Category: Columns

Difference makers

December 2, 2024

Car dealers provide more than employment and vehicles — they support their communities Franchised new car dealers in British Columbia and across Canada are pillars of their respective communities — providing economic investment and a key source of employment and …

Staying above the fray

December 2, 2024

Associations have to avoid getting swept up in the political chaos of Ottawa election season The return to Parliament has always been a period of excitement for the people who are genuinely interested in the process of politics and also …

A look ahead at 2025

December 2, 2024

It will be an interesting year for F&I. The nimble and flexible dealerships could do well. As we wrap up 2024, it’s been a year of contradictions for F&I managers — a mix of the predictable and the unexpected, all pointing …

Auto policy in the spotlight

November 4, 2024

BC election pivotal for new vehicle sector As you read this column, British Columbia will be nearing the end of a provincial election campaign during which BC’s New Car Dealers (NCDA) highlighted a number of issues of concern to our …

How are you paying your techs?

November 4, 2024

Let’s explore the pros and cons of the Flat Rate Pay System Dealers are always looking for creative ways to drive profitability.  This is especially true in fixed operations, where your service department generates approximately 70 per cent of the total gross …

EV lessons learned

November 4, 2024

To boost EV adoption, dealership teams need to own and operate them too In October 2022, I shared my initial impressions of the transition to owning a battery electric vehicle. With 24 months of ownership and over 42,000 kms travelled, …

It’s always closing time

November 4, 2024

50 per cent of Sales Consultants do not ask for the sale! When beginning a training relationship with a dealer group, at the launch training seminars we poll all attending Sales Consultants with a simple “yes” or “no” question: “Do …

The politics of jobs

November 4, 2024

Is the current labour market situation about to become politicized? As I have discussed in the past few months, it has become pretty apparent that Canada is slowly trending towards a federal election in the near future.  Whether it comes …