WHITE MARSH, MARYLAND (February 14, 2019) – Sheehy Nissan of White Marsh, 5361 Nottingridge Road, recently celebrated its grand opening with a party and a special performance by Lawrence Gowan from Styx.

More than 300 guests enjoyed a buffet dinner and private concert, where Gowan performed a collection of Styx’s greatest hits such as Come Sail Away, Rocking the Paradise, Mr. Robotoand Lady, as well as some of his solo classics, A Criminal Mind, Strange Animal, Moonlight Desires and Dancing on My Own Ground. 

The new, $14 million 32,000 square-foot dealership features a state-of-the-art service department with 20 service bays and four Nissan master technicians; a customer lounge with a quieter lounge for those who enjoy reading or a more low-key environment; several interactive product displays along with multiple work stations; and product information tablets through the showroom.

The dealership raffled an autographed Lawrence Gowan guitar, 4K HD TV and other memorabilia, with all proceeds ($550) donated to TSA agents working at BWI airport via $25 gift cards.

Here’s a link to photos of the new dealership:  https://spaces.hightail.com/space/C96Y6Ex3U7

For more information, visit https://www.sheehynissanofwhitemarsh.com/ or call (443) 327-3203.

Company grows team by 20 percent to better serve dealers

CHICAGO — January 24, 2019  — MAXDigital, a premium end-to-end software provider for automotive dealers, is proud to announce its growth with a 20 percent increase in its employee base, new practice areas, and Path to Purchase software.

MAXDigital has added experienced talent across a diverse set of disciplines including Performance Management, Field Operations, Product Designers, Engineers, and Data Specialists.

The company moved away from having separate Account Executives and Sales Managers towards a District Performance Management model which allows for more personalized service for dealers.

“We listened to our dealers, analyzed our business and decided to cut the number of dealers per employee by more than in half,” said MAXDigital Executive Vice President Mike Cavanaugh. “We wanted less points of contact for the dealer and more personal ownership of the dealer’s success with each employee.”

As new Executive Vice President, Cavanaugh is overseeing all field operations. Cavanaugh joined MAXDigital as Head of Strategic Partnerships in April 2018 after serving as Chief Operating Officer at CARite.

The company has also added nearly a dozen new staff to support product innovation and new software development.

“We’re designing apps for dealers that provide customers the experience they want during the car buying process, whether they’re at home or in the showroom,” said Ryan Walker, VP of Product and Engineering. “We’re continuing to staff up as we move forward, bringing on more people to keep up with demand and to continue improving our data and services.”

MAXDigital also expanded its Strategic Accounts team which focuses on large dealer groups. This greatly increases the support large dealer groups will receive and the company’s overall enterprise capability.

“Not only do we want to be known for having great technology that helps dealers make more gross profit, we want to be known for having the best service in the industry,” said Cavanaugh. “We want to truly be viewed as a partner that is vested in dealers’ long term success and growth. This new model helps us ensure every dealer we do business with feels this way.”

The company’s latest software offering, Path to Purchase, is an expansion into the trade-in process. It makes the appraisal process more collaborative in-store allowing dealers to acquire better inventory with a better margin, while improving CSI. MAXDigital piloted Path to Purchase at dealerships across the country throughout 2018. After months of testing, gathering feedback and making enhancements, the tool is being introduced to the masses at the 2019 NADA show in San Francisco, CA.

“Trade-ins are the new frontier in gross profit and MAX Path to Purchase helps us capture that additional gross that we were not capturing before,” said Johnny DeArmond, GM, Price LeBlanc Toyota. “It helps us speed up the sales process from beginning to end. Since the customer is part of the trade-in process they understand we are being transparent, which lessens the amount of negotiation.”

For more information visit www.maxdigital.com.

