(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Sunday’s sports events:
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE
Milwaukee 6, Minnesota 2
Chicago White Sox 13, Chicago Cubs 1
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Toronto 2, Detroit 1
Tampa Bay 12, Baltimore 8
Cleveland 7, Boston 5
Texas 13, Houston 2
Seattle 4, Kansas City 3
Oakland 3, N.Y. Yankees 1
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Miami 2, Cincinnati 1
Pittsburgh 4, St. Louis 3
Philadelphia 7, Arizona 4
Atlanta 9, San Francisco 0
N.Y. Mets 9, Washington 4
Colorado 5, L.A. Dodgers 0
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE PRESEASON
Jacksonville 34, Dallas 14
Miami 29, Cincinnati 26
San Francisco 34, Las Vegas 10
New England 22, N-Y Giants 20
Cleveland 19, Atlanta 10
WOMEN’S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Chicago 107, Seattle 75
MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER
FC Dallas 5, Austin FC 3
Vancouver 4, Real Salt Lake 1
Portland 2, Seattle 0
If you’ve missed it, “Fancy” is the rap-influenced, country-flavored earworm that extols the virtues of a girl who “wanna dip me like them fries in her Frosty” at Wendy’s, and get the “Bourbon Street steak with the Oreo shake” from “Applebee’s on a date night.”
And it was all fueled by a video Walker made with his 15-year-old daughter.
“Lela and I did the dance on Sunday afternoon,” Walker explains. “She said, ‘Hey Dad, “Fancy Like” doesn’t have a dance. We need to do one.'”
“We kinda created it together,” he continues. “She made up most of the moves. I made sure most of the moves could be done, even if you weren’t a great dancer — like me.”
“We popped it off in two takes… And the rest is history,” he reveals. “We pretty much knew hours later, we had accidentally done something — odd.”
Since then, at least one of the restaurants Walker name-dropped has come calling.
“Within days, people began to predict ‘song of the summer,’ how viral it would go, things like that,” he tells ABC Audio. “I don’t necessarily say I believed ’em, but here we are.”
“There’s an Applebee’s commercial,” he points out. “The Oreo shake is back on the menu thanks to the power of a song.”
“And millions of people have done this dance,” he marvels. “And the song continues to climb all charts, all genres. It’s mind-blowing. It’s absolutely mind-blowing.”
Sure enough, “Fancy Like” has already spent six weeks atop Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs ranking, while sitting at #12 on the pop-oriented Hot 100 as well.
(NEW YORK) — Ida is barreling through Louisiana after making landfall in the state as a powerful Category 4 hurricane on Sunday afternoon.
It was one of the strongest hurricanes on record — by both wind speed and pressure — to roar ashore in Louisiana.
Ida, now a tropical storm, is hitting on the 16-year anniversary of Katrina, a Category 3 hurricane that ravaged the Gulf Coast. Hurricane Katrina unleashed a series of events, taking the lives of more than 1,800 people and leaving more than $100 billion worth of damage in its wake.
Here are the latest developments. All times Eastern:
Aug 30, 8:20 am
‘We’re a broken community right now’
The president of hard-hit Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, told ABC’s “Good Morning America” Monday that all communication lines with Grand Isle were down.
Cynthia Lee Sheng said about 40 people are believed to have stayed on the barrier island, located about 100 miles south of New Orleans.
“We have lost contact with them since yesterday afternoon,” Sheng said. “We have first responder teams out there planning their strategy for today, ready to go out.”
Sheng also said there were concerns about Lafitte, Louisiana, saying officials had received reports of people trapped in their attics by high water.
“This is an area if you want to think of it like swampland, there’s alligators out there,” Sheng said.
She said rescue workers have not been able to reach the area due to darkness and downed power lines.
In addition to thousands in the area losing power, Sheng said the parish was losing pressure in its water system.
“We’ve had a lot of water main breaks,” she said. “Our water system is losing pressure and so in order to be able to fight fires, that is a very critical element. So, we’re trying to clear roads to do those water repairs.”
Sheng added, “We’re a broken community right now.”
Aug 30, 7:33 am
Over 1.1 million customers without power in 2 states
Ida, with its blustery winds and torrential rain, has left more than 1.1 million utility customers without power in Louisiana and Mississippi on Monday morning.
More than 1 million customers were without electricity in Louisiana, mostly in the southeast part of Bayou State where Ida made landfall, according to state emergency management officials.
