Columbus Fair Auto Auction (CFAA) notes that dealers can take up to seven days to prepare vehicles purchased at auction for placement on their front line. A new CFAA service aims to save time by offering mechanic, reconditioning, body shop, and transportation services for a single flat rate.
Under CFAA’s Frontline Ready service initiative, which will be available in the first quarter of this year, units will be made “frontline ready” in 48 hours, which CFAA says will save buyers resources and accelerate time-to-market.
The FLR service is available to any dealership, not just those who make purchases at the auction.
Greg Levi, president of Columbus Fair Auto Auction — a family-owned auction founded in 1959 — said in a news release that the auction created the new service under the coordination of its shop managers to help its buyers and local dealerships.
“By utilizing this service, dealers will be able to move their units from our campus directly to their lots prepared for immediate sale,” Levi said.
A new partnership could reduce the concerns dealers might have with adding higher-mileage vehicles to their inventory.
DealersLink, an automotive systems integration and networking technology company, announced the partnership last week with vehicle contract program company Alpha Warranty Services. The companies say the partnership will give DealersLink members the ability to add Alpha Warranty Services’ high-mileage warranties to units directly from the vehicle details page.
The ability of DealersLink members to add Alpha’s high mileage warranties directly from the VDP will allow dealers to estimate the cost of a warranty to the consumer, while determining the profit realized from selling an extended warranty, DealersLink noted in a news release.
DealersLink notes that it has worked to eliminate wholesale transaction fees for more than 13 years, with $1 billion of used inventory available 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Members using the Marketplace can stock their lots with reconditioned units, locate hard-to-find vehicles for their customers, sell inventory without incurring wholesale losses, and arrange book-for-book trades, according to DealersLink. Members pay only a monthly fee to participate, and never pay per-vehicle auction fees.
“DealersLink has completed the integration with Alpha that will instantly generate per unit warranty quotes for DealersLink members inside the platform,” DealersLink chief executive Mike Goicoechea said in a news release.
Ty Kielblock of Alpha Warranty Services added in a news release that his company’s warranties work to give the consumer and dealer peace of mind with high-mileage vehicle purchases.
Graham Holdings Co. — an education and media company whose operations include educational services, television broadcasting, online, print and local TV news, home health and hospice care as well as manufacturing — recently decided to diversify its portfolio even more.
And in doing so, the company decided to get into the retail car business.
Graham Holdings recently announced it has acquired two dealerships from Sonic Automotive as the publicly traded dealer group decided to dispose of Lexus of Rockville and Honda of Tysons Corner. According to a news release, the purchase price was not disclosed.
And to aid its new venture into the dealership arena, Graham Holdings also announced it has entered into an agreement with Christopher Ourisman, a member of the Ourisman Automotive Group family of dealerships.
The company indicated Ourisman and his team of industry professionals will operate and manage the acquisitions. Graham Holdings holds a 90-percent stake.
“We are excited about the possibilities in the automotive industry as we diversify our portfolio of companies, Graham Holdings chief executive officer Timothy O’Shaughnessy said. “This acquisition aligns with our management approach of long-term orientation, decentralization and quality.
“We view this purchase as a unique opportunity to execute our ongoing strategy of investing in businesses that are profitable and are expected to have stable growing years ahead,” O’Shaughnessy continued.
“Chris Ourisman, a respected fourth generation operator in the automotive space, has a proven track record of operating successful dealerships and is deeply committed to the sector. Partnering with Chris positions the business for long-term value and success,” O’Shaughnessy went on to say.
Ourisman also commented on entering into a relationship with Graham Holdings.
“Graham Holdings Company is an ideal partner in that both organizations share the same culture, commitment, values and vision. The Ourisman family of dealerships have been driven by our professional sense of stewardship, passion and innovation since our founding in 1921,” Ourisman said.
“Both companies have been business leaders in the region driven by the same multigenerational philosophy,” Ourisman continued. My team and I are looking forward to working with a truly special company in Graham Holdings Company and creating the premier experience for automotive clients in the greater Washington metropolitan area.”
CDK Global unveiled some new technological programs at the recent NADA Show, including one that the company says “is modernizing automotive retail.”
CDK Global, a provider of integrated information technology and digital marketing products to the automotive retail and adjacent industries, says its products automate and integrate all areas of the dealership and buying process.
That includes targeted digital advertising and marketing campaigns and the sale, financing, insuring, parts supply, repair, and maintenance of vehicles. Updates to its Fortellis Automotive Commerce Exchange Platform is one of those programs. CDK announced the launch of Fortellis Marketplace, a central hub, similar to app stores in other industries, where retail technology providers can sell their software applications to dealers and OEMs.
