Braley and Graham Auto Blog

PLACE YOUR 2011 BUICK OR GMC NOW

2010-07-15T16:32:00.000-07:00

"We have about 50, 2011 model year Buick and GMCs ordered" says Andy Schuhmann Sales Manager at Braley and Graham in Portland. "We have plenty already ordered for the picking" says Andy. Andy is available to go over what is in the pipeline or if you wish custom tailor what you want to order. "We are excited about the new 2011 Regals and have two inbound says Andy. If you are looking for a new 2011 model year Buick or GMC see Andy in the Buick showroom he can show you what is coming or recently ordered from the factory.

CUDL MAKES IT EASY TO GET YOUR LOAN APPROVED AT BRALEY AND GRAHAM

2010-04-20T11:44:00.000-07:00

CUDL is a quick and easy way for you to finance vehicle loans. CUDL is also available 7 days a week including holidays. You can get approval on an auto loan and drive away in your new vehicle even if the Credit Union is closed.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
You must go to a participating CUDL dealer. Braley and Graham is a participating CUDL dealer. You decide on the make and model of the car you want.
Visit Braley and Graham.
Select the vehicle of your choice, new or used, and negotiate the price.
Apply for the loan right at the dealership.
Within minutes you will receive a loan decision.
Once you have been approved, the dealer will complete the paperwork and send it to the credit union for funding.
You simply drive away in your vehicle.
You do not have to worry about the paperwork. The paper work is processed through CUDL, the credit union and the dealer ... electronically.
This program will alleviate some the "stress" associated with the car-buying experience.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS?
You benefit by:
Being able to apply for a loan at the dealership.
Quick decisions, usually within 3 minutes.
You get credit union rates and terms.
CUDL is available even though the credit union is closed.

Cash for Clunkers May End Soon

2009-07-31T13:34:00.000-07:00

Today Congress voted to infuse another $2 Billion into the wildly popular cash-for-clunkers trade in program. It's unclear how long the program will run, so we are encouraging our customers not to delay.

If you're looking to upgrade your vehicle, we encourage you to visit our Cash for Clunkers Information Page for all the details you need to upgrade your vehicle in Portland. Our fleet of new vehicles includes a number of high efficiency vehicles, including the Pontiac Vibe, Pontiac G5, and the Buick Lacrosse and Lucerne.

To participate in the program, shoot us an email through our website on our Cash for Clunkers Information Page or stop by the dealership.

Now Featuring Car Fax Info with Our Used Car Inventory

2009-06-07T12:01:00.000-07:00

We recently upgraded our site to improve the pre-owned buying experience by providing free and easy to navigate Car Fax reports for nearly our entire pre-owned inventory.

For example, say you're interested in a crossover vehicle like the Buick Rendezvous. From the comfort of your home computer, you can pull up about all the details on a 2006 white Rendezvous on our lot, including 9 images of the vehicle and take a look at the detailed CarFax Report.

You can see the full ownership history of the vehicle, the service records, and the absence of any accidents or damages on this '06 Rendezvous. This type of information is provided to all our customers--it's quick and easy. You don't need to register with the site, remember a login password, or even send us your information while you're still at the browsing stage.

Our customers have provided some great early feedback about this feature: the added information early in the buying process combined with the Certified Used Warranty program provides customers at Braley and Graham with added confidence. By doing more due diligence from your home computer, the next steps in the buying process are smoother and more convenient. Try a search our inventory for a pre-owned vehicle and click on the CarFax logo when you find a vehicle that meets your specifications.

The Re-Birth: "The New GM" ad

2009-06-06T14:37:00.000-07:00

An interesting new video hit the airways this week as part of a rebranding campaign at General Motors (below):

Marketplace on NPR has been covering General Motors quite extensively the last couple months. They ran a story analyzing this traditional media TV ad campaign and also looked at how General Motors is reaching out to customers on Twitter, a live chat with the CEO, and other online venues. They compared these new direct-to-customer efforts with the positive, American imagery of the television ad. Clearly, the new auto industry needs these new online efforts from dealership and manufacturers alike as the industry readjusts. As the number of dealers selling Buicks and GM vehicles decreases, we will need to provide more services to our customers online and serve a wider geographical area.

We're interested in our customer's feedback and invite you to post your thoughts and questions--both on this specific marketing campaign and the online auto business in general. We are continuing to improve on our web presence at BraleyAndGraham.com and thank you for visiting the site.

