The Australian Auto Market was steady for 2006 and continued its strong run of 10 years by achieving its second best year on record. A stable Government, strong economy and a general feeling of wealth all contributed to the strong sales result.

Looking at the numbers closely and we start to see some changes that occurred in several market segments as the impact from the fuel crisis took its toll on the more fuel inefficient large passenger vehicles and raised the sales volume of smaller cars.

Domestic sales volume now makes up about 20% of all sales and will possibly diminish more as the consumers buy more imported fuel efficient cars and turn away from the Australian Designed ?family cars?.

Much development effort over the past several years has gone into producing high performance vehicles that handle to ?European standards? to attract the fast money. Cars that today are less relevant than a few years ago as fuel prices bite the boy racers wallet. This has possibly been at the expense of developing a locally built diesel engine. It is hard to believe that Ford or GMH have not seen fit to offer a diesel alternative to their line up of petrol engines. Once again they are caught flat footed as the market changes are moving away from their offer.

Future risks are the actual break even point for annual production. Common knowledge suggests that an OEM needs to produce 60,000 vehicles of one model per annum to make money. Certainly Mitsubishi are a long way from that target. Without an export strategy how can the South Australian Government sensibly call for assistance from the Federal Government by getting them to delay the lowering of the import duty?

The lowering of import duties combined with the strong dollar will increase the availability of leading edge imported products. Add to this the desire for fuel efficient and high performance diesel engines from the higher quality diesel fuel and the local OEM?s are likely to suffer more. We see that the automotive retail landscape will continue to evolve with the consumers being the winners.

Perhaps the argument for a lowering of the National fuel consumption will take on more weight due to environmental concerns than protecting a few thousand jobs. Sounds like a problem for environmental evangelists like Peter Garrett.

The opportunity for Chinese OEM?s to enter the market is clear. Their investment needed to meet or exceed the emission standards is the same as their European export push. The only road block is their ability to produce a right hand drive vehicle and several have already built these vehicles.

It took me a while to find just the right automotive shop and mechanic in Tampa. I first had to go through a lot of grief with other auto repair shops. Many of them are unprofessional and unreliable, not quite fulfilling agreements entered into. Repairs are usually not finished on time. Some auto repair shops use substandard car parts, resulting in return jobs that cost me valuable time away from work and other productive endeavors. Even worse, I often found my vehicle stalling in the most inconvenient places even after an expensive auto repair job. That was very frustrating, indeed.

I almost gave up on hoping to find an auto repair shop and mechanic that I could truly rely on in Tampa. I refused to get stuck with shops that offered poor service, though. There had to be a better way. I vented my frustration to a co-worker and, fortunately, he referred me to Guy?s Automotive.

He said he never brought his car anywhere else, whether for a simple auto oil change or for serious engine repair because the technicians there were highly skilled and experienced. They could handle everything from manual to automatic car transmissions, local to foreign cars, economy to luxury cars and even truck repair. He, therefore, made sure that he regularly brought his car for auto inspection and maintenance at Guy?s Automotive. He had so much trust in this automotive shop that I was convinced to give it a try. At that point, I had nothing to lose.

Guy?s Automotive in Tampa

Right off, I found the location of this auto repair shop to be very convenient, being near the downtown area. I decided to ask them for an auto inspection even if I still wasn?t experiencing any actual problems with my car. I thought it would be a good way to size up the shop and its staff.

The technicians were very efficient and friendly, indeed. Not only did they give fast service, they also clearly explained to me in layman?s terms what needed to be given close attention to in maintaining my vehicle. Not being very technically savvy, I greatly appreciated hearing about important details regarding my car in language that I could fully comprehend. I have never experienced such thoroughness from any other mechanic in Tampa. It gave me confidence in handling my vehicle and established my confidence in the auto repair shop, as well.

It turned out that some car parts previously put in my car were, indeed, of inferior quality and, although they were still functioning, were already showing signs that they would soon be needing replacement. The technicians at Guy?s Automotive

What I?m going to share with you today is the single most powerful trick I know for supercharging your bottom line.

At some point in time, if you are going to grow your construction business beyond $2 million, you are going to need someone working on sales full time. Now,
maybe sales is your thing and you want to do that full time. Fantastic.

