Auto Retail News

March will be test of US auto demand, according to U-T San Diego. March will be one of the most crucial months for the U.S. auto industry in years. Sales were slower than expected In January and February, and the number of unsold cars on dealer lots

With Apple’s ‘CarPlay’, the race for flashier in-car touchscreen controls revs up, according to Entrepreneur. As if drivers weren’t distracted enough already. Bigger, better, flashier and eye candy-filled touchscreen tablet contro

This year’s NADA was a great success! Reflecting on the 2014 convention, I could not help but think how far our industry has come since 2009, the last time NADA was in New Orleans. Back then, Lehman Brothers had just failed and General Motors and C

As counsel for franchised and independent dealers across the U.S., I regularly get calls from clients about a bank “kicking” a contract back to the dealer due to default or lack of insurance. The first question the dealer always asks is “Can I

Dr. Merlot, my sometimes brash alter ego, and I were finally having a long-awaited meeting with a client, Jim, about the future of his dealerships. Over the last three or four years, Jim had been dealing with a variety of distractions (challenges) in

I’ve long advocated that dealers need to recognize the primacy of the used vehicle department as an engine of growth for sales volumes and profitability across the entire dealership. As a dealer friend puts it, “the used vehicle department is the

Many years ago, I heard an influential digital marketing speaker tell his audience that the most important next hire in automotive dealerships should be a Content Manager. He was right then, and is still correct today. There is no substitute for grea

How Credit Soft-Pulls Can Save No-Sales and Turn Applications Into Handshakes Bringing a real-time soft pull credit pre-screen into your sales process can not only double your online conversion and dramatically increase your gross profit margins. If

If you’re still stuck in “kill mode” — blasting top-of-mind awareness ads on traditional media shotgun style, keeping up the barrage like you’re in an epic battle, it’s time to put down your weapon, soldier. Today’s marketing warrio