Comparing the 2009 Pontiac Vibe & Toyota Matrix

2009-05-04T17:05:00.000-07:00

Above are pictures of the Pontiac Vibe and the Toyota Matrix. You'll have to squint at the hood ordainment to tell the difference because these are two nearly identical vehicles. The Matrix and Vibe have the same wheels, same steering wheel, same alternator, the same everything. That's because they were built in the same factory that is jointly owned by Toyota and General Motors in Fremont, California (the New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. plant, or NUMMI).

We believe the Vibe is considerably more attractive with a longer powertrain warranty and security of the OnStar features. When we point this out to a customer, we usually get a question about how service contracts will work and how the warranty will be taken care of. Rest assured that Braley & Graham will continue to stand behind every new vehicle that we sell. Even though Pontiac production will cease after this year, we will continue to service Pontiacs for the next 10 years. Even President Obama has come out with a plan to full back the warranties offered by General Motors. To quote the President in his speech at the White House last month:

“If you buy a car from Chrysler or General Motors, you will be able to get your car serviced and repaired, just like always,” President Obama said during a speech from the White House. “Your warranty will be safe. In fact, it will be safer than it’s ever been, because starting today, the United States government will stand behind your warranty.” Read more.

The 5 year, 100k mile powertrain warranty is tough to beat and the Pontiac Vibe is a wonderful car. The Vibe is our best selling Pontiac model and we invite you to check out our Vibe inventory with dozens of feature and colors to choose from.

At the moment of this posting, we're even offering 0% APR for 60 months for qualified buyers.

More details on the 2010 Buick LaCrosse

2009-04-18T11:56:00.000-07:00

The 2010 Buick LaCrosse, unveiled earlier this year at the Detroit auto show, will have a starting price of $27,835. The entry-level CX model features front-wheel-drive and a 255 horsepower motor. The Buick.com website was updated this week with additional details on what is one of the more exciting recent revisions to the Buick line. Braley and Graham has received significant interest on this car and is now taking pre-orders (ask for Andy Schuhmann).

The 2010 LaCrosse will be offered in three models - CX, CXL and CXS. The CX will be equipped with a new 3.0-liter direct injection V6, premium cloth seats and 17-inch wheels. The engine generates an estimated 255 horsepower and 211 pound-feet of torque and is mated to a six-speed automatic.

The CXL variant is equipped with the same motor, but adds leather-appointed heated seats, dual-zone automatic climate control, fog lamps, outside rearview mirror with LED turn indicators and puddle lamps, and 18-inch wheels. AWD is available.

Lastly, the CXS comes with a more powerful 3.6-liter direct injection V6, real-time active-dampening suspension, perforated leather heated and cooled seats, and chrome-plated 18-inch wheels (19-inch optional). The motor, mated to a six-speed automatic, generates an estimated 280 horsepower and 261 pound-feet of torque.

This Week's Special: 2007 Buick Rendezvous

2009-04-18T11:51:00.003-07:00

This week we're running a special on a fantastic 2007 Buick Rendezvous.

The vehicle has just 34k miles on it, and a gorgeous leather interior. Check out the vehicle details page for more info (note: the link will expire when the car is sold).

UPDATE: THE VEHICLE HAS SOLD

Spring into Summer Service Specials

2009-04-17T12:30:00.000-07:00

Check out our service specials for an Oil Change, Coolant Flush, or Brake Job this March. Click on the image to enlarge it! Note that the offers expire at the end of June 2009 and is only good for GM vehicles. Contact Dennis in the service department for more information.

Warranty Committment Guarantee & New Tax Breaks

2009-03-30T14:13:00.000-07:00

Buying a new car just got a whole lot better. Today, the Treasury Department announced an innovative new program to give consumers who are considering new car purchases the confidence that even in this difficult economic period, their warrantees will be honored. This program is part of the Administration’s broader program to stabilize the auto industry and stand behind a restructuring effort that will result in stronger, more competitive and viable American car companies.

You do not have to do anything to receive the U.S. commitment to your warrantee. It is automatic.
If you buy a new GM (or Chrysler) car during this restructuring period you will be eligible.
The program will cover the participating manufacturer’s warranty on every new car sold during its restructuring period.
The full text of the announcement is here.

Also, if you didn't catch the news earlier this month, the administration is trying to boost new car sales and get older, less efficient cars off the road with new tax incentive. The IRS put out a new press release today detailing the tax breaks you can get on a new vehicle purchase. Read the details here.

