Dealers: Page 117

New 20 Group for Used-Car Dealers

The National Automobile Dealers Assn. has formed a 20 Group for independent used-vehicle dealers.NADA says it is part of continuing efforts to help dealers improve performance and profitability.

Aug. 1, 2007

Three F&I Conferences Scheduled for September, October

Three Finance and Insurance conferences are scheduled in Las Vegas during September and October. DealerTrack Inc. will hold its second annual auto financing conference Sept. 17-18 at the Paris Hotel & Casino. It will include sessions on better uses of technology to increase revenues and profitability. Keynote speakers include Josh Towbin, host of the King of Cars television show and owner of Towbin

Aug. 1, 2007

Explore the Trendline➔

Artificial Intelligence

Automakers and dealers alike are increasingly seeing the use case for AI within their operations. Explore some use cases in this trendline.

By WardsAuto staff

School Publishes New F&I Encyclopedia

A second edition of the Automotive Dealership Institute's Encyclopedia of Finance and Insurance Management is out. Cost is $399 for the new issue in which industry leaders write on various F&I-related topics. It contains critical information for all levels of dealership personnel, says Arzu Algan, dean of education at ADI, a Scottsdale, AZ-based management school. For more information, call 877-998-7200

Aug. 1, 2007

New Ways to Sell Old Cars

If your used-car department consistently has vehicles sitting on the lot for longer than 45-60 days and finds itself wholesaling more vehicles than you'd like, then shame on you your dealership is behind the times. And you'd better catch up or you may find yourself without a dealership before long. Strong words, to be sure, but the evidence throughout the industry is piling up dealerships employing

By Cliff Banks • Aug. 1, 2007

Control Your Inventory Costs

Those who know me know of my passion for the automobile business and dealer profitability.Each month, I spend hours looking at statistics and testing scenarios to identify the greatest areas of opportunity for improving dealer profitability. We all know the challenges of managing our personnel cost, advertising cost and last, but certainly not least, our new-vehicle floor-plan cost.

By Tony Noland • Aug. 1, 2007

Valley Automotive Group Converts to New System

In late July, the Valley Automotive Group converted the last of its four dealerships from the Reynolds and Reynolds dealer-management system to the Auto/Mate platform. Corporate controller Bob Vine, having been through several conversions in his 26 years in automotive retail, knew what he had to do to make sure the group chose the right vendor and experience a smooth transition. Last fall, he put

By Cliff Banks • Aug. 1, 2007

Customers Can Click on Cars.com from the Dealership Lot

Cars.com is the first automotive website to launch a mobile version of its site. Shoppers can access it from web-enabled mobile devices and do almost anything that can be done from a personal computer.

By Ward's Staff • Aug. 1, 2007

Auto Parts Big Part of Picture

Production performance in the service department is measured in various ways, but measuring flat-rate hours per repair order alone is no longer the key ingredient to success. In fact, it may provide misleading information. One recent marriage of performance indicators has been the coming together of flat-rate hours (FRH) with the blushing bride known as parts. Analyzing these together produces a stronger

By Lee Harkins and John Freier • Aug. 1, 2007

Good Taglines Wanted

Dealers say auto makers’ ad slogans should stay around long enough to work.

By Lillie Guyer • July 24, 2007

Revamped Dodge Marketing Strategy: More NASCAR

Dodge’s marketing shakeup shifts leadership, consolidates activities and leans heavier on the auto maker’s racing ties.

By James M. Amend • July 17, 2007

Up-Front Pricing? Maybe Not

For the past couple of years, I've been a proponent of providing pricing up front to customers submitting purchase requests online.

By Cliff Banks • July 1, 2007

The Old Rules Don’t Apply

Judy Williams, director-parts and service for Downtown LA Motors, spends much of her time trying to find ways to streamline the department's operations to provide service advisors more time to sell to customers.

By Cliff Banks • July 1, 2007

Skip the Nonsense

I received an e-mail from a reader thanking us for putting together a no-nonsense magazine (his words - not mine) that constantly provides usable and applicable information on the automotive retail industry.

By Cliff Banks • July 1, 2007

Prestige No.1 Black-Owned Auto Group

Shortly after taking 17th place on this year's Ward's Mega Dealer 100, Gregory Jackson's Prestige Automotive Group has earned another top spot.

July 1, 2007

Breaking the Strangle Hold

Compared with Universal Computer Systems Inc.'s $2.8 billion takeover of Reynolds and Reynolds Co., DealerTrack Holdings Inc.'s $58.9 million acquisition of Arkona registered nary a raised eyebrow on the news meter.

By Cliff Banks • July 1, 2007

GST AutoLeather Repositions for Global Growth

Eliminating U.S. operations was a tough decision, but CEO Hiller says his labor-intensive business cannot support wages that approach $30 an hour.

By James M. Amend • June 26, 2007

Wanted: More Women Dealership Workers

Dealership recruiting efforts reflect changing times.

By Steve Finlay • June 21, 2007

Dominion’s Latest Acquisition: CRM Vendor Autobase

Dominion quietly has added companies, but says there is no grand strategy to integrate all of them into one front-end solution for dealers.

By Cliff Banks • June 14, 2007

F&I Contact Should Start in Showroom

At what point in the car-buying process should dealership finance and insurance managers introduce themselves to customers and pose a few questions?

By Steve Finlay • June 1, 2007

Dodge Sprinter Gets Around Chicken Tax

Manufacturing experts might have a problem with this method of operation: Assemble vehicles in Germany. Disassemble them. Ship the works to the U.S.

By Steve Finlay • June 1, 2007

Dealer Recalls Great Car Guy

Jim Moran died at 88 on April 24. He had a common Irish name, but this Jim Moran was a very uncommon man.

By Earl Stewart • June 1, 2007

Click, Click, Here’s Your Title and Plates

SACRAMENTO, CA Many California auto dealers are using the Internet to license and title vehicles directly at the dealership.

By Steve Finlay • June 1, 2007

Sam Pack’s Parts Department Packs a Punch in Texas

The first parts department at Sam Pack Five Star Ford was a mini storage facility.Twenty-seven years later, it's the largest Ford parts department in Texas.

By Emily Prawdzik Genoff • June 1, 2007

Toyota Names Pflughaupt to Replace Farley as Marketing Head

Farley last month was named group vice president and general manager-Lexus Div.

By Ward's Staff • May 31, 2007

Sam Pack’s Parts Department Packs a Punch

Sam Pack Five Star Ford is one of a handful of dealers that ship parts nationwide.

By Emily Prawdzik Genoff • May 29, 2007