Dealer OPS & Leadership
Auto Dealership Market Resilient Despite Tariff Challenges
The auto dealership buy/sell market experienced a 15 percent decline in activity during Q1 according to the Kerrigan Advisors First Quarter 2025 Blue Sky Report. The dip was largely due to uncertainties surrounding the Trump administration’s auto tariffs. There were...
Don’t Settle for Automatic Warranty Labor Rate Increases: A Smarter, More Profitable Alternative
As inflation impacts every corner of the retail automotive industry, many manufacturers continue to offer dealers CPI-based programs to automatically increase their warranty labor reimbursement rates each year. At first glance, these CPI (Consumer Price Index)...
Cox Dealer Sentiment Index Down with Concerns About the Economy, Tariffs Growing
Despite a strong sales finish to the first quarter of the year, dealer market sentiment has taken a slight dip according to the Q2 2025 Cox Automotive Dealer Sentiment Index (CADSI). The current market index stands at 42, down from 44 in Q1. A score below 50 indicates...
Mastering the Car-Buying Journey: A Dealership’s Guide to Winning Customers
The car-buying journey spans from discovery to purchase and beyond, shaping trust and long-term loyalty. Each stage includes key touchpoints that dealerships must strategically align to engage and guide customers effectively. In this article, we’ll break down every...
Senate Votes to End California EV Mandate
The United States Senate voted Thursday to repeal California’s plan to end the sale of gas-powered vehicles by 2035. The vote was 51-44 in favor of blocking the state’s EV mandate which was set to require 35 percent of all cars sold in state to be electric or plug-in...
Honda Served Cease-and-Desist by CNCDA Over Afeela Sales
The California New Car Dealers Association (CNCDA) issued a cease-and-desist to American Honda Motor Co. and Sony Honda Mobility of America ordering them to stop direct-to-consumer sales of new Afeela brand vehicles. The CNCDA alleges that Honda is violating state law...
The REAL ID Deadline: Challenges Auto Dealers May Still Face Verifying Identities
The May 7, 2025, enforcement of the REAL ID Act marks a new moment for identity verification in the U.S., and auto dealerships are squarely in the crosshairs. As the federal government now requires all Americans over 18 to present a REAL ID-compliant driver’s license...
Traver Connect Expands Training Solutions to Assist Dealerships
Traver Connect has announced the expansion of its Learning & Development programs to better assist dealers. Designed to address pressing industry challenges such as declining repair order (RO) counts and customer retention, the new offerings aim to deliver...
LLMs, Agentic AI, and Vertical AI: How Machines Are Improving Dealer Retail Operations
As dealers face rising complexity in inventory management, pricing, and profitability, especially with the 25% tariff on imported vehicles, machine-driven technologies are stepping in as vital tools—not just to handle data, but to make better, faster business...
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