If you've been considering a purchase of a new Buick, Pontiac, or GMC for the last couple months, we hope these new government incentives will motivate you to visit us at Braley and Graham and see if we can help you. Give us a call or take a walk through our digital online lot.

Black Pontiac Solstice GXP Hardtop on it's way

2009-02-27T07:16:00.000-08:00

The concept of the Pontiac Solstice GXP first appeared at the 2002 Detroit Autoshow. This is an awesome vehicle, and it will be in limited production. Braley and Graham will be receiving it's first vehicle this spring--a black GXP solstice automatic hardtop. Several of our employees are asking to test driving this exciting coupe.

Since we just have one order coming in at this point and anticipate high demand, we are ready to take a deposit. Contact Andy directly about this if you're interested.
And checkout the Motortrend review.

More info on Pontiac

2009-02-25T21:00:00.000-08:00

Our dealership received some additional general information about the future of the Pontiac line today from GM (see video). Again, Pontiac is here to stay and will continue to be part of all Pontiac-Buick-GMC stores, including Braley & Graham.

General Motors management was surprised by the inaccurate press coverage that we mentioned in our previous post. The actual changes that we're going to see are very similar to what happened with Buick in 2005. In 2005, Buick sold 8 different models; today was offer 3: the Enclave, Lacrosse, and Lucerne. A similar downsizing of the vehicle models is expected for Pontiac as well.

Pontiac will fill a "niche" market, which will continue to be in line with the sporty performance & younger appeal of the brand. We don't know what which models will continue but some have speculated that you might see a 2 car combination of the Vibe & Solstice (speculation, in no way official). Also, Pontiac will probably receive fewer television advertising dollars.

Pontiac is here to stay at Braley and Graham

2009-02-23T15:17:00.000-08:00

It's no secret that General Motors and the U.S. automotive industry is facing unprecedented challenges. Last week, General Motors asked for an additional $16B in aid from the U.S. government and announced a plan to return to profitability in several years.

These challenging times effect us all--from our customers to our employees at Braley & Graham. We've made some changes at Braley and Graham that position us well to ride out the current economic conditions. And although vehicle sales our down, we continue to sell the same quality cars as we did before the economic downturn. Today, I wanted to address some of misleading media reports of GM's announcement. Several customers in the past couple days have asked us questions that reflect a common misunderstanding.

One source of misinformation was NBC Nightly New's report that the Pontiac brand was coming to an end. In a piece title "Pontiac's Long Run is Coming to an End", they reminisced about the Pontiac muscle cars of the 70s. This is simply not true (see the WSJ article for verification). Rather, Pontiac will scale down to likely 2 models in 2010. Pontiac continues to be an excellent produce line and will be fully backed, supported and serviced at Braley & Graham.

The correct headline is that GM is looking to sell or discontinue Hummer, Saab an Saturn. But Pontiac will continue in Buick-GMC stores! Thanks for reading.

Pontiac Solstice Hardtop Convertible: Auto Show Highlight

2009-02-08T20:05:00.000-08:00

All of us at Braley and Graham enjoyed the opportunity to get out and see the full offerings of the Portland Auto Show this last weekend. We had a great time checking out the exotic vehicles, the newest "smart"/ultracompact vehicles, and the many new innovations. It was a great time.

Two new additions to our line have us especially excited for the coming year. We hope the auto show generated some excitement for the 2010 Buick Lacrosse and the new Pontiac Solstice hardtop. GM doesn't yet have any info on the Solstice hardtop (shown below), but the reviews have generated some excitement. We expect the first vehicles to hit the lot this summer and we expect to begin taking some pre-orders on this vehicle in the early spring.

In a previous post, we mentioned the 2010 Buick Lacrosse was one of the focuses of GM's marketing efforts at the Detroit show. Terry Olsen, our GM, thinks this is going to be a big vehicle for the Buick line. Production starts early May on the first vehicles will be on the lot by July. We expect that production will be limited at first and are also taking pre-orders for the 2010 Lacrosse (picture below).

If you're interested in pre-ordering, please contact Andy Schumann at 503-292-8801.

$500 Bonus Cash for Portland Auto Show

2009-02-02T15:38:00.000-08:00

The Portland Auto Show opens this Thursday at the Portland Convention Center. I just talked with Terry Olsen (our General Manager) about a promotion we started today. From now until February 16th, we are offering $500 bonus cash on all 2008 and 2009 Pontiac Buick, and GMCs. The bonus cash is also applicable to the 2010 Pontiac Vibe--which is not yet on the lot. This offer is good towards the purchase OR lease of a new vehicle. For all the details, give Andy a call at 888-310-8772.

