SANTA MONICA, Calif. -

On Monday, TrueCar unveiled a 21-member National Dealer Council — made up of dealers and auto retail experts — that, essentially, enables the company to have a better understanding of the dealer perspective.

This council will advise TrueCar on addressing dealer feedback and serve as a sounding board before the company releases “major product, process and policy changes.”

These members will also generate feedback from TrueCar-using dealers and discuss their findings at council meetings.

The formation of a National Dealer Council was among the “sweeping changes” TrueCar revealed earlier this year that included adjusting in its billing model, advertising and more. To see what these changes entailed, see Auto Remarekting’s story from January.

"The Dealer Council is a critical element in TrueCar’s mission to develop a platform that benefits our dealer partners and consumers,” stated Stewart Easterby, the company’s executive vice president of dealer development. "We look forward to the advice we will receive from the remarkable list of Council Members.”

Serving as the independent chairperson for the council is Gary Marcotte, who is a former senior vice president of marketing and e-commerce for AutoNation.

“I’m excited to chair the TrueCar National Dealer Council and I look forward to working with my fellow Members to ensure the dealers’ voice is heard,” Marcotte stated.

The 21 members of the council include a wide array of backgrounds, as they represent 25 states, 36 brands and 310 franchises and run the gamut from large dealer groups and regional dealer groups to single-point stores and family-owned shops.

The council members include the following:

—Anthony Clemons, Internet Sales Director, Friendship Hyundai
—Bill Walsh Jr., Owner/ Dealer Principal, Bill Walsh Automotive Group
—Chris Birmelin, Owner/Dealer Principal, Healey Hyundai
—Chris Koster, Director of Business Development, Superior Automotive Group
—Chuck Olsen (Independent Member), Corporate Sales Manager, Boucher Automotive Group
—Dan Duddridge, Operations Director, Cabe Toyota
—David Green, General Manager, Tom Williams Lexus
—Gary Marcotte (Chairperson), Automotive Retailing Senior Executive
—Jae Park, General Manager, Keyes Hyundai
—Jeremy Alicandri, VP of Corp. Development, Habberstad Auto Group
—Jeremy Beaver, General Manager, Capitol VW Capitol Fiat
—John Hopkins, General Manager, Jay Toyota-Scion
—Ken Graham (Independent Member), Owner, OneSource Automotive Solutions
—Patrick York, Chief Operating Officer, Gillman Auto Group
—Phil Bonfanti, General Manager, Lakewood Fordland
—Ray Reilly, Regional Performance Manager, Larry H Miller Group
—Richard Cvijanovich, Owner & General Manager / Dealer Manager, Subaru Superstore / Acura of Tempe
—Shaun Kniffin, eCommerce Director, Germain Motor Cars
—Todd Reiselman, General Manager, Ed Martin Automotive Group
—Tom Gibson (Independent Member), Chairman Emeritus, Asbury Automotive Group
—Tony Rimas, Executive Vice President, Red McCombs Automotive

The company said that it may bring in independent members with strong auto business backgrounds as well as dealers who don’t use TrueCar. The point of this would be to “ensure True captures a broad range of ideas and feedback.”