It?s almost always best when a business owner is committed to selling. But even if you sell successfully, you may still end up wanting to add another salesman.

If sales isn?t your thing, then you will definitely need to hire a salesman. Either way, you are going to be faced with a critical decision.

How should you pay your new salesman?

Draw (salary) plus commission? Bonuses for sales generated? Increased commission with increased sales volume? A higher commission for new customers? Straight salary?

All of these are commonly used approaches. Not one of them is likely to produce the profit results you seek.

If you let your salesman have his way, he will want a draw plus commission. Most will ask for a pretty stout draw and a relatively modest commission based on revenue sold. Don?t agree to that!

Draw plus commission lines the pockets of your salesman regardless of whether he is making you any money. The purpose of draw plus commission is to drive sales volume. Don?t fall into the trap of thinking sales volume is important.

You need your salesman to focus on PROFITABLE work. Let your competition sell the unprofitable work. That?s work you don?t want and you certainly don?t want your own salesman bringing it to you.

How do you get your salesman to chase profitable work? You align his pay to profit.

Put in place a pay plan that rewards him for profitable work and punishes him for unprofitable work. Basically, make him a pseudo-partner. It is surprisingly easy to do and I?m going to show you how.

1. His entire compensation should be based on commissions on gross profit (a commission rate often in the 20% range).

2. He should be guaranteed a minimum income, whether his earned commissions surpass it or not.

3. His commission rate should stay the same regardless of sales volume or profit generated.

4. If he doesn?t earn his guaranteed minimum income within a reasonable time period, say 18 months, you replace him.
With this approach your salesman will be highly motivated to ask for the highest price possible. He will not leave $100 on the table, because with a 20% commission, he would be leaving $20 behind. An example will drive the point home quite clearly.

Let?s say your salesman has estimated a job?s direct costs will run $10,000. Let?s look at how the usual approach, draw plus commission, compares against my recommended approach for driving desired sales behavior.

The salesman being compensated with the standard salary plus 2% of sales has little incentive to risk losing a sale by raising price. If he sold the job at cost, he would
earn a $200 commission. If he sold the job for $15,000, he would earn a $300 commission. He only makes an extra $100 for substantially increasing the likelihood of losing the job.

He will not raise the price to $15,000 just to earn the extra $100. Of course, you lose money if he sells the job at $10,000 but he doesn?t care. It?s all about volume, right?

Now, let?s look at my recommended approach.

Your salesman earns nothing if he sells the job at $10,000. He earns $1,000 if he sells the job for $15,000 and he earns $2,000 if he sells it for $20,000. How motivated will he be to pursue the highest price possible? Very, very motivated.

Do to the potential windfall he can earn, he will become a master at qualifying customers. He will not spend time on price sensitive customers. He will aggressively pursue the customers who value your company?s superior services and are willing to pay for them.

These are exactly the customers you want him to pursue because not only are they profitable, they tend to be far more loyal, and tend to be far more willing to refer you to their friends, family, and professional associates.

Look at what you get when you are paying a 20% commission on gross profit. You pocket $4,000 for every $5,000 of gross profit your salesman generates. Sure, a great salesman will make a killing with this type of pay plan, but you?re going to make an even greater killing.

You want your salesman earning $200,000 because that means he contributing $800,000 to your OH&P. Imagine having four such salesmen in your company. How well off would you be?

This is the type of pay plan that will draw top salesmen like flies. Where else in the construction industry, or any industry, are they going to have a chance to make that kind of money?

You know the difference between a $50,000 salesman and a $200,000 salesman? You go broke with the first and get rich with the second!

In summary, the best way to supercharge your bottom line is to implement a sales commission plan that rewards your sales force for generating gross profit. In doing so, you will make sure that they have your best interest in mind.

Finding the optimal performance car exhausts systems for your vehicle can be confusing even for seasoned car buyers and impossible for first-timers. With the choices of materials, different manufacturers, and contradicting information found all over the internet pertaining to car exhausts, it’s no surprise that customers don’t know where to turn.

Your car exhausts system is exposed to an enormous number of corrosive chemicals like carbon monoxide, different nitrogen oxides, corrosive salts, and moisture. Unsurprisingly, millions of car exhaust systems have to replace annually because of harm caused by such substances.

