Trending Auto Retail News
Is Cold Weather Bad for Car Sales?
From The Motley Fool: Is cold weather bad for car sales? While a positive for sales of lip balm, hot chocolate, and those hats that look like an animal, the impact of extreme winter weather is not as clear for the auto industry. Ford and General Motors are blaming bad...
Auto Dealers are Backbone of Community
Auto dealers are backbone of community, according to RGJ.com. Auto sales have risen to their largest level since the recession, as cheap loans and a surge in leasing have combined with pent-up demand to send the re-born industry soaring nationwide, far above much of...
Being Contextually Relevant Increases Customer Loyalty
Being contextually relevant increases customer loyalty, according to Forbes. It’s like the old 1980s ad “When E.F. Hutton talks, people listen”; success today requires you to always be relevant. Relevance is a table stake across the entire lifecycle of a seller-buyer...
Does Mobile Search Really Matter?
From Search Engine Watch: Does mobile search really matter? Search Engine Watch recently covered AdGooroo's Top 20 list of advertisers in paid mobile search, which found that some of the best marketers in desktop search weren't ranking nearly as well in mobile....
Americans Borrow Record Amount to Buy Cars
Americans borrow record amount to buy cars, according to Daily Finance. A combination of higher prices for new cars and relatively low rates for auto loans means Americans are borrowing a record amount to pay for their new rides. According to Experian Automotive,...
March will be test of US auto demand
March will be test of US auto demand, according to U-T San Diego. March will be one of the most crucial months for the U.S. auto industry in years. Sales were slower than expected In January and February, and the number of unsold cars on dealer lots grew. Some...
With Apple’s ‘CarPlay,’ the Race for Flashier In-Car Touchscreen Controls Revs Up
With Apple's 'CarPlay', the race for flashier in-car touchscreen controls revs up, according to Entrepreneur. As if drivers weren’t distracted enough already. Bigger, better, flashier and eye candy-filled touchscreen tablet controls are coming to cars -- and they’re...
The Dealership Profit Phoenix Has Risen
This year’s NADA was a great success! Reflecting on the 2014 convention, I could not help but think how far our industry has come since 2009, the last time NADA was in New Orleans. Back then, Lehman Brothers had just failed and General Motors and Chrysler were on the...
Repossessing a Vehicle? Are you prepared?
As counsel for franchised and independent dealers across the U.S., I regularly get calls from clients about a bank “kicking” a contract back to the dealer due to default or lack of insurance. The first question the dealer always asks is “Can I go repo it?” Without...
Leadership: For Better or Worse
Dr. Merlot, my sometimes brash alter ego, and I were finally having a long-awaited meeting with a client, Jim, about the future of his dealerships. Over the last three or four years, Jim had been dealing with a variety of distractions (challenges) including alcohol...
Two Traditional Management Practices That Undermine Used Vehicle Potential
I’ve long advocated that dealers need to recognize the primacy of the used vehicle department as an engine of growth for sales volumes and profitability across the entire dealership. As a dealer friend puts it, “the used vehicle department is the only department that...
Content is STILL King
Many years ago, I heard an influential digital marketing speaker tell his audience that the most important next hire in automotive dealerships should be a Content Manager. He was right then, and is still correct today. There is no substitute for great content. Great...
Join us for Digital Dealer Las Vegas 2021