January 18, 2018 — Audi CEO and head of Volkswagen group sales Rupert Stadler was arrested earlier this morning as part of the ongoing diesel scandal that has roiled parent company The Volkswagen Group since 2015. According to various media reports, German officials arrested Stadler at his home early Monday morning on concerns he might… Continue Reading
May 31, 2018 — A late report in the New York Post yesterday afternoon claiming Cars.com is for sale pushed the company’s stock up more than 4% in after hours trading. The only problem is, the story, which was picked up in numerous media outlets, likely isn’t true. The story also reported the Cars.com had… Continue Reading
As automakers begin flooding the market with electric vehicles (EV) the next couple of years, a key question yet to be answered is just how much tax credits drive demand for a segment that makes up 1% of the new car market. For Tesla and General Motors, the question is critical because both automakers are… Continue Reading
April 26, 2018 — Harsh comments from Jim Chanos, founder and managing partner of Kynikos Associates, this morning on CNBC’s Squawk Box about Elon Musk and Tesla. His firm, well-known for its short-selling investment strategy, has been short on Tesla for four years. Chanos brings some street cred to the conversation. He was one of the first… Continue Reading
April 17, 2018 — CDK Global announced this morning it has acquired Progressus Media, a mobile ad platform with solutions for social, display and search advertising. The company will be part of CDK’s Digital Advertising Group led by Jen Cole. Progressus Media, headquartered in Chicago, was co-founded in 2012 by Drew Marticke. CDK will maintain… Continue Reading
April 17, 2018 — Online used vehicle retailer Carvana announced this morning it has acquired Car360, an Atlanta-based start up that developed a mobile app with one the first commercially available uses of 3D computer vision, machine learning and augmented reality technology for the automotive industry. The acquisition adds 3D and augmented reality technology to the… Continue Reading
April 4, 2018 — Acquisition activity in the dealer website world suddenly has become hot with the third deal since last November. This afternoon, fusionZONE Automotive LLC announced it is acquiring competitor MotorWebs Inc. The acquisition is the 18th automotive retail vendor deal this year and follows Primus Capital’s majority investment into fusionZONE last November.… Continue Reading
April 4, 2018 — A flurry of announcements during the week of the annual National Automobile Dealers Assn.’s convention in late March capped what has been a busy first quarter for M&A activity for automotive retail vendors this year. The 17 investments and acquisitions through March puts the industry on a pace to nearly double… Continue Reading
March 30, 2018 — On the wall outside the executive conference room at Cars.com’s headquarters, is a mural. It’s a picture of a two-lane road in the forest that bends abruptly to the left. The turn — which is a bit misty — is so sharp, we can’t see what’s beyond the bend. CEO and… Continue Reading
(Republished from LinkedIn) March 21, 2018 — There’s a narrative being pushed at conferences, in headlines, on social media, in studies or customer surveys and in investor meetings that the dealership model is not long for this earth. And this mindset is starting to take hold within the industry itself — consultants, vendors and even… Continue Reading