When the calendar turned to August, our enthusiasm for Used Car Week ramped up a few more RPMs.
The excitement level also was juiced by nearly another dozen sponsors coming aboard for our series of industry-leading conferences that run from Nov. 16-20 at the Phoenician in Scottsdale, Ariz.
The latest additions include:
CPO Forum
Edmunds.com
SubPrime Forum
DealerTrack Technologies
Hudson Cook
PAR North America
Re3 Conference
Intellaegis
PAR North America
Used Car Week
Ally SmartAuction
Cars.com
CertifiedCars.com
Dealers Auto Auction of the Southwest
DealerTrack Technologies
Edmunds.com
Universal Car Remote
Victory Recovery Services
Complete sponsorship lists can be found at:
cpo.autoremarketing.com/sponsors
subprime.autoremarketing.com/sponsors
re3.autoremarketing.com/sponsors
nrc.autoremarketing.com/sponsors
www.usedcarweek.biz/sponsors
If you're interested in joining the team as a 2015 sponsor at Used Car Week, contact conference chairman Bill Zadeits at (800) 608-7500 or bzadeits@autoremarketing.com.
For more information about Used Car Week, visit www.usedcarweek.biz.
The National Independent Automobile Dealers Association is joining Used Car Week as one of its industry partners, Cherokee Media Group and NIADA announced today.
Used Car Week is a series of used vehicle-specific conferences held each November and produced by CMG.
Used Car Week 2015 is scheduled for November 16-20 at the Phoenician Resort in Scottsdale, Ariz.
NIADA joins the National Auto Auction Association and the National Automotive Finance Association in the special category of Used Car Week Industry Partners.
“We are very excited to have NIADA as one of the specially designated industry partners,” Used Car Week chairman Bill Zadeits said. “Steve Jordan, Scott Lilja and the team at NIADA have been such great supporters of the used car industry and advocates for independent dealers for so long, and we’re pleased that we can team with them to continue and build on that effort with this partnership for Used Car Week.”
Used Car Week was created to provide a central gathering place for the used-vehicle industry to share new ideas, best practices, data, information and more to the benefit of the people, key stakeholders and companies that comprise the industry.
The annual event has grown in attendance and stature over the past five years. In conjunction with its industry partners, NAAA, NAF Association and now NIADA, it will continue to serve the industry with a broader footprint and in a greater capacity.
“Used Car Week has evolved into a major gathering place for the used vehicle industry’s leadership to share best practices, build new partnerships and participate in informative and relevant industry educational sessions,” NIADA senior vice president of dealer services Scott Lilja said. “We look forward to participating, networking and becoming a major influence within the UCW program.”
Just a few months out, the excitement around Used Car Week continues to build, with eight new sponsorships coming aboard in the past week.
Sorted by conference, the latest to sign on are:
CPO Forum
Experian
National Remarketing Conference
GM Financial
Used Car Week
Auto IMS
Automovy Logistics
CallMiner
Experian
Intellaegis
TrueFrame LLC
Complete sponsorship lists can be found at:
If you're interested in joining the team as a 2015 sponsor at Used Car Week, contact conference chairman Bill Zadeits at (800) 608-7500 or bzadeits@autoremarketing.com.
For more information about Used Car Week, visit www.usedcarweek.biz.
We’ve mentioned a couple times already the importance and awesomeness of our Used Car Week sponsors. And the cool thing is, that list continues to grow.
Here’s the latest look at our sponsorship list:
CPO Forum
Autotrader (presenting sponsor)
Ally SmartAuction
CarStory
Chrysler
Contact at Once, LLC
Costco Auto
DealerRater
Ford
IntelliChoice.com
Kia Motors America
MetroGistics, LLC
NCM Associates
ServNet Auction Group
ViNCENTRiC
Volkswagen of America
National Remarketing Conference
Ally SmartAuction (presenting sponsor)
ALG
Ally Servicing
Auction Edge
Auto IMS
JMN Logistics, LLC
MetroGistics, LLC
NAAA
ServNet Auction Group
ShipCarsNow
Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP
XLerate
Re3 Conference
Digital Recognition Network (presenting sponsor)
Ally SmartAuction
American Lending Solutions Corp.
AutoIMS
Consolidated Asset Recovery Systems
Del Mar Recovery Solutions
JMN Logistics, LLC
SubPrime Forum
American Lending Solutions Corp.
Black Book
Del Mar Recovery Solutions
Fiserv
MetroGistics, LLC
ServNet Auction Group
Used Car Week
Alliance Inspection Management
Ally SmartAuction
Billing Tree Payment Solutions
Carfax Inc.
Insurance Auto Auctions, Inc.
