F&I and Showroom, February 2014

On the Point The departure of Hyundais chief executive didnt come as a surprise to Da Man Thats because he called it exactly one year ago but even he admits his prediction didnt require much foresight By Jim Ziegler A recent event made me think about the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland the foul tempered personifi cation of blind fury who screams Off with their heads Of course the Queen of Hearts is just a fi gment of Lewis Carrolls imagination and Im certain he never met the Korean executive team over at Hyundai Hyundai and its sister nameplate Kia have burned through some of the best and brightest executives in the industry One of my best industry friends Finbarr ONeill was the fi rst to lead Hyundai out of the wilderness and into the mainstream No one seems to remember his two predecessors Robert Parker and Doug Mazza They were abruptly replaced and ONeill is generally credited for taking brand perception from junk to quality If you are a top performing corporate hero at Kias and Hyundais North American operations history tells us youll probably be marched off the plank with the fi rst misstep Back in 2006 Peter Butterfi e ld then CEO of Kia Motors America was escorted out of a dinner at a dealer meeting taken to a back room fi red and then marched out through the crowd in public humiliation Then there was Bob Cosmai He also left abruptly in 2006 after falling short of the companys unrealistic sales goals He was replaced by Steve Wilhite Guess what happened to him Then theres John Krafcik Media outlets applauded the achievements and progress the company made under his leadership Well in December Hyundai announced that Krafcik was stepping down on Jan 1 But unlike 38 F I and Showroom February 2014 most of his predecessors Krafciks departure was void of any theatrics Instead offi cials said his contract was up and that he was simply moving on Of course thats all bull poop As you are aware I have built a reputation for calling shots before they happen Well I predicted Krafciks departure in the January 2013 issue of this magazine two months after the Environmental Protection Agency found the OEM guilty of overstating fuel economy estimates The headline was Stupid Is as Stupid Does and heres what I wrote Two scenarios are possible Krafcik will either remain with the company to sort through this disaster or hell leave the company The right move is to keep Krafcik onboard No doubt its going to cost both Hyundai and Kia a lot of money and somebody will ultimately have to fall on the sword If its the latter I believe and you read it here fi rst Krafcik will be picked up by another major manufacturer in no time Did I call it or what Krafcik delivered record U S sales in 2012 launched the Genesis and Equus brands fathered the Hyundai Assurance program and generally won over everyone that met him But even though Hyundai posted record sales of 703000 units the companys market share percentage dropped from 49 to 43 Of course the Koreans accept no excuses even though they are comparing last years market share to 2011 when Hyundais share was 51 But that was when the Japanese were on the ropes due to Tsunamis and recalls and the U S domestics were climbing out of bankruptcy This past December the Koreans got the bill for the overstated fuel economy and had to pay a 210 million settlement And that doesnt account for the humiliation of having to admit they overstated fuel economy Heres how Jim Trainor Hyundais spokesperson described Krafciks exit The departure of John Krafcik from Hyundai Motor America has nothing to do in any way with issues regarding misstatements of fuel economy by the company The issues are completely unrelated and there is no connection whatsoever I guess were supposed to believe that Replacing Krafcik is David Zuchowski The former sales executive assumed his new role as president and CEO on Jan 1 Dealers like him and so do I Of course that wont mean much for his life expectancy in his new position If hes just now moving to California Id advise him not to buy a house just yet Rumor has it that Hyundai employees are already selling calendar squares on how long hell last I bought the month of May 2016 Of course Krafcik will be just fi ne My hope is hell land back at Ford where his career started In my opinion hed make an excellent czar to lead Lincoln out of the wilderness As for Hyundai its a great company with great dealers But those at the top still need to check their rearview mirrors and listen for the sound of the Red Queen approaching Jim Ziegler is the president of Ziegler SuperSystems Inc Email him at jim ziegler@ bobit com Off With Their Heads