If you’re looking to find some reviews on customer service on a car dealership i recommend heading over to DealerRater.com

Originally one of the first  dealer review sites, the list over 40,000 car dealerships across the USA and boast of almost a half a million user submitted reviews!

The site allows users looking to wither buy or  car or have it serviced, to  find local dealerships and browse through reviews and make informative desicions, all  this at no charge.

Car Dealers are rated on the criteria of customer service, quality of work, friendliness, price and overall experience.

I make it a point to visit to either read reviews or if i had a positive (or negative) experience to leave my comments on the site.

check em’ out at DealerRater.com

Edmunds.com noted today that October may officially be the turning point for the automotive model year.

In October, 2012 model year vehicles made up 52.3 percent of new car sales; in September the figure was only 35 percent. Chrysler and Honda were among the brands that practically doubled their 2012 sales penetration from September levels, while Toyota more than tripled its 2012 share this month.

As a result, average industry incentive spending decreased in October, since the newer model year vehicles are hardly discounted compared to the 2011 models.

On average, automakers spent an average of $2,158 on vehicle incentives per vehicle sold in October, said Edmunds.com, down 12.1 percent from September and down 11.5 percent from October 2010.

Edmunds.com analysts determined that 2011 model year incentives are essentially flat from September, while 2012 model year incentives climbed a slight five percent.

Average True Cost of Incentivessm (TCIsm) by Car Manufacturer
Manufacturer Oct-11 Sep-11 Oct-10 Oct 2011 vs. Sep 2011 Oct 2011 vs. Oct 2010
Chrysler $2,651 $2,891 $2,880 -8.3% -8.0%
Ford $2,728 $2,879 $3,135 -5.2% -13.0%
GM $3,024 $3,312 $3,215 -8.7% -5.9%
Honda $1,260 $1,791 $1,402 -29.6% -10.1%
Nissan $2,355 $2,494 $2,213 -5.6% 6.4%
Toyota $1,602 $2,019 $2,066 -20.7% -22.5%
Industry $2,158 $2,456 $2,439 -12.1% -11.5%

Three new SRT8 vehicles debuted for the 2012 model year: Charger (plus Super Bee edition?), 300C and Grand Cherokee; they will be followed by the PF and PK compact cars for Chrysler and Dodge, to be built at Belvidere; and a B-class Jeep entry-level CUV, sharing with the Fiat 500 and (maybe) built at Toluca. The eight-speed ZF automatic will be on V6 Chargers and 300s (as a base-model option, otherwise standard), while Durango, Ram, and Grand Cherokee get the new six-speed 6xRFE truck transmission with their V8s. (Charger R/T and SRT8, 300C, and all Challengers stick with the five-speed Mercedes automatic for another year; they are not expected to get eight-speeds now until model year 2014, when Chrysler has taken over manufacturing.)

Dodge Ram

Reliable source MooseEater wrote that Ram will be launching its exclusive RamBox integrated storage system “for a special price” on both 5’7″ and 6’4″ beds, on 2012 regular and quad cab models. A new steering wheel will also be adopted, putting the cruise control onto the front, and a monochrome paint option will be added to Outdoorsman and Longhorn (on the latter, replacing White Gold running boards with Mopar tubular side steps and polished wheels). A Longhorn Two-Tone will still be available.

Ram will also gain new power folding trailer towing mirrors and chrome side mouldings. The ST, however, loses its bright grille, reverting to black. (Some of these features, including the RamBox and mirrors, are set up for late availability.)

The 310-horsepower 4.7 V8 will continue to accompany the Hemi, but in Canada at least, there was no mention of the 3.7 V6 (which was closely based on the 4.7, but did not receive the 4.7′s refresh.) The 4.7 and 5.7 will both (as Allpar noted earlier) move to a six speed automatic, which appears to be standard in Canada and likely in the US as well.

Of interest, it seems that the Ram series is the #3 selling vehicle in Canada, and that Canadian buyers overwhelmingly go for the 4×4 models; regular cabs account for just 5% of sales, with the rest roughly evenly split between Quad Cab and Crew Cab. Most 4×2 sales are restricted to the regular cab. Laramie and Longhorn Crew Cabs seem to have taken off in sales.

The Ram Heavy Duty is the #1 selling diesel in Canada so far this year, and it gained a torque boost to 800 lb-ft, providing best in class towing of 22,750 lb and a gross weight rating of 30,000 lb. For 2012, it can be ordered with the RamBox in all price classes, with lowered pricing; again, a six speed replaces the five speed. Towing capacity was increased for the Hemi as well as the diesel, and midyear seat-mounted side airbags will become standard along with a black grille and bumpers on ST. Most Ram 2500 buyers opt for the crew cab and SLT or Outdoorsman; while most Ram 3500 buyers go for the Crew Cab and Laramie or Longhorn.