Selecting the right technology for your dealership is a big decision. In my years working closely with technology transitions in the dealership, I’ve often seen dealers get caught up in feature lists and capability comparisons. It’s true, you want to feel confident that your technology will provide the tools necessary to run a successful business. … Read More

A persistent automotive doomsday thesis that continues to have favor with some in the media and on Wall Street is that subprime auto loans are booming and creating the next great financial crisis. Don’t believe it. As an economist who covered housing during the mother of all bubbles and subsequent financial crisis, I can confidently … Read More

For the last two years, there’s been plenty of industry chatter about the digital solutions transforming the way vehicles are bought and sold. It’s not just a huge story, it’s THE story. But when it comes to specific components of automotive retail’s existing infrastructure, the industry has been pretty quiet about providing best practices. Such … Read More

The reason? Small to Midsize Businesses (SMBs) such as auto dealerships face the same threat, but often lack those “big business” resources – and as such are perfect targets. In fact, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), “60 percent of all targeted cyberattacks last year (2015) struck SMBs.” * The June 2015 report … Read More

In every corner of the dealership, change is afoot, inspired by Millennials. They’re becoming the primary generation of car buyers, and they routinely reject traditional retail practices — those habits and routines that many salespeople have practiced over decades. Their preference is to gravitate toward dealerships that apply an online to in-store experience – a … Read More

Ultimately, the business of cars is the business of people. It’s something you may already know, especially if you work at a car dealership. After all, selling cars is about building relationships: the give and take of negotiation, and of establishing a connection between buyer and seller. It’s a fundamental part of a story that … Read More

A dealer recently shared this line as we were discussing how the car business has changed in the last 25 years. The dealer’s observation strikes me as a perfect, clear-eyed summation of how efficiency, technology and transparency have made retail automotive a much different environment for dealers. Consider the following common, everyday tasks and how … Read More

Believe it or not, I still have a Yahoo! email account. I no longer use it for much more than the “secondary” email address on password settings because, well, the contents of the inbox resemble a tangled weed patch of spam and phishing missives. I’d rather not waste my time. It’s sad. And reflective of … Read More

The summer selling season is here and so, too, is the pressure to hit sales goals and capture as much margin as is possible in this changing automotive marketplace. During crunch time, it’s natural to seek the comfort and familiarity of the way business used to be done. That could look like emphasizing print, displaying … Read More

It’s a surprising statistic, and one that accurately reveals current changes in buyer behavior. It is, in fact, a simple and powerful reflection of what consumers want: An experience that begins at their convenience, and connects the online world to the showroom. We know this thanks to a mountain of car buyer feedback. Yet just … Read More