CDK Global also announced that it will eliminate access fees for Fortellis, which CDK says is the world’s first open, agnostic platform for the development and marketing of automotive application programming interfaces (APIs).
CDK says the Fortellis technology platform and its Developer Network and Marketplace connects software developers, OEMs and dealers, which the company says helping them create new experiences efficiently.
Also at NADA, CDK introduced the next generation of its Dealer Management System (DMS), called Drive Flex, which the company is describing as a first-of-its-kind web-based DMS.
And in yet another CDK announcement during the time period of the NADA show, the company said Dealer Intelligence, an automotive industry platform for enterprise business intelligence, reporting and analytics, has become a participant in the CDK Global Partner Program.
Regarding the first item — updates to its Fortellis Automotive Commerce Exchange Platform with the launch of the Fortellis marketplace — the company notes that the Fortellis Marketplace allows collaboration between developers, OEMs and dealers who can share a common platform and “create solutions that will move the automotive industry forward.”
What’s the impact of that innovation, integration and personalization? The company says car buyers will find the resulting streamlined customer experience at the dealership to be useful.
The company says eliminating access fees for Fortellis will also be useful and that it will spur innovation. CDK will charge no fees to join, to publish APIs, gain access to basic reporting and support, or to market different products to users.
The company will charge a nominal transaction fee, but the company notes that with more than 120 organizations becoming active users of the platform, that has created a “thriving community” that has contributed 90 registered products and 70 active sales opportunities, as well as an increasing number of APIs being published.
“While innovations are being created throughout the industry, getting these solutions to work across providers has made adoption challenging,” Ron Frey, executive vice president and chief strategy officer, CDK Global, said in a news release. “Fortellis provides efficiency and enables plug-and-play functionality, allowing users to select the desired solution without the hassle of custom integration.”
Discussing the next generation of the Drive Flex DMS, Rajiv Amar, executive vice president and chief technology officer, CDK Global, elaborated on his statement that the product is modernizing automotive retail. The company says Drive Flex’s workflows allow dealers to hire top employees regardless of their prior DMS experience. The next generation of Drive Flex is available to dealers with one or two locations, with what the company says is an improved user interface, reduced installation times and minimal learning curves.
“With these and other new technologies, dealers have greater ability to improve the car buying experience and optimize their businesses for success,” Amar said in a news release. “We are accelerating our investment by adding more engineers to efficiently bring this innovative technology to more dealerships of all sizes in the near future.”
Finally, regarding the news that Dealer Intelligence will participate in the CDK Global Partner Program, CDK noted that Dealer Intelligence will now be part of a marketplace of applications and integrations that CDK developed to help automotive dealers succeed.
CDK adds that joining the CDK Global Partner Program is important for DI to provide dealerships with a next-generation enterprise Business Intelligence platform and that by accessing DMS data seamlessly, reliably and in near-time, DI can provide customers with the actionable intelligence they need to optimize their financial and operational performance.
"With DI, you don't have to pull your team away from the business for days of training. DI is also universally affordable," Farra Majid, CEO and cofounder of DI, said in a news release. "Obtaining CDK certification is a significant milestone for us. We're excited about helping dealerships to more profitably and efficiently manage their businesses with actionable intelligence through tomorrow's business intelligence platform."
The company says its DI Business Intelligence platform offers dealers near real-time financial and operating performance management at every management level and across every department.
Craig Pollock, president of JM Lexus and group vice president of parent company JM Family Enterprises, added a veteran to be a key leader at the organization’s luxury dealership in south Florida.
Joining JM Lexus as vice president and general manager is Mark Hoppe, who has taken over the reins from Jim Dunn, who held the position of vice president and general manager of JM Lexus since 2005.
In his role, the company said Hoppe oversees all JM Lexus operations, including new and pre-owned vehicle sales and service operations. He is responsible for leading a team of 345 associates who are focused on innovation and customer service excellence.
The dealership recently became the only Lexus Plus dealership in the southeastern U.S., offering guests negotiation-free pricing in both sales and service.
“With more than 40 years of automotive retail experience, Hoppe has held multiple roles in sales and fixed operations, primarily in south Florida,” Pollock said.
“Mark’s reputation in this market is one of exceptional customer service and outstanding leadership,” Pollock continued. “His industry knowledge and commitment to a strong associate culture make Mark an ideal candidate to lead our team of talented JM Lexus associates.
