New warranty specialist to help dealers maximize warranty payments, avoid charges

CRYSTAL LAKE, IL, November 14, 2011 – Automotive Compliance Consultants, the only dealership-exclusive compliance experts in the industry, has added a new warranty compliance service to help auto retailers ensure proper OEM warranty payments and avoid charges due to warranty claim oversights.

Heading up this new service is Ed Gibbons, as warranty audit expert. He brings to Automotive Compliance Consultant his deep experience in dealership warranty administration and auditing, as well as general service operations.

“Warranty compliance is designed to make sure dealerships receive every dollar due them from OEMs for the warranty work they perform – and avoid being charged for otherwise incorrect or incomplete warranty claims and paperwork they file with OEM,” says Terry Dortch, president, Automotive Compliance Consultants. “We realized this area of opportunity was a need now fully addressed in the marketplace.”

Gibbons has spent 20 years in dealerships and with 13 manufacturers, including Mercedes Benz, BMW, Ranger Rover, GM, Ford, Chrysler, Alfa Romeo, Peugeot, Suzuki, Hyundai, Honda, Isuzu and Subaru. 

Gibbon’s dealership-specific experience includes service advisor for a Mercedes Benz and BMW dealership. He later became service manager for the BMW store. He eventually was a service director, overseeing seven car lines, a body shop and parts department. He most recently operated an independent repair facility.

Automotive Compliance Consultants specializes in dealership compliance, providing in-dealership consultations and analysis, compliance audits, and training, and offers solutions for all compliance needs. The Automotive Compliance Consultants staff has extensive experience in the retail automotive industry and focuses exclusively on dealership compliance issues.

For more information, contact Terry Dortch at terry_dortch@compliantnow.com or visit www.compliantnow.com.

Press Contact: Jim Leman

Leman Public Relations

jim@lemanpublicrelations.com

847-543-1090/847-840-0784

CLIFTON PARK, N.Y. – November 14, 2011 – Auto/Mate Dealership Systems (http://www.automate.com) announced today it has entered into a joint marketing agreement with Constellation Automotive Software, developers of the Management System Plus Buy Here - Pay Here software for auto dealerships (MSP). The agreement allows both companies to promote each other’s dealership management solutions to their respective customers. For auto dealers using Auto/Mate’s dealership management system (DMS), the addition of Constellation’s MSP Software allows them opportunities to finance their own customers.

“As special finance lending sources have dried up in recent years, many franchised dealerships have lost market share of this growing segment of the population,” said Mike Esposito, President and CEO of Auto/Mate. “Constellation Auto’s BHPH solution makes it possible for them to transition into this market.”

 “Once a dealership has lost the ability to service their customers by not being able to arrange financing for them, it is difficult, if not impossible to ever recover their business,” said Al Mosher, Business Development Manager of Constellation Automotive Software. “BHPH software allows dealers to service these customers so as their credit improves, they will remain loyal customers who will purchase more vehicles in the future.”

An additional advantage of BHPH software is that it allows dealers to retail cars they take in trade that they would normally wholesale. This adds significantly to the bottom line of used cars departments as they can make more deals and expand their customer reach.

The MSP Buy Here - Pay Here solution allows dealers to set up loans in-house, eliminating the need to outsource loans to third-party vendors. The ability to successfully manage these loans requires a great amount of flexibility in setting up the initial finance contract; including down payments and timing of payments based on when customers receive their paychecks (i.e. weekly, bi-weekly, etc.). The MSP Buy Here - Pay Here solution greatly improves collection performance while reducing associated paperwork and administrative functions.

Auto/Mate’s F&I Desking and Billing Module offers dealerships a user-friendly “Deals Screen” featuring drop-down menus for program selection. There is no limit to the number of contracts and forms that can be entered and no limit to the number of deals that can be stored on the “open deal” file, so that a salesperson can sit with a customer and enter in as many variables as needed to reach a deal that satisfies the customer.

The joint marketing agreement is effective immediately. For additional information, please contact your sales representative from Auto/Mate or Constellation Automotive Software.

About Auto/Mate

Auto/Mate Dealership Systems is a leading provider of dealership management system (DMS) software to retail automotive dealerships. Its Automotive Management Productivity Suite (AMPS) is auser-friendly, feature-rich dealership management software in use by more than 700 auto dealers nationwide. Originally developed by Wang Laboratories in the 1970s, Auto/Mate’s DMS solution has years of experience and reliability built in. Auto/Mate offers the best customer service in the industry, with live people answering the phone and minimal hold times for technical support. The company received top satisfaction rankings in NADA’s most recent dealership management system survey. Auto/Mate’s employees have more than 300 years of combined experience working in auto dealerships – the foundation of its “designed by car people, for car people” slogan. For more information, visit www.automate.com and follow us on www.twitter.com/AutoMateDMS.

