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Thread: Ever raise a boat?

  1. #1
    Havasu Hangin'
    Down with the ship: Retailers try to keep buyers whose vehicles were lost in shipwreck
    By JIM HENRY | Automotive News
    Add shipwrecks to the list of things that can go wrong with launching a car.
    The Dec. 14 sinking of the ship Tricolor -- in a thick, English Channel fog -- hit Volvo Cars of North America just as it began sales of its first sport-utility, the XC90.
    The ship was carrying nearly 3,000 U.S-bound Saabs, BMWs and Volvos - including 358 XC90s. U.S. dealers have accepted deposits for about 9,000 XC90s but so far have delivered only 290 in October and 881 in November.
    "This will add to the waiting list," said Michael Lazarus, executive vice president of group operations for Long Island Automotive Group, which includes BMW and Volvo stores in Massapequa, N.Y. At the current rate, 358 vehicles represents about two weeks worth of sales, when the waiting list is already months long.
    "There was a loss of about 360 cars among about 360 dealers," Lazarus said. "I'm sure some guys will scream about the loss of one car, but we will share the pain; the factory will reallocate some cars."
    At full production, the company expects U.S. sales of about 3,000 XC90s a month. That would make the XC90 Volvo's biggest seller in the United States.
    Volvo lost 2,020 U.S.-bound vehicles - about 70 percent of the ship's cargo - including 637 S60 sedans. As of Dec. 1, Volvo reported a 56-day supply of cars in the United States, down from 95 a month earlier.
    The automakers said they are insured against the financial loss. But U.S. dealers are scrambling to find dealer trades to satisfy customers who already may have been waiting weeks for their cars.
    If those customers are willing to wait, all three factories say they will put the customers at the head of the line for new deliveries, which typically take about 45 days. If the customers won't wait, the dealer has to put them in a different vehicle - or unhappily refund the deposit.
    Tim Smith, general manager of Bob Smith BMW in Canoga Park, Calif., said dealer trades and reshuffling allocations by the U.S. subsidiary should satisfy most customers. But some customers insist on an unusual combination of colors, options and equipment, he said.
    There was also a handful of "European delivery" cars on the Tricolor - for instance, a half-dozen Volvos. Those are a special case because each customer paid for the car, put some miles on it in Europe and shipped it home as a used car to save customs duties. Dealers and factory spokesmen last week were unsure how those were insured or what will be done for those customers.
    Besides the lost Volvos, about 500 Saabs also sank. Saab Cars USA Inc. said 480 of them were 9-3s and the rest 9-5s. The company sold 1,536 9-3s in the United States last month. Low inventory should not be a problem; the company had a fat 155-day supply on Dec. 1.
    BMW said it lost about 335 cars - a mix of 3-, 5- and 7-series models. There were no X5 sport wagons or Z4 sports cars aboard because they are built in South Carolina. Minis, built in Great Britain, were not on the ship.
    The BMW brand sold 20,873 cars and light trucks in the United States in November. The company had only a 24-day supply of BMWs, not including Minis, on Dec. 1.
    Smith was philosophical about the sinking. "In this business, we're used to things happening - a car falling off a truck or whatever," he said. "One good thing about a ship sinking: It's not something people will blame on the dealer."
    Here's a couple (http://www.lba.hu/poenoskepkockak/bi...ep=00026nk.jpg) pics (http://www.blognewsnetwork.com/membe...olorAutos.html).

  2. #2
    Jbb
    A three hour tour.......:eek!:

  3. #3
    Dr. Eagle
    Originally posted by JETBOAT BRIAN
    A three hour tour.......:eek!:
    Well, all the scrap iron is in one place... what a mess!

  4. #4
    73kona455
    maybe they will have a slighty abused sale..lol

  5. #5
    Havasu Hangin'
    I think they use a giant rope-saw to cut the hull in sections before they pull it up.

  6. #6
    Dr. Eagle
    Originally posted by Havasu Hangin'
    I think they use a giant rope-saw to cut the hull in sections before they pull it up.
    I think you b right...Kind of like a jewlers wire saw. They use big ass steel cables to cut it..., then hoist it onto a barge.
    Bet there are a lot of very safe fish in their seat belts on the bottom...

  7. #7
    OGShocker
    They should teach those longshoremen how to park the cars properly. I think there were at least two door dings in those pictures.

  8. #8
    AZKC
    There goes their insurance rates $$$$$$

  9. #9
    spectratoad
    Looks like one of the cars got in the way of the saw.
    Couldn't they just deploy all of the airbags and float the thing??

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