“We are thrilled Mark has joined us and wish him and his new team great success,” Pollock went on to say.
Dunn informed the company earlier last year that he would be officially retiring from JM Lexus at the end of January.
“It has been a privilege to lead such a world-class organization for the past 13 years, which have truly been the most rewarding time of my life,” Dunn said.
Naked Lime Marketing (NLM) recently debuted a market intelligence platform that it says will provide dealers with a single data set combining transactional, demographic and behavioral customer information segments.
As a result, the tool is geared to give dealers the ability to have analytical, fact-based decision making.
The marketing, advertising and web services company rolled out the platform called Compass at the recent NADA Show, noting that the product includes Naked Lime's new reporting tool. Naked Lime describes the solution as a “high-level, consolidated reporting dashboard” that can show digital marketing performance for various NLM products.
“Intelligent marketing isn't magic and it's not going with your gut — it's science," Chris Walsh, vice president and general manager at Naked Lime, said in a news release.
“When dealers base their marketing choices on knowing what each shopper did, what people like them do, and what they're likely to do next, you have a recipe for sustainable success. Compass helps them do that," Walsh continued.
Walsh added that the new products “are the marriage of data-driven performance analysis and convenience," reiterating that the Naked Lime specialists analyze dealer marketing performance in real-time.
For more details, go to www.nakedlime.com.
Dealer-to-dealer digital auction platform TradeRev continues its work to help accelerate the dealer buying and selling experience, or in the company’s words, help dealers “move metal” faster and easier.
With its MOVE METAL services, the company says users will see shorter auctions, flat fee transportation and streamlined registration.
TradeRev announced that beginning on Feb. 5 it will unveil various platform enhancements such as shortening its auction timer to speed up dealer transactions on the MOVE METAL platform. The new transaction times will be a 45-minute auction and 15-minute closing period for buyers and sellers to finalize sale details, which is a time reduction from the previous one-hour auction plus one-hour closing period.
TradeRev also announced its 2019 flat-fee transportation rates for all U.S.-based dealers. The company says it will offer heavily discounted rates well below retail transports. That along with the ability to move vehicles from coast to coast means dealers have virtual access to what TradeRev describes as a “highly active national marketplace” with thousands of other dealers.
The flat-fee transportation program is facilitated in partnership with CarsArrive Network, a TradeRev sister company under TradeRev parent, KAR Auction Services. TradeRev’s streamlined registration process will also help new dealers become TradeRev partners, and transactions can start in minutes rather than days or weeks, according to the company.
“TradeRev was built by dealers for dealers, and we’re constantly working with our dealer partners to make our marketplace as fast, fair and easy as possible,” said Becca Polak, TradeRev president and chief legal officer for KAR Auction Services, in a news release. “Time is a dealer’s most valuable commodity, and we know every auction minute saved is a minute dealers can spend fostering leads and closing retail sales. By reducing the TradeRev auction experience to a single hour, buyers will have more certainty on cars they’ve won, and sellers can move inventory off the lot faster than ever.”
The company also unveiled an accelerated registration process that allows new dealers to register and begin transacting in as little as 10 minutes.
Dealers were able to demo TradeRev and sign up through TradeRev’s accelerated registration at the recent NADA Show. Once registered, dealers were able to buy and sell live in the booth and experience TradeRev’s condition report imaging technology powered by H.
Automotive dealers have long used Facebook’s automotive inventory ads to reconnect with people who had visited their website or app.
Now, Facebook has enhanced those ads to help dealerships reach more potential customers who have shown interest in purchasing a vehicle online.
Citing a recent Facebook IQ survey, the social media company notes that 63 percent of car buyers discover new vehicles online. With Facebook’s newly enhanced ads, dealerships can now reach more prospective car shoppers based on their visits to other auto- and dealer-related pages, websites and apps.
Facebook explains how the ads work: If someone is using several car and dealership sites to research and compare vehicles, automotive inventory ads allow dealers to upload their car inventory with details such as make, model, year and location. Facebook then automatically tailors ads to show the most relevant vehicles to the right prospective buyers. People who have visited a car-related Facebook page but have not yet visited the dealership’s website are an example of those prospective buyers.
The social media company provided examples showing how the ads are bringing strong results. Facebook said that by using automotive inventory ads to reach local auto buyers, Lexus Santa Monica in California achieved 3.2 times more vehicle detail page (VDP) views and three times lower cost per VDP view compared to previous prospecting campaigns with the same budget. Castle Chevrolet in Illinois is another dealer that Facebook tracked, and that business achieved a 27-percent increase in reach using the new ads, compared to a prospecting conversion campaign using lookalike audiences.