About MAXDigital

MAXDigital provides cloud-based software and mobile applications to the automotive industry. As the industry’s premium end-to-end software solution for automotive dealers, MAXDigital empowers thousands of dealerships across the U.S. to manage inventory, increase gross profits and sell more cars through digital retailing. Founded in 2011, the MAXDigital suite of products includes FirstLook, an inventory management platform, MAX Ad®, a best-in-class content generation and distribution system, MAX for Website®, a vehicle value and content creator for dealer websites, MAX Digital Showroom®, a real-time sales tool for desktop and mobile that builds trust and transparency with customers, and MAX Path to Purchase™, an innovative software that removes hassle for customers and provides a streamlined car shopping process. For more information visit MAXDigital.com.

Matt Weinberg, SVP of Consumer Experience at Drive Motors, presented our latest webinar. He discusses the evolution of the Internet lead and shows you how to increase your closing percentage on the leads you get from your website.

How are you working to engage your Internet leads?

The choices we make under stress (in the dealership, that's most of them) can have a big impact on our performance. How can we make sure the decisions we make while we're under the gun are the best ones?

Jay Acunzo defines The Foraging Choice and talks about how we can work on our decision-making process.

ATLANTA, February 5, 2019 – In today’s automotive market, car shoppers often find themselves deciding between the high price of a new car and the risk of unexpected repairs for a used car without a manufacturer-backed warranty. Fortunately, certified pre-owned (CPO) programs have entered the equation to give consumers an option that provides many of the benefits of a new car at a more affordable price.

In fact, certified pre-owned vehicles have become so popular they hit a record 2.7 million in sales in 2018, according to Cox Automotive economists[1]. To help car shoppers find the top choices in this fast-growing area, Autotrader’s expert editors named the 10 Best CPO Cars for 2019 and the 10 Best CPO Luxury Cars for 2019.

“As more features are added to today’s vehicles, new-car prices continue to rise, with even ‘affordable’ models costing as much as $35,000 or $40,000,” said Brian Moody, executive editor of Autotrader. “Our list of ‘good as new’ vehicles can bring the car a consumer wants into the price range they want to pay. These CPO vehicles are thoroughly inspected, covered by warranties and offer the latest designs, making it difficult to even tell the difference between their new car counterparts.”

Good as New: 10 Best CPO Cars for 2019

Good as New: 10 Best Luxury CPO Cars for 2019

*Best CPO Cars and Best Luxury CPO Cars lists are unranked and in alphabetical order

 Editors capped the budget for the 10 Must-Shop CPO Cars at $40,000, and $65,000 for the 10 Must-Shop CPO Luxury Cars, with many of the models listed available for a lot less. All included vehicles also offer the latest design, and a desirable, manufacturer-backed CPO warranty for up to 100,000 miles.

 To learn more about the top CPO models from Autotrader’s expert editors, including photos, vehicle information and available inventory, visit https://www.autotrader.com/best-cars/10-best-cpo-cars-2019-281474979901606 and https://www.autotrader.com/best-cars/10-best-cpo-luxury-cars-2019-281474979901608. 

About Autotrader

Autotrader is the most recognized third-party car listings brand, with the most engaged audience of in-market shoppers. As the foremost authority on automotive consumer insights and expert in online and mobile marketing, Autotrader makes the car shopping experience easy and fun for today's empowered consumer looking to find or sell the perfect new, used or Certified Pre-Owned car. Using technology, shopper insights and local market guidance, Autotrader's comprehensive marketing solutions guide dealers to personalized digital marketing strategies that grow brand, drive traffic and connect the online and in-store shopping experience. Autotrader is a Cox Automotive™ brand. Cox Automotive is a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises. For more information, please visit http://press.autotrader.com.

About Cox Automotive

Cox Automotive Inc. makes buying, selling, owning and using cars easier for everyone. The global company’s 34,000-plus team members and family of brands, including Autotrader®, Clutch Technologies, Dealer.com®, Dealertrack®, Kelley Blue Book®, Manheim®, NextGear Capital®, VinSolutions®, vAuto® and Xtime®, are passionate about helping millions of car shoppers, 40,000 auto dealer clients across five continents and many others throughout the automotive industry thrive for generations to come. Cox Automotive is a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises Inc., a privately-owned, Atlanta-based company with revenues exceeding $20 billion. www.coxautoinc.com

Maintaining Its Leading Spot, Galpin Ford Was Named The Number One Ford Dealer in the World For an Unprecedented 29 Years in a Row

NORTH HILLS, CA (January 31, 2019) – While some dealership groups have only one shining star in their franchise, Southern California’s Galpin Motors today announced that each one of their Galpin dealers reached a coveted top ten spot Nationally in sales for 2018. Galpin Ford led the pack, remaining the highest selling Ford dealership in the world for the 29th consecutive year.