About Constellation Automotive Software

Constellation Auto is a leading provider of software to independent automotive dealerships. Their products are flexible enough to meet the needs of any single or multi-lot dealership. Constellation Automotive Software is a part of the Constellation Dealership Software Group which provides a suite of market leading software products designed specifically for dealerships. Over 1,500 dealerships across North America rely on one their products to make their dealership more successful. They are a wholly-owned subsidiary of Constellation Software Inc., the premier international provider of vertical market software, with offices and customers in over 30 countries, generating consolidated revenues in excess of US $600 million. Publicly traded and comprised of over 14,000 customers, CSI has a mission to acquire, manage and build an exceptional and diverse portfolio of companies, selling software products to help customers achieve their goals and objectives. For more information, visit www.constellationauto.com

# # #

(Oak Brook, IL) November 11, 2011 – vAuto announces the release today of Provision, a powerful used vehicle inventory management engine that will eliminate the pain of finding used vehicles and optimizing inventories for profitability for auto dealers.

“This is a business intelligence break-through for the automotive industry, made possible through our alliance with AutoTrader.com and Manheim,” says Dale Pollak, vAuto founder. “Provision brings game-changing insights and tools to help dealers efficiently and effectively know what vehicles to stock, what to pay and where to find them—all with a real-time, precision approach.”

The Provision engine is based on the three “W’s” of astute used vehicle management:

What cars should I stock? Provision starts with a dealership’s own strategy, using its targets for used vehicle inventory value, age, turn rates and gross profits as foundational parameters. Next, Provision applies a seven-point, market supply/demand-based diagnostic test to all available used vehicles. The diagnostic measures indexes like “Demand” and “Interest,” which distill real-time clickstream data from AutoTrader.com, an industry first.

“Dealers haven’t seen this data before, and Provision ensures it’s front and center for their vehicle sourcing and decision-making process,” Pollak says.

Provision sifts this market intelligence to find and recommend the “right” vehicles for a dealership, down to equipment and trim—even if a store lacks history with a particular make or model. The Provision report card assigns an A-F letter grade to individual vehicles to help dealers make the “pursue or pass” decision.

What should I pay? For vehicles that make the grade, Provision applies an age-old axiom: “you make your money when you acquire a unit.” With this in mind, Provision recommends a wholesale acquisition price for each potential vehicle based on:  a) where the vehicle needs to be priced to assure the maximum and most immediate Internet response; b) reconditioning/other expenses needed to retail the unit; and c) a dealer’s gross profit goal. Provision also flexes to meet individual dealer preferences, allowing them to create “what if” scenarios such as, “If I pay $X for a vehicle, what retail price should I ask to make $Y in gross and sell in Z number of days.”

“Some dealers call this ‘dialing for dollars’ and I heartily agree,” Pollak says.

Where can I get the car? Provision answers this question by going straight to the industry’s top wholesale vehicle sources. The Provision engine links with the industry’s top auction outlets and lets dealers quickly drill down to run lists and lanes for the vehicles they want—another industry first. Provision allows dealers to set up automated proxy bids and/or buy outright with the system’s “click-to-purchase” functionality. Provision will also ease “get it home” logistics, with the eventual addition of automatic transport scheduling with dealer-approved providers for maximum acquisition efficiency.

“Provision goes a long way to eliminating the ongoing pain of used vehicle sourcing and management challenges at dealerships,” Pollak says. “We’ve built a bridge between the top retail (AutoTrader.com) and wholesale marketplaces and made it easy to cross.”

Consolidation = Collaboration = Innovation

The release of Provision is the first vAuto major product launch since the company’s acquisition a year ago by AutoTrader.com.

“When we acquired vAuto just over a year ago, it was with the promise that we’d leverage the strengths of AutoTrader.com and its family of companies to benefit dealers,” says Chip Perry, AutoTrader.com CEO.

“Provision brings AutoTrader.com, Manheim and vAuto to the same table,” Perry says. “It’s a partial fulfillment of our initial promise. I say ‘partial’ because there is more innovation and dealer benefits to come.”
 

“We’re excited to further our commitment to dealers and other wholesale customers through Manheim’s collaboration with vAuto and AutoTrader.com on the Provision engine,” says Sandy Schwartz, Manheim president.

“It’s a perfect blend of our people and respective market intelligence, technologies and resources to create a win-win for everyone,” Schwartz says. “Provision will be a transformative force for the industry.”

For Pollak, the Provision release is particularly profound. “I put my company, people and reputation on the line with the decision to sell to AutoTrader.com,” Pollak says. “I’m excited about the synergies we’ve created and delighted that 11-11-11 will forever mark a new beginning for the automotive industry.”

About vAuto

Headquartered in the Chicago suburb of Oak Brook, IL, vAuto also maintains a research and development center in Austin, TX. vAuto’s innovative “Live Market View” technology allows dealers to manage their used-vehicle inventories based on actual supply-and-demand for their specific market. Today, more than 3,500 dealerships across the country use vAuto’s pricing, appraisal, stocking and merchandising systems. Dale Pollak, vAuto’s founder, is the author of two books featuring best practices and strategies for the used car department, Velocity: From the Front Line to the Bottom Line and Velocity 2.0: Paint, Pixels & Profitability. vAuto is a wholly owned subsidiary of AutoTrader.com. Additional information about vAuto is available at www.vauto.com.

