Automotive News, Press Releases, and Events

Industry professionals confirmed their attendance at DSES 2014 (Driving Sales Executive Summit) in Las Vegas and highlighted the breakout sessions they're leading or planning to attend, covering topics like mobile workflow, dealership culture, wearables, and digital media. The thread reveals strong enthusiasm for the event, with several attendees returning for their 4th-6th year, and notes that the mobile app will be essential since physical agendas won't be distributed. Key takeaway: DSES is a highly regarded annual conference with valuable networking opportunities and competitive session scheduling that creates difficult choices for attendees.

Jeff Kershner promotes the 2014 DrivingSales Executive Summit (DSES), highlighting its focus on dealer executives, advanced strategies, and fresh content that sets it apart from typical industry events. The thread notes that DSES sold out for the sixth consecutive year, with a waiting list available for those who missed registration. It serves as both a community rallying point and a testament to the event's strong reputation among high-level automotive professionals.

Warren Buffett's acquisition of Van Tuyl through Berkshire Hathaway signals the beginning of a major "roll-up" consolidation in the fragmented U.S. car dealership market, similar to successful consolidations in other industries. The thread discusses how this influx of Wall Street capital and Berkshire's disciplined investment approach will likely trigger increased acquisition activity, benefiting dealer principals who position themselves for bidding wars while providing stability for dealership employees. Key insights include the attractive 29% return on equity in dealerships, Berkshire's access to cheap capital as a competitive advantage during interest rate increases, and the potential for operational efficiencies through scale, though the actual impact may take 3-5 years to materialize.

Kevin Frye shares his firsthand recap of the Digital Dealer 17 conference, covering sessions, key takeaways, and the overall atmosphere of the event. The thread serves as a personal review for automotive professionals weighing whether the conference delivered value, with Frye offering his perspective on trends and insights from the sessions he attended.

The DealerRefresh community mourns the passing of longtime member Sean Woodruff, who died in an accident on August 21, 2014. The post reflects on the depth of his contributions to the forum, noting that his threads and posts touched, taught, and influenced many members across the community. The tribute highlights the significant void his absence leaves and serves as a heartfelt remembrance of a valued professional.

Eric Miltsch covers the growing connected car movement, anchored by a $55M investment from Porsche S.E. into INRIX, and shares an exclusive Q&A with INRIX VP Jon Maron. The key takeaway is that this investment signals a major shift in consumer behavior and driving habits that the retail automotive community should pay close attention to as the Internet of Things reshapes the vehicle ownership experience.

A forum member spotted a TV ad for Carvana and brought the online vehicle buying service to the DealerRefresh community's attention, asking if anyone had experience with them. The thread appears to be an early-stage discussion prompting dealer professionals to weigh in on Carvana's emerging threat to traditional dealership sales models.

The thread examines Apple's 2014 announcement of Apple Pay, exploring whether its combination of NFC technology, Touch ID fingerprint authentication, and major bank partnerships could finally make mobile payments mainstream where others had failed. The discussion centers on what this means for retail industries, including automotive, and whether Apple's ecosystem dominance gives it the edge previous mobile payment attempts lacked. The key insight is that Apple's integration of hardware, software, and financial partnerships may represent a genuine inflection point for contactless payments in retail.

The thread explores the psychology behind changing driver behavior in school zones, drawing on Seth Godin's principle that short-term feedback drives long-term behavioral change. It examines why traditional enforcement methods — neon signs, flashing lights, police presence — have largely failed, and points toward feedback-driven approaches as more effective solutions. The discussion is relevant to anyone interested in behavioral change, safety technology, or how real-time feedback loops can influence human behavior in automotive contexts.

Jerry Petrotto and Jeff Kershner break down five common myths dealers believe about blogging — such as that it won't help site performance or that it's too time-consuming — and pair each myth with a practical tip, including posting at least two well-written posts per week with quality images and proper alt-text. The core insight is that consistent, properly structured dealership blogging can meaningfully improve SEO and site performance, and that most objections dealers have are based on misconceptions rather than reality.