UPDATE 2/25/09: THIS OFFER HAS EXPIRED.

Auto Show Starts Thursday, Feb 5th

2009-01-22T22:18:00.000-08:00

The 2009 Portland Auto Show countdown has begun--it opens to the public on Thursday, February 5th. Tickets are on sale here.

Braley & Graham is gearing up for the big event. Our sales staff and managers will be at the show. We'll be posting our thoughts and some pictures in the coming days. And we may have a promotional announcement next week; we'll let you know as soon as the details become available.

We encourage you to respond to the blog by leaving a comment. We want to hear your thoughts from the show--what do you like? Don't like?

Enjoy the show.

College Student Discount on '08/'09 vehicles

2009-01-14T17:30:00.000-08:00

Today Braley & Graham kicked off a new discount program for college students. It's a great program that helps college students and recent grads looking to make a new vehicle purchase. Not too many students are aware of this. This particular program comes with predetermined pricing, so you’ll know your price before you enter the showroom. The prices are the same as GM supplier pricing.

Any students currently enrolled in a 2 or 4-year degree program are eligible (but not graduate students or students in certificate programs). The fine print and details are here: www.gmcollegediscount.com.

Safety First

2009-01-14T10:55:00.000-08:00

With your car or truck, safety comes first. The US Department of Transportation's Safer Car website has a great resources about vehicle safety.

For example, you can look up the 5-star crash test and rollover ratings for any vehicle on the market. To plug just one of our vehicles, the Buick Enclave received the highest ratings in its class (SUV/crossover); our full line of GMC vehicles perform very highly as well in terms of safety.

Also, I just signed up to receive email notifications from the DOT for any recall notices related to either tires on our cars or any parts on our vehicles. It's a great site for consumers, so check it out!

Auto Show Highlight: 2010 Buick Lacrosse

2009-01-10T08:31:00.000-08:00

Even in a relatively down year, the Detroit Auto show is generating some excitement. We are looking forward to checking out the redesigned 2010 Buick Lacrosse at the Portland show in a couple weeks.

Auto Blog also had some kind words and with their initial look at the 2010 Lacrosse. Terry Olsen, the general manager, indicated that Braley and Graham will be delivering the first of these vehicles to customers in July ~~2009~~ 2010. Contact Terry or Andy Schuhmann directly for more info.

GM's CEO on Today show with Matt Lauer

2009-01-08T13:54:00.000-08:00

NBC's Today show focused on General Motors today, as the Detroit Auto Show approaches this weekend. We're experimenting with some new features on the blog, and have included an interview with GM CEO Rick Wagnor and Matt Lauer at the GM Tech Center.

Check out the interview:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

And take a look at what's new at the GM tech center. Check it out:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

2009 Acadia crossover review by Car & Driver

2009-01-08T13:25:00.000-08:00

This month's Car & Driver magazine takes a look at the 2009 Acadia, GMC's crossover vehicle and one of our best selling models.

Their verdict:

"The Acadia is good at what it does, offering plenty of room even for large families. It provides a strong alternative for moms and dads or other people haulers who are too cool to be seen in a minivan, although we still maintain that minivans offer better packaging as long as ground clearance isn’t on your list of must-haves. Standard and optional features meet or beat those offered on other vehicles in the segment. The Acadia has the strongest looks and one of the more attractive interiors among the Lambda siblings."

Check out the full review at caranddriver.com .

Welcome to the Braley & Graham Auto Blog

2009-01-07T20:28:00.000-08:00

With the New Year, we've decided to try something new at Braley & Graham. As the internet becomes a more central part of our business, we've decided to keep a blog as a way to connect to our customers. The blog allows us to tell you about the new and exciting things occuring at the dealership. Of course, in this tough economy much of the auto industry news like including December sales numbers have been less than positive. But our business remains strong and we're in a good position to weather the storm.

Today, General Motors issued an encouraging statement indicating that they have made great progress in restructuring their business. They said it has enough government loans to cover its worst-case forecast for U.S. auto sales and won’t need more if the economy holds up (link to Bloomberg News story).

Going forward, our blog will feature updates about new models headed towards the showroom floor, service tips from our service manager, occasional deals, and local Portland auto industry news. We will post frequently during the upcoming Portland Auto Show (Feb. 5-8) and share our thoughts and the latest news from our business partners. Our blog is equipped with an RSS feed, so sign up and find out when each of our new posts comes out.

Welcome to the blog.