Intrix Technology
Keynet
Liquid Motors
LotLinx
MetroGistics, LLC
National Creditor's Connection, Inc.
Potratz Advertising
ServNet Auction Group
van Wagenen Financial Services, Inc.
Whann Technology Group
If you're interested in joining the team as a 2015 sponsor at Used Car Week, contact conference chairman Bill Zadeits at (800) 608-7500 or bzadeits@autoremarketing.com.
For more information about Used Car Week, visit www.usedcarweek.biz.
While autumn may seem like a long ways off (particularly in our neck of the woods, where temps are creepin’ close to 100 degrees), our Used Car Week team is already rockin-and-rollin with three presenting sponsors lined up for this year’s conference series.
We’ve already talked about how important our partners are to Used Car Week, so we’re due to give a shout-out to these three presenting sponsors already on deck for the event, which is being held Nov.16-20 at The Phoenician in Scottsdale, Ariz.
It’s companies like these — and all our partners and sponsors — that make Used Car Week possible with their contributions and investment in growing the remarketing and used-car industry.
These folks are leaders in the business and recognize the exceptional branding opportunity that Used Car Week brings. So if you’re interested in joining this lineup of distinguished sponsors, learn more here or contact conference chairman Bill Zadeits at (800) 608-7500 or bzadeits@autoremarketing.com.
For more information about Used Car Week, visit www.usedcarweek.biz.
When a race car driver finishes blazing through left turns around the track at nearly 200 mph, whom does he or she often thank during the post-race TV?
That’s right. The driver gives props to the sponsors.
And we dig that. We at Used Car Week love our sponsors, too.
Just as it takes a full panel of corporate champions (and a full tank of gas) to power that car, Used Car Week needs our sponsors to fuel our weeklong convention for and celebration of the pre-owned market.
And we’ve got a fine list of great folks already lined up in support of Used Car Week 2015, being held Nov. 16-20 at The Phoenician in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Here’s a list of our sponsors so far, broken down by conference:
CPO Forum
Kia Motors America
MetroGistics, LLC
ViNCENTRIC
Volkswagen of America
National Remarketing Conference
AutoIMS
MetroGistics, LLC
ShipCarsNow
RE3
AutoIMS
Del Mar Recovery Solutions
Digital Recognition Network
SubPrime Forum
Black Book
Del Mar Recovery Solutions
MetroGisitcs, LLC
Used Car Week
Keynet
MetroGistics, LLC
If you're interested in joining the team as a 2015 sponsor at Used Car Week, contact confrenence chairman Bill Zadeits at (800) 608-7500 or bzadeits@autoremarketing.com.
For more information about Used Car Week, visit www.usedcarweek.biz.
In the movie “City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly’s Gold,” Billy Crystal’s character is inspired on his 40th birthday to take a trip with his best pal and his brother in search of hidden treasures.
As you may remember, the trio played by Crystal, Daniel Stern and Jon Lovitz then navigate through a rather silly quest out West.
Although this adventure was spurred by a landmark birthday, many in our business were inspired to blaze new paths (albeit more reasonable than the aforementioned comedians) even earlier.
In fact, many jumped into the used-car industry right out of college or even as a teenager.
And that tradition of early-adopters continues with the latest generation to enter the business.
Many young professionals under the age of 40 are taking leadership roles with their respective companies, whether that’s at an auction, dealership, bank, fleet/lease remarketing organization, automaker, OEM captive, third-party service provider, industry association or one of many vendors and partners to these organizations.
That is why Auto Remarketing is launching its inaugural “Remarketing & Used-Car Industry’s 40 Under 40.”
We are looking for nominees across the spectrum of the used-car and remarketing business. That includes all the segments of the industry mentioned above — and beyond!
Obviously, the nominee must be under the age of 40. But think big: do you know any exceptional young dealers or dealership managers? Have you worked with some second-generation auction executives who have demonstrated leadership qualities?
Are there any under-40 entrepreneurs in our business who have caught your attention? Who are the young executives at some of the industry partner/service providers that are making a splash?
Those are just some examples, but you get the idea.
Nominations are officially OPEN and are being accepted here:
http://www.usedcarweek.biz/remarketings-40-under-40.
The deadline for nominations is Friday, June 19.
Here are a few additional ground rules:
- Nominee must be under 40 at the time of nomination.
- The number of nominations a person receives does not necessarily influence whether that person will be selected for the 40 Under 40.
- As a general rule, we will not be sharing the name of the person(s) doing the nominating, unless necessary in the editorial content and with permission of the person nominating.