Add hot temperatures, bumpy road surfaces, and vibration, and it is no wonder drivers are looking for long lasting and high-performance car exhaust systems. Auto experts understand this need and recommend stainless steel exhausts over the myriad of other materials offered.

A recent myth claims that chrome car exhausts systems are ideal, but studies along with years of experience from multiple auto experts support and laud the performance and resilience of stainless steel car exhausts. Experts recommend the Borla exhaust or other stainless steel exhaust systems, which, they claim, are guaranteed to perform effectively for at least a million miles.

Most customers and even some manufacturers believe that bigger is better, while the size of the exhaust is, in fact, not a factor in efficiency of durability. Studies demonstrate that larger pipes result in a greater loss of energy. The larger size causes slowing of the gases’ velocity, which cools the gas.

If the gas leaves the port at about fifteen hundred degrees and is about one hundred fifty when it leaves the tailpipe, a significant amount of energy is considered loss. What matters is uninterrupted flow and velocity of the gases when it comes to performance.

Bigger pipes also have the tendency of raising the low frequencies of energy, causing droning and roaring sounds. On the other hand, exhausts should be engineered to minimize restriction. This keeps the frequency and velocity high, so noise is reduced.

While there are some car exhausts systems that are just coated in stainless steel and made up, in bulk, of mild steel or aluminum, authentic aircraft quality exhaust systems are available on the market nowadays.

Coatings of stainless steel can extend the life of mild steel car exhausts although they are prone to damage at the weld points. 100% steel has the highest chromium content, making it more resistant to corrosion.

Manufacturers offer a variety of different types of car exhausts systems made up of different materials mainly to experiment between them. None, however, has shown as much promise as those made of stainless steel.

Furthermore, changing other part of the car before changing the car exhaust can actually hurt the performance of your car. Cam and chip upgrades might not work properly without first upgrading your car exhaust system.

This is kinda dumb but I figured I’d ask since I’m new to the 2 wheel world. I got a 97 cbr600 f3 I bought from a friend and the exhaust is kinda shot. I was just wondering if any old universal muffler would work like flowmaster, cherrybomb or any regular car muffler or do I have to get one specifically for a motorcycle? I figure a muffler is a muffler as long as it fits right.

Critical part of the waste aftertreatment components of the Jeep exhaust system is the muffler. It is a noise-reducing device that is typically fitted on the rear end of the exhaust pipe. From the combustion chambers, engine exhausts are funneled into the Jeep muffler before they are released into the atmosphere. Here, the fumes undergo a process called destructive interference, which aims to resonate the opposing sound waves of the exhausts until they cancel each other out and eliminate the explosion of the gas when they are released. But because stifling the sound of the exhausts requires holding up the gas inside the resonating chambers of the Jeep muffler, fumes buildup is a chronic problem among exhaust system setups. Called backpressure, fumes buildup is characterized by an inefficient aftertreatment of the exhausts. In the event that fumes get trapped in the exhaust system, it often requires a push from the engine to force them out, consuming a considerable amount of horsepower. In order that the Jeep exhaust system can treat engine waste and at the same time streamline the exhaust flow, the Jeep muffler design is considered an important consideration. Jeep mufflers are available in cherry bomb and glass pack varieties. Characterized by a perforated pipe network, these types of Jeep mufflers put less restrictions on the exhaust flow. Jeep mufflers are made up of a series of baffles that absorbs and dampen exhaust sound. But exhaust noise is not absorbed by the baffles, but by the interference inside the muffler. This is achieved by the clashing of the sound trapped inside the chamber. The sound absorption capability of the Jeep muffler is accomplished through the layer of glass insulation fitted on the Jeep muffler pipe. To further absorb the pressure pulses of the exhausts, the Jeep muffler has a steel billet surrounding the insulation. Compared to the traditional mufflers used in sound reduction, the free flow of exhausts in the cherry bomb and glass pack Jeep mufflers adds an engine-optimizing functionality to the system.

My friend’s grandmother is a spouse of a deceased Chrysler employee (passed away 2 years ago). What will happen to the pension she receives? In what cases will it get cut or eliminated?