Most times, Google will make changes to their algorithm that either largely go unnoticed (meaning they only affect niche sites) or unannounced (your site will see SERP changes but won't necessarily know why).  On Tuesday, Google announced 40 changes to search quality they have made over the past month or so.

While many of these changes are pretty high level, some websites are taking a hit on their search engine results.

Some of the algorithm changes that could be affecting these sites down on the SERP are:

Improvements to Freshness - Google added "new signals which help us surface fresh content in our results even more quickly."  I first wrote about this in November, but this update indicates it is a continued focus for the search engine.

Improved Local Results - A new system allows them to better "detect when both queries and documents are local to the user."

Panda Update - "This launch refreshes data in the Panda system, making it more accurate and more sensitive to recent changes on the web."

If you're seeing a change in how your auto dealer website is ranking in Google's search results, ask your car dealership website provider about the changes Google has recently made.  It's very possible that this latest round of changes could be affecting your site.