Hartford is ranked as one of the worst cities in the country when it comes to providing healthy foods for low-income residents. Almost 30,000 less-wealthy, people live in Hartford’s downtown, an area where getting fresh fruits and vegetables is particularly difficult. Limited access to healthy, fresh foods contributes to obesity in Hartford especially hard.

Many unfortunate communities in Hartford struggle with no full size grocery stores in the area contributing to a shortage of healthy foods. The Hartford Food System works to encourage the smaller, local store owners to stock healthy options like tomatoes and bananas next to the long rows of junk food like candy bars, potato chips and soda.

Among other goals, the Hartford Food System is determined to help establish grocery stores and other healthy options for under-served communities. A recent market study shows that the grocery-buying power in downtown Hartford will support a full-service supermarket, if one were to be opened in the area.

The Executive Auto Group supports Governor Malloy’s commitment to a vibrant downtown where residents have access to healthy, fresh foods. Mike Plummer, General Manager of Liberty Honda sponsored the Hartford Food System through it’s association with the Connecticut Automotive Retailers Association (CARS) and presented a $1,500 check to Martha Page, Executive Director of the Hartford Food System with a GHADA Foundation’s grant.

CARS is a statewide CT trade association representing over 250 franchised new and used car and truck dealerships. Funded by the International Auto Show, CARS supports local charitable donations.

Black Friday Car Deals in CT

The Acura by Executive Black Friday Special from last year seemed like a great deal, until they announced this year’s Black Friday Car Service Special.

If a FREE Oil Change isn’t enough, those that call ahead for an appointment and present this coupon at the time of service, get a hand car wash and your vehicle will be vacuumed in addition to a thorough safety inspection – all for no charge!

A Black Friday Car Service Deal to be thankful for!

Get hours and directions to Acura by Executive in North Haven, a proud member of the Executive Auto Group.

Test-drive the 2013 Nissan Pathfinder in Hartford and you’ll be entered to win one!

“While the Nissan Pathfinder remains a rugged truck great for off-road adventures and towing, the fully redesigned 2013 Pathfinder is a more comfortable, car-based, family-ready crossover SUV, according to Scott Orsini, General Manager of Executive Nissan, the largest Nissan dealer in Connecticut. With gas prices continuing to climb, Nissan recognized that fuel economy takes precedence to the extreme capabilities making the Pathfinder one of the most fuel-efficient vehicles in it’s class – and that includes the Mazda CX-9, Ford Explorer, Toyota Highlander and the Honda Pilot.”

“The lighter, more efficient 2013 Pathfinder can still tow 5,000 pounds and offers a sliding second-row seat that can tilt and fold forward even with a child seat in place. This makes access to the full size third row much easier,” Scott adds, and it’s now better suited to compete in the popular seven-passenger SUV segment.”

We hope to see you there and wish you luck in winning the 2013 Nissan Pathfinder! You can Register using Facebook to share your innovation tour experience with friends, or purchase tickets online in advance to avoid box office lines.

Shopping for Electric Vehicles in CT?

Nissan recently offered professional taxi drivers a fleet of Nissan LEAF’s which demonstrated the savings of driving electric vehicles over gas powered engines at 1/6th the cost. In exchange for a tweet with the hashtag ‘#6XCHEAPER’ and the riders destination they were going to all fares were waived.

The LEAF runs on 100% electricity. No gas stations, no emissions and no tailpipe. The Nissan Leaf has been at dealers in CT for almost 2 years and the 2012 Nissan Leafs at Executive Nissan are priced to sell making room for the 2013 models.

Alternatively, you may want to investigate Hybrid vehicles in CT like the Honda CR-Z or a high mileage gasoline engine. The 2013 Honda Fit got the highest EPA Fuel rating ever and the Executive Auto Group offers more than 500 used cars in CT.

It’s a Jeep Wrangler Thing – Drive it and You Will Understand

For more than 70 years Jeeps then and now have been known for pushing boundaries. The Jeep Wrangler is only 4X4 convertible that offers both a hard and soft top, and new for 2013 the Lift Assist feature. And for those that think the 2013 Jeep Wrangler is roughing it, come to our Jeep dealership in North Haven, or Executive Dodge Jeep in Wallingford to sit on the leather seats while listening to 7 speakers that will make your favorite songs sound better than ever.