Honorees will be recognized during a ceremony this fall at Used Car Week, which is being held Nov. 16-20 at The Phoenician in Scottsdale, Ariz.
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me at joverby@autoremarketing.com or (919) 674-6020, ext. 129.
And when you’re done nominating a “40 Under 40” all-star and “City Slickers II” is showing on cable, don’t click past. By no means is it comedy gold, but this one is perhaps worth a re-watch for a laugh or two.
In what we’re proud to call an annual tradition, Auto Remarketing dedicates a special section each year to recognize the leading women of the remarketing and used-car business. And we've got an outstanding class for 2015.
Each of the leaders honored in our Women in Remarketing program takes on different responsibilities within the industry, and the companies they represent encompass a diverse cross-section of the used-car market.
Each of the recipients has a unique story to tell beyond the business world, too. There is one thing, however, that they all have in common: leadership.
Whether it’s leading through their commitment to industry improvement, dedication to business excellence or contributing to the community, leadership is one quality shared between these honorees.
We would like to thank all our readers who sent in Women in Remarketing nominations. While there are many more leading ladies worthy of recognition, we could not spotlight all the nominees, as we are only able to recognize a select few each year.
But stay tuned to Auto Remarketing e-newsletters, as we will conduct another call for nominations for this honor early next year.
And now, without further ado, here are the 2015 Women in Remarketing honorees, listed in alphabetical order:
- Stephanie Baker, General Manager, Dealers Auto Auction of Murfreesboro
- Amy Bouck, Senior Director of Lease-End Servicing and Remarketing, Hyundai Capital America
- Gail Berger, Vice President of Auto Remarketing, Sirius XM
- Kimberly Farley, Senior Vice President of Workforce Solutions, Equifax
- Lori Grone, Vice President of Field Operations, Costco Auto Program
- Lesley Lovallo, Vice President of Corporate Development, Larry H. Miller Automotive Operations
- Linda McNeely, Director of Fleet Operations, Auction Broadcasting Co.
- Barbara Mousigian, Vice President of Product, Cars.com
- Cheryl Munce, Chief Executive Consultant, Alteso
- Michelle Nichols-Neff, Vice President & Partner, BSC America
- Michele Noblitt, Executive Vice President & General Manager, Dealers Auto Auction of the Rockies
- Kelly Olson, Manager of Dealership Online Services, Ally Financial
- Stacey Petras, Assistant Vice President of Asset Remarketing, Operations Support, GM Financial
- Becca Polak, Executive Vice President, General Counsel & Board Secretary, KAR Auction Services
- Pauline Pons, Co-Founder & Vice President, TPC Management Company
- Jana Rauschenberg, Fleet Lease Sales Manager, West Michigan Auto Auction
- Mandy Savage, General Manager, Manheim Detroit
- Janet Smail, Project & Transportation Manager for Fleet Services, Flexco
- Lori Wittman, Vice President & General Manager, VinSolutions
Check out the April 15 edition of Auto Remarketing to learn more about these outstanding industry leaders.
The 2015 Women in Remarketing class will be honored during the National Remarketing Conference, scheduled for Nov. 18-20. NRC is part of the Used Car Week conferences, which will be held Nov. 16-20 at The Phoenician in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Hundreds of attendees walked through the corridors of the Red Rock Casino Resort & Spa during Used Car Week in Las Vegas, chatting with one another as they headed to general sessions, workshops and meetings with clients.
It was the most-attended Used Car Week in the convention’s history, and perhaps the most diverse, as well: dealers, remarketers, auctions, finance companies, fleet-lease firms, vendors, industry press and OEMs were among the many groups represented this year.
And through the week’s four conferences, the topics and takeaways from our panelists and presenters were just as diverse.
Starting with the CPO Forum, it’s clear that the certified pre-owned segment market has been on fire — and may only be poised to grow from here. Based on the array of attendees at the event, the industry studies on CPO and rising consumer interest in the segment, the certified market is clearly moving towards the mainstream and is now an auto industry mainstay.
And Vincentric and IntelliChoice both honored the leading programs in the CPO market with their respective CPO awards.
The SubPrime Forum made significant strides in its second year as representatives from all three credit bureaus as well as experts and analysts from a wide array of service providers and legal practitioners all shared complementary viewpoints that resonated with attendees.
Fostered by the strong relationship with the National Automotive Finance Association, the SubPrime Forum hosted nearly two days of dialogue that dissected the latest industry data on originations and delinquencies as well as ending once and for all any talk about a “subprime bubble.”
Matters regarding compliance with evolving regulations orchestrated by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau as well as other federal and state agencies along with networking sessions that extended panel session discussions put the SubPrime Forum in position to be one of the go-to events for executives who want to thrive in the auto finance industry.
