Trending Auto Retail News
A Story of Lost Loyalty….and How to Regain It
Polston_Fixed Operations August10 The following is a true story. I took delivery of my new vehicle in January 2009. It was a smooth process and overall a pleasant buying experience. The salesman thanked me for my business and then he stuck his hand in my face,...
Would You Be a Fan of Your Dealership on Facebook?
While there has been much written about every business’s need to dive head first into social media - and even a few articles recently that attempted to put a dollar value on a Facebook fan – nearly all of these discussions miss the mark for automotive dealers....
The Battle for the Right Lead Mix
I remember my first Consumer Reports customer. He came into the dealership looking for a used car, carrying a copy of the magazine and consulting it frequently. If a car didn’t measure up to the editors’ standards, my customer wouldn’t look at it. If it had a...
Do you Have a BDC or a BCC?
BDC is one of the most incorrectly overused terms in the automotive retail environment. Far too often, the roles and responsibilities of the employees working in these “business development centers” are doing no developing at all. They are simply communicating with...
Chris Fousek, E-commerce Director, Village Automotive Group
The Village Automotive Group in Massachusetts first jumped on the Internet wave in 1999. They were even posting inventory online as early as 1999. E-commerce Director Chris Fousek recounts some of those early days, and shares with Digital Dealer what he thinks the...
Charles Oglesby, Asbury Automotive Group
A 40-year veteran of the retail business, Charles Oglesby has worked in every area of the dealership climbing his way up from the showroom floor to becoming the CEO and president of the Asbury Automotive Group. Asbury, one of seven publicly traded dealer groups...
Hyundai’s Equus Requirements Ignore Many State Franchise Laws
Hyundai is the latest import manufacturer to insist that dealers provide a number of specific items at dealerships before the dealer will be eligible for allocation of the new Equus luxury vehicle. In particular, Hyundai requires dealers to meet the following...
The True Measure of a Leader
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Alexander Solzhenitsyn spent eight years of his life in prison for making a few disparaging remarks about Joseph Stalin. He went into prison an atheist and come out eight years later a Christian. The first words out of his mouth -- I...
Life in the Fast Lane – Get Your Store to Its Full Potential
Listening to my iPod while mowing the yard this past weekend, the Eagles song "Life in the Fast Lane" began playing. Hearing it, triggered an experience I had a few years ago and gave way to my thinking about the power of growth potential and the idea for this...
With History there is No Mystery
As all of you are aware for 28 years I have been teaching you in class that “every used car has a story, but if you can’t tell it, you can’t sell it.” The importance of having a customer involved in their trade in is vitally important to the sale of that vehicle once...
Four Steps to a Super DOC – and More Profit
I find that most disappointments in the monthly financial statement come from a lack of daily reporting. In fact, I’ve been a long-time hater of our whole month end process. We basically shut down all accounting operations for three to five days while we “close the...
What is Your Dealership Real Estate Worth?
What is your dealership real estate worth today? That is a very good question, and not one that is easily answered. Most dealers and their lenders order an MIA appraisal to determine real estate value. Unfortunately, during the recent real estate bubble and subsequent...
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