Automotive News, Press Releases, and Events

Jeff Kershner promoted a free 15-minute webinar by Jennifer Suzuki of e-Dealer Solutions focused on crafting effective follow-up voicemails — specifically how to avoid sounding repetitive and increase callback rates. Attendees praised the session's energy and practical takeaways, while those who missed it asked for recordings or future sessions. Jennifer responded by directing people to her Facebook page for future webinar invites and offering to share her notes via email.

Google removed third-party reviews, including DealerRater, from Google Places pages, prompting concern among dealers who relied on aggregated review content for visibility. Industry response was mixed — some saw it as a loss for reputation management strategy, while others welcomed the change as a rebuke of third-party review platforms. The key takeaway is that dealers should still pursue broad review volume across multiple platforms for SEO value, as Google's policy could shift again.

HookLogic announced a $9.5 million growth investment from Bain Capital Ventures in September 2011, marking the company's first institutional funding after six years of profitable, self-sustained growth. The capital is earmarked for expanding their SaaS platform and team to meet rising demand in e-commerce media, with particular emphasis on their automotive vertical. A partnership with RL Polk and targeted incentive programs had already driven an average 20% performance increase for clients heading into the funding round.

A press release announces the launch of eLEAD CRM's redesigned website, highlighting a new blog and updated interface showcasing their dealership tools. A call center employee pushes back on the volume and repetitive nature of follow-up calls, while Jeff Kershner counters that persistent outreach drives showroom traffic when done with relevant, purposeful messaging. The thread surfaces a tension between scripted high-volume calling and consultative customer communication.

Jeff Kershner uses Labor Day as a hook to promote the DealerRefresh job board, encouraging automotive professionals to think of their work as a career rather than just a job. The core message is that committing fully to a sales career, rather than treating it as temporary work, leads to greater long-term success and prosperity.

Dealer.com announced a minority recapitalization investment of over $30 million from Accel Partners, the venture capital firm known for backing Facebook, Groupon, and Rovio/Angry Birds. Accel Partner Todd MacLean joined Dealer.com's Board of Directors as part of the deal. The investment signals strong institutional confidence in Dealer.com's position as a leading automotive internet marketing platform.

DealerRater announced an enhancement to its Certified Dealer Program that prominently displays top-reviewed employees and their review counts on dealers' main review pages, with hyperlinks to individual employee MyReviews pages. The single reply in the thread was briefly positive, suggesting the feature was well-received, though no substantive discussion followed.

DealerRater announced a July 2011 enhancement to its Certified Dealer Program allowing dealers to post review snippets directly to their Facebook fan page walls, building on an existing feature that feeds reviews to a custom Facebook tab. The update aimed to help dealers leverage user-generated reviews more visibly within their social media presence. The thread appears to be a press release share with limited additional discussion.

Alex Snyder offers a personal framework for the evolution of the Internet, culminating in a proposed 'Internet 5.0' defined by cloud computing, cross-platform integration, and social connectivity across all devices. Replies expand on the idea with enthusiasm and some skepticism, with one commenter raising valid concerns about the risks of platform dependency — what happens if a dominant cloud platform fails or gets hacked? The thread reflects early 2011 excitement about cloud, mobile, and social convergence, with the key insight being that Internet 5.0 represents a shift in consumer expectations toward seamless, instant, socially connected experiences that will fundamentally reshape automotive retail.

Jeff Kershner posts a reminder about the Ignite! Dealer Summit, a one-day automotive industry event scheduled for September 7, 2011, at the Hilton Minneapolis/St. Paul Airport near Mall of America. The event promises workshops relevant to a wide range of dealership roles and features a notable vendor and speaker lineup. A brief reply from an organizer expresses enthusiasm and extends a personal invitation to Jeff.

The thread shares insights from a Google marketing executive on how consumers shop for vehicles, highlighting a three-month average shopping window and Google's emphasis on video as a key research tool. Commenters note that Google's video push is strategically aimed at positioning YouTube as the dominant platform for automotive content, potentially challenging AutoTrader. A practical takeaway emerges: dealers should invest in video walkarounds on YouTube, which now benefit from automatic closed captioning that Google can index for SEO.

This recap post from DealerRefresh highlights recent blog content covering Google/eMarketer insights on auto shopper behavior, a debate on whether vehicle pricing is a true strategy or merely a tactic, and tips on reducing dealership stress. The thread serves as a content roundup pointing readers to active discussions and posts across the DealerRefresh blog and forum, with the pricing strategy debate appearing to be the most engaged topic.

Jeff Kershner interviews Alex Snyder, who left a dealership role at Checkered Flag to join Dealer.com, reflecting on his first year experiencing the vendor side of the automotive industry. Alex shares candid observations about the differences between working at a dealership versus a vendor, and commenters from both sides of the industry weigh in with agreement, noting that much dealer-vendor friction stems from mutual misunderstanding. The thread is light on debate but offers a genuine insider perspective for anyone curious about making a similar career transition.

ActivEngage has been approved by General Motors as the sole live chat vendor eligible for the iMR (inMarketRetail) Match turnkey program, allowing over 4,000 participating GM dealers to use co-op funds toward their live chat services. The announcement positions ActivEngage as the exclusive option for GM dealers seeking to offset the cost of live chat through manufacturer funding. Dealers already enrolled in the iMR program can now apply those funds directly to ActivEngage's monthly service fees.

A 2011 press release announces that ResponseLogix and DealerCentric have joined the Contact At Once! dealer chat network, allowing dealers to integrate live chat into SmartQuote price quote tools and pre-approval programs. The integration aims to help dealers engage car shoppers at critical decision-making moments during pricing and financing. The single reply is unrelated spam from a web design company.

CarWoo! released marketplace data showing that over 54% of car buyers chose an offer that was not the lowest price available, rising to 57.5% when single-offer cases are excluded. The thread highlights that professionalism and dealer behavior played a significant role in buyer satisfaction, as evidenced by five-star reviews. The key insight is that non-price factors like trust and communication are critical drivers in the car-buying decision.

Industry professionals debate whether AutoTrader's acquisition of VinSolutions — part of a broader consolidation wave alongside ADP's purchase of Cobalt — is genuinely beneficial for dealers or primarily a strategic play ahead of an IPO. Participants draw analogies to Blockbuster, Kodak, and IBM to explore how large companies must reinvent themselves, while also examining how data, content, and operational scale factor into AutoTrader's long-term positioning. The key insight is that the deal's real value likely lies in data and content ownership, though skepticism remains about whether a large corporate entity can deliver the nimble, dealer-focused solutions that smaller companies provide.

TrueCar announced a significant equity investment from GR Match, an affiliate of direct-marketing powerhouse Guthy-Renker, aimed at scaling TrueCar's brand awareness to millions more American car buyers. The partnership was positioned as a way to leverage Guthy-Renker's proven mass-market targeting and messaging strategies to accelerate TrueCar's transparent pricing model. The key takeaway is that TrueCar was actively pursuing mainstream consumer reach through a major outside investor with deep direct-marketing expertise.

HookLogic announced the appointment of David Metter as President of its Automotive division, bringing experience from MileOne Automotive and Autobase CRM. The thread is brief, consisting of the press release and a single congratulatory reply, with no deeper discussion or debate among forum members.

The thread covers AutoTrader.com's acquisition of VINSolutions and quickly branches into discussions about dealer software technology, including HomeNet's anticipated 2.0 update, comment-building tools, and CRM website visitor tracking capabilities. Competitors like DealerPeak and DealerSocket chime in to highlight their own similar or superior visitor-tracking features, revealing how crowded and competitive the dealer software space had become at the time of the deal.