I was recently on a trip to Sao Paulo, Brazil doing a used car school for Fenabrave (Brazil’s NADA). On the way to Brazil, while waiting in line at the food garden in the airport, I met a gentleman from Germany also traveling to Brazil. He and I st

What dealers can expect through the arbitration process By the time you read this article, the deadline for Chrysler and General Motors dealers to seek a reinstatement of their franchise pursuant to new federal legislation may be near or already pass

The Federales mess up again When I first stated following this development, I was reminded of a bad joke, modified to be (as much as I despise it) politically correct. “How many consultants does it take to change a light bulb”? Ten, one to hold t

Incoming National Automobile Dealers Association Chairman Ed Tonkin is a second-generation dealer from Portland, Oregon, who says he wants to help reshape NADA into a more efficient organization and involve more of the 62-plus directors around the co

When shoppers visit your web site, are they greeted with an experience that is tailor-made to them? You already know that in order to be successful, you need to arm yourself with dynamic web site design, strong search engine optimization campaigns an

About 10 years ago I wrote my first article in Dealer magazine on the concept of “spiral integration.” The objective is to utilize each advertising medium’s greatest strengths to complement and enhance the effectiveness of other mediums and pro

There seems to be a growing divide in this country between the big and the small. Big banks are getting bigger (see Chart 1), while regional and small banks are closing (120-plus at last count). Corporate bond issuances hit record levels in 2009, whi

Why this matters to Honda dealers We have received reports from our Honda dealer clients that Honda has altered its system for assigning planning volume goals to its dealers. Historically, Honda issued planning volume objective(s) to its dealers on a

Two tips to shield your dealership from prying eyes I love to dissect, analyze and perpetually disagree with the airheads who claim to be college and pro football experts. Listen to any of the sports networks, log onto any of the many web sites, read