Seasons Greetings from DrivingSales! We are wrapping up another year, and thanks to all of you, 2016 was a great success. We appreciate everyone who is involved in our community to help make the automotive industry a great place to work. Happy Holidays, and we look forward to many more years of great interactions and automotive support!

I’m pumped to introduce the all new DrivingSales Community site.

Our team invested a ton of time listening to you as community members while, researching, building and testing to launch the new DrivingSales community platform. After nearly two years of design and development work, I couldn’t be more excited to have it up and running.

It’s crazy to think that in 2003 this site started as a brain child from my NADA Academy class. Now it is the world’s largest online network dedicated to dealership and automotive retail professionals.  Its pretty cool to look back and see the growth, but even better to see that the notion of connecting dealerships so we could collaborate and help each other solve issues that we all face is so meaningful to so many.

Thank you all for continuing to share your ideas, your successes, and to pitch in and help answer other’s questions and challenges. Your drive to create something better than each of us has built a community much better than all of us.  It truly is the top source for real-world dealer insights and its killer to see.

We’ve rebuilt the new community from the ground up, with a mobile first perspective.  We have made huge improvements with tons of feedback to the vendor rating platform and your ability to network with one another.  We hope you like the progress this platform represents and we would love to hear your feedback about it.  Feel free to email us at: feedback@DrivingSales.com and comment on this blog.  Be sure to rate your vendors, invite your friends and share the community on facebook and twitter.

I cant wait to see what the next 13 years will bring the DrivingSales community!

It’s a big day for us here at DrivingSales, and frankly for me personally, as I’m excited to announce that Kevin Root is joining the DrivingSales family as President and Chief Operating Officer.

DrivingSales is my baby; there is no two ways about it.  I became obsessed with what has become our company’s vision, and gave birth to our first piece of technology, back in 2003 when I was working at my father’s dealership in California.  I was attending NADA’s dealer candidate academy and I hungered for a real time, unbiased source of business intelligence.  I wanted best practices, technology information, statistics and any form of actionable data, fact or insight I could get my hands on to run a dealership more successfully.  While I craved this information to drive my success, I couldn’t get it.  What best practices and business intelligence were available was largely tinted because it originated from someone trying to use the information to sell me something, or it simply came too slow.  The world was changing at 100 mph, and I needed my info at least as fast so I could act on it NOW, and nobody in the industry was providing it how I wanted it.

I knew the best source of info was my peers, so I created a web platform to network my dealer academy class together so we could share information between us in real time, en-mass.  I didn’t build DrivingSales.com because social networks were all the rage like they are now.  The fact is I built DrivingSales even before Facebook existed.  Frankly, when I built DrivingSales I didn’t even know what a social network was, they were not even called that yet.  I just knew I needed real time, unbiased information from my dealer peers to run a dealership successfully and I was going to build the technology to do it.  I knew what I needed and I’m too stubborn to give up.

Its pretty cool to see what a big dream and lots of hard work and sacrifice can become.  Today we connect more than 1 out of 3 dealerships in this country, and have users in 9 others.  We publish a magazine, and host the highest quality conference in our industry, DSES. Beyond media, we built the industry’s first online university teaching vendor neutral strategies to run your dealership’s Internet operations and have partnered with NADA to make it available to all.  We have also built a massive data calculator pulling and analyzing online marketing data from across the market to provide dealers with actionable insight.  There have been lots of all nighters, skipped weekends and holidays, and lots of blood sweat and tears from not just me, but also the awesome “Drivers” on the team who have brought us this far.  The best part is we are just getting started!

Most of you know I travel extensively around the world speaking to dealer audiences and helping them understand the trends in the market place.  I’ve already flown over 241,000 miles in the first three quarters of this year alone!  Traveling that much, with 35 employees and a business that is growing like crazy, it’s a challenge for me to lead our vision, serve our customers and run the day to day operations of the company, not to mention take care of my wonderful wife and 4 kids.  This is where Kevin comes in.

