Have you ever viewed the industry as a high school? Think about it for a minute. I’ve had this theory for some time. My brain sees really odd trends. I don’t know why or how but that is how I visualize anything. This particular theory is something I thought of and discussed with a few friends who agreed and convinced me that this theory stands. Let me know what you think! This class system has nothing to do with age and everything to do with when people enter AIH (Automotive Industry High school).

Freshman

There is always an incoming class of people entering the industry or experiencing the automotive digital communities for the first time. These are people that are hungry for content and networking. They watch, they ask questions, they appreciate every answer, and look to most anyone that has a small amount of voice as a celebrity (or microcelebrity as Shaun Raines likes to say). This class is always our hope to change the future, but discouraging when they follow people that the upper classmen just don’t feel deserve the fame that Freshman give them. This class has all of our hope in their hands. This group sees everything with fresh eyes and can often time rejuvenate the upper classmen or make us roll our eyes at their thinking they are experiencing something for the first time in the history of the industry. They are innovative, embracing personal branding, and evolving the industry in front of our eyes (they just don’t know they are).

Sophomores

This is the class I would put myself in. A class of people who had material to work with that the Juniors created and shared. So, we got to adapt processes, scripts, and theories of those who went before us and we got to make it our own. We grew up in this industry at a time where technological advancement and online community participation helped elevate the dealer staff to a level that the Junior class couldn’t achieve during their time. This resulted in creating many dealership microcelebrities that surpassed the attention and accolades that the Juniors deserved but never received. This class is hungry for innovation, readily sharing information, and really wanting to educate their dealer peers with good unbiased quality content whether it comes from them or not. Many even made upward moves quickly to achieve great titles within dealerships. Some took their quick success as a sign and jumped ship to the vendor side only to find that the momentum did not follow and struggled to find their place. This group of characters continues to push the envelope of technology, innovation, and high standards for the industry as a whole. This class understands and accepts technology and digital as part of any role.

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Dealer Authority