Blackstock Ford, Bridging Daily Driver Needs with an Enthusiast Wish List

“The goal is to introduce transparency to customers—trust—and to do it with integrity. Because that’s one thing that hasn’t changed; you still need trust. You need a relationship with your salesperson.”- Jim Carson, Blackstock Ford

How would you describe your last car-buying experience? Overwhelming? Nerve-wracking? Painful? You’re certainly not alone. Many shoppers report that they would rather do any number of unpleasant things than negotiate a new ride, such as go to the DMV, file taxes—even sit in the middle airplane seat. But car buying doesn’t have to be a negative experience. In fact, at many dealerships, the traditional process of awkward haggling and endless forms to sign is quickly becoming the exception, not the norm.

Instead, dealers are finding ways to separate themselves from harmful ‘salesman’ stereotypes by adopting new technologies, offering unique services, and ultimately embracing a new, open culture of car buying. And if you take a trip about 50 miles west of Toronto to Blackstock Ford in Orangeville, Ontario, you’ll find one of these dealers.

Jim Carson is a straight-shooter and, as you can tell from the quote above, a person who values honest relationships built on mutual respect and trust. Operating Blackstock under the slogan “You Drive Us To Be Different,” he also knows how this sincerity with customers can translate into exciting new business opportunities—in his case a dealership that goes beyond traditional sales and repair services into tailored aftermarket customizations for a variety of makes and models (many of which aren’t even sold at his dealership).

Striving to Be Different

We all know the importance of diversification; but to do it successfully takes a certain level of foresight. Foresight that comes from experience—of which Carson has plenty. With a career spanning 37 years, eight of those spent as dealer-principal of Blackstock Ford, he has had plenty of time to observe the shifts in the automotive industry, fueled by government regulation, new technology, and consumer preferences. And throughout this near four-decade course of study, trends have emerged—and with them, glimmering spots of opportunity.

“I was 21 years old when I started selling cars and, by the time I was 24, I figured out I’m probably not going to make it back to school, so I better make this industry my career,” jokes Carson. “Pretty much from that time, that’s when I decided that I wanted to be a car dealer someday.” Also around that time, Carson (now a sales manager at a Ford dealership) began to realize that his job could involve a lot more than just selling cars.

“The dealer and I do believe that we started the Mustang 5.0L—what you call the Foxbody—back in 1986. When we realized you could order an LX Mustang, and for $1500 you could add the 5.0L motor, we made a big marketing campaign—and it just blew up, went crazy. I think I’ve been looking for that in a model ever since. That’s kind of been my automobile career: modifying and customizing Fords, trying to make myself different from the other Ford dealer, and trying to do it with integrity.”

It’s safe to say Carson succeeded, as Blackstock Ford certainly stands out from your average dealership—of any brand.

First, there’s the code of ethics, inspired by the Ford Motor Company itself. “The first thing we did was adopt a set of core values that form the acronym BRIDGE,” explains Carson. “We say that’s our ‘bridge’ to success: Boldness, Respect, Integrity, Due Diligence, Go Above and Beyond, and Entrepreneurship. And we try to live by that set of core values.”

Whether it’s encouraging employees to act with empowerment, or merely providing a customer with all the data they need to make an informed decision, Carson insists it all comes back to BRIDGE. For example, Blackstock is the first dealership in Canada to offer complementary video report cards to its service department customers. Called C-it-Now, it’s essentially a compressed video of a Blackstock technician walking you through exactly what was repaired on your vehicle during its appointment and why.

“The goal is to introduce transparency to customers—trust—and to do it with integrity,” explains Carson. “Our customers absolutely love it. Because that’s one thing that hasn’t changed; you still need trust. You need a relationship with your salesperson and it’s difficult to convey that through a typed or written message.”

“The Ford Guys Who Customize”

Another feature that sets Blackstock Ford apart from the competition? Much like that successful Mustang campaign in the ‘80s, Carson and his team capitalize on market trends in a way that both excites customers and further personalizes the shopping experience. So, in addition to aftermarket installation services (covering everything from protection and styling to suspension and exhaust), Blackstock develops unique custom vehicle packages.

