan’s long hour days and even coming in a few times on his day off, has finally earned him the title of Top Performer of the Month and he says “it feels pretty good.” Continue reading to learn more about Ryan!

Ryan has this air about him, one that always makes people feel so comfortable to talk to him, ask him questions about what they are looking for. He is forever easy going, easy to deal with and he doesn’t expect or assume anything about his customers. One of Ryan’s main goals is to make his clients feel relaxed by being easy to get along with, sharing a joke and being a very good active listener.

Paying close attention to a customers needs is very important to Ryan and he makes every need and concern they have about a vehicle as important to him as it is to them. If a customer is concerned about how many airbags a vehicle has, Ryan will treat the concern as if it were his own and make sure a vehicle has what the customer is looking for.

Ryan also goes above and beyond when it comes to showing new buyers how the features and options on their new vehicle work. He takes pride in being very thorough about this and his customers always appreciate it.

The most memorable moment from June for Ryan was being able to help a customer who was going through a lot of personal finance problems get into a 2008 Ford Edge Limited, that was not only much better than the vehicle he owned, but much safer as well.

Ryan is a hard worker, and will always continue to work hard because his clients are important to him.

Ryan Brecht’s Personal Thank You to his Customers!

“I would like to thank each and every customer for helping me to build and develop my client base. I appreciate the good feedback and being given the opportunity to do my job effectively, which in return creates an exciting buying experience.”

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J.D. Power and Associates 2010 Initial Quality Study is based on responses from more than 82,000 new 2010 model-year vehicle owners after they have driven their new vehicles for three months. It measures problems per 100 vehicles and was based on November through February registrations.”

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Success comes from speaking to as many people as possible. Craig strongly agrees with providing good information and service, and believes strongly in a no-pressure atmosphere. Establishing long term relationships with customers is one of Craig’s main goals.

The most important thing for a salesperson and a dealership is to have consistency in service. Friendly staff and a good product go along way too, and Capital Ford Lincoln has both according to Craig. He credits the members on his sales team for helping him out a lot.

Read on to learn more!

There also needs to be really good communication between all the departments in a dealership to give the customer the best-rounded experience possible. Salesmen, like Craig, need to provide every client with enough information so that they can make up their mind on their own, without stress or pressure.

Craig says that it is a matter of identifying a customer’s needs and pairing them to a vehicle that best suits what they need.

Craig has sixteen years of customer service experience under his belt, even before entering his job here Capital Ford Lincoln. He attributes his good intuition on where people are coming from to his success here.

He doesn’t believe in pressuring someone into buying something. He says that most adults know how to make up their own minds based on the information you give them. Being consistent, clear and honest is the way to be, and if you strive to be this way with your clients and others they will pick up on it and trust you.

Going the extra step for his customer is an every time, no fail, and no exceptions duty for Craig. He follows up with them and makes sure they feel comfortable to contact him whenever, about whatever. He always lets them know he is available, making it clear that if there is ever anything they need to talk about it, to start with him and he’ll help them the best they can.

Craig Livingston’s Personal Thank You to His Customers!

“Thanks to everybody, it was absolutely fantastic. I had a good experience with everyone. I hope that everyone was really pleased with the overall experience. It’s been an absolute blast.”

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Sales Manager & Team Leader

ROB USHER

Product Specialists & Team Members

- LES RING
- BLAYNE MORROW
- KURTIS MCGONIGAL
- BEN STADNYK
- DEREK FUHR

Working with the same guys over the past few years has been a privilege for not only Rob, but his team members as well. There have been some pretty good times, they work hard – very hard – but they also play hard too and have a great time. Every day is a challenge and every day is a memorable moment with these guys.

Read on to learn more about the team!

Rob has high expectations for his team, and they know it, but they work hard and get rewarded.

“Yeah, I have high expectations, but you get really good results with high expectations. Sometimes I get grumpy and things aren’t the greatest, but my guys have been pretty supportive with the ups and downs.”

The main success for Rob is learning every day, getting better every day, but also being able to work with the same group of guys every day too. The team finds success because they have been working together for a long time. They work hard, do things right and treat people they way they should.

Rob is really proud of the honesty that his team brings to the customers. It’s simple to be honest, but if you’re not then it burns a bridge. Rob tells his team members to tell the truth all the time.

“Tell the truth. Don’t hide anything. You have nothing to worry about if you tell the truth. Everything else looks after itself.”

