SANTA MONICA, Calif. — TrueCar, Inc., an online automotive information and communications platform focused on creating a better car buying experience for dealers and consumers, today announced the formation of its National Dealer Council. The Council consists of experienced dealers and automotive retailing experts who will work directly with TrueCar to provide recommendations and improve collaboration. TrueCar will preview major product, process and policy changes with the Council. The Council will also collect input from other dealers using the TrueCar service to discuss at Council meetings. The Council will be led by independent chairperson Gary Marcotte, former Senior Vice President of Marketing and eCommerce at AutoNation, Inc. and 30-year automotive industry veteran.
“The Dealer Council is a critical element in TrueCar’s mission to develop a platform that benefits our dealer partners and consumers,” said Stewart Easterby, Executive Vice President, Dealer Development. “We look forward to the advice we will receive from the remarkable list of Council Members.”
The Council will launch with 21 Members whose dealerships represent 25 states, 36 unique makes and 310 franchises. Members represent different roles within a dealership and different size dealerships, including large dealer groups, regional dealer groups, single-point and family-owned stores. To ensure TrueCar captures a broad range of ideas and feedback, the Council may also include independent Members that have strong backgrounds in the automotive industry and dealers that do not use the TrueCar platform.
“I’m excited to chair the TrueCar National Dealer Council and I look forward to working with my fellow Members to ensure the dealers’ voice is heard,” said Gary Marcotte, Chairperson for TrueCar’s National Dealer Council.
The following are the inaugural Members of the TrueCar National Dealer Council:
| Name | Title | Dealership | |
| Anthony Clemons | Internet Sales Director | Friendship Hyundai | |
| Bill Walsh Jr. | Owner/ Dealer Principal | Bill Walsh Automotive Group | |
| Chris Birmelin | Owner/Dealer Principal | Healey Hyundai | |
| Chris Koster | Director of Business Development | Superior Automotive Group | |
| Chuck Olsen (Independent Member) | Corporate Sales Manager | Boucher Automotive Group | |
| Dan Duddridge | Operations Director | Cabe Toyota | |
| David Green | General Manager | Tom Williams Lexus | |
| Gary Marcotte (Chairperson) | Automotive Retailing Senior Executive | ||
| Jae Park | General Manager | Keyes Hyundai | |
| Jeremy Alicandri | VP of Corp. Development | Habberstad Auto Group | |
| Jeremy Beaver | General Manager | Capitol VW Capitol Fiat | |
| John Hopkins | General Manager | Jay Toyota-Scion | |
| Ken Graham (Independent Member) | Owner | OneSource Automotive Solutions | |
| Patrick York | Chief Operating Officer | Gillman Auto Group | |
| Phil Bonfanti | General Manager | Lakewood Fordland | |
| Ray Reilly | Regional Performance Manager | Larry H Miller Group | |
| Richard Cvijanovich | Owner & General Manager / Dealer Manager | Subaru Superstore / Acura of Tempe | |
| Shaun Kniffin | eCommerce Director | Germain Motor Cars | |
| Todd Reiselman | General Manager | Ed Martin Automotive Group | |
| Tom Gibson (Independent Member) | Chairman Emeritus | Asbury Automotive Group | |
| Tony Rimas | Executive Vice President | Red McCombs Automotive |
For more information about TrueCar, please visit www.truecar.com. You can follow TrueCar on Twitter (@TrueCar) and become a fan of TrueCar on Facebook and Google+.
TrueCar, Inc. is an online automotive information and communications platform focused on creating a better car buying experience for dealers and consumers. Consumers want a hassle-free car buying experience and dealers want high-quality sales velocity. TrueCar helps achieve these goals by providing unbiased market information on new car transactions and by supplying an online communications platform through which dealers and consumers can communicate with each other. TrueCar’s market-based information provides both consumers and dealers with an accurate and comprehensive understanding of what others actually paid recently for similar vehicles, both locally and nationally. TrueCar’s communications platform then allows informed, ready-to-buy consumers to communicate directly with participating dealers. Some of the nation’s largest and most well respected membership and service organizations rely on websites powered by TrueCar to help educate their members and customers who are in the automotive market. TrueCar is headquartered in Santa Monica, CA, and has offices in San Francisco, CA, and Austin, TX. After experiencing dramatic growth since 2006, TrueCar is developing a suite of products and services centered on radical clarity through the comprehensive analysis of market data and information. TrueCar’s participating dealer partners have sold over 500,000 new vehicles to TrueCar users nationwide.
You can follow TrueCar on Twitter (@TrueCar) and become a fan of TrueCar on Facebook and Google+.
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