Remote service coming?
IKEA is on my mind. It should be on yours. I moved recently. And it got me thinking about remote service and the opportunity for dealers. We needed to get a bunch of new beds, as our move is combining …
Category: Opinion
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 …
It’s time to act
By now I imagine most of you have seen and read Driving the Road Ahead: A View into the Future of Canadian Automobile Retailing, the research paper published this past spring by the Canadian Automobile Dealers Association (CADA). This comprehensive …
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 …
Every business is a software business
This quote has been making the rounds widely in various forms, and is increasingly being touted as an obvious truth. And frankly I agree. It seems to have been first attributed to Watts S. Humphrey, an American pioneer in software …
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 …
Staying ahead of change
Products must continually evolve to remain relevant to the changing needs of their customers. Ideally, product designers will anticipate those needs and stay a few steps ahead of their customers. This is true of all products — including magazines. When …
Adapt and thrive
For the Canadian auto dealer team, the first part of the year is always a frenzied blur of events, conferences and auto shows. This year it started with NADA in January, the CADA Summit and various auto shows in Toronto, …
Bits and pieces
Mark your calendars and get your flights booked: next year’s NADA Show, CADA Summit, and Canadian International AutoShow VIP night run right into each other. The CADA Summit will take place February 12, 2020, in Toronto, Ont., followed by VIP …
Where were tech players?
I had the pleasure of attending Media Day at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit a couple of weeks ago. This has been a highlight of the calendar ever since I started working in the automotive industry …
Meet CADA’s new economist
Insights from Ottawa from the newest member of the Canadian auto dealer writing team I thought I would introduce myself to Canadian auto dealer readers with some humour and self-derision. You’ve probably heard this old adage before. “What happens when …
Down the data rabbit hole
Just when I think I get a handle around the main the issues I think Canada’s car dealers are facing, another issue pops up that has me diving down yet another rabbit hole to try to figure it out. This …
