Not long ago, I met with an auto dealer in the Midwest who was looking for a new advertising strategy. I asked him what the current dealership slogan was, and he said “A Place You Can Trust”.

I advised him to dump that slogan as quickly as he could, because:

1. It insults the industry by implying that dishonesty is the normal state of affairs.
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2. Nobody believes you’re trustworthy because you say so in an ad. In fact, such a claim may actually make a customer less inclined to trust you.

I was reminded of this conversation when I read about the arrest of  auto dealer Seven Maynard Gronli in Newberg, Oregon. According to authorities, Gronli

…falsified and forged documents and then presented them to DMV in order to illegally obtain titles for previously “junked” vehicles. After forging documents, Gronli then sold vehicles with clear titles.

The name of his dealership? Integrity Auto Sales.

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