In Mississippi, another 105,417 homes and businesses were without electricity, state officials said.
Aug 30, 5:41 am
Ida downgraded to tropical storm
About 16 hours after making landfall in Louisiana, Ida was downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm early Monday morning.
As of 4 a.m. CT, Ida was moving north at 8 miles per hour with the eye of the storm located about 95 miles south-southwest of Jackson, Mississippi, and 50 miles north-northeast of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The storm’s maximum sustained winds have decreased near 60 miles per hour with higher gusts, according to an advisory from the National Weather Service.
The storm surge warning has been discontinued from Morgan City to Grand Isle, Louisiana. The hurricane and tropical storm warnings have been discontinued west of Grand Isle. The hurricane warning has been replaced with a tropical storm warning from Grand Isle to the mouth of the Pearl River, including Lake Pontchartrain, Lake Maurepas and metropolitan New Orleans. Storm surge and tropical storm warnings remain in effect for Grand Isle to the Alabama-Florida border, according to the National Weather Service.
Meanwhile, 16 states from Mississippi to New Jersey are still on alert for flash flooding. A flash flood watch is in place from the Gulf Coast to New Jersey.
So far, the highest rainfall total was recorded in LaPlace, Louisiana, which received 15 inches. A flash flood emergency remains in effect there, according to the National Weather Service.
Ida is forecast to rapidly weaken even more over the next day or so, becoming a tropical depression by Monday evening.
The storm will move farther inland over southeastern Louisiana early Monday and into southwestern Mississippi later in the morning. Ida is then forecast to move over central and northeastern Mississippi on Monday afternoon and evening before moving across the Tennessee Valley on Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service.
Aug 30, 4:40 am
Tornado warning issued for parts of southern Mississippi
The National Weather Service has issued a tornado warning for eastern Harrison County and northwestern Jackson County, both in southern Mississippi.
As Hurricane Ida approaches the Magnolia State, a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado was located via radar over Biloxi in Mississippi’s Harrison County early Monday at 2:46 a.m. CT. The “tornadic thunderstorm” was moving north at 65 miles per hour, according to an alert from the National Weather Service, which urged people to “take cover now!”
“Move to a basement or an interior room on the lowest floor of a sturdy building. Avoid windows,” the National Weather Service said. “If you are outdoors, in a mobile home, or in a vehicle, move to the closest substantial shelter and protect yourself from flying debris.”
The storm could impact the Gulfport–Biloxi International Airport as well as several miles of Interstate 10 and 110 in Mississippi, according to the National Weather Service. The tornado warning will remain in effect until 3:45 a.m. CT.
“Flying debris will be dangerous to those caught without shelter,” the National Weather Service warned. “Mobile homes will be damaged or destroyed. Damage to roofs, windows, and vehicles will occur. Tree damage is likely.”
Aug 30, 4:16 am
New Orleans ‘experiencing technical difficulties’ with 911 system
The emergency communications center for New Orleans said it is “experiencing technical difficulties” with its 911 system, after the city lost power due to Hurricane Ida.
“If you find yourself in an emergency, please go to your nearest fire station or approach your nearest officer,” the Orleans Parish Communication District announced via Twitter early Monday. “We will update you once this issue has been resolved.”
(NEW YORK) — Ida is barreling through Louisiana after making landfall in the state as a powerful Category 4 hurricane on Sunday afternoon.
It was one of the strongest hurricanes on record — by both wind speed and pressure — to roar ashore in Louisiana.
The storm is hitting on the 16-year anniversary of Katrina, a Category 3 hurricane that ravaged the Gulf Coast. Hurricane Katrina unleashed a series of events, taking the lives of more than 1,800 people and leaving more than $100 billion worth of damage in its wake.
Here are the latest developments. All times Eastern:
Aug 30, 7:33 am
Over 1.1 million customers without power in 2 states
Ida, with its blustery winds and torrential rain, has left more than 1.1 million utility customers without power in Louisiana and Mississippi on Monday morning.
More than 1 million customers were without electricity in Louisiana, mostly in the southeast part of Bayou State where Ida made landfall, according to state emergency management officials.
In Mississippi, another 105,417 homes and businesses were without electricity, state officials said.
Aug 30, 5:41 am
Ida downgraded to tropical storm
About 16 hours after making landfall in Louisiana, Ida was downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm early Monday morning.
