If you watched any TV over the holidays, you probably saw the commercials for Amazon Echo, affectionately known as Alexa, and for Google Home. These devices employ Artificial Intelligence (AI) to learn voice commands and perform tasks such as controlling smart home appliances, answering questions, placing orders online, playing music and more.

Right now these…

It's a pretty common scenario; your best performing salesperson also happens to be ambitious. A management position opens up and the salesperson lobbies hard. It's difficult to deny this person; they've worked hard and made your dealership a lot of money. So do you automatically promote them?

Maybe...maybe not. It really depends on the type of person they are, and the…

According to Peter Drucker, “Management is responsible for doing things right, and leadership for doing the right things.” Yes, we should all embrace this management philosophy, but as always it is easier said than done.

To help simplify this axiom let’s look at a concrete example where leadership points a dealership in the correct direction…

Budget traveling is becoming more and more popular among people, and that is easy to understand – who doesn’t want to see the world without spendings thousands of dollars on everything? Some people even manage to both travel and work at the same time, and there is literally nothing stopping you from doing that as well.

But to make this happen, you still have to plan accordingly and try your very best to do…

Edmark is one of the highest volume selling dealerships in Idaho for past three years

Irvine, CA, January 17, 2017 – Kerrigan Advisors, the leading sell-side advisory firm to auto dealers in the US, represented and advised Edmark Superstore, one of Idaho's highest volume selling dealerships, in its sale to Kendall Auto Group.  The Edmark Superstore is co-owned by David…

Albany, N.Y. – January 17th, 2017 – Auto/Mate Dealership Systems announced today the addition of two feature updates to its dealership management system (DMS) Fixed Ops Suite. The new features are designed to increase efficiencies and revenue in auto dealership service departments and will be demoed at Auto/Mate's booth #1707 at the NADA Convention & Expo in New Orleans, LA.

Updates include:

VIN Scan. Offered as part of Auto/Mate's service mobile tablet solution, VIN Scan…

Driving is a highly engaging activity: it demands all your senses to be alert, including visual and motor skills. With smartphone usage growing every day, it is no wonder almost everyone’s become a little bit obsessed with these devices, no matter the age. Not so surprisingly, though, texting demands the same set of skills as driving.…

Dealerships are well known for their involvement and participation with local communities and many different charities. From sponsoring little league teams, to larger charity initiatives, dealerships have supported and given back to the communities they serve for a very long time.

Cause-based efforts have become increasingly important to consumers, especially…

It was 2008 when it hit me. The economy had just begun to hit the skids and I was leaving a dealership after having done a live meeting. As I walked through the empty showroom I noticed four Managers on shift, sitting in an otherwise vacant tower waiting for salespeople to bring them a deal. There were no customers on the floor, and nothing happening outside beyond the huddle of salespeople by the front door, and I realized: a lot of people in our industry that we call Managers aren’t…

How Faulty IT Infrastructures are Causing Dealerships to Lose Revenue, Lose Customers and Lose Employee Buy-In

Timonium, MD – January 16th, 2017-- Helion Automotive Technologies announced today the release of a free eBook for auto dealerships, titled Three Service Department Pain Points, Solved! How…

Evolution Of The BDC: Has your dealership evolved?

A few years ago I performed speaking sessions at multiple conferences including Internet Battle Plan and Digital Marketing Strategies Conference. I even was a guest on a webinar for Dealers Edge. This was and still is a very hot topic. Year after year I find the same car dealers talking about embracing this part of this business. They say that it is the most important part of their business and that they invest more…

-BDC (Business Development Center)-

This department creates and manages the business opportunities that come in and proactively go out from the dealership.

Business Development can exist in the Sales and Service Opportunities of the dealership. While so much is always emphasized on the Sales BDC side of the dealership world, the Service BDC has been existing quietly in the background of some stores with minimal attention while many other stores have yet to enter…

So, let's talk about the future of dynamic Facebook ads. Be prepared to reach more than just the people who have previously engaged with your content. 

With these changes, you'll be able to get the attention of customers that have looked at similar products, but not YOUR products.

On this episode of Hard Facts, Samantha will reveal when this feature is being rolled out and how it will benefit your…

Your Turn To Drive's panel of experts discuss What Does It Mean To Have A Vehicle Recall.  In this video, Jim Dykstra of www.vinadvisor.net, Joe Webb of…

While auto sales increased in 2016, so did the penalties dealers potentially face for violating government regulations.

The Department of Labor upped penalties levied by its agencies, including the Occupational Safety and Health Admin., which implemented inflation-adjusted increases.

The maximum fine for non-compliance jumped from $70,000 to $124,709, a 78% increase.

The Federal Trade Commission has increased penalties from $16,000 to $40,000, a 150%…

There’s a popular saying, “Show me your vehicle and I’ll tell you who you are”. As corny as it may sound, it isn’t far from the truth. Some scientists have seen a correlation between the kind of vehicle a person drives and their personality. Going by this logic, it is highly effective to focus on a person’s emotional side…

It seems like 2017 has a digital solution for every problem out there. Unfortunately, a lot of people falsely assume apps are just there to entertain us, where in truth, they are there to help us be efficient at whatever it is we do. Most notably, we are here today to talk about apps that facilitate our transportation in many ways. So, with this in mind, here are top 10 transportation apps that will keep you moving.…

Wantalease.com, the nation’s first online car lease marketplace for new lease deals, reports the latest update on new lease offerings, with prices on most of today’s popular leases increasing slightly entering January. While there are sixteen models being offered for $199 monthly or less, only one (Nissan Sentra SV at $139 monthly) is being offered for less than $150 monthly.

The Sentra SV was offered at $109 per month in November, but that vehicle, including several others, have seen…

Skype has become the go-to standard for most video conversations, but their IM tool is very effective for one-on-one chat conversations, as well as for groups and work teams. A huge advantage of the platform is that it is available on virtually every device and operating system, including Windows, iOS, Android, and Linux.…

Timonium, MD – January 11th, 2017-- Helion Automotive Technologies announced today it's celebrating the company's 20th anniversary. For 20 years Helion has been a Managed Services Provider for auto dealerships, designing and implementing proactive information technology (IT) strategies to support auto dealers' business success. One year ago Helion expanded into the heavy-duty trucking dealership space when they brought…