Meanwhile, the Re3 Conference continued its streak of presenting the industry with a setting to share ideas and information about mitigating risk and recovering as much money as possible when a vehicle installment contract deteriorates into a repossession.
Attendees heard from industry experts who are leveraging technology in a myriad of ways — from tracking assets to preparing for what might be coming down the pipeline next. The Re3 Conference now is firmly established as a leader in enhancing relationships that can benefit recovery departments and related service providers.
Lastly, we arrive at the anchor and flagship event of Used Car Week: the National Remarketing Conference.
Much like its three peer conferences, the discussions, networking and workshops at NRC were as lively as they were informative. But it was the signature moments that truly defined the conference.
DataScan’s Don Fowler earning a well-deserved Lifetime Achievement award from Auto Remarketing, and having members of his family there to surprise him.
The Women in Remarketing delivering sage advice and compelling stories of hard work and success in the industry.
Ally Financial’s Robert Stahl winning National Remarketing Executive of the Year, to cap a week of industry executives being recognized in our annual awards programs. He joined fellow award winners Troy Morgan, representing CPO Dealer of the Year winner Hyundai of New Port Richey; Re3 Executive of the Year Karen Nelson of Crescent Bank; and SubPrime Auto Finance Executive of the Year Ian Anderson of Westlake Financial Services.
And, yes, “Carnac.” Perhaps no better way to end the NRC general sessions than a “magnificent” throwback to the late-Johnny Carson.
Can’t wait to see you all next year!
In 28 years with Ally Financial, Robert Stahl has done a little bit of everything.
He has worked a repo lot, had multiple leadership tenures in remarketing, ventured into subprime finance and was involved in helping the SmartAuction online platform get off the ground.
But one lesson that has stuck with Stahl since his first job at Ally in the repo and collections arena is this: it’s the car and the customer that matter.
“The main thing that I have to keep telling myself is that it’s all about the car. That’s a slogan that we’ve used a lot around here, and we mention it a number of times when we start looking at new technologies or new innovation or consider pursuing this direction or that direction … it’s all about your relationship with the dealers and vendors,” said Stahl, who is executive vice president of remarketing at Ally Financial.
“For the most part, over the years, I’ve learned that dealers are going to go where the cars are,” he continued. “And I think that’s what made SmartAuction a success; we had cars that they wanted — off-lease cars, repossessions and GM cars. And regardless of where they’re at, as long as you’ve got a good supply, dealers are going to show up and buy them.”
That mindset, plus many others, has led to a successful three-decade career in the auto business and high respect from his peers in the business. And Auto Remarketing and Used Car Week recognized Stahl as the 2014 National Remarketing Executive of the Year, presented by ServNet, on Wednesday during the National Remarketing Conference.
“The National Remarketing Executive of the Year, presented by ServNet, is highly respected within the remarketing industry. Auto Remarketing and the National Remarketing Conference are very proud to be a part of this tradition and proud of this year’s recipient, Robert Stahl,” said Bill Zadeits, publisher of Auto Remarketing and Used Car Week conference chair.
Patty Stanley, who is owner of Carolina & Indiana Auto Auctions and the president of ServNet, had this to say about Stahl:
“ServNet congratulates Robert Stahl as National Remarketing Executive of the Year,” she said. “Robert has been a partner and friend of our industry for many years, and we applaud his tireless efforts to maximize remarketing opportunities.”
R. Charles Nichols, owner of BSCAmerica Auctions and chairman of the board at ServNet, added: “In the auto finance sector for most if not all of his career, Robert has quietly and unselfishly pushed the remarketing industry in new and creative channels, all while serving his company, investors and the dealers they serve.”
Early Days on the Repo Lot
Stahl has been with what’s now known as Ally the entirety of his career. And it all got started back in the mid-1980s in south Florida, where he began working on the repossessions side of the company’s collections operation.
“You worked your own accounts, repossessed your own cars in the afternoons or when you were on your way home a lot of times. It was a fun time back then,” he said.
In fact, the site where Stahl worked had its own repossession lot where dealers would come to buy cars wholesale. In 1986, he said, there wasn’t as many auctions around in that area.
So, when vehicles were repossessed in south Florida, the company would often take care of remarketing the cars themselves from the repo lot (although they did take some vehicles to auction).
This experience, Stahl said, taught him a great deal about the wholesale and used-car market from that experience. So how did auction sales at the on-site repo site work?
“It’s kind of funny when you think about it now. It was a closed-bid sale. So, we would sell about a 100 to 150 vehicles a week. They would come in, they would get cleaned up, and we would do our reconditioning. And the dealers would come in a day before,” Stahl said.
