October 7, 2014 — Lexus has built a virtual test drive simulator that will be in place at upcoming auto shows and customer events over the next several months, beginning with the Orange County International Auto Show, which was held last week. In March, we wrote a piece called The Coming Changes to Automotive Retail, in which we… Continue Reading
Our analysis of yesterday’s stunning announcement from Warren Buffett that he is acquiring the Van Tuyl Group: Welcome to the Industry, Mr. Buffett. I’ve had several conversations and have read numerous blogs that speculate Buffett will usher in a new world for automotive retail — improving the shopping and buying processes both online and offline. Some of… Continue Reading
I just saw the news posted by Elder Ford of Tampa’s General Manager Terald Hopkins that Irma Elder passed away early this morning. She was one of my favorite interviews while I was a reporter for Ward’s — in part because she possessed a sharp wit and a keen eye for business while maintaining a… Continue Reading
September 29, 2014 — The sale of Ted Linhart’s Dominion Chevrolet Buick GMC in Short Pump, VA to the Hendrick Automotive Group will be finalized Tuesday September 30. TBR has reported on this pending acquisition a couple of times since it was announced in July. The Linhart family has been selling cars since 1955 and at… Continue Reading
A little bit of bragging here — I’ve been asked to give the keynote presentation for the AICPA Auto Dealership Conference in October in Las Vegas. My friend John Davis who is a partner with Dixon Hughes Goodman’s Dealer Services Group and is on AICPA’s dealer conference committee helped facilitate the engagement. The conference is for dealership… Continue Reading
September 21, 2014 — We’re heading to Las Vegas this week for the 17th Digital Dealer Conference. Outside of the NADA convention, it’s probably the biggest dealer-focused conference in the country, and has been for several years. There always seems to be news coming from the conference. During the conference last April (Dealer Communications holds two… Continue Reading