Service after the sale is another important thing the team puts a lot of effort into, because if you make the effort it will turn into good word of mouth for the team. If as an individual or a team you do something right and treat somebody good, they will go and tell 5 or 6 people about it. But if you do something wrong, that person will go and tell about 150 people about what you did wrong. You always hear about the worst things before the good things and that is true in all walks of life.

Rob Usher’s Personal Thank You to his and the Team’s Customers!

“Really good thank you and a warm hand to all of the customers for trusting us and letting us look after them and giving them a good deal.

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Rob on his Team Members:

“We get bigger and we grow and each guy has come a long way. I took Blayne under my wing and now he’s one of the top salesmen in the store and he’s only a young guy. And Derek, he’s my right hand man. He looks after all my stuff when I’m not around or too tied up.”

The Team Members on Each Other and Rob:

LES

• “Our whole team compliments each other.”
• “Rob is fair and doesn’t give you unnecessary criticism.”

BLAYNE

• “Everyone on the team contributes equally and that makes it great because every one helps everyone out.”
• “The man (Rob) is one of the most personable people ever when it comes to the customers.”

KURTIS

• “Everyone gets along; we’re all friends. It’s easy to come to work when your team-mates are you best friends.”
• “Rob is dedicated. He goes that extra mile, and he’s the best guy to work for.”

DEREK

• “The team is dedicated and we all mesh together very well.”
• “Rob is a great guy to work for.”

BEN

• “They’re pretty cool, easy going young guys. They make work enjoyable.”
• “Rob’s a good guy to work for. He’s good at his job, very professional.”

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The North American Car and Truck of the Year awards recognize vehicles based on factors including innovation, design, safety, handling, driver satisfaction and value for the dollar. A jury of 49 automotive journalists in the United States and Canada vote for the vehicles, which must be “all-new” or “substantially changed” from the previous model to qualify for the award.

If you’re driving either a Fusion or a Transit Connect, Capital Ford wants to hear from you! How’s it been, what’s it like and would you recommend it to others? Thinking of buying either one? Leave us some questions on the blog and we’ll get back to you asap.

In the winner’s circle
The Ford Fusion Hybrid edged out finalists including the Buick LaCrosse and Volkswagen Golf/GTI to win the North American Car of the Year award. It is the fourth hybrid vehicle in 17 years to win recognition as North American Car (or Truck) of the Year. It also is the second hybrid win for Ford – the most hybrid wins for any automaker. The Ford Escape Hybrid was named North American Truck of the Year in 2005.

The Transit Connect bested finalists including the Chevrolet Equinox and Subaru Outback to win the North American Truck of the Year award. It is the sixth Ford truck to win the award – the most wins of any automaker in the 17-year history of the awards program. It also is the second year in a row that Ford has captured the title. Last year, top honors went to the 2009 Ford F-150.

Fusion Hybrid a winner out of the gate

The North American Car of the Year award is the latest in an impressive string of awards and accolades for the Fusion Hybrid. Most recently, the vehicle was honored as CAR and DRIVER Magazine’s “10Best” Cars for 2010, one of AUTOMOBILE Magazine’s 2010 All-Stars, and the entire Fusion lineup captured the acclaimed MOTOR TREND Car of the Year® award.

The all-new Fusion Hybrid arrived in dealers in March, complete with a powertrain system that combines the best attributes of the gasoline engine and electric battery-driven motors to deliver the optimal experience for the customer in terms of driving performance and fuel economy. The Fusion Hybrid also offers drivers a way to be more connected to the hybrid driving experience thanks to Ford’s SmartGauge™ with EcoGuide, a unique instrument cluster execution that helps coach them on how to optimize the performance of their hybrid.

Transit Connect fills unmet needs of small businesses and fleets

Developed with the unique needs of small business owners in mind. Transit Connect is spacious, economical, and durable.

The Transit Connect was brought to the U.S. to fulfill the unmet needs of small business owners and entrepreneurs, offering them a new vehicle choice with significantly improved fuel economy, generous and accessible cargo space, and the agility and maneuverability to operate in crowded urban areas.

Powered by a 2.0-liter I-4 engine with a four-speed automatic overdrive transmission, the Transit Connect offers double the fuel economy of full-size vans, delivering an EPA-estimated 22 mpg city and 25 mpg highway.

The Transit Connect also has more than double the cargo-carrying capacity of the Chevrolet HHR Panel, making it suitable for a broader range of commercial-use applications. And it offers commercial users a cargo payload of up to 1,600 pounds – a larger payload than the full-size Dodge Ram 1500 standard-cab short-box pickup truck.