About AutoTrader.com

Atlanta-based AutoTrader.com, created in 1997, is the Internet's ultimate automotive marketplace and consumer information website. AutoTrader.com aggregates in a single location millions of new cars, used cars and certified pre-owned cars from thousands of auto dealers and private sellers and is a leading online resource for auto dealers, individuals and manufacturers to advertise and market their vehicles to in-market shoppers. The company also provides a robust suite of software tools for dealers and manufacturers to help them manage and market their vehicle inventory and display advertising on the Internet. AutoTrader.com continues to grow key business metrics, including revenue, profitability and site traffic. Today, AutoTrader.com attracts more than 15 million unique monthly visitors who utilize the site to review descriptions, photos and videos of vehicles for sale; research and compare vehicles; review pricing and specials; and read auto-related content like buying and selling tips and editorial coverage of major auto shows and automotive trends. AutoTrader.com operates two other auto marketing brands, AutoTraderClassics.com and AutoTraderLatino.com. AutoTrader.com also owns used vehicle management software company vAuto, Kelley Blue Book (Kbb.com), HomeNet Automotive, a leading provider of online inventory management and merchandising solutions for the automotive retail industry and VinSolutions, a leading provider of end-to-end solution platforms for dealers.  AutoTrader.com is a majority-owned subsidiary of Cox Enterprises. Providence Equity Partners is a 25 percent owner of the company and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers is also an investor. For more information, please visit www.autotrader.com.

About Manheim

Manheim is the world’s leading provider of vehicle remarketing services. Through its 118 worldwide wholesale operating locations, Manheim impacts every stage of a used vehicle’s life cycle, helping commercial sellers and automobile dealers maximize the full value of their vehicles. Drawing from its auction transaction volume, Manheim Consulting publishes the annual Used Car Market Report, the definitive source of data for the used car industry. Manheim Consulting offers a wide range of services including custom analytics, business optimization and macro economic analysis. Manheim is the online vehicle remarketing leader, connecting buyers and sellers to the world’s largest, most comprehensive wholesale marketplace through its extensive in-lane and online offerings. Manheim.com receives nearly 900,000 visits each week. Headquartered in Atlanta, Manheim is a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises, a leading communications, media and automotive services company. For more information, please visit www.manheim.com.

Media Contacts:

Lance Helgeson

vAuto

Phone: +1.708.613.5816

E-mail: lhelgeson@vauto.com

Renowned Internet veteran and dealership training expert to head the world’s premiere, interactive automotive educational platform

Salt Lake City, UT - November 10, 2011 - Auto industry veteran and digital media expert Shaun Raines has been named Executive Director of DrivingSales University (DSU), the world’s premiere, interactive automotive educational platform. Raines will oversee DSU, which provides the industry with vendor-neutral structured learning on digital marketing, Internet processes and dealership organizational structure – all designed to maximize dealership success in the rapidly evolving digital age. Raines’ mandate also includes further expansion of DSU’s ongoing curriculum development, as well as building out the University’s dealer services center.

“We are excited to welcome Shaun to the team as we expand access to DSU curriculum in dealerships across the country and fill a growing education need,” said Jared Hamilton, president and founder of DrivingSales, which owns and operates DrivingSales University. “Although 90% of dealership customers are online, most dealerships have less than 10% of their staff trained to handle this massive opportunity. Furthermore, most of the ‘education’ offered to dealers today comes from vendors with a bias towards selling their products. DSU is completely vendor-agnostic and provides on-demand access to results-based training and the authoritative data, trends and best practices that will enable dealerships to win in the complex digital universe. Shaun’s depth of dealership process knowledge, true passion for innovation and, most importantly, his track record of integrity that always puts dealers first, are a perfect fit with our mission.”

Launched earlier this year, DrivingSales University is a NADA University Partner, and offers a fully interactive online training platform with curriculum available 24/7 to subscribing dealership professionals. DSU instructors, including a wide array of world-renowned experts, keep tabs on the market and filter pertinent data and knowledge into the DSU courses, giving dealers access to the most up-to-date profit building information. DSU offers hundreds of classes for all dealership personnel - from strategy lessons for dealer principals to "hand-to-hand" combat instruction to improve staff skills. DSU curriculum pivots around the three key operational pillars of a dealership: 1. Marketing – how to increase walk in, phone and web traffic, 2. Process – how to handle and close that traffic, and 3. Structure – how to structure the dealership to scale, including hiring, testing, compensation, job responsibility, etc.

