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Mystery shoppers love Infiniti, hate Tesla

Infiniti, followed by Lexus tied with Mercedes-Benz took the top two spots for best sales experience according to mystery shoppers from the latest Pied Piper Prospect Satisfaction Index, while EV manufacturer Tesla recorded the lowest overall score. Not surprisingly, premium brands dominated the top ranks. Including the three already mentioned, luxury brands occupied seven of the top ten spots and included Audi, BMW, Porsche, and the only American brand to crack the upper echelon, Cadillac. Toyota, Volkswagen, and Nissan rounded out the first ten positions. The news for domestic automakers isn't good. Aside from Caddy, the only other star-spangled automaker to score above the industry average is Chrysler. The rest of FCA, most of GM, and all of Ford fell below the line. But Pied Piper's mystery shoppers handed Tesla the biggest walloping – the company is ten full points below the next lowest brand, Volvo, and its score of 86 is 17 below the average of 103. It's baffling, considering the company's touted direct-sales model. "Tesla leaves me scratching my head," Fred O'Hagan, Pied Piper's president and CEO, told Wards Auto. "They own all of their stores, so you would think each one would be doing the same thing. But they're not. Tesla is consistent in its inconsistencies." O'Hagan added that there's a "huge variation" in Tesla's store-to-store effectiveness, and that in some cases, shoppers found showroom workers that acted more like "museum curators," Wards Auto reports. It might be popular to call Tesla the Apple of the car world, but based on Pied Piper's work, the brand has a long way to go to emulate the uniform shopping experience of an Apple Store. The news might be bad for Tesla, but even for the brands that scored below average, there's cause for celebration. Only Tesla and Mini lost points in this year's rankings, and only Mercedes and Lincoln held steady. Every other brand, including Infiniti, which topped the index for the first time, gained at least one point. The biggest improvements belong to Porsche, Land Rover, and Mitsubishi, which all jumped five points. Pied Piper's annual Prospect Satisfaction Index uses mystery shoppers – over 6,100 this year – from across the country to assess dealers and generate rankings from over 50 individual factors. News Source: Pied Piper via WardsAuto Green Audi BMW Cadillac Chrysler Infiniti Lexus Mercedes-Benz Nissan Tesla Toyota Car Buying Car Dealers study

Cadillac to move select offices from Detroit to Manhattan?

Under Johan de Nysschen, Infiniti moved its headquarters from Yokohama, Japan, to Hong Kong. Now at Cadillac, it appears the company's new president could be planning a relocation of at least some of the brand's operations from Detroit to Manhattan, according to a new report from Reuters.
In the case of Infiniti, de Nysschen pushed for the move because moving away from the brand's Nissan overlords would allow it a bit more freedom. It's evidently a similar case for Cadillac, with Reuters speculating that such a move would help distance the brand from the corporate culture in Detroit. A Big Apple move could also attract new talent that may have considered a job with the brand but were put off by the idea of living in Detroit.
It's important to note that if such a move takes place, it likely won't affect the folks actually responsible for developing the brand's vehicles. Instead, administrative functions, including marketing, could be the focus of the relocation.

1959 Cadillac Eldorado and more featured in latest 'Forza Horizon 4' car pack

It's that time again, time for another Forza Horizon 4 car pack. This one is a bit bittersweet, because while there are some great cars, it will also be the last one included with the Car Pass, which covered every downloadable car pack for a discounted price. So either we won't see many additional cars in the coming months, or we'll be paying extra for them. On a brighter note, the cars in this pack are cool, particularly the 1959 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz convertible. Threading this aircraft carrier of a car through British streets should be highly entertaining. It's also stylish as all get-out. There are more appropriately sporty cars coming, too, including the 1994 Honda Prelude Si, 1994 Nissan Fairlady Z Version S Twin Turbo and the all-new TVR Griffith. Some reward cars being added come from the role-playing video game Final Fantasy XV. They're the Quartz Regalia Type F and Type D. The Type F is another big luxury convertible in the vein of the Cadillac, and the Type D is the monster truck version. The car pack is available now, and is free to owners of the $29.99 Car Pass. The individual car packs are available for $6.99 separately, and individual cars are even available for $2.99 a piece if you only want specific ones. Related Video: Image Credit: Turn10 Studios / Playground Games Toys/Games Cadillac Honda Nissan forza horizon 4