I’m not stepping down, but I’ve brought in one of the people that I look up to the most in our industry, to help execute on my vision.  We are stepping up our horsepower in a serious way.  I’ll continue lead our vision, evangelize our message, serve our customers and ultimately run the company from the top.  Kevin will help create and execute the details of our strategy and run the day-to-day operations to make sure we are over-delivering on our promises to the industry.  

Kevin has been a trusted mentor to me, and has served on our advisory board since 2009.  He comes to us from Dealer.com, where he was Chief Strategy and Chief Product Officer.  He helped build DriverSide and led Cobalt’s research and training divisions.  Back in the day he even ran marketing for a dealership group, and while there built the first Ford website in the world.  It’s no wonder JD Power and Associates named him one of the top 10 automotive pioneers of the Internet.  His research is known around the globe and personally, he is just a really good dude!  I’m flattered he was willing to invest his time and energy into serving you, the automotive community, with us here at DrivingSales.

You can read the full press release here.

Please join me in welcoming Kevin Root to the DrivingSales team.  We hope to see you all at DSES at the end of the month!

- jared

It’s a big day for us here at DrivingSales, and frankly for me personally, as I’m excited to announce that Kevin Root is joining the DrivingSales family as President and Chief Operating Officer.

DrivingSales is my baby; there is no two ways about it.  I became obsessed with what has become our company’s vision, and gave birth to our first piece of technology, back in 2003 when I was working at my father’s dealership in California.  I was attending NADA’s dealer candidate academy and I hungered for a real time, unbiased source of business intelligence.  I wanted best practices, technology information, statistics and any form of actionable data, fact or insight I could get my hands on to run a dealership more successfully.  While I craved this information to drive my success, I couldn’t get it.  What best practices and business intelligence were available was largely tinted because it originated from someone trying to use the information to sell me something, or it simply came too slow.  The world was changing at 100 mph, and I needed my info at least as fast so I could act on it NOW, and nobody in the industry was providing it how I wanted it.

I knew the best source of info was my peers, so I created a web platform to network my dealer academy class together so we could share information between us in real time, en-mass.  I didn’t build DrivingSales.com because social networks were all the rage like they are now.  The fact is I built DrivingSales even before Facebook existed.  Frankly, when I built DrivingSales I didn’t even know what a social network was, they were not even called that yet.  I just knew I needed real time, unbiased information from my dealer peers to run a dealership successfully and I was going to build the technology to do it.  I knew what I needed and I’m too stubborn to give up.

Its pretty cool to see what a big dream and lots of hard work and sacrifice can become.  Today we connect more than 1 out of 3 dealerships in this country, and have users in 9 others.  We publish a magazine, and host the highest quality conference in our industry, DSES. Beyond media, we built the industry’s first online university teaching vendor neutral strategies to run your dealership’s Internet operations and have partnered with NADA to make it available to all.  We have also built a massive data calculator pulling and analyzing online marketing data from across the market to provide dealers with actionable insight.  There have been lots of all nighters, skipped weekends and holidays, and lots of blood sweat and tears from not just me, but also the awesome “Drivers” on the team who have brought us this far.  The best part is we are just getting started!

Most of you know I travel extensively around the world speaking to dealer audiences and helping them understand the trends in the market place.  I’ve already flown over 241,000 miles in the first three quarters of this year alone!  Traveling that much, with 35 employees and a business that is growing like crazy, it’s a challenge for me to lead our vision, serve our customers and run the day to day operations of the company, not to mention take care of my wonderful wife and 4 kids.  This is where Kevin comes in.

I’m not stepping down, but I’ve brought in one of the people that I look up to the most in our industry, to help execute on my vision.  We are stepping up our horsepower in a serious way.  I’ll continue lead our vision, evangelize our message, serve our customers and ultimately run the company from the top.  Kevin will help create and execute the details of our strategy and run the day-to-day operations to make sure we are over-delivering on our promises to the industry.  

