Photo courtesy of Suzuki The "Suzuki Square" store is an example of steps the companies have taken to set themselves apart and strengthen their images. Click photo for larger image.

When prospective buyers walk into the Cochran No. 1 MegaCenter in Monroeville, with its children's play areas, sumptuous furnishings, cafe and other amenities, they might just forget they're in a car dealership.

And Rob Cochran, president and chief executive officer of the company, wouldn't have it any other way.

His sprawling campus is one of a growing number of car dealerships that try to put consumers at ease by offering carefully designed stores with lots of creature comforts.

"You want to make things as convenient and as hassle-free as possible from a sales and service standpoint," Mr. Cochran said. "I wouldn't necessarily say you want to be entertaining, but I would say you want to add some nuances to your dealership experiences that are not the same old thing.

"In our case ... there are things like children's areas, and in most of our showrooms, there's access to the Internet. Those things set you apart."

Over the last few years, a number of local dealerships -- Benson Lincoln-Mercury in Whitehall, Cochran and several Chrysler/Jeep dealerships around the region -- have invested in all-new or heavily remodeled dealerships.

They have grown out of the increasingly competitive auto industry market and the need for both car companies and their dealers to set themselves apart and strengthen their images as much as possible.

Sometimes the auto makers offer financial assistance and incentives to build or remodel dealerships. But even those that don't offer financial incentives, but do provide a lot of advice and plenty of guidelines, too. Many of the luxury brands even have required elements that must be present in new dealerships.

"Lincoln Mercury has the Gallery Facility program, which is what they are trying to promote for commonality around the country with dealers, and we used that. They gave us all the materials, what the look would be and what the sizes would be. We worked with our architect, who designed it to fit our property," George Benson, president of Benson Lincoln-Mercury, said.

Photo courtesy of Mazda The Mazda "Retail Revolution" dealership is an example of steps the companies have taken to set themselves apart and strengthen their images. Click photo for larger image.

For Mazda, costs for the "Retail Revolution" program run on average about $125 per square foot, exclusive of land and site preparation costs. The company supports the dealers with up to $300,000 in construction support, which more than offsets the cost of the design elements required by the program, said Tamara Mlynarczyk, public affairs specialist with Mazda.

Some makes, such as the Mini Cooper brand, even carry the branding theme into the service department. While Mini dealerships often share facilities with parent BMW products, owners of Mini Coopers get chocolates with the Mini brand emblem on their car seats after service.

The company also provides special Mini Cooper drop-off lanes, service advisers and technicians who only work with the Mini brand. And when customers bring their cars in, service advisers even will use the pet names often given by Mini owners to their cars.

Mini dealers also offer separate, waiting areas with personal DVD players, colorful seating and furnishings and X-box video games.

Car companies find that these amenities burnish their images -- and their bottom lines.

"We hit the top 25 sales list of Lincoln Mercury dealers in the country in July, and this month so far we're doing pretty well. Sales have been up significantly in new and used cars," Mr. Benson said. "We're seeing new customers we've not seen before and they tell us they really like the new facility."

"Having the 'Suzuki Square' facility program in over 120 of our stores, gives us a lot of validity," says Tom Carney, Suzuki's vice president of sales. "When people come in, they see that it is really a Suzuki dealership instead of some generic looking dealership that could be any brand."

Studies show that buying a car or truck has become even more stressful than usual, with more choices out there and more information available on the Internet.

"Our focus groups show that when people drive up to dealerships of whatever brand, they are afraid to go in. They are afraid to go behind this big glass wall, afraid that the dealers' salesmen will pounce on them. And they're not sure where to go and where even the front door is located," said Suzuki's Mr. Carney.

	Photo courtesy of Mazda, Post-Gazette The Mazda "Retail Revolution" dealership is an example of steps the companies have taken to set themselves apart and strengthen their images. Click photo for larger image.

As a result, when the proposal for the "Suzuki Square" design was developed, "we opened up our dealerships. The offices for instance, are out in the middle of our floor, and there's nothing hidden. You can even look at your car being taken care of in the service area through a glass wall in the back of the showroom," Mr. Carney said.

"Even when you pull up for service to be done, you're also enjoying the other elements that are around you, such as displays about our vehicles, displays of accessories and everything done in very inviting shades of reds and greens that are easy on the eyes," Mr. Carney said.

But the dealership changes go beyond aesthetics.

At Mazda, for instance, there are computer kiosks that provide Kelly Blue Book and other data from competitive used car buying services that give customers instant, objective information on prices for used cars.

"That feels more comfortable than negotiating a price on your used car. It shows you right there, for instance what you will get if your car has low miles and is clean. It's not some car salesman crook trying to make money right off you," said David Zuchowski, Mazda's vice president of sales and field operations.

And in keeping with Mazda's high performance image, the company's dealerships emphasize getting behind the wheel and having a thorough test drive above just about everything else, Mr. Zuchowski said.

"That's why one of the key elements in our dealership design is the drive center, where we keep vehicles cleaned, gassed and ready to go," he said. "We think the key to selling a Mazda is getting onto it, driving it and experiencing 'zoom-zoom' instead of sitting in a static situation in the showroom. As a result, the drive center is really the focal part of the dealership experience. We want them to fall in love with the car first instead of worrying about negotiating a price."

The payoffs of all these dealer image programs are increased sales and improved scores on independent customer satisfaction surveys, car companies say.

Mazda, for instance, reports sales up 25 percent in the last 12 months at dealerships that were enrolled in their "Retail Revolution" program, which involves a special dealership architecture combined with a number amenities. During the same period, sales were up by about 2 percent for all Mazda dealerships.

Mazda's customer satisfaction rating at the "Retail Revolution" dealers as measured by the J.D. Powers SSI Survey is indexed at 854, ranking fifth in the industry overall among non-luxury brands, versus 818 for the average of all Mazda dealerships.