The efficient 6-cylinder engine was voted as one of Ward’s 10 Best Engines for 2012 so you’ll enjoy both performance and fuel efficiency that will take you almost 400 miles on a tank of gas. Other upgrades to the 2013 Wrangler include new wheels, LED courtesy lights, an auto-dimming rear view mirror and a new tire pressure monitoring system.

For capability without compromise test drive the rugged heritage and witness the comfort factor in ride and handling. The original 4 x 4 freedom machine is a classic design that will never go out of style and is waiting for you at the Executive Auto Group.

Executive Auto Group Dealerships on Facebook

Every Executive Auto Group dealership is giving away the NFL Jersey of YOUR CHOICE to a lucky Facebook Fan! A $99 value!

Any Fan is eligible to win – just click the link below on one or all of our Facebook pages, and then follow the instructions to enjoy excellent odds of winning the official NFL jersey of your choice. We wish you luck!

Executive Auto Group Facebook Pages:

Acura by Executive, North Haven     Acura of Berlin, Berlin CT     Executive Dodge & Jeep of Wallingford

Executive Honda, Wallingford     Executive Jeep Nissan, North Haven     Executive Kia, Wallingford

Fiat by Executive, Wallingford     Liberty Honda, Hartford     Liberty Mazda, Hartford

]]> http://blog.executiveautogroup.com/2012/10/15/ct-car-dealerships-give-away-nfl-jerseys/feed/ 0 http://blog.executiveautogroup.com/2012/10/11/executive-auto-group-our-difference-is-the-key/ http://blog.executiveautogroup.com/2012/10/11/executive-auto-group-our-difference-is-the-key/#comments Thu, 11 Oct 2012 11:53:36 +0000 Mike Hastings http://blog.executiveautogroup.com/?p=5032

You hear the jingle on the radio, TV, you see it on billboards, newspapers, Facebook, twitter and everywhere you look: “♫ ♪ Executive Auto Group dot com, Our Difference is the Key ♪ ♫”

Admit it, you know how it sounds. But what exactly is the Executive Difference?

Since 1972 the Executive Auto Group has been committed to serving all of our customers automotive needs whether it is sales, leasing, service, parts or just providing information on vehicles. Our customers complete satisfaction has always been our first priority and we appreciate the opportunity to earn your business.

Since we opened our first dealership our motto has always been “Treat Every Customer Like Our Best Friend.” For more than 37 years Executive has lived up to this belief by exceeding the expectations of more than one hundred thousand customers that we have been honored to serve. Experience for yourself why our customers always come back to the Executive Auto Group.

So did you know the Executive Auto Group jingle before seeing this video and did you know The Executive Difference comes at no additional charge?

More than 1 in 10 Car Buyers Skip the Test Drive

With the amount of money that cars cost today it’s amazing that more than 11% of new vehicle buyers did not test drive before buying.

Chris Travell, vice president of strategic consulting for Maritz Research says, “This may sound like heresy but some people really don’t care. About 1 in 10 Americans we identify as being “purely pragmatic” which means a car is a very good thing for getting me from ‘a to b’ and that’s about it. Because of this, it’s easy to see why they wouldn’t take it for a test drive.”

Ironically another reason people don’t test drive is the cost of new vehicles compared to buying used cars, according to Mohab Elhammamy, General Sales Manager at a North Haven CT Acura dealer. “The value of used cars in CT remains strong. A customer visited our Executive Auto Group Acura dealership today to test drive a 3-year old certified used Acura TL with a market value of  $22,437. With current Acura offers we showed her that she could drive a brand new Acura TL for $350 per month on a 36 month lease and then buy the same 3-year old Acura TL for only $20,130; that’s $2,500 under today’s market value! Needless to say, no test drive was necessary.”

How Important are Test Drives?