Kevin has been a trusted mentor to me, and has served on our advisory board since 2009.  He comes to us from Dealer.com, where he was Chief Strategy and Chief Product Officer.  He helped build DriverSide and led Cobalt’s research and training divisions.  Back in the day he even ran marketing for a dealership group, and while there built the first Ford website in the world.  It’s no wonder JD Power and Associates named him one of the top 10 automotive pioneers of the Internet.  His research is known around the globe and personally, he is just a really good dude!  I’m flattered he was willing to invest his time and energy into serving you, the automotive community, with us here at DrivingSales.

You can read the full press release here.

Please join me in welcoming Kevin Root to the DrivingSales team.  We hope to see you all at DSES at the end of the month!

- jared

It’s an exciting day here at DrivingSales!

I’m pleased to announce that we are acquiring Revenue Guru, a boutique Research and Consulting firm, and its affiliated web properties. Dennis Galbraith, the founder of Revenue Guru, will head up our Research and Data divisions.

This is a big deal for us, and frankly for the industry as a whole, as it will further our capabilities to serve dealers with some very needed “vendor-neutral” business intelligence tools.  We’ve been working on a couple exciting initiatives in stealth mode for a long time, and bringing Dennis on-board to lead these projects is a huge win for the dealer body.  Were not quite ready to share more details of the projects just yet… but stay tuned, I promise you will love them!

The current clients of Revenue Guru will see no change in business.  They will continue to receive the same high quality service they have come to expect of the Revenue Guru team. 

As you all know, we are super passionate about connecting dealers with the people and unbiased information they need to maximize their success. Just like bringing Shaun Raines on board earlier last month, having Dennis and the Revenue Guru team join us expands our capabilities to make even more cool things happen!

Dennis has a long successful history serving the auto industry.  Before founding Revenue Guru he was VP of Advertising Products and Training at Cars.com, he ran JD Powers’ automotive Internet division and has taught graduate marketing at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.  Needless to say, he is one smart dude!  On a personal note, for those that have not met him, Dennis has a warm and friendly personality and is a man of strong character.  He listens intently before speaking, his insights are thought-out, brilliant and absolutely worth heeding to. 

In addition to heading up our Research and Data teams, Dennis will provide exclusive, analytical content here on the DrivingSales community, so you will all get to interface with him regularly.  You will also see Dennis’ research in the DrivingSales University, on DrivingSalesTV and at the DrivingSales Executive Summit.

I’m grateful that I get to work with such a great team and so happy the pros at Revenue Guru team agreed to join us.  We truly get a kick out of serving you dealers! 

Please join me in welcoming Dennis and the rest of the Revenue Guru team to the DrivingSales family!

It’s an exciting day here at DrivingSales!

I’m pleased to announce that we are acquiring Revenue Guru, a boutique Research and Consulting firm, and its affiliated web properties. Dennis Galbraith, the founder of Revenue Guru, will head up our Research and Data divisions.

This is a big deal for us, and frankly for the industry as a whole, as it will further our capabilities to serve dealers with some very needed “vendor-neutral” business intelligence tools.  We’ve been working on a couple exciting initiatives in stealth mode for a long time, and bringing Dennis on-board to lead these projects is a huge win for the dealer body.  Were not quite ready to share more details of the projects just yet… but stay tuned, I promise you will love them!

The current clients of Revenue Guru will see no change in business.  They will continue to receive the same high quality service they have come to expect of the Revenue Guru team. 

As you all know, we are super passionate about connecting dealers with the people and unbiased information they need to maximize their success. Just like bringing Shaun Raines on board earlier last month, having Dennis and the Revenue Guru team join us expands our capabilities to make even more cool things happen!

Dennis has a long successful history serving the auto industry.  Before founding Revenue Guru he was VP of Advertising Products and Training at Cars.com, he ran JD Powers’ automotive Internet division and has taught graduate marketing at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.  Needless to say, he is one smart dude!  On a personal note, for those that have not met him, Dennis has a warm and friendly personality and is a man of strong character.  He listens intently before speaking, his insights are thought-out, brilliant and absolutely worth heeding to. 