“It is truly an honor to have each one of our Galpin dealerships finish the year so strongly in sales,” said Galpin President Beau Boeckmann. “Our Galpin Family still has the same strong beliefs in customer service and hard work as we did when the dealership opened in 1946. Through the dedication of our team and the support of the community, all of our Galpin brands continue to achieve such success. We also couldn’t be more grateful to our customers – without them, none of our achievements would be possible.”

With 30 days and 200 cars to go to keep their top spot, the Galpin team rallied together with the community to make a historic comeback. In total, Galpin Ford sold 8,128 new Ford’s, retaining its position as the number one volume Ford dealership in the world for a record 29th consecutive year, according to Ford Motor Company sales data. The dealership proved why they continue to be number one, persevering to hit their goal by end of year and pulling off an exciting victory at the last minute.

While Galpin Ford continues to break records, Galpin’s success extends to all of their franchises, making them one of the most successful dealership groups in the world. In 2018, Galpin Mazda was named the No. 1 Mazda dealership in the US for the third year in a row. Galpin Volkswagen, Galpin Jaguar and Galpin Lincoln were all named the No. 1 dealerships on the West Coast. Nationally Galpin Honda was ranked the No. 2 Honda dealership, while Galpin Jaguar reached No.3, Aston Martin No. 5, Volvo No.7 and Lincoln No.8 in each brand’s dealership rankings.

The good news didn’t end there; even Galpin’s restaurant, The Horseless Carriage, was named best breakfast in the Los Angeles Valley by the Daily News.

About Galpin Motors

Galpin Motors, home to the largest Ford volume dealership in the world, was founded in 1946 and is headquartered in Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley. Galpin is comprised of a family of quality automobile brands that include Ford, Lincoln, Honda, Mazda, Volkswagen, Volvo, Jaguar, Lotus and Aston Martin. For additional information on Galpin Motors and Galpin Auto Sports, contact Jeff Skobin, CMO & Vice President of Business Operations at 818-778-2255 / jeff@galpin.com,  visit the dealer at 15505 Roscoe Blvd., North Hills, Calif. 91343, like on Facebook atFacebook.com/GalpinMotors or visit www.galpin.com.

 About Galpin Auto Sports

Galpin Auto Sports, located at 15600 Roscoe Blvd. in Van Nuys offers customizing and personalizing services on all new and preowned vehicles including collector and classic cars. For more information on Galpin Auto Sports’ unique products and services, please email the GAS team at Gas@galpin.com, call (877)-GO-GAS-GO or visit the website at www.galpinautosports.com.

We sit down with Erica Danford to discuss elements of search that are essential for marketing success. She talks about consistency, your brand, and the optimal mix that works in today's market.

How healthy is your search strategy? How are you setting your store apart today?

45 vendor products receive awards for the best in overall dealer satisfaction on Vendor Ratings

San Francisco, CA – January 30, 2019 –DrivingSales  presented Dealer Satisfaction Awards at a special event in conjunction with the 2019 National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Convention & Expo. Awards were presented to the “Highest Rated” and “Top Rated” products.  The results were determined by the thousands of auto dealers who are part of the DrivingSales.com community.

