Auto Retail News

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

I have a friend that does friends’ tax returns… for free. It’s like Sudoku or a big crossword puzzle for him. And while I’m good at Words With Friends, there are some things (like Sudoku, filing my taxes) that I’d rather leave to the ex

First cars pulled from sinkhole at Corvette museum, according to The Detroit News. The recovery of eight classic cars swallowed by a huge sinkhole has begun at the National Corvette Museum in Kentucky. The first two cars were pulled out of the giant

This time, it’s all about trust. Trust contributes to customer loyalty, but how do you get there? How do you effectively build customer trust in your brand so that people come to view your company as an automotive dealership that values its cus