In addition to heading up our Research and Data teams, Dennis will provide exclusive, analytical content here on the DrivingSales community, so you will all get to interface with him regularly.  You will also see Dennis’ research in the DrivingSales University, on DrivingSalesTV and at the DrivingSales Executive Summit.

I’m grateful that I get to work with such a great team and so happy the pros at Revenue Guru team agreed to join us.  We truly get a kick out of serving you dealers! 

Please join me in welcoming Dennis and the rest of the Revenue Guru team to the DrivingSales family!

Next week at DSES we will have a special treat for the DrivingSales Community.  We will be giving you direct access to a few of those CEOs whose companies touch the highest number of dealership in the country.  We felt is was important go give you access to these leaders to hear their vision of what 2012 will look like, and most importantly to ask them direct questions about the issues that affect your stores.

Those committed to participating at DSES are:

Chip Perry - Autotrader.com

Mark O'Neil - DealerTrack

Mitch Golub - Cars.com

John Holt - Cobalt/ADP

Mark Bonfigli - Dealer.com

We have rounded up a few questions already:

How do you think that buyer behavior will change as users migrate from traditional devices to mobile/portable devices?

With fixed operations such a steady part of a dealers business, why is there such a disproportionate investment in creating technology solutions to help sell cars, rather than focus on service and parts?

In other industries, true technology platforms are much more open allowing third parties to develop apps and services on top of the platform.  This fosters innovation and competition and further cements the “platforms” position in the market. In automotive, most vendors talk about how they are a platform, but nobody really opens themselves up and encourages others to build solutions on top of them.  Why not?

Why with all the advancements in technology why do DMS systems still employ archaic interfaces, why are they not more graphical and user friendly?

Most dealers want the convenience of having one place to login, but a single vendor wont be the best at everything.  Is there a way for dealers to get a single login system yet be able to pick and choose whom they deem to be best in class for any given service?

What is the most important investment your company is making to stay competitive in the future?

How important do you think social media should be to a dealers marketing mix?

Is your company looking to make acquisitions in any particular arena?  Why/why not?

Feel free to add your own questions below, add your two centse the questions listed or email lindsey@drivingsales.com if you would like your question to be anonymous. 

Thanks everyone - DSES 2012 promises to be, once again, the top industry event for progressive dealers.  See you at the Bellagio on sunday!

Next week at DSES we will have a special treat for the DrivingSales Community.  We will be giving you direct access to a few of those CEOs whose companies touch the highest number of dealership in the country.  We felt is was important go give you access to these leaders to hear their vision of what 2012 will look like, and most importantly to ask them direct questions about the issues that affect your stores.

Those committed to participating at DSES are:

Chip Perry - Autotrader.com

Mark O'Neil - DealerTrack

Mitch Golub - Cars.com

John Holt - Cobalt/ADP

Mark Bonfigli - Dealer.com

We have rounded up a few questions already:

How do you think that buyer behavior will change as users migrate from traditional devices to mobile/portable devices?

With fixed operations such a steady part of a dealers business, why is there such a disproportionate investment in creating technology solutions to help sell cars, rather than focus on service and parts?

In other industries, true technology platforms are much more open allowing third parties to develop apps and services on top of the platform.  This fosters innovation and competition and further cements the “platforms” position in the market. In automotive, most vendors talk about how they are a platform, but nobody really opens themselves up and encourages others to build solutions on top of them.  Why not?

Why with all the advancements in technology why do DMS systems still employ archaic interfaces, why are they not more graphical and user friendly?

Most dealers want the convenience of having one place to login, but a single vendor wont be the best at everything.  Is there a way for dealers to get a single login system yet be able to pick and choose whom they deem to be best in class for any given service?

What is the most important investment your company is making to stay competitive in the future?

How important do you think social media should be to a dealers marketing mix?

Is your company looking to make acquisitions in any particular arena?  Why/why not?

Feel free to add your own questions below, add your two centse the questions listed or email lindsey@drivingsales.com if you would like your question to be anonymous. 

Thanks everyone - DSES 2012 promises to be, once again, the top industry event for progressive dealers.  See you at the Bellagio on sunday!