Ken Kolodziej introduces Occam's Razor — the principle that the simplest explanation is usually the correct one — and applies it to automotive business decision-making. The core insight is that adding more variables to a problem increases the chances of error, so dealers and managers should resist overcomplicating their problem-solving processes. The thread encourages automotive professionals to default to straightforward solutions rather than letting overthinking mislead them.

The thread discusses Google's HTTPS Everywhere initiative and its implications for dealership websites, explaining that HTTPS is now one of Google's 200+ ranking signals. The key concern is that Google has signaled HTTPS could become a stronger ranking factor over time, prompting dealers to consider whether their sites are secured and prepared for the shift.

A Cobalt representative opens with a relatable anecdote about abandoning a non-mobile-optimized website and pivots to a broader point about the automotive industry: 31% of traffic on Cobalt's dealer networks already comes from tablets and mobile devices, a figure that is only growing. The core message is that dealerships risk losing serious buyers if their websites aren't built for mobile-friendly, screen-responsive experiences.

Jeff Kershner is promoting the final registration push for the Dealer ThinkTank conference in the Washington DC/Baltimore area on August 14th, 2014, and offering limited half-price discount codes (JK50) to incentivize quick sign-ups. The event runs 9 AM to 6 PM at the Sheraton in Columbia, MD and is positioned as a substantive educational conference for local dealers and automotive professionals. The key takeaway is urgency—this is the last call to register before the event, with only a few discounted tickets remaining available.

JD Rucker raises a chicken-and-egg question about VDP views: are they a driver of vehicle sales, or simply a byproduct of strong overall digital marketing? The thread challenges the common industry assumption that pushing traffic to inventory pages is the primary goal, suggesting instead that broader marketing effectiveness may be what actually produces both VDP views and sales. The discussion is relevant for dealers and marketers rethinking how they measure and prioritize digital performance.

Jeff Kershner opens with a reflection on the dangers of overcommitment in the automotive industry, drawing on a True Detective metaphor to frame the risk of burning out by never slowing down. He references Michael Hyatt's framework of three vital aspects of work-life balance as a guide for dealers and managers who struggle to set boundaries. The thread appears aimed at professionals who take on too much and need a practical reminder that sustainable performance requires intentional rest and prioritization.

A forum member shares a widely-circulated infographic purporting to list Google's 200 ranking factors, sourced from Entrepreneur, as a reference for SEO practitioners. The post serves as a resource share rather than a discussion, offering dealers and digital marketers a visual breakdown of the signals believed to influence Google search rankings. No significant debate or commentary follows, making the infographic itself the primary value.

A dealer seeks recommendations for training a new F&I/desking hire coming from outside the automotive industry, considering options like NADA University and JM&A courses. A responder suggests checking whether their F&I product providers offer in-house training, though the original poster indicates their current providers don't. The thread appears to be in early stages with the dealer exploring external training vendors to ensure proper onboarding for their new employee.

Two Toyota and Nissan dealerships competed in a "Car Wars" competition focused on phone performance metrics like call answering, appointment booking, and outbound call connections, with Larry H Miller Toyota Peoria ultimately defeating Van Tuyl Midway Nissan 15,257 to 14,708. The competition produced record-breaking results for both stores—over 12,000 points each, record appointments booked, and combined 11,361 connected outbound calls in a single week—demonstrating the dramatic impact that prioritizing phone skills and customer contact can have on dealership performance.

Bill Havican recaps his experience attending a Dealer ThinkTank event in Chicago, sharing takeaways from presentations by industry figures including Dennis Galbraith. The post appears to be a guest contribution shared on DealerRefresh, though the full content of the thread is truncated before key insights are fully detailed.

The thread examines the decline of Facebook organic reach for car dealerships, noting that the drop predated Facebook's December algorithm change and was already a worsening trend. Jeff Kershner raises the question of whether organic posts — new vehicle deliveries, service specials, community events — are still worth the effort without paid boosting. The key implication is that dealerships relying on free Facebook exposure need to rethink their strategy and budget for paid promotion to maintain visibility.

Kevin Frye shares a firsthand review of Digital Dealer 16 held in Atlantic City, covering his experience at the conference including industry trends, networking, and the logistics of the new venue. The thread offers an attendee's perspective on whether the conference location change was worthwhile, with candid observations about the event and surrounding environment.