Automotive News, Press Releases, and Events

A vendor-authored post presents third-party research (Dealer.com partnered with GfK Automotive) arguing that social media meaningfully influences car shoppers, who reference an average of 18.6 sources before visiting a dealership. Dealers in the thread debate whether Facebook drives actual vehicle sales or primarily builds relationships and supports fixed ops, with the consensus leaning toward social media being best suited for service merchandising, customer engagement, and word-of-mouth amplification rather than direct selling. The key insight is that ROI is hard to measure but engagement is real, and dealers should focus on humanizing their brand and targeting existing customers with relevant offers rather than pushing inventory.

DealerRefresh founder Jeff Kershner announces and congratulates Eric Miltsch on joining DrivingSales, describing him as a 'Change Agent' who made a courageous career leap. The thread is largely a celebratory exchange of well-wishes from industry peers, with Miltsch personally responding to congratulations. The key takeaway is the community's respect for Miltsch as a standout automotive digital marketing professional making a notable industry move.

The thread covers a 2008 Glassdoor ranking that placed Reynolds and Reynolds third on its worst companies to work for list, with CEO Bob Brockman receiving only an 8% approval rating. Former employees pile on in the replies, describing a controlling corporate culture under Brockman marked by invasive personal policies like no-smoking rules extending to employees' homes, mass firings, and a high-stress environment. The comment section devolves into increasingly dramatic and unreliable personal grievances, but the consistent thread is that long-tenured automotive professionals felt the company deteriorated sharply under Brockman's leadership.

The thread examines Nielsen data showing rapid smartphone adoption across age and income groups, prompting dealers to discuss how mobile is reshaping dealership marketing. Contributors share real-world stats — one Nissan dealer reports 16.56% mobile traffic with strong engagement metrics — and highlight early wins with mobile scheduling apps and video solutions. The consensus is clear: dealers who aren't prioritizing mobile in 2012 are already falling behind as younger consumers increasingly prefer smartphones over traditional browsing.

Jeff Kershner rounds up recent DealerRefresh activity covering blog posts and forum discussions on topics including translating digital speak for dealers, email reputation management, Facebook strategy, lead handling, and AutoTrader. Key themes include the importance of speaking dealers' language to gain buy-in, email deliverability best practices, and ongoing debates around major automotive platforms and tools. A useful catch-up post for anyone who missed several weeks of active community conversation.

Dealers and industry professionals debate whether Facebook is a lasting marketing platform or a passing fad like the Pet Rock, questioning its 10-year viability. Concerns raised include user privacy overreach, layout fatigue driving users to Google+, and younger audiences abandoning the platform. The prevailing view is that despite constant complaints about changes, Facebook continues to grow — much like taxes, people grumble but keep paying.

This thread is a press release announcing that PureCars has joined the Contact At Once! dealer chat network, enabling dealers to add live chat functionality to PureCars Value Reports and Trade-In Reports. The integration allows consumers browsing vehicle information to connect directly with dealership sales representatives in real time. The announcement positions the partnership as a way to bridge detailed vehicle data with immediate digital communication between shoppers and dealers.

HookLogic announced a partnership with Dataium, the largest aggregator of internet automotive shopping activity, to enhance its Lead to Show solution with behavioral data intelligence. The integration, launching as Lead to Show 3.0, allows dealers to re-engage older, upper-funnel leads by leveraging Dataium's Cloud Intelligence platform to surface renewed shopper interest. The key insight is that dealers can unlock value from previously abandoned leads using real-time behavioral signals.

A 2012 press release announces that Contact At Once! dealer chat software has been integrated into the VinSolutions CRM and ILM platform, giving dealerships real-time website visitor tracking and proactive chat capabilities in one system. The partnership aims to boost website conversion rates by combining analytics with automated chat greetings. The thread appears to be a straight vendor announcement with limited community discussion.

Contact At Once! and Kia Motors America announced the enablement of their 500th Kia dealership with live chat capabilities, marking Kia as the first OEM to implement a comprehensive chat strategy across its dealer network. The partnership covers Kia.com, regional Kia websites, and individual dealership sites, with Kia reporting a 25 percent increase in online engagement as a result. The milestone highlights growing OEM investment in real-time digital communication between dealers and prospective buyers.