DSU’s interactive platform is specifically structured to enable dealerships to get the information they need in a digital marketplace that can demand a change in business or marketing practices overnight -- one in which Google’s algorithms can shift with no warning, sending shockwaves through a marketing strategy, or a new app can rise up and change the way consumers receive content, demanding new dealership process.

“I am thrilled to join DrivingSales, and to use my experience and knowledge to help car dealers not only grow their business, but save millions of dollars lost every year on the wrong products and the wrong processes,” said Raines. “There is a huge need in our industry for the sort of comprehensive, cross-department online training that DSU offers, as evidenced by the long list of dealers waiting to enroll. I look forward to helping the thousands of dealerships across the country who are looking for a vendor-neutral, interactive educational platform that helps them stay up to date on the latest developments in digital media, set up the right processes and structures inside their dealerships and manage their resources for greater profitability.”

Raines is a 20-year automotive industry veteran who has dedicated the last 13 years to helping dealers effectively use the Internet to attract, acquire and retain customers. Previously, Raines spent almost eight years with Reynolds & Reynolds, working with teams that launched and supported ground-breaking products, such as CarPoint.com (Microsoft), CarsDirect’s Connect and Yahoo! Autos. Shortly after Reynolds & Reynolds bought their first web site company, Automark, Raines was promoted to Senior Manager, Trainer and Retention/Renewal Specialist. He later served as Business Development Manager for Reynolds Web Solutions. Shaun eventually left Reynolds to start his own automotive Internet business, Dealer Advisor LLC, and in June of 2009, joined ReachLocal as their Director of Automotive. A sought after speaker on digital media and process, he has presented at Digital Dealer Conferences, OEM dealer events, the DrivingSales Executive Summit and multiple industry conferences.

About DrivingSales.com
DrivingSales is the auto industry's fastest-growing, most influential trade media property focused on delivering actionable profit-building information to auto retailers and industry professionals. DrivingSales' information network includes flagship property DrivingSales.com (http://www.drivingsales.com), the world's largest car dealer social network where thousands of dealership professionals collaborate and share best practices in a 20-group style setting; DrivingSalesTV (http://www.drivingsalestv.com), an interactive web channel which helps car dealers and auto professionals keep tabs on their industry and emerging technologies 24/7; DrivingSales University, an on-demand training platform where dealerships learn the latest web strategies from top e-commerce experts; DrivingSales Executive Summit (DSES) the industry's leading conference where progressive dealers collaborate and learn from world renowned experts, and DrivingSales Dealership Innovation Guide, a quarterly free publication featuring case studies of the industry's most innovative dealerships, solutions and best practices. Approximately, one in every four dealerships in the United States has a registered member in the DrivingSales community.

DrivingSales encourages innovation and excellence in the industry with its annual Dealer Satisfaction and Innovation Cup Awards, whose winners are determined solely by the dealer community. Founded by Jared Hamilton, a third generation car dealer, DrivingSales won a “Top 25 Under Five” award from the Utah Valley Entrepreneurial Forum (UVEF), was named a 2011 Fast 50 “Emerging Eight” company by Utah Business magazine, and received an Interactive Media Award (IMA) in 2011 for Outstanding Achievement in the ‘Automobile’ website category. Additionally, DrivingSales was named one of ten social media gambits for 2009 by Automotive News and one of the Top 10 Companies to Watch in 2010 by Auto Success Magazine.

DrivingSales Media Relations:
Melanie Webber (melanie(at)mwebbcom(dot)com), mWEBB Communications, 424.603.4340
Angela Jacobson (angela(at)mwebbcom(dot)com), mWEBB Communications, 714.454.8776

# # #

(San Rafael, CA – November 8, 2011) –AdVantageTec, a location-based marketing solution provider for the retail automotive industry has partnered with the California Coastal Commission to promote the new Whale Tail^® Ecoplate.  AdVantageTec’s automotive dealership TV network will display the new specialty license plate in showrooms and waiting areas throughout California, visually showing the new design on TVs while describing the benefits to our environment.

The California Coastal Commission first produced the original Whale Tail^® Ecoplate in 1997.  It was among the most popular specialty license plates ever sold.  Nearly 200,000 had been purchased, raising $60.2 million for coastal conservation and environmental efforts.  To date, 433 Whale Tail^® grants have been awarded for programs implemented in every California coastal county and many inland watersheds.  The new Whale Tail^® Ecoplate design is the result of a public contest in which two winners were selected to collaborate efforts and freshen the design while maintaining the popular Whale Tail^® theme.  The new image features a sunny sky with puffy clouds and a humpback whale tail splashing droplets of water into a deep blue sea. It is very evocative of the California coast where humpbacks are frequently seen during migration season.

“Our dealers have had great success using our narrowcasting solution on their existing TVs.  We resize live TV to 85% of the screen and use the remaining 15% to inform and engage their in-store customers,” said AdVantageTec CEO and Co-founder Thomas Jung.  “It is a testament to our automotive dealer network across California—they are helping raise awareness of the new Whale Tail^® Ecoplate at the point of sale and service to the benefit of our communities.  Collectively, we hope to help the California Coastal Commission achieve its goals and further help preserve our coasts and watersheds.”