The winners were as follows:

Chat Products and Services:

Highest Rated: CarNow MessageNow

Top Rated: Gubagoo ChatSmart

Top Rated: Dealer Car Search Website Texting

CRM – Fixed Ops:

Highest Rated: ELEAD1ONE SERVICE1ONE

Top Rated: Solera | AutoPoint Multipoint

Top Rated: Xtime Spectrum

CRM – Sales Department

Highest Rated: ELEAD1ONE CRM

Top Rated: DealerSocket CRM

Top Rated: VinSolutions Connect CRM

Desking:

Highest Rated: ELEAD1ONE Desking

Top Rated: VinSolutions Connect Desking

Top Rated: ProMax Desking

Digital Retailing:

Highest Rated: CarNow BuyNow

Top Rated: Drive Motors Online Checkout

Top Rated: Dealer Inspire Online Shopper

DMS:

Highest Rated: Reynolds and Reynolds POWER DMS

Top Rated: Auto/Mate AMPS

Top Rated: Dealertrack DMS

Inventory Merchandising:

Highest Rated: ELEAD1ONE Inventory

Top Rated: vAuto Conquest

Top Rated: VinSolutions Connect Inventory Management

Lead Management:

Highest Rated: ELEAD1ONE ILM

Top Rated: Dealer Car Search Integrated Lead Management

Top Rated: Dealer.com LeadMachine

Marketing Solutions

Highest Rated: TRADEPENDING SNAP

Top Rated: AutoLoop Essentials

Top Rated: Edmunds Ad Solutions

New Car Leads:

Highest Rated: CarGurus New Car Leads

Top Rated: TrueCar New Car Leads

Top Rated: Cars.com NewLeadsPlus

Owner Marketing:

Highest Rated: ELEAD1ONE GoldDigger

Top Rated: AutoAlert

Top Rated: automotiveMastermind

SEM/PPC:

Highest Rated: DealerLeads Digital Marketing

Top Rated: Dealer eProcess CAROi

Top Rated: DealerOn Digital Advertising Suite

SEO:

Highest Rated: Dealer.com SEO

Top Rated: DealerOn Elite SEO

Top Rated: Customer Scout SEO

Used Car Advertising:

Highest Rated: CarGurus Used Car Leads

Top Rated: Carfax Used Car Leads

Top Rated: TrueCar Used Car Leads

Websites:

Highest Rated: Dealer Car Search Responsive Websites

Top Rated: Dealer.com Websites

Top Rated: Dealer Inspire Websites

“We congratulate this year’s winners on receiving the awards.  The Dealer Satisfaction Award is an accolade we consider to be one of our industry’s most important because it comes directly from dealers,” said DrivingSales CEO and Founder Jared Hamilton. We feel especially proud that DrivingSales Vendor Ratings continues to help dealers make smart and informed decisions through thousands of peer reviews that lead them to outstanding service providers. The recipients are recognized as the best-of-the-best by the people to whom their services count the most: the dealer community.”

The DrivingSales Dealer Satisfaction Awards measure dealer satisfaction with vendor products and services, and are based on cumulative ratings tallied and verified over the calendar year (January – December) at DrivingSales.com Vendor Ratings.  DrivingSales.com Vendor Ratings is the industry’s only neutral, comprehensive vendor rating forum featuring real-time peer reviews and honest competitor comparisons, and provides dealerships with important information from actual customers who have hands-on experience using vendor products/solutions in their stores. Each rating is verified as coming from an actual dealership employee.

Full award results are available online at http://dealersatisfactionawards.com/. Award winners are showcased in the Q1 2019 issue of the DrivingSales Buyer’s Guide which, in addition to being distributed at the 2019 NADA Convention and Expo, is delivered to every new car dealership nationwide, as well as to the top 100 used car dealerships.

 
About DrivingSales

DrivingSales is a professional network serving the auto industry with dealer-driven news and information, online training, and performance data, all to enable dealers to make critical business decisions at their dealerships.  DrivingSales’ mission is to connect progressive dealership professionals to the people and information they need to maximize their success.  Founded by a third-generation car dealer, and opened up to the industry in 2008, today DrivingSales has registered users in over 50% of new car dealerships in the US and is active in several other countries around the globe.  To learn more about the DrivingSales community, training or performance analytics visit DrivingSales.com.

Instant Cash Offers Increased More Than 40 Percent Year-Over-Year in 2018

 IRVINE, Calif., January 23, 2019 – Continuing to modernize the offer process for both dealers and consumers, Kelley Blue Book today announces two new enhancements coming to its firmly established Instant Cash Offer tool, helping drive inventory and sales opportunities to dealers.