CarChat24 announced the integration of Edmunds.com vehicle data into its dealer live chat software, available to both free and premium subscribers. The integration delayed the product's beta launch but was deemed worthwhile for the added value it provides to chat operators assisting customers in real time. The thread is essentially a press release with no notable discussion or debate following the announcement.

DealerRater announced an enhancement to its DealerRater Push feature, which now prompts any reviewer who posts a positive review of a Certified Dealer to copy and paste that review and star rating directly to Google Places, removing the previous requirement of maintaining a Google account. The update aims to help Certified Dealers build more Google reviews and improve their star ratings more easily. The sole reply is an off-topic customer testimonial unrelated to the announcement.

Dealers debate whether TrueCar's newly announced pro-industry product changes — including a flat-fee billing model and other adjustments — represent a genuine shift or mere damage control. Skepticism runs high, with participants arguing that regardless of billing or data fixes, the core problem remains: TrueCar's pricing transparency actively erodes dealer profit margins. A floor-level account from an internet manager illustrates the real cost, describing a race-to-the-bottom pricing war between the only two subscribing dealers in his market, paying $300 per deal for shrinking returns.

California's automotive dealer association published a detailed legal analysis concluding that TrueCar operates as an autobroker in the state and that its dealer program fails to comply with California law in multiple ways, exposing both TrueCar and participating dealers to legal liability and potential license action. The thread shares this executive summary and draws reactions from industry observers questioning why dealers continue using the platform despite the legal risks. The broader takeaway is that dealers need to understand their legal exposure and leverage their own transaction expertise rather than relying on third-party platforms that may not meet regulatory requirements.

CarWoo! announced a $6M funding round in December 2011, bringing total funding to over $12M, with plans to expand its dealer network beyond 11,000 and launch new products. The thread drew minimal community engagement, with one commenter raising concerns about verification processes and questioning CarWoo!'s value proposition given that savvy consumers can already shop anonymously online.

Jeff Kershner's annual year-in-review post highlights the best of DealerRefresh content from 2011, continuing a tradition from previous years. He also shares a personal milestone — joining HookLogic/AutoHook while continuing consulting work — and reflects on a year of significant change for both the community and the broader automotive industry. The thread serves as a nostalgic recap and community touchstone rather than a debate or technical discussion.

A promotional announcement for a Digital Dealer Workshop scheduled in Houston, Texas on January 17th, 2012, targeting automotive dealers looking to sharpen their digital and e-commerce strategies. The event offered two tracks tailored to different experience levels, covering social media, website analytics, CRM optimization, and lead conversion. No follow-up discussion or dealer responses appear in the thread.

Dealers and vendor partners brainstorm practical ways to deploy iPads in the showroom, with capturing customer reviews via tools like Presto Reviews emerging as the standout use case. Placing iPads in the sales or service lounge to collect testimonials before the finance process was seen as a high-volume, low-friction strategy. CRM compatibility and the broader potential to replace sales rep workstations also generated interest, signaling early enthusiasm for iPads as a genuine dealership tool.

The thread covers a wave of state-level regulatory actions against TrueCar following Colorado's Department of Revenue citing the company for advertising violations. Dealers and industry figures from Louisiana, Maryland, Kansas, Ohio, and Massachusetts are sharing news of similar investigations or warnings from their state auto dealer associations, particularly around TrueCar's use of terms like 'below invoice' that violate advertising regulations. The key takeaway is that a growing coalition of dealers and regulators across multiple states is mobilizing against TrueCar's business model, signaling serious legal headwinds for the company.

The thread examines Dominion Dealer Solutions' broad and growing portfolio of automotive products following a company realignment, listing tools spanning CRM, ILM, website platforms, reputation management, DMS extraction, and more. A key takeaway from the discussion is that the equity mining tool Deal Activator was notably overlooked in the original lineup, prompting a brief exchange about its potential value when paired with HookLogic for direct mail and email campaigns.