As of 4 a.m. CT, Ida was moving north at 8 miles per hour with the eye of the storm located about 95 miles south-southwest of Jackson, Mississippi, and 50 miles north-northeast of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The storm’s maximum sustained winds have decreased near 60 miles per hour with higher gusts, according to an advisory from the National Weather Service.
The storm surge warning has been discontinued from Morgan City to Grand Isle, Louisiana. The hurricane and tropical storm warnings have been discontinued west of Grand Isle. The hurricane warning has been replaced with a tropical storm warning from Grand Isle to the mouth of the Pearl River, including Lake Pontchartrain, Lake Maurepas and metropolitan New Orleans. Storm surge and tropical storm warnings remain in effect for Grand Isle to the Alabama-Florida border, according to the National Weather Service.
Meanwhile, 16 states from Mississippi to New Jersey are still on alert for flash flooding. A flash flood watch is in place from the Gulf Coast to New Jersey.
So far, the highest rainfall total was recorded in LaPlace, Louisiana, which received 15 inches. A flash flood emergency remains in effect there, according to the National Weather Service.
Ida is forecast to rapidly weaken even more over the next day or so, becoming a tropical depression by Monday evening.
The storm will move farther inland over southeastern Louisiana early Monday and into southwestern Mississippi later in the morning. Ida is then forecast to move over central and northeastern Mississippi on Monday afternoon and evening before moving across the Tennessee Valley on Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service.
Aug 30, 4:40 am
Tornado warning issued for parts of southern Mississippi
The National Weather Service has issued a tornado warning for eastern Harrison County and northwestern Jackson County, both in southern Mississippi.
As Hurricane Ida approaches the Magnolia State, a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado was located via radar over Biloxi in Mississippi’s Harrison County early Monday at 2:46 a.m. CT. The “tornadic thunderstorm” was moving north at 65 miles per hour, according to an alert from the National Weather Service, which urged people to “take cover now!”
“Move to a basement or an interior room on the lowest floor of a sturdy building. Avoid windows,” the National Weather Service said. “If you are outdoors, in a mobile home, or in a vehicle, move to the closest substantial shelter and protect yourself from flying debris.”
The storm could impact the Gulfport–Biloxi International Airport as well as several miles of Interstate 10 and 110 in Mississippi, according to the National Weather Service. The tornado warning will remain in effect until 3:45 a.m. CT.
“Flying debris will be dangerous to those caught without shelter,” the National Weather Service warned. “Mobile homes will be damaged or destroyed. Damage to roofs, windows, and vehicles will occur. Tree damage is likely.”
Aug 30, 4:16 am
New Orleans ‘experiencing technical difficulties’ with 911 system
The emergency communications center for New Orleans said it is “experiencing technical difficulties” with its 911 system, after the city lost power due to Hurricane Ida.
“If you find yourself in an emergency, please go to your nearest fire station or approach your nearest officer,” the Orleans Parish Communication District announced via Twitter early Monday. “We will update you once this issue has been resolved.”
After releasing their album Dreamland over a year ago, Glass Animals is finally getting the chance to tour behind it. Their Dreamland tour kicks off tonight in Lewiston, NY — and frontman Dave Bailey says fans can have fun looking at their “bonkers” stage, and predicts he’ll spend some of the night “crying a little bit.”
Describing what fans can expect visually, Dave tells ABC Audio, “There’s Dreamland visuals, there’s giant palm trees, there’s floating neon signs and cereal bowls, and there’s a giant swimming pool.” He laughs, “It’s quite mad. It’s definitely the most bonkers stage design we’ve ever done!”
Between headlining shows, the “Heat Waves” group will also be playing festivals like Bonnaroo, Life Is Beautiful and Outside Lands, though Dave says those shows, like, their headlining shows, will be all about reading the room.
“We try to keep festival shows fun, but honestly, we really react to the crowd, at any show that we’re doing — be it a headline show or a festival show, you have to look at the crowd and see how they’re feeling,” Dave explains. “…[I]f it’s like 6:00 in the afternoon and everyone’s pretty chill, then you can play things a bit slower, and maybe turn the ambient stuff up. Or if people are dancing and a dance artist has played before you, turn the drums up…have a total party.”
But Dave says one major highlight of tonight’s opening show will be seeing a live crowd react to “Heat Waves” — which is something he and the band haven’t really gotten to experience since it became a massive hit in the past year.
In fact, Dave admits, “I think I’ll probably end up crying a little bit.”