A portion of the funds raised by the plate are awarded in grants to local efforts throughout the state, in the areas of marine education and recreation, stewardship, and habitat restoration. The plate also funds the annual California Coastal Cleanup Day and the year round Adopt-A-Beach Programs, both of which attract tens of thousands of volunteers. In addition, Whale Tail^® funds support coastal preservation, coastal access pathways, wildlife protection, and pollution prevention.

“This year we had more than 68,000 volunteers on California Coastal Cleanup Day working together to collect over 700,000 pounds of trash and recyclables from our beaches, lakes and waterways; this is partially made possible by the Whale Tail^® Ecoplate,“ said California Coastal Commission Director of Public Programs Christiane Parry. “We are excited to showcase the new design visually on automobile dealership TVs to help raise awareness of the WhaleTail^® Ecoplate and its benefits to California.”

AdVantageTec has deployed a very low cost digital signage solution allowing for real time messaging on a TV screen while keeping existing TV programs running.  The solution allows for highly targeted messaging quickly and easily to its entire dealership network.  It is also ideal for businesses with waiting areas looking to frame live TV with relevant engaging messages to educate and inform customers of service offerings and products.

About AdVantageTec, Inc.

AdVantageTec’s patent-pending technology merges TV and the Internet allowing automobile dealerships and OEMs to interact and appropriately message to in-store customers in waiting areas and showrooms in real time – 85% of the screen is live TV allowing retail customers to continue to watch any channel anytime, the remaining 15% is an Internet accessible display for advertising that informs and engages dealership customers to take action on sales and service offers.  The system helps car dealerships improve the customer service experience (CSI) and customer engagement on special promotions and offers.  AdVantageTec provides the first and only live TV narrowcasting system to the automotive retail market.

AdVantageTec, Inc. is headquartered at 1163 Francisco Blvd, San Rafael, CA 94901.  For more information, please visit www.AdVantageTec.com, contact info@advantagetec.com, or call 877.772.8832 ext. 212.

About California Coastal Commission

The California Coastal Commission is an independent, quasi-judicial state agency. The mission of the Commission is to protect, conserve, restore, and enhance environmental and human-based resources of the California coast and ocean for environmentally sustainable and prudent use by current and future generations.

For more information about the Whale Tail^® Ecoplate, please visit www.ecoplates.com, a dedicated website by the California Coastal Commission.

Fans to Pick Their Favorite Vehicle in Cars.com's Shoppers' Choice Award

CHICAGO - Cars.com, the premier online resource for buying and selling new and used cars, today announced that voting has opened for its Shoppers' Choice Award, an honor bestowed to the make/model that receives the most votes in the site's annual popularity poll.  Cars.com determined the ten finalists for the award by looking at shoppers' actions on the site that indicated interest in new vehicles, including searching for vehicles, sending inquiries to dealers on availability and most importantly, filling out a positive consumer review. The winner will be determined by votes from Cars.com's Facebook fans.

"While the advice of experts is a key part of the car buying experience, our research shows that car shoppers place a high value on the opinions of other shoppers," said Patrick Olsen, Cars.com editor-in-chief. "This award is one more way that we can help car shoppers make confident decisions."

Shoppers' Choice finalists (in alphabetical order):

* Audi Q5
* Dodge Challenger
* GMC Terrain
* Honda Accord
* Honda Pilot
* Kia Soul
* Ram 1500
* Subaru Outback
* Toyota Highlander
* Toyota Sienna

Voting for the award began on Nov. 1 and runs through Nov. 30, and visitors to Cars.com's Facebook page can vote for their favorite finalist there. The winning vehicle will be announced along with the Cars.com editors' awards at their fourth annual awards night on Tuesday, Jan. 10, in Detroit.

About Cars.com

Cars.com was recently named the "Best Overall Customer Experience" by Keynote Systems, the leader in internet and mobile cloud marketing. Cars.com is an online destination for car shoppers that offers information from consumers and experts to help buyers formulate opinions on what to buy, where to buy and how much to pay for a car. With price listings, side-by-side comparison tools, photo galleries, videos, unbiased editorial content and a large selection of new- and used-car inventory, Cars.com puts millions of car buyers in control of their shopping process with the information they need to make confident buying decisions.

Launched in June 1998, Cars.com is a division of Classified Ventures LLC, which is owned by leading media companies, including Belo (NYSE: BLC), Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI), The McClatchy Company (NYSE: MNI), Tribune Company and The Washington Post Company (NYSE: WPO).

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:               Erin Mays
                              312.601.5547
 

Doug Van Sach named vice president strategy and analytics; Robert Silberman heads CRM and product strategy for automotive marketing leader
 

Daytona Beach, FL – November 7th, 2011 – DMEautomotive, the industry leader in science-based, results-driven automotive marketing, today announced two key appointments to further bolster its expanding Strategy and Analytics team.  Consumer behavior and data analytics expert Doug Van Sach has been named Vice President, Strategy and Analytics; and product marketing veteran Robert Silberman has been tapped as Director, Product and CRM Strategy.

