“CPR” to Offset Declining CPO Profits, Sales for Dealers

I’m seeing more fault lines around certified pre-owned (CPO) sales that, over the years, have become the backbone of used vehicle departments for many franchise dealers. The fault lines aren’t...

ProfitTime GPS in Practice: From Skeptical to Sold

When Mike Cirona, general manager of Scott Robinson Honda in Torrance, CA, initially heard about ProfitTime GPS, he didn’t think his store’s used vehicle department would benefit from it. “I...

A Memorable Honor from NIADA

I received a humbling and significant honor from NIADA (the National Independent Automobile Dealers Association) yesterday at the group’s convention in Las Vegas. They presented me with a Ring of...

How to use Kelley Blue Book “Excellent” Trade-in Values to More Easily Acquire Customer Inventory (and Not at Excellent Prices)

Are You Positioned to Outsmart the Disruptors?

I think we can all agree that the level of disruption to our traditional dealership process of “I have new cars and you are ready to upgrade so let’s do a traditional car deal” has shifted.

ProfitTime 2.0 in Practice: A Case of Moonshots and Missed Shots in Used Vehicles

If you examine how dealers are pricing used vehicles in the current market based on the investment value of each vehicle, it amounts to a tale of two cities. Or, more specifically, it boils down...

Access: Velocity: Post-Show Potpourri

I suspect everyone who attended Access: Velocity had the same feeling as we left the Peninsula Hotel on Friday—my brain needs a little break. We had a busy day-and-a-half of general sessions and...

A Longer-Term View Of Digital Retailing For Dealers

Dealers often have an “all or nothing” view of digital retailing. That is, to them, digital retailing represents the full monte of selling a new or used vehicle online. You’d have a “buy it now”...

Cox Cares

  I often say that Cox is one of the best companies to work for in America. One of many large examples is evidenced by the below note from Jim Kennedy, Cox’s Executive Chairman and Cox family...

A Touchy Topic—The Pitfalls Of Used Vehicle Packs

As regular readers know, I’ve long argued that packs on used vehicles are problematic for dealers in today’s marketplace. First, packs burden every car with additional cost. Velocity dealers know...

Velocity Dealer Bill Simmons Shares Process To Eliminate Investment “Down Time”

  Some dealers might think Bill Simmons, GM of Haley Toyota Certified, Richmond, Va., is getting ahead of himself with his used vehicles. The reason: Simmons doesn’t wait until cars arrive at his...

A New Paradigm For Satisfaction: Mobile Tools, Price-Empowered Sales Teams

I found myself connecting the dots while reading two articles in this week’s Automotive News. The first article highlighted Nielson/Cars.com stats that show 83 percent of new-car shoppers have...

NADA 2013 Orlando Wrap-Up: 4 Convention Take-Aways

I had mixed feelings as the curtain closed on the 2013 National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) convention Monday afternoon in Orlando. Like many dealers, I felt a mixture of exhilaration...

Webinar Alert: Turn Car-Buying Frustration Into Competitive Advantage

Join vAuto’s Todd Kinzle and me at 2 p.m. (EST) on Friday, January 25, for a one-hour webinar that will help you ease the pain of purchasing the “right” auction vehicles for the “right” money in...

What percent of your inventory is under 30 days of age?

Below is an email from a Velocity dealer and my reply: Mr. Pollak, I have been a vAuto dealer for over a year and I love the product. Our grosses have improved and the vAuto market tool has helped...

A Framework To Achieve A “Provisioning Mindset” In Dealerships

About a year ago, I introduced the idea of “provisioning” inventory as a replacement for the long-held practice of dealers “stocking cars” to feed their used vehicle operations. The basic concept...