Subaru of North America announced that Dean Evans will take the reigns as their Chief Marketing Officer.  Evans will report to SOA Chief Operating Officer and EVP Tom Doll and will be responsible for the company’s marketing, corporate communications and customer service operations.  

Dean has over 20 years of retail automotive marketing experience and is regarded by many as one of the top marketers in the industry.

“We are very excited to have Dean join us" said Tom Doll, "Dean brings extensive experience in automotive marketing and sales and will give additional focus to our efforts to bring even more new customers to Subaru and to drive higher loyalty with our current customers."

Evans has served as an executive or consultant for a variety of high-profile companies and automotive clients, including Ford Motor Company, Land Rover of NA, Jaguar of NA, Chrysler Corporation, The Cobalt Group, Dealix Corporation, Nextag.com, AutoNation/AutoUSA, and Jumpstart Automotive.

Since 2007 Evans has been the Chief Marketing officer for Dealer.com, and has been a key player in their meteoric growth.

Subaru has also been on a tear the last few years, defying the economy and producing record sales from 2009 and 2010.  Their year-to-date sales are up 5% and I believe their brand is positioned perfectly to capitalize on the current trends in the social web. 

Evans will officially take over the new position on September 7.  

On a personal note, I count Dean as a friend and advisor.  This is a huge win for Subaru and all Subaru dealers.  Dean is progressive, smart, and a very fast moving leader in the digital space.  Look at his track record, he not only gets stuff done, he hits home runs!

It makes me smile to think back on my very first phone call with Dean back in the mid/late 90’s when I called his dealership for a dealer trade.  He was the GM of a dealership, close to my father’s Jeep store, where, even then, he was pioneering one of the industry’s first dedicated Internet departments.  He gets dealers, he gets the web, and his leadership will do great things at Subaru.

No doubt his proven digital expertise will benefit Subaru and all their dealers.  This is fantastic news for both Subaru and their dealers!

Please welcome me in congratulating Dean, Subaru, and all the Subaru dealers who will inevitably benefit.

Subaru of North America announced that Dean Evans will take the reigns as their Chief Marketing Officer.  Evans will report to SOA Chief Operating Officer and EVP Tom Doll and will be responsible for the company’s marketing, corporate communications and customer service operations.  

Dean has over 20 years of retail automotive marketing experience and is regarded by many as one of the top marketers in the industry.

“We are very excited to have Dean join us" said Tom Doll, "Dean brings extensive experience in automotive marketing and sales and will give additional focus to our efforts to bring even more new customers to Subaru and to drive higher loyalty with our current customers."

Evans has served as an executive or consultant for a variety of high-profile companies and automotive clients, including Ford Motor Company, Land Rover of NA, Jaguar of NA, Chrysler Corporation, The Cobalt Group, Dealix Corporation, Nextag.com, AutoNation/AutoUSA, and Jumpstart Automotive.

Since 2007 Evans has been the Chief Marketing officer for Dealer.com, and has been a key player in their meteoric growth.

Subaru has also been on a tear the last few years, defying the economy and producing record sales from 2009 and 2010.  Their year-to-date sales are up 5% and I believe their brand is positioned perfectly to capitalize on the current trends in the social web. 

Evans will officially take over the new position on September 7.  

On a personal note, I count Dean as a friend and advisor.  This is a huge win for Subaru and all Subaru dealers.  Dean is progressive, smart, and a very fast moving leader in the digital space.  Look at his track record, he not only gets stuff done, he hits home runs!

It makes me smile to think back on my very first phone call with Dean back in the mid/late 90’s when I called his dealership for a dealer trade.  He was the GM of a dealership, close to my father’s Jeep store, where, even then, he was pioneering one of the industry’s first dedicated Internet departments.  He gets dealers, he gets the web, and his leadership will do great things at Subaru.

No doubt his proven digital expertise will benefit Subaru and all their dealers.  This is fantastic news for both Subaru and their dealers!

Please welcome me in congratulating Dean, Subaru, and all the Subaru dealers who will inevitably benefit.