Albany, N.Y. – October 8, 2018 – Auto/Mate Dealership Systems today named WardsAuto, a global leader in automotive intelligence, as media partner for its upcoming User Summit. Additionally, WardsAuto Managing Director Larry Schlagheck will be the keynote speaker at the event to be held Nov. 7-9 in San Antonio, TX.

"WardsAuto has been a respected publication in the auto industry for many years, and we’re pleased they chose to cover this exciting two-day summit," said Mike Esposito, president and CEO of Auto/Mate.

Schlaghecks’ keynote presentation is titled Dealers Selling Autonomous Vehicles: When is it Really Going to Happen? The informative session will summarize industry data and results from the recent WardsAuto study, “Wards Intelligence 2018 Autonomous Vehicle Trends.”

“Many people have opinions on when autonomous vehicles will hit dealers’ lots, but not all opinions are based on hard data,” said Schlagheck. “In my session I’ll present the most realistic expectation based on the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) definition of autonomous.”

Schlagheck joined WardsAuto as managing director in July 2016. He oversees editorial content, sales, marketing and overall strategy for the WardsAuto product suite which includes newsletters, events, Dealer Business magazine and wardsauto.com. Prior to joining WardsAuto, Schlagheck served as advertising director at Automotive News and VP of media at DrivingSales.  

Auto/Mate’s User Summit spans three days and features a variety of presentations, breakout sessions and networking opportunities for its dealership customers. Highlights include introductions for Auto/Mate’s new Parts module, eDEAL™ Signature Capture and its new mobile app. Product specialists will present in-depth tutorials, tips and tricks for accounting, fixed ops, sales and F&I users.

Additional User Summit sponsors include RouteOne, Kimoby, AIB, DealerOps, etfile, DocuBizz, ScanIt Parts, Halo Branded Solutions, Great America Financial Services, 700 Credit, Darwin Automotive, CARFAX, Traffic Control CRM, Worldpay, Scan123, Bluebird Auto Rental Systems, Northeast Auto Inventories and One View.

Auto/Mate’s User Summit will take place at the Hilton Palacio del Rio on the San Antonio Riverwalk. Deadline for Auto/Mate customers to register is October 12. For more information, visit www.automate.com/usersummit.

About Auto/Mate

Auto/Mate Dealership Systems is a leading provider of dealership management system software to retail automotive dealerships, typically saving dealers thousands of dollars per month from their current provider. AMPS® is a user-friendly, feature-rich DMS in use by more than 1,400 auto dealers nationwide. Auto/Mate has received multiple consecutive DrivingSales Dealer Satisfaction Awards.

Auto/Mate’s employees have more than 1,200 years of combined experience working in franchised auto dealerships, the foundation of its By Car People, For Car People™ slogan. Auto/Mate is committed to winning its customers’ business each and every month with no long-term contracts and free software upgrades.