Users can opt out of any automotive inventory ad they see, according to Facebook. All they have to do is click on the upper right-hand corner of an ad. As is the case with all Facebook ads, auto advertisers can reach customers without being able to access personal information about them.
Automotive inventory ads are now available globally for all advertisers on Facebook, Instagram and Audience Network, according to Facebook.
A representative from Lexus Santa Monica says the dealership is happy with the results mentioned earlier, such as the increase in VDP views. “Enabling Facebook automotive inventory ads for prospecting provides an efficient, cost-effective way for us to expand our campaign to reach more engaged in-market shoppers,” Brad Burlingham, vice president of marketing for LAcarGUY and Lexus Santa Monica, said in a news release.
CarLotz had a Texas-sized celebration to commemorate its journey into the Lone Star State.
On Jan. 19, the used-vehicle consignment and remarketing business held a grand opening celebration for its 22,000-square-foot store in San Antonio. The celebration marked the company’s move into Texas, and the new location has the capacity to house 350 vehicles.
The company says the store, which is the company's eighth location, is situated “on a premier stretch of one of San Antonio’s most active new- and used-car corridors.”
The new location, at 15447 West Interstate 10, continues the company's expansion from 2018, which included new sites in Florida and Illinois.
CarLotz launched in 2011 in Virginia and expanded to the Old Dominion area of the state as well as North Carolina before expanding further this year.
As of last November, this Texas location employed 10 people, but the company plans to grow that number to 30.
The grand opening was the scene of activities and games such as corn-hole, balloon animal making and face-painting, in addition to a food truck and a live performance from the Claudia Taylor “Lady Bird” Johnson Marching Band and UTSA Pom Squad dance group. Guests received door prizes and experienced facility tours.
Joseph Cavazos is the San Antonio store manager.
John Foley, CarLotz director of sales and operations, said in November that the company's business model was "ideally suited for customers in Texas."
A new pilot program could help dealers integrate data science, predictive analytics and machine learning into the remarketing process to help save time and possibly increase sales margins and cash flow.
KAR Auction Services has launched a pilot program for its Data as a Service (DaaS) suite of capabilities. KAR in 2017 acquired DRIVIN, which powers the ability of the new DaaS suite to use data and technology from across the KAR platform as well as proprietary algorithms to deliver intelligence that dealers can use. The program is meant to help dealers integrate data science, predictive analytics and machine learning into the remarketing process, saving them time and possibly helping them increase sales margins and cash flow.
KAR launched the program during the Auto Intel Council news conference at NADA Show 2019.
“Every day our customers are making inventory decisions — deciding which cars will sell quickly and profitably on their lots and how to best replenish inventory,” Joe Oliveri, general manager of KAR Data as a Service, said in a news release. “We have the capabilities to help our customers make faster, better informed decisions specific to their individual rooftops, not just their state or their market.
"Our rich data coupled with predictive analytics can pinpoint which cars will sell quickly at retail, which trade-ins to keep for retail sale and which ones should go to auction along with the auction channel that would provide the fastest sale at a fair price," Oliveri continued.
KAR notes that its DaaS capabilities can offer actionable analytics for dealer customers, as well as time and cost savings.
KAR’s ADESA business unit with more than 75 physical and online auction marketplaces is participating in the pilot along with an East Coast dealer group with nine OEM franchises. KAR is also conducting a pilot program with several dealers to provide lot analysis reports with data and recommendations for dealerships and to the individual vehicle.
“Not all vehicles are created equal. Each car has a unique value curve depending on the lifecycle of that car and a host of other economic, market, and dealer behavioral data,” Oliveri said.
Through data science, we are now starting to inform dealers participating in our pilot the likelihood a specific vehicle will sell — both retail and wholesale — and when they should dispose of identified inventory.”
The company explained pilot dealer participants will see a holistic snapshot of what is in demand. KAR also mentioned the snapshot will reveal which vehicles could provide the best return on investment and how the dealers can best dispose of less desirable vehicles.
KAR insisted that data will be relevant to the dealer’s “individual rooftop.”
The company went on to note lot-specific reports containing inventory segmentation analyses are also part of what pilot dealers receive, along with purchase recommendations and remarketing advice. That information can provide dealers with goals for the best vehicle mix, ability to sell and the best disposal channel.
KAR added that it is fine-tuning the reporting and algorithms as the pilot continues, based on feedback from pilot program dealers, sales information and market reports.
