A Pivotal Time for Dealers and Used Vehicles

It’s a pivotal time for dealers retailing used cars as they head into the final quarter of 2022. Why pivotal? Well, there’s been a marked shift in consumer and dealer sentiment about where the...

Why It’s Time To Tighten Up and Be Ready in Used Vehicles

Two things occurred in the past week that prompt this call for dealers to be ready for a rougher run in used vehicles for the remainder of the year than many, including me, have expected. The...

“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...

An Encouraging Start for Cox Automotive’s Upside/Upside Direct Wholesale Experience

This past Monday marked the end of the first Upside Direct auction in Atlanta. The digital sale, which started Friday and ended Monday, was notable on several fronts: Keen buyer interest. “We saw...

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...

Take-Aways from Cox Automotive’s “Dialogue Series”

I’m taking part in a new “Dialogue” series with Cox Automotive. The ongoing series offers dealers and industry stakeholders to ask questions, and get answers, from Cox Automotive leaders. Last...

NADA Day 3: A Final View from Las Vegas

As I was leaving Las Vegas yesterday, it occurred to me that I hadn’t shared much on new vehicle market conditions and what they may mean for dealers. Of course, everyone knows the industry will...

NADA Day One: A Clear, Purposeful View of The Road Ahead

If my conversations with dealers on the opening day of the exhibit hall at the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) convention are any indication, the coming year will be a good one in...

NADA 2020: A Pause While Packing For Las Vegas

While preparing to head to Las Vegas for the annual National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) convention, I read an item that gave me pause. The item arrived in my news feed this morning, in...

vAuto Performance Management Meeting: A Special Award and Heartfelt Send-Off

I had the honor and privilege of attending the annual vAuto Performance Management meeting this week in Chicago. My primary job at the meeting was to share some perspective on ProfitTime and the...