Ex-Creedence Clearwater Revival drummer Doug “Cosmo” Clifford has just released an archival album called For All the Money in the World that he recorded in 1986 with then-Greg Kihn Band bassist/songwriter Steve Wright, who died in 2017.
Clifford tells ABC Audio that the project came about when Wright, who grew up in the same town, El Cerrito, California, looked him up and suggested they write together.
“[I]t was very easy and very productive, so we kept doing that,” Clifford recalls. “And then we decided…we’ve got material and have a formula for having more material and it’d be nice to have a band to put it out there.”
Cosmo says they enlisted various Bay Area musicians for the sessions, many of whom also played with the Greg Kihn Band around that time, including guitarists Joe Satriani, Greg Douglass and Jimmy Lyon, and keyboardist Pat Mosca.
Rounding things out was a talented singer named Keith England whom, Clifford notes, had “a great rock ‘n’ roll voice.”
For All the Money in the World is an 11-track collection that offers a mix of catchy pop and rock songs.
Clifford says he loves the title track because it features a shuffle beat, noting, “Shuffles are just…fun. You can’t help but move to a shuffle.”
Cosmo also reveals that he sent the album to Steve Miller, who singled out the driving rock tune “She Told Me So” as his favorite.
Clifford says Miller told him, “[Y]ou guys ripped the roof off the barn with [that song].'”
According to Cosmo, Clifford/Wright “had the components of…something pretty special,” but the album was shelved when Wright’s lack of interest in playing clubs brought the project “to a close.”
Thirty-five years later, the album finally has been released.
Bachelor super-fan Lance Bass takes over guest hosting duties tonight onBachelor in Paradise and while he loves the entire franchise, he tells ABC Audio that Paradise is his absolute favorite version.
“Paradise, to me, I just feel is the better chance of people finding love,” he explains.
“When you have multiple people as an option to fall in love with, it’s just way more fun to watch… as opposed to when you watch The Bachelor and you just have one person vying for 30 people,” Bass adds. “It just causes a lot more drama. Of course, we’re in it for the drama. Let’s be real.”
Speaking of drama, the pop singer was also fascinated by how real it all was. Sharing that he had a TV in his dressing room and could “watch every conversation,” Bass says, “…it is amazing how real this can get in such a short amount of time, especially when you’re there just focused on finding love and no outside world. It’s the craziest speed dating on Earth.”
Another thing that took the boy bander by surprise — the heat in Mexico, which, for him, does not create a great environment for romance.
“…there’s like sweating and just like wait do I smell. And when I’m hot, the last thing I want to think about is kissing someone or having sex, like I just want to be like, no, don’t touch me, don’t touch me,” he says with a laugh.
Though the heat was tough, the most difficult thing for Bass was learning everyone’s names.
Sharingthat he had 20 minutes to pair the names and faces, he reveals, “… that was definitely the hardest part, was keeping all the names together and which ones were coupled up, and which ones were fighting.”
Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images
Betty White is the last woman standing.
Ed Asner, who along with White was one of two living main cast members of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, has died at age 91, according to his verified Twitter account. “We are sorry to say that our beloved patriarch passed away this morning peacefully,” read the tweet. “Words cannot express the sadness we feel. With a kiss on your head- Goodnight dad. We love you.”
The Emmy-winning Asner portrayed Mary Richards’ tough boss Lou Grant on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and in the hour-long spinoff drama Lou Grant. He was the only actor to win Emmys for playing the same character in both a comedy and drama.
While he’s best-known for playing Grant, Asner also won Emmys for his roles in the hit TV miniseries Rich Man, Poor Man and Roots, bringing his career Emmy total to seven.
The series Lou Grant took on social issues, as Asner did in his personal life and as president of the Screen Actor’s Guild. However, his activism didn’t always sit well with network executives or advertisers. When CBS abruptly canceled Lou Grant while it was still a top-10 show, Asner believed that it was due to his left-wing political views.
According to Variety, Asner defended his political activism throughout his life, calling it “not a luxury, but a necessity.”
After MTM and Lou Grant ended, Asner continued to work in movies and on TV, most recently appearing on Grace & Frankie, Cobra Kai, Dead to Me, Modern Family and Blue Bloods. In addition, he had a successful career providing voiceovers for animated movies like Up, in which he played the lead role of Carl Fredricksen. Among the animated TV shows he lent his voice to: King of the Hill, American Dad, SpongeBob SquarePants, Central Park and many more.
Asner, whose two marriages ended in divorce, is survived by four children.
