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Conference & Expo: October 14 -15, 2025
DealerPoint: 2026 Dates Coming Soon!

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Fewer Service Bays Mean More Opportunities!

GRAPH TO BE INCLUDED There are 50,000 fewer service bays in the United States than there were ten years ago. According to The Lang Report, there were 1,180,000 services bays in 2010 compared to 1,230,000 in 2000 (see graph below). Dealerships lost a
Jul 1, 2011

Sub-prime Acquisition Fees Being Attached

So…what do you do when a self-professed liar and thief who used to be one of yours now turns has back on the industry and kanoodles with the dark side? Get your house in order, because he knows where the cockroaches are hiding. And he has no compun
Jul 1, 2011

The New Playing Field: Today’s Women’s Market

Salesperson Rick escorts prospective customer Sandra to the door and shakes her hand then turns back to his office. Rick (to himself): “That went great. I managed to hit every selling point and ask all the important questions. I’m sure she’s co
Jul 1, 2011

Research is Increasingly Important!

Two years ago I wrote an article on the importance of local dealer research, and why “throwing your advertising budget dollars against the wall,” hoping some of it will stick just won’t work anymore.  Well, of course it might work, but certain
Jul 1, 2011

Eight Fresh Ideas to Generate Cost Savings, Top Line Revenue, Risk Mitigation

As a purchasing group, we are continually investigating, interacting with and meeting new suppliers and industry experts who have proven they can impact a business in a very positive way. Many of these suppliers have new and innovative approaches to
Jul 1, 2011

Should you Own your Dealership Real Estate? What is the Opportunity Cost?

Dealers often assume that dealership real estate is a good investment. In this low interest rate environment, why wouldn’t you buy your property, particularly if you have the capital for a down payment and can get financed? Commercial mortgage rate
Jul 1, 2011

At Least One Manufacturer is Demonstrating Honesty

I wrote in last month’s column that the expected limited availability of vehicles across all linemakes, and in particular Japanese manufacturers, was going to be serious concern on several fronts. At this writing, Toyota’s production is currently
Jul 1, 2011

Cancer is to be Cured, not Contemplated!

When teaching on the subject of building a high performance culture, I begin my class by sharing with the attendees these six facts concerning business cultures: You can’t change behaviors or results in an organization by changing its vision. Rathe
Jun 14, 2011

Three Manheim Locations Receive Wells Fargo Auto Finance Top Performance Awards

ATLANTA ??? Wells Fargo Auto Finance, Inc. presented three of its four 2010 Top Performance awards to Manheim locations. The company honored Manheim Orlando with the Operational  Excellence award, Manheim Ohio with the Best Online Performan
Jun 10, 2011