Van Sach, Silberman and the teams they lead are charged with further enhancing the science-based marketing programs and products the company provides for its multi-billion dollar clients, as well as for innovating new approaches to customer retention and loyalty for the auto industry - based on the company’s panoramic view into the automotive sales and service market.

“Understanding in a deep, meaningful, and actionable way how today’s service and repair consumer behaves – and offering the right products and programs to meet that behavior – is key to our clients’ success, which is why we are so pleased to announce Doug and Rob’s appointments,” said DMEautomotive’s President and CEO Mike Walther.   “Doug’s ability to take our massive repository of automotive consumer data and turn it into actionable, results-oriented marketing science combined with Rob’s track record of driving multi-million dollar sales growth through new product development, will enable us to take automotive marketing exactly where it needs to go for our clients in 2012 – and beyond.”

DMEautomotive provides turnkey marketing for automobile dealers and aftermarket franchises nationwide, using cutting-edge science to determine the right time to market to the right customer, via the right medium, in order to increase yield, customer conversion and retention.  DMEa consolidates multiple programs and marketing efforts in one place, increasing ROI and reducing marketing cost.

“Every product and every program DMEa develops will have, as its foundation, our ongoing research, analytics and program tests with automotive consumers – and, as its mission, the industry’s best, most effective real world results for auto retailers – from acquisition to retention to ROI,” said Van Sach.

Added Silberman, “I am thrilled to join the DMEa team. The company’s dedication to marketing science means that my team will have the tools to develop, test and prove what we believe to be the industry’s most innovative products and programs to help auto retailers leverage today’s huge service and aftermarket revenue opportunities.”

Van Sach joined the DMEautomotive team in 2008 as director for the Strategy and Analytics division, and has extensive experience developing and implementing direct marketing and digital strategies at OEMs, automotive dealer groups, and aftermarket chains.  Among his many achievements are the dramatic ROI improvement of client communications programs; service customer segmentation approaches and predictive models for several of DMEa’s multi-billion dollar clients; and DMEa’s just-launched hassle-free customer loyalty program.  Prior to joining DMEa, Van Sach established the CRM insights and analysis function at Dick’s Sporting Goods and the online marketing strategy for Galyans Sports and Outdoor.  An information technology management graduate of  Miami University (Oxford, OH), Van Sach has an MBA in marketing and strategic analysis from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business.

Silberman joins the DMEa team from Pilot Pen Corporation of America where he served in multiple marketing roles, including, most recently, Vice President of Marketing. He was responsible for driving the industry’s highest sales growth and share gain in the last ten years and leading Pilot to a #3 market share. In addition, Silberman spearheaded the establishment of Pilot’s new BeGreeN recycled product line as Keep America Beautiful’s first “Official Sponsor,” as well as the development and launch of the world’s first pen made from recycled plastic bottles. Previously, Silberman served in product management roles for Esselte Pendaflex Corporation. A graduate of Adelphi University, Silberman holds an MBA from NYU, and a Masters from Columbia University.

About DMEautomotive

DMEautomotive is the industry leader in science-based, results-driven automotive marketing, and provides turnkey marketing to the biggest and most innovative automotive organizations, from vehicle manufacturers to automobile dealerships - including AutoNation, Lithia Automotive, MileOne, Larry H. Miller and the Van Tuyl Automotive Group - to many of the largest aftermarket companies in the U.S.  DMEa’s uniquely panoramic view of the complete automotive sales and service market, combined with its cutting-edge, science-based marketing programs, increases customer yield, conversion and retention.

DMEa does not take marketing performance on faith, and each product and service is measured by a simple, precise scientific approach: Is it true? Prove it. Will it work? Test it. Does it generate results? Show it!  The DMEa product suite includes data driven, multi-channel customer acquisition and retention marketing programs; best-in-class campaign reporting; data management and analytics via the Red Rocket Portal; auto-focused Customer Interaction Center solutions, and complete on-site mail and email fulfillment services. Headquartered in Daytona Beach, Florida, DMEautomotive also has major operations in Jacksonville, Florida.

Contact:

Media Relations

Melanie Webber, mWEBB Communications, (424) 603-4340, melanie@mwebbcom.com

PCG Digital Marketing is pleased to announce that Dave Page of Dealer e Process will be a presenter at the 2012 Digital Marketing Strategies Conference February 1st – 3rd in at the Monte Carlo Hotel Las Vegas prior to the 2012 NADA convention. The event is timed so that dealers attending NADA can arrive two days early to join this important conference.