(NEW YORK) — As many parents wait for COVID-19 vaccines to be authorized for children younger than 12, doctors increasingly are alarmed at the rising number of kids who are missing routine vaccinations — a trend that’s had a domino effect from last year, when so many families were confined to their homes.
Now, a new analysis finds that to catch up, community health centers may need to increase the number of childhood vaccinations by 265% — and maintain that pace for at least six months.
“The decline in routine pediatric immunizations is very concerning because measles, pertussis and chickenpox still remain threats to child health,” said Dr. Josh Sharfstein, a pediatrician and vice dean for public health practice and community engagement at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
With in-person schooling restarting this fall, a growing chorus of doctors is now urging parents to make sure their children receive their routine pediatric vaccinations, which run along a specific schedule. For example, babies are supposed to get their measles, mumps, rubella vaccination near their first birthday. By age 11, it’s time to be vaccinated against human papilloma virus.
But with so many children missing these routine immunizations, doctors are now warning of a potentially sharp uptick in vaccine-preventable diseases, which may coincide with a potentially difficult flu season if children also are receiving fewer flu shots.
“We now face the double challenge of keeping children safe from the delta variant and making sure they’re not falling ill from other preventable diseases as they return to in-person schooling,” Sharfstein said. “The next year will be an immense challenge for parents, pediatricians, teachers and school administrators to protect children.”
HealthEfficient, a not-for-profit organization in New York that supports community health centers nationwide, has been tracking childhood immunization rates since the beginning of the pandemic.
“Our data shows a substantial and persistent drop in the number of childhood immunizations occurring over the last two years,” Alan Mitchell, the group’s executive director, told ABC News. “The numbers in 2021 are in some cases even lower than 2020, and 2020 already represented a large drop-off from 2019.”
Analysis by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of high-performing immunization information systems from 10 jurisdictions in the U.S. showed that administered doses of routine childhood and adolescent vaccines were substantially lower from March to May 2020 compared with that same time period in 2018 and 2019.
A study conducted by a team at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington found a similar drop-off in vaccination rates throughout the world, with the most significant decrease seen in April 2020. Data from the World Health Organization and UNICEF shows that at least 23 million children missed routine vaccinations in 2020 because of the disruption in health services.
“Any time there is a decrease in vaccination rates, this lowers herd immunity and increases the potential for an outbreak, as we saw for measles in Minnesota in 2017 and in New York in 2018-2019,” said Dr. Keila Lopez, an associate professor of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine/ Texas Children’s Hospital.
“These declining immunization rates risk reversing years of gains via public health efforts to improve pediatric immunization trends,” Mitchell said. “In our view, a sustained, coordinated public health initiative is needed to drive these rates back up to pre-pandemic levels.”
Experts recommend restoring vaccination services and campaigns, helping health care workers and community leaders educate the public about the importance of vaccinations, identifying and rectifying vaccination gaps in individual communities, making sure COVID-19 vaccinations don’t affect the routine childhood vaccination drive, and implementing plans to prevent and respond to outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases.
The impact of the pandemic can be felt as a ripple through other serious conditions that make catching up even more critical.
Health care providers and schools should assess the vaccination status of all pediatric patients, including adolescents, and contact those who are behind schedule to ensure all children are fully vaccinated, experts told ABC News. Furthermore, more public health campaigns to combat misinformation and reinforce the overwhelming value of vaccines also could help, and community health centers have a critical role to play.
“Based on the current delta surge impacting higher numbers of children, school reopening’s with varied public health practices and more frequent quarantines,” Lopez said, “I fear that routine and flu vaccine acquisition will fall even lower this season.”
Tushar Garg, M.D., an incoming postdoctoral research fellow at Johns Hopkins Hospital, is a contributor to the ABC News Medical Unit. Jay Bhatt, D.O., an internist and adjunct faculty at the UIC School of Public Health, is an ABC News contributor.
(WASHINGTON) — Imagine buying a new car, at your home computer, in 19 minutes. That’s what MINI, the funky British marque, says is now possible.
The brand recently introduced MINI Anywhere, a pilot program in California where MINI enthusiasts can choose their vehicle, apply for financing and sign all necessary paperwork in under 30 minutes. The majority of credit applications are approved instantly, according to MINI executive Patrick McKenna.
MINI Anywhere is headed next to Florida and Texas and a nationwide rollout to MINI’s 115 dealers is planned by year-end.
