Life is between the dash
Like many of our readers, I was saddened to learn of the passing of Sean O’Regan, 53, one of the kindest and most beloved car dealers I’ve had the pleasure to meet. I met Sean at a variety of events, …
Category: Editor’s note
Ready or not?
I interviewed some of Canada’s best-known dealers for a segment for the virtual CADA Summit held last month. It was a fun, lighthearted piece to help break up the day, and inject some dealer content into the event. One of …
No Groundhog Day here
Our magazine’s editorial team had an interesting chat about our cover story in this issue, regarding car dealers who give back to their communities. We’ve run a similar feature for the past few years, showcasing ways in which dealers across …
The first shoe drops
The Canadian dealership landscape has forever changed. In August, Lithia & Driveway launched into Canada by acquiring/partnering with Pfaff Motors. Pfaff became the first Canadian dealer group to join a U.S. public dealership group—and most assuredly won’t be the last. …
Avoid painful toe stubs
I was reminded recently of just how high the bar is for service when it comes to consumer expectations for their interactions with car dealerships. Now, this editor’s note won’t be very popular with some of our readers, because it’s …
Beating the odds
The CADA Laureate winners featured in this issue are truly deserving of the award, and now join the ranks of a group of dealers who are legends in our industry. It’s tough to become a CADA Laureate. Really tough. Only …
The show must go on
We write a lot about succession in the pages of Canadian auto dealer — including this issue’s cover story. That’s because the core audience of our magazine consists of dealer principals, who think a lot about these issues. And other …
Fixing fixed ops
New and used vehicle sales in Canada will always fluctuate, and there’s not much dealers can do about it. Even the most agile dealership, with the best marketing outreach and customer retention strategies, will experience events that nip into the …
The show does go on
You have to give the auto industry a lot of credit for trying. For an industry that prides itself on big-scale events, dramatic new vehicle launches, massive trade shows and conferences like the NADA Show and SEMA, and more recently …
Overdue change is coming
Cars aren’t the only things with blind spots. We all have them. As we go about our daily lives, focused intently on the things demanding our immediate attention, many of us miss the most obvious things happening around us. Consider …
Here we go again…
Just as people in the auto industry were starting to use the past tense to describe their experience with the pandemic, outbreaks of COVID-19 have sprung up across the country, and in some ways we are now back to where …
Develop an experimentation mindset
One of the most important messages from the recent Auto Dealers Innovation Series & Expo (ADIS) was all about the need to innovate, experiment, fail, reassess, and experiment again. All companies — including car dealerships — need to develop an …
