“We’re not trying to bypass our dealers,” Dan Akerson says, contending vehicle sales over the Internet makes more sense today given tech-savvy buyers and an economy underpinned by online shopping.

Dealerships compete during a conference’s best-innovations contest.

The Italian brand relies on storytelling and other communication techniques to get the brand message out.

Conference panelists mix it up when discussing a hot industry topic. 

A survey says of the almost 2.3 million Australians shopping for a new car over the next four years, 55.5% nominate the Internet as the single most useful source of information. Only 17.5% rely mainly on newspapers.

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Cross-shoppers make up the biggest group of people looking at vehicles on the Internet.  

Bob Shuman jokes about the size of his dealership, but he takes a dealer-of-the-year award seriously.

TrueCar will only consider dealer requests for credit under specific guidelines.

Prospective buyers do not head out looking for billboards so they can gather information on where to buy a car.