“This definitely is the future,” McKenna, who oversees MINI’s marketing and product teams, told ABC News. “We’re making dealers digitally savvy in the marketplace.”
The program was designed to make the car buying process easy: Shoppers can see what the car looks like in their driveway or parking garage via augmented reality. Virtual test-drives and walk-arounds are possible too, said McKenna, who helped spearhead the program last July.
Plus, buying a car with a few clicks of a button is not too different from shopping for groceries on Amazon, McKenna noted.
“The younger generation is fine doing a transaction online without driving a car,” he said.
Karl Brauer, executive analyst at iSeeCars.com, said many consumers would be happy to eliminate the dealership experience — the haggling, the long hours — entirely. The pandemic forced shoppers to be independent and choose vehicles without sales assistance, a scenario that has been largely positive and beneficial, he said.
“We have a new awareness of how much easier it can be to buy a car online with minimal to no physical requirement to visit a dealership,” he told ABC News. “Digital options existed for years. Automakers were ready. The pandemic pushed it along.”
There are drawbacks, of course. Higher prices. Zero negotiating. The inability to see or touch the new vehicle in person. Even impulsive decisions.
“You could end up with buyer’s remorse,” Brauer explained. “Car purchases can be highly emotional and it’s not wise to make a big financial decision based on emotion.”
McKenna acknowledged MINI Anywhere may not be the cheapest way to buy a car. The program could also potentially impact MINI’s sales associates, or “motoring advisers” in MINI speak. But dealers can “reinvent” the delivery, he said.
“They have a chance to build [a customer] relationship by making it a personal, exciting delivery — a ‘wow’ experience,” he explained.
Carvana, an online dealer for used cars, has sold more than 750,000 vehicles since its launch in January 2013. Last quarter it moved 107,815 retail units, an increase of 96% year-over-year. Second-quarter revenue topped $3.3 billion, a rise of 198% YoY.
“For most customers, buying a car online is simpler and a better experience,” Eric Garcia, CEO of Carvana, told ABC News. “The biggest hurdle for online is establishing trust.”
Carvana gives customers seven days to return a vehicle if they’re not completely satisfied. The return rate is the mid- to high-single digits and more than half of returns are swapped for another vehicle, Garcia noted.
“We found undoubtedly that customers are ready and willing to buy cars this way,” he said. “That’s what’s driven our growth year after year. COVID accelerated people’s willingness to try new experiences.”
And the test-drive that’s missing when buying a vehicle online? Not a huge factor in the buying decision, according to Garcia.
“Consumers don’t even know what they are trying to learn in a test-drive,” he said. “People don’t have a great sense of how cars feel differently. Consumers are looking for a deal, a good price and a seamless experience.”
Lincoln, like MINI, has been vocal about sending consumers online to buy its SUVs. Not every automaker though is ready for the digital shift. Genesis, the 6-year-old Korean luxury brand from Hyundai, has been ramping up its dealership presence in the U.S., building new “permanent residences” in various U.S. cities and markets to boost sales.
“Many people still want to go into a dealership and compare vehicles and test-drive them and shop at their convenience,” Tedros Mengiste, executive director of sales operations at Genesis North America, told ABC News. “You can’t buy a [Genesis] car online yet but can send exact specifications to a dealer.”
Mark Takahashi, senior reviews editor at Edmunds, has not heard of any online car buying horror stories. Going to a dealership can be “an ordeal,” he argued, adding, “There really aren’t any disadvantages to buying online.”
“Dealers are trying to do better … but it’s still unknown if the dealer model will survive,” he told ABC News. “I don’t think shoppers are going back to dealerships 100%.”
Brands that tout their personalized service and intricate customizations can also move the entire process online, Takahashi said.
“This model can apply to every automaker,” he said. “Online shopping is getting more ubiquitous and consumers are trusting it a lot more for larger purchases. But there will always be holdouts who want to see the car and samples in person.”
MINI of San Diego formally launched the MINI Anywhere program on Monday after a “dress rehearsal” and is busy notifying current clients about the online tool. So far one customer has purchased a MINI online with the help of Lisa Mitchell, the dealership’s finance director.
“We did it together [on Zoom] and it took about 45 minutes,” she told ABC News. “We’re letting guests be more empowered now — they get to do it their way. I am excited.”
Whether it’s via a computer screen or in person, Brauer applauds the moves automakers are implementing to improve the shopping experience.
“Buying a car should be one of the most enjoyable things you do,” he said.
