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 …
Category: Editor’s note
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 …
More relevant than ever
Producing the annual CADA Laureate award issue detailing the winners and finalists is always an amazing part of the Canadian auto dealer publishing schedule. Not only do we get to showcase the 15 finalists and three winners, but we get …
Are we what we see?
The cover treatment of this issue of Canadian auto dealer was an inspired idea from the publisher, Niel Hiscox. And it was a good one. Even in the midst of a global health crisis, there are other major forces reshaping …
Act like a paramedic
Over the past few weeks, I’ve had the privilege of speaking with dozens of amazing car dealers across the country. They are holding up well. They are adapting. They are innovating. But make no mistake, they are hurting. Some describe …
Dark days: light ahead
We have all just gone through, and continue to experience, the most difficult stretch in our industry’s history — and perhaps in history. No one could have fully imagined the entire world grinding to a halt, with commerce all but …
Tough times, tougher measures
Car dealerships sit at the epicentre of many communities across Canada. They are gathering places where people drop off their vehicles for service, socialize and visit to shop for their dream vehicles. Dealerships have been adapting their stores to create …
Summit Groundhog Day? Not at all.
As we prepped this issue of Canadian auto dealer, our editorial, sales and video teams were all knee deep in our plans for covering and attending the CADA Summit, the Canadian International AutoShow and NADA — all which happen within …
Take a Gemba Walk
To truly understand what was happening on the factory floor, Taiichi Ohno, the creator of the Toyota Production System, advocated for something called the “Gemba Walk.” The idea was for managers and leaders to regularly walk around the factory and …
Embrace change, but faster
Despite the barrage of messages that change is afoot and all around them, most dealers I talked with at the Western Canadian Dealers Summit in Banff, Alta., seemed mostly reassured and confident. Most dealer conferences in the past decade or …
The buying game
In the long days of summer, the automotive retail industry feels a little sleepy. A lot of dealers, and most Canadians, take a little downtime, hang out at the cottage, or take summer road trips. But even though it might …
Amazing Collisions
Collision is generally a negative term — something people try desperately to avoid. But for many of the 25,000 people from around the globe who visited Toronto in May to attend the Collision conference — one of North America’s largest …