Dave Page is the director and co-owner of Dealer e Process, a 2011 Automotive Website Award winner in the Technology category for Best Fixed Ops Website Marketing Software.  The title of Dave’s presentation is “Fixed Ops Strategies – Engaging & Driving Fixed Ops Traffic. ”

This presentation will assist car dealers that are looking for new ways to increased Fixed Ops revenue.  Dealer e Process recently conducted a conversion and engagement study that discovered how dealers could increase service leads by 300% by creating a live and interactive environment online. Dave Page will share results from this study and the strategies dealers need to achieve these results.

Attendees of the 2012 Digital Marketing Strategies Conference will fine-tune their social media, advertising, customer service, and Internet marketing strategies for the year ahead.  The workshops and keynote speakers will demonstrate how dealerships can create a powerful digital marketing roadmap and refine their automotive marketing and operations plans for 2012.

The conference is designed for dealer managers and Internet sales professionals who want to stay ahead of the competition. It is an intimate event that is limited to 150 dealership employees.  This allows the instructors and speakers to work hands-on with dealers in attendance.

With over 20 different marketing workshops specifically targeted to the needs of dealerships, DMSC is laser focused on winning strategies.  DMSC topics will include workshops on SEO, SEM, Social Media, Lead Management, BDC Process, Reputation Management, Automotive Advertising, Marketing Strategy, Fixed Operations, and the latest insights into Google.

The conference has a variety of educational formats including workshops, top industry panel discussions, and general sessions.  The variety of presentation styles and the world-class educators makes DMSC the best investment for dealers who are attending NADA.  

For more information about the conference and registration, visit www.digitalmarketingstrategies.org/registration

The Digital Marketing Strategies Conference is created and executed by First Class Educators, the new sister company of PCG Digital Marketing. First Class Educators will take ownership of and build upon PCG Digital Marketing’s widely recognized educational events.
 

VinSolutions, a leading developer of web-based CRM and ILM complete dealership marketing solution software, is a silver award winner in the 2011 Summit Marketing Effectiveness Award competition in the Business to Business Product category for their “Be One with VIN” campaign. Winners are chosen from an international pool of finalists through a stringent evaluation criteria and blind judging process rewarding only those whose work exemplifies the best in its class.

Results of the campaign to VinSolutions include social media accomplishments such as substantial increases in Facebook ‘Likes’ on http://www.facebook.com/VinSolutions and active Twitter followers to http://www.twitter.com/VinSolutions. VinSolutions distributed more than 10,000 wristbands as part of a contest and received over 15,000 new and unique opt-in users, making “Be One with VIN” a household phrase in the automotive industry.

The Summit MEA is unique because it reinforces that the goal of marketing communications is to change, influence or reinforce a target audience's knowledge, attitudes, or beliefs. Using this premise as a basis for its judging criteria, the competition is becoming a true arbiter of marketing communication effectiveness. During the 2011 event, judges analyzed submissions and selected only 9% to receive the top spots.

Mike Dullea, VinSolutions’ President said, “‘Be One’ is more than just a catchy phrase; it describes our product, sums up our philosophy and defines company culture.” He added, “VinSolutions replaces multiple automotive dealers with one system. They become one with VIN through our technology and singular commitment to make sure they are, in turn, one with their customers.”

“Distinguishing between creativity and effectiveness is a difficult task so winning a Summit MEA is a significant achievement”, said Jocelyn Luciano, Executive Director for the Summit International Awards. “The combination of experienced judges and our tough criteria ensures that only deserving submissions receive Summit MEA recognition.”

About VinSolutions (http://www.vinsolutions.com) 

VinSolutions, headquartered in Overland Park, KS, consolidates data from all areas of an automotive dealership helping dealers to find, sell and keep customers more profitably with their fully-integrated “Dealership Marketing System”. VinSolutions’ all-in-one internal management and external sales and service marketing solution platform includes search marketing, online advertising, social media marketing tools, mobile marketing, websites, ILM (Internet Lead Management), CRM (Customer Relationship Management), sales force automation, desking, appraisal, finance, used vehicle marketing and market pricing, inventory management and distribution, window stickers, automated video tours, loyalty management and targeted marketing with email, text, direct mail and telemarketing services. This cloud-based system is available for large dealer groups and individual dealerships from anywhere an Internet connection is available and can be viewed from any smart phone including blackberry, Google DROID and iPhone. VinSolutions’ Dealership Marketing System is installed by their implementation experts and supported by best practice retail strategy consultation, process training and customer care. 

VinSolutions was named on the Inc. 500|5000 in 2010 and 2011 and has received many industry accolades including the Automotive Website Award for Best Integrated Website Platform and the Driving Sales Innovation Cup for VinLens™. VinSolutions is certified by GM, Ford, Chrysler, Honda, Hyundai, Acura, Mazda, Toyota, Subaru, Volkswagen, Audi, Volvo, Kia, Saab, Mitsubishi, Infiniti and Nissan and is ADP, Reynolds & Reynolds and DealerTrack DMS certified. Other alliances include, but are not limited to, Kelley Blue Book, Black Book, Galves, NADA, CARFAX, R.L. Polk, AIS Rebates, KnowMe, AutoSoft, Arkona, Autodata and RouteOne. Founded in 2006, VinSolutions became a subsidiary of AutoTrader.com in 2011. 

