Two executives, both with former career ties to AutoNation Inc., are rising at JM Family Enterprises in Deerfield Beach, FL. Scott Barrett, promoted to executive vp and chief information officer, will oversee the firm's information technology...
Parts department success depends on employees' commitment levels, abilities and willingness to provide outstanding customer service. At one Kansas dealership, it also depends on staffers' roller skating talents. Customers go back to you because...
A few years ago, we saw headlines on the impending demise of traditional dealerships. Some news outlets predicted the Internet would soon supersede and possibly eclipse the automotive retail channel. These headlines went so far as to claim that...
How valuable are e-mail leads? The industry still can't agree. Some experts preach the need to pursue Internet customers and design dealership processes that cater to them. Dealers on the front lines haven't bought into all the hype. In an EDS...
Thanks to automakers' incentives programs, new vehicle sales continue at a rapid pace as we hit the mid-year point. We're on pace for a 17.5 million-unit sales year. Question? In your dealership operation, what is your year-to-date sales and...
You're a big dealer with a lot of inventory. A hailstorm rips through town and damages 5,000 of your vehicles. What do you do? Ricart Automotive in Columbus, OH called in St. Louis-based Dent Wizard. For approximately three weeks Dent Wizard...
Dealers on the Ward's Dealer 500, an annual ranking of the top U.S. dealerships, have set a torrid pace the last few years. From 1997 to 2000, those dealers increased their total revenue for an incredible average of $10 million a year per...
All five types of auto buyers are willing to spend almost $2,000 or more on purchases if manufacturers and dealers would meet their expectations, according to a Miller-Williams report. The report delves into how buyers make purchasing decisions...
I get terrified thinking that in 20 years people will say, That Pontiac Aztek, what a classic. Jim HallAuto analyst AutoPacific Manufacturers are paying closer attention to residuals. There's nothing like getting burned, to find out the stove is...
The Internet works because it puts shoppers and sellers together. It's that simple. Throwing techno jargon into the mix makes it sound like there's more to it. But after almost five years of messing around in cyberspace I've proven (at least for...