The Transit Connect also is available with the industry-exclusive Ford Work Solutions™, a suite of affordable technologies that provides customers with connectivity, flexibility, visibility and security to better run key aspects of their business.

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Selected by unbiased expert editors from CNET (www.cnet.com) at the 2010 International CES, winners are recognized as having the hottest products in their respective technology categories for their unmatched innovation and creativity and their ability to excite consumers and help them explore a world gone digital. CNET editors reviewed hundreds of entries, as well as scoured the 2010 CES show floor for products to consider for the prestigious award.

The nine categories include Digital photo and video; Car tech and GPS; Cell phones and smartphones; Computers and hardware; Gaming; Green; Home Theater; MP3 and portable video players; and Televisions. In addition, there were awards given for the Best in Show product and People’s Voice, given by the thousands of online viewers who cast their votes.

Videos of the winners and finalist products can be found at http://www.cnet.com/ces.

About MyFord Touch

“Each year, CNET editors spend hundreds of hours on the show floor to find the hottest technologies that will drive industry trends for the coming year and beyond. Ford was chosen from thousands of products at the show and demonstrates the innovation to be honored with one of our ‘Best of CES’ award.” – Scott Ard, Editor in Chief of CNET

MyFord Touch is the all-new driver interface launching later this year on new Ford products. The interface retains the traditional car interior layout that has existed for decades – instrument cluster in front of the driver, center stack dividing the dashboard – and adds even more voice control plus full-color LCD screens for much of the visual information presentation. We’ll be seeing this technology land at Capital Ford in what’s guessed to be 10 months with the 2011 Edge and Lincoln MKX.

The information presented is customizable by the driver using a combination of voice controls, touch-screen technology and five-way cell phone-style buttons mounted on the steering wheel.

MyFord Touch displays information using two 4.2-inch full-color LCD screens flanking an analog speedometer and an 8-inch touch-screen LCD at the top of the center stack. A five-way switch on each side of the steering wheel crossbar – similar to the one found on most mobile phones and MP3 players – controls the information displayed on the corresponding instrument panel screens. Check out a slick video from edmunds.com showing off MyFord Touch.

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Ford Motor Company recognizes the importance of working jointly with environmental stakeholders to engineer sustainable vehicles in an eco-friendly manner. Its commitment to a greener future is demonstrated on a daily basis with numerous ongoing environmental initiatives. While Capital Ford is a fraction the size of FoMoCo we pitch in as well, more on that at the end.

On Tuesday, May 6, Ford Motor Company was recognized with the esteemed ‘Green Choice Award’ by Natural Health magazine. Ford received this award for its continuous efforts towards building a greener future. The company and its products were judged in a number of different areas such as alternative energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, water use, recycling, operational energy footprints, and LEED certifications. All data collected by Natural Health magazine was submitted by Ford.

The following are some highlights of Ford’s ongoing environmental initiatives:

- Each year, Ford conserves up to 900 tons of carbon emissions and 600,000 gallons of water because Escape Hybrid seats are made with 100 per cent post-industrial recycled fabric.

- Since 2000, Ford has cut its global energy use by nearly one third, in part by upgrading plants with more efficient equipment.

- Ford gives employees two paid days off a year to do volunteer work—in 2008, they committed a total of 124,000 hours. At 17 of the company’s facilities, staffers have turned vacant plots of land into habitats for local plants and animals, and created walking trails to encourage nearby residents to visit.

- Ford’s EcoBoost engine, which the company launched this year, improves vehicle fuel economy by as much as 20 per cent.

“Ford facilities are often faced with complex environmental challenges, and every year – even in hard times – our employees rise to the challenge with innovative solutions that reduce environmental impact while promoting sustainability. The Green Choice Award honors their achievements, and challenges others to take bold steps.” – David Berdish, Manager, Ford Sustainable Business Development

The ‘Green Choice Award’ was presented to Ford, along with nine other corporations, by renowned actor and environmental activist Ed Begley, Jr. in New York City. Like I’d said, Capital Ford is a fraction the size of Ford Motor Company but we’re active with the little things. We pitch in with proper oil recycling after vehicle maintenance, proper battery recycling (especially during winter it’s busy),  paper recycling stations and all cans and bottles are collected with the recycling refunds are put towards the Capital Cares program.

How do you think a car dealership can work towards winning a ‘Green Choice Award’ ?

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