About the Summit Awards

The Summit International Awards (SIA) organization is dedicated to furthering excellence in the communications industry. It administers three distinguished award competitions throughout the year with the goal of raising the awareness of companies and individuals who have the creative and marketing talent to go beyond the ordinary. Throughout its seven-teen-year history, the organization has established itself as one of the premier arbiters of communication excellence. Using stringent evaluation criteria and blind judging processes, its competitions reward only those firms whose work exemplifies the best in its class. Additional information about the Summit International Awards and its programs is available at http://www.summitawards.com.

# # #

VinSolutions is a leading developer of Internet-based desking, automotive CRM and ILM software; consolidating data to enhance external marketing and internal management with one integrated platform. Find, sell and keep customers more profitably.

CLIFTON PARK, N.Y. – October 31, 2011 – Auto/Mate Dealership Systems (http://www.automate.com) announced today that long-time customer Bleecker Automotive Group estimates it has reduced its technology costs up to $200,000 annually. The cost reductions are a result of having switched from a legacy dealership management system (DMS) provider to Auto/Mate’s DMS; along with paring unnecessary third-party vendors and using the modules within Auto/Mate’s DMS for the previously outsourced functions. The annual savings are tabulated from the group’s four General Motors and Chrysler dealerships in North Carolina.

Controller John Riley says he “constantly” reviews the group’s technology vendors to ensure they are achieving maximum value. In 2003 the auto group switched from a legacy DMS provider to Auto/Mate’s DMS, Automotive Management Productivity Suite (AMPS). Riley says the monthly maintenance fees are 80% lower than the previous DMS vendor’s fees. “When doing cost comparisons, you have to be careful,” he says. “Initially, legacy DMS providers may come in with a monthly fee that’s competitive, but in my experience their goal is to raise that monthly fee over time by introducing new product enhancements and charging for every upgrade.”

In addition to flat monthly fees, switching to a non-legacy DMS provider reduced costs in other areas:

Ÿ Printing: Bleecker Auto Group uses off-the-shelf printers, store bought paper and pays no click charges.

Ÿ Memory: In the six years they’ve been using Auto/Mate’s DMS, Riley says they’ve never once had to upgrade or add memory to the in-house server. He recalls being in previous positions where the DMS vendors would regularly tell the dealership they needed more memory, then charge quite a lot extra for it.

Outsourcing Some Functions, Bringing Others In-House

Riley has achieved significant savings for Bleecker Automotive Group by evaluating whether it’s more or less expensive to outsource a function than to do it in-house. For instance, Riley sub-contracts all the auto group’s IT work to an outside firm because it’s less expensive than hiring a full-time IT person. Recently, he realized the auto group could save another $1,800 per month by letting its CRM vendor go and using Auto/Mate’s CRM, which requires no additional costs. “I think it’s a great product and has everything we need,” said Riley. “One great feature is the driver’s license scanning mechanism; to capture the customer’s information you just swipe the driver’s license.”

Bleecker Automotive also used to outsource sales and service functions to third-party vendors, but now use the modules within Auto/Mate’s DMS for those same functions.  Riley notes that many ideas come from their employees. “We really try to empower our people, and in our monthly meetings we’re always encouraging our team leaders to go back to their people and get ideas on how to save, how to do things more efficiently,” says Riley. “We view change as a good thing here, we really want to keep our employees interested and enjoying their work environment.”

For Bleecker Automotive Group, this vigilance and commitment to controlling costs has paid off. Riley estimates that the auto group saves up to $200,000 annually using Auto/Mate’s DMS (compared with their previous legacy DMS fees), along with reviewing other vendors’ performance on a continual basis. “What I always revert back to is this basic principle: if you can operate your business in an efficient manner for 80% less using one system over another, why wouldn’t you?” says Riley. “Auto/Mate’s DMS functions quite well; it has a great parts system, and great F&I module. If dealers look into it, and see how cost effective it really is, they’d be wanting to sign up.”

About Auto/Mate

Auto/Mate Dealership Systems is a leading provider of dealership management system (DMS) software to retail automotive dealerships. Its Automotive Management Productivity Suite (AMPS) is a user-friendly, feature-rich dealership management software in use by more than 700 auto dealers nationwide. Originally developed by Wang Laboratories in the 1970s, Auto/Mate’s DMS solution has years of experience and reliability built in. Auto/Mate offers the best customer service in the industry, with live people answering the phone and minimal hold times for technical support. The company received top satisfaction rankings in NADA’s most recent dealership management system survey. Auto/Mate’s employees have more than 300 years of combined experience working in auto dealerships – the foundation of its “designed by car people, for car people” slogan. For more information, visit www.automate.com and follow us on www.twitter.com/AutoMateDMS.

# # #