Instant Cash Offer, a tool designed to ease friction between car buyers and sellers during trade-ins and sell-for-cash offers, will debut a new admin tool for dealers and condition quiz for consumers in the first quarter of 2019. These features enhance an Instant Cash Offer tool that is growing in popularity. In fact, Kelley Blue Book saw 41 percent year-over-year growth in the number of offers generated in 2018.[1]

“The Instant Cash Offer tool helps drive inventory to dealer showrooms by aligning with consumers’ trust and confidence in the Kelley Blue Book brand,” said Colin MacGillivray, vice president and general manager of Kelley Blue Book Dealer Solutions. “Aligning with Kelley Blue Book not only helps eliminate friction in the vehicle review and offer process, but also provides dealers with a cost-effective source for inventory acquisition.”

The updated user experience and functionality of the Instant Cash Offer admin tool will help make it faster and easier than ever to assess vehicles, process offers, and track results. The updates include:

A redesigned modern user interface that improves functionality and processing capabilities.

• New Offer Overview page allows dealers to easily manage and track the state of the offer from one centralized location. The page includes customer contact information, Instant Cash Offer information, the offer price within the Kelley Blue Book Price Advisor and an offer status bar to easily reference status and next steps, as well as vehicle details.
• New Offer Assessment Review page enables the dealer to communicate with their customer about potential changes to the Instant Cash Offer and how that impacts the offer value. The page also includes a side-by-side review of the initial and updated offers, highlighting any changes.
• Improved Dashboard and Search Functionality for a more efficient layout with added functionality, such as multi-selection, tool tips and additional sorting options.
• Integrations with Digital Retailing that allows dealers to purchase an Instant Cash Offer integration with Digital Retailing, if desired.

The improved Instant Cash Offer tool also will include a new condition questionnaire for consumers. The interactive experience walks consumers around the vehicle, providing visual education cues for damage, and wear and tear, decreasing unnecessary friction during the process, and maximizing close rates.

“The new Instant Cash Offer features provide dealers and customers new insights to leverage during the offer process,” said MacGillivray. “Improvements also have been made to better match trade-in customers with dealer inventory.”

To learn more about Kelley Blue Book’s enhanced Instant Cash Offer, or receive an Instant Cash Offer demo, visit www.b2b.kbb.com, or the Kelley Blue Book’s booth (#1721S) at NADA.

About Kelley Blue Book (www.kbb.com)

Founded in 1926, Kelley Blue Book, The Trusted Resource®, is the vehicle valuation and information source trusted and relied upon by both consumers and the automotive industry. Each week, the company provides market-reflective values on its top-rated website KBB.com, including its famous Blue Book® Trade-In Values and Kelley Blue Book® Price Advisor tool, which provides a range for what consumers can reasonably expect to pay for a vehicle in their area. Car owners looking to sell immediately can also get a redeemable, transaction-ready offer with Kelley Blue BookSM Instant Cash Offer. The company also provides vehicle pricing and values through various products and services available to car dealers, auto manufacturers, finance and insurance companies, and governmental agencies. Kelley Blue Book launched its first international consumer-facing site in 2017. Kelley Blue Book is a Cox Automotive brand.

About Cox Automotive

Cox Automotive Inc. makes buying, selling and owning cars easier for everyone, while also enabling mobility services. The global company's 34,000-plus team members and family of brands, including Autotrader®, Clutch Technologies, Dealer.com®, Dealertrack®, Kelley Blue Book®, Manheim®, NextGear Capital®, VinSolutions®, vAuto® and Xtime®, are passionate about helping millions of car shoppers, 40,000 auto dealer clients across five continents and many others throughout the automotive industry thrive for generations to come. Cox Automotive is a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises Inc., a privately-owned, Atlanta-based company with revenues exceeding $20 billion. www.coxautoinc.com

Traditionally, dealerships have been siloed organizations. Dave Druzynski talks about the value of breaking down those silos and creating a more unified dealership structure.

How well do your departments work together?