• Very Influential 52%
• Somewhat Influential 28%
• Not Very 9%
• Did Not Test Drive 11%

The Maritz Research Study also heard from buyers who seriously considered other vehicles. Of those customers, 38% did not test drive the other vehicle even though it was at the top of their shopping list.

“If you are coming out of the same brand/model, you may assume that it drives the same. According to Travell, “This is unwise since the average American has been out of the car market for 6.5 years. There have been huge advances in technology, vehicle design, ride and handling. It’s in the customer’s best interest to experience all that a new car has to offer. It’s also in the dealership’s best interest to do everything possible to encourage test drives for these same reasons. The car the customer bought six or seven years ago is very different from the car they can buy in 2012.”

Is Labor Day the Best Time to Buy a Car?

The New York Times and the Huffington Post say that Labor Day is the best time of the year to buy a car, but is that true?

Labor Day car sales at car dealerships in CT this year include very low interest rates, thousands of dollars in cash-back incentives and great deals can be found on all types of vehicles including cars, vans and SUV’s.

While there are Memorial Day Deals at CT Car Dealers, only once each year is there the next year’s model. “The 2013 Model Year are Arriving Now so it’s time to make some room on the lots,” according to Jason Hocking, manager of Executive Honda in Wallingford. Honda is offering some of the best new car deals this Labor Day celebrating a Summer Clearance Event on the Honda Accord, Civic, Odyssey and Honda Pilot.

“We know that many consumers that don’t buy this Labor Day weekend might wait until the year-end holidays, which makes this a critical time for us,” said Scott Orsini, owner of the Executive Auto Group in Connecticut. “In addition to the Honda specials other Executive Auto Group stores are also running Labor Day Sales:

• Executive Nissan has offers up to $4,000 cash back and 0% financing for 60 months
• Acura by Executive has leases on new Acuras as low as $259 per month
• Our Dodge dealership in Wallingford is offering up to $3,000 cash back with 0% financing up to 72 months and an opportunity to win a $1,000 Gas Card
• Liberty Mazda new specials include 0.0% APR for up to 60 months, plus no payments for 90 days, or a new Mazda3 lease for only $159 per month.
• Fiat by Executive in Wallingford is offering deeply discounted special prices on all new Fiats in stock for Labor Day
• Executive Jeep new car specials include as much as $3,500 cash back, or 0% APR for 72 months
• Acura of Berlin is offering exceptional specials on used cars
• Executive Kia has up to $2,500 cash back or special financing as low as 0.9%

It’s a good time to trade in used cars in CT too so if you’re going car shopping bring your old car with you – we’d love the opportunity to make a cash offer to buy it from you, whether you decide to buy a new from us or not!

We’ve written in the past on Why Labor Day is the Best Time to Buy Cars in CT and since we expect to make the best use of this Labor Day weekend, you will find very aggressive specials at all Executive Auto Group dealerships in CT.

CT Used Car Prices Continue Decline

After 3 years of used car prices surging higher – to the point where it made more sense to buy new vehicles rather than used cars in CT- the price for used cars is now swinging the other  way.

“Used cars in CT have reached a point where we’re seeing the first year-over-year declines since 2009,” according to Scott Orsini of the Executive Auto Group adding “values of used cars are 4% lower than August of last year and as new vehicle sales have increased, demand for used cars has dropped off.”

“A decline in used vehicle sales is no surprise considering the current affordability of new vehicles,” says Mark Pedemonti, manager of the staff at Berlin Acura, “and this may continue to reduce used car values. Right now a new car is only slightly more expensive than buying a 1- or 2-year-old used car in CT.”

The dip in used car values is due to falling oil prices, strong demand for new vehicles and dealers are finding it easier to provide loans for more auto buyers; even bad credit car loans in CT are on the rise with some dealers offering bad credit, no credit car loans in CT – Guaranteed!  In this market people who might have bought used now have more options with new models.

Automobile manufacturers have also become more aggressive offering rebates and special financing offers. And 0% financing on a new car is attractive to buyers compared to 3.9% to finance used cars loans.

If you are thinking about buying used, the market continues to move in your favor. Don’t expect huge price drops, but as time goes on you may have more negotiating power at car dealers in CT.