Chevy's cuts 'well past double digits,' but manufacturer still has NASCAR plan
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Chevrolet is looking at new ways to connect with NASCAR fans in the wake of substantial cutbacks and a re-evaluation of all spending in the wake of federal assistance given to struggling parent company General Motors, the manufacturer’s racing representative says.
To try to compensate for having fewer displays at tracks, for instance, Chevrolet is trying to do more online, especially with advertising for those who might watch or gather NASCAR information online rather than watching on television, says Terry Dolan, manager of Chevy Racing.
Dolan says that all fans – whether they can afford a new car or not – remain a key target audience.
“We have to appeal to a large base of consumers and their needs,” Dolan said. “Some of that is price. … Additionally, we have to work to keep our dealers viable in some of these difficult times. If in fact, you’re not in position to buy a new car today, we’d sure like you to go to your local Chevrolet dealer to buy a used vehicle.”
Dolan said the company has had to evaluate all of its operations during the economic downturn and the federal assistance.
“This has been a humbling period for all of us at General Motors, and we have done a lot of internal assessment to look at how we market our vehicles and what is the right approach to take to America today,” he said. “There are so many people that are struggling, people who have unfortunately lost jobs. At the same time, we’ve been the benefactors of help at a time that was very critical for us.
“We have radically adjusted our spending. We have downsized the magnitude of activities. We still need to market our cars and trucks to consumers. And we’re ensuring we’re able to do that but to do it in a smart, more effective way. … We have made a very large recalibration to our spending that is well past double digits.”
Among the noticeable areas that Chevrolet has cut back are its deal with the tracks. It still has a display area at Daytona, but it is smaller than in the past. Chevrolet also used to pay for exclusivity at the track, but it’s no longer that way as both Chevrolet and Ford will pace races, and they both have displays, as does Toyota, on track property.
Chevrolet has let contracts expire at New Hampshire and Bristol, among others.
“We have walked away from a large number of tracks that we previously held,” Dolan said. “A lot of those decisions have been based pure on the return on investment modeling.”
But even at a time when it is cutting back, the manufacturer continues to look at new initiatives, Dolan said. One of those programs will see Chevrolet compete in the American Le Mans Series with a Corvette that runs on its E85 gasoline (85 percent ethanol; 15 percent gasoline).
“We are very encouraged by some of the sustainability programs that are being evaluated,” Dolan said. “We’ve seen good reaction to that [Corvette]. We’ll continue to work to explore other solutions with those type of initiatives.”