“Back then, the lots were full the day before the sale because nothing was sold online. All the dealers would come in and kicked the tires and make sure they knew which vehicles they wanted to buy. And then, they would submit their closed, sealed bid to us,” he continued.
Once it was time for the sale to close, all the bids were gathered and entered into an IBM computer. Bills of sale were created, and winners were announced.
“High bid won. There was no auctioning off on an auction block back then for that particular sale,” Stahl noted. “It’s totally different now.”
Different, yes, but much of what Stahl learned then still applies today.
In addition to the importance of the car and the customer, Stahl said another lesson he gleaned was that, “you’ve got to always maintain integrity and look for win-win solutions with your people and with your vendors.”
Much like any auction today, the repo lot where Stahl worked had many vendors, who specialized in anything from reconditioning to wheels and tires. Each of these vendors, plus the buyers, sellers and the auction itself, has a certain financial goal and deals with financial pressures.
“It’s always a challenge that you face in any industry, from time to time. I learned early on that as long as you deal with them in an honest and up front manner and build those relationships and look for win-win solutions, those guys are great partners and always interested in helping you succeed,” Stahl said. “So, I look for ways to help them succeed, while we can succeed at the same time.”
And, of course, the relationship with the dealer is huge — and has been throughout every area of the business in which Stahl has worked.
“Without the dealers, we’re not selling any cars. Without the dealers, we’re not receiving any retail business,” Stahl said. “Our whole business model is built around dealers buying and selling vehicles, and us being able to finance them and us being able to dispose of our repossessions and our off-lease vehicles. The relationship you build with those dealers goes a long way.”
Even the personal relationships matter a great deal. Sometimes, he said, dealers will come to the auction simply because of the rapport you build with them.
“They like showing up there to see their friends and talk about the industry and network. And it makes a big difference if you’re good at building relationships with your dealers,” Stahl said.
What’s Big in 2015
In the past two to three years, there has been a great deal of interest and discussion at industry events around multiplatform remarketing.
“There’s rumor in the industry (that) a couple of the major auctions are working on a new platform. The one that’s out there now provides for multi-listing, and the deal comes off the other platforms once you receive the floor bid on one platform,” he said.
“A multi-bid solution is being discussed at a high level as a next step; however, details have not been introduced to the marketplace at this time. We welcome innovation to the market that might improve the experience for our dealer customers,” he added.
Another hot topic in the used-car business this year has been the increasing level of supply. This trend has been particularly interesting to Stahl, who was on the remarketing side of the business in the late 1990s and early 2000s, before moving to another area of Ally’s business and coming back to remarketing in 2010.
“When I came back, the market started changing, unlike it ever did before, with the supply in the market and the economy … what we see is that right now the market is returning to more normal levels,” Stahl said. “It’s made us all look like heroes in the last couple of years, because the market has been really strong — based on historical levels — and it’s still strong now.”
That said, there certainly are challenges that come with fluctuations in vehicle volume. But the business has adapted.
“The industry has adjusted to the lower volumes that were coming back, and now they’ve done a great job adjusting to the higher volumes,” Stahl said.
And increased supply impacts all parties involved. With higher volumes of vehicles in the market, that means higher volumes for transport and logistics companies, a greater number of vehicles that have be processed by inspection companies, and so forth.
“We’ve been planning for that for the last couple of years,” he said. “I’m looking forward to a nice, robust used-car market with a lot of supply.”
Beyond the multiplatform and return to normal vehicle supplies, one of the focuses that Stahl said Ally has is maximizing technologies and innovation to benefit not only their company, but also their clients, as well.
“Our main focus is on ‘what else is out there? How do we develop? How do we partner with the auctions, the transportation companies and all the different vendors in the industry to provide new and creative solutions to our customers?’” he asked. “And our customers are our dealers, for the most part. How do we get dealers in front of our cars, bidding on our cars?”
There are always new solutions and products hitting the market, so Ally has a team that examines those innovations to see if they can help bring about more efficiency.
“That’s what makes this business fun. Everything is always changing. I’m excited about the next couple of years and all the changes in the industry. I think five years from now, it’s going to be totally different again. When I was out of the remarketing for six years, it totally changed,” Stahl said.
“When we started up SmartAuction and the online piece, there was a lot of skeptics out there thinking that cars won’t sell online, dealers have to kick the tires. And now you see how well the online market has blossomed. I think it’s going to continue to grow,” he added. “A lot of people didn’t think it would change; and it continues to change.
“It continues to change at a faster rate, and we’re trying to keep up with that technology and provide the best solutions we can to our customers,” he concluded