Along with its off-site accessories’ division, Bad Dog Modifications, the dealership has pioneered custom Dakar, FX6, Mojave, and Venom packages that are commonly reproduced around the world. (Watch Blackstock’s social media for word on an upcoming 2020 Mustang package featuring AirDesign products!)

As you might expect, Carson’s commitment to operating with integrity factors into this facet of the business as well. “We’re known throughout our whole province as ‘the Ford guys who customize,’ so we follow a plan of developing packages which will provide the best value for customers from two points,” he explains.

“First, we can reach out to our partners like Keystone and make sure there’s availability for parts. We make sure we provide high-quality vendors that we can trust and who we know will be around for support if we have a problem. And, second, any parts that we take off, often we credit against the purchase price. So, for example, the wheels and tires—we take them off and resell them on say, lessor models. [This allows us to] bring really unbeatable value to the market for those packages.”

Meet Bad Dog Modifications

For Carson, the modification division of the dealership is more than just a new source of revenue. “It gave us the ability to again expand on our core values, and we could shift our business, instead of just deriving necessary profit from after-sales,” he says. The challenge? “There was just absolutely no way that a customer would ever think a new car dealer could be their first choice for an aftermarket accessory, particularly from a specific brand.”

“Right or wrong, it’s difficult to get proper factual advice on modifying your vehicle from a new car dealership,” admits Carson. “In our defense, our industry is complicated. If you’re working at a Ford store or Chrysler store, you have to know the products inside and out on—what—13 to 14 different models? And then you have to know about the 27 different tonneau covers you can get on your pickup truck—that’s tough!”

Carson quickly realized that an off-site location would be necessary—neutral territory, so to say. And Bad Dog Modifications, which began simply as a place to wash and detail cars without overtaxing the dealership’s well and waste water setup, seemed like the perfect solution.

“You could just see the potential,” he says. “It became ‘Well, we might as well install accessories there.’ And the next thing you know, it’s a retail location instead of just a facility hidden in an industrial park. Being off-site gives us the ability to communicate with customers, interact with customers, we learn and they learn and we’ve been doing it now—going on our seventh year.”

Going the Extra Mile

While the customization services at Blackstock Ford certainly set it apart from other dealerships, it is this dedication to a culture of transparency and openness—largely as a way to acknowledge and get ahead of buyer anxieties—that has us most convinced of this business’s capability for longevity.

Because, as we dive head-first into this brave new auto-world of electric cars and autonomous technologies, virtual assistants and touchscreen-everything, there are going to be a lot of buyer anxieties. To survive that kind of tidal industry shift, you need a tried-and-true way of leveling with customers, as well as a plan for continually evaluating your business. (A challenge more easily met with a company-wide set of values on board, eh?)

Perhaps that’s why Jim Carson doesn’t seem too worried about the future.

While he admits that the cost of retooling service bays and educating staff on new technologies doesn’t come cheap, it’s clear he chooses to focus on the doors that investment will open, not close. (Mustang Mach-E, anyone?) Similarly, Carson chooses to look at all the data before jumping to conclusions, and the data shows that ICE engines will be sticking around for a while yet—as will corresponding sales and service opportunities.

“People whose opinion I trust—global industry manufacturers in fuel delivery, fuel lines, fuel tank systems, people who should have a good idea of what’s going on—tell me that the year 2035 is when we’re going to see a 50% tipping point, where 50% of the vehicles will be electric. I’m sure some sort of disruptive technology would accelerate that pace, but short of that, it’s going to be quite a long time [before traditional technologies disappear].”

It may not surprise you to learn that Jim’s plan for future success largely mirrors the blueprint he’s followed for past and present achievements: openness and integrity. Being unafraid to try new things—whether that’s diversifying your services or employing new technology—and keeping customers’ needs a priority.