Top-notch speakers will challenge and inspire dealers For the better part of a year, a small team has been meeting regularly around the boardroom table in the offices of the Canadian Automobile Dealers Association (CADA) offices to plan a kick-ass …
With summer break over, MPs roll up their sleeves The daylight hours are getting shorter. The temperature has dropped a few degrees. By the time you read this some leaves will have already turned into bright autumn colours. What was …
DEALERS REMAIN CAUTIOUS, BUT 2012 SALES ARE ROCK SOLID Much has been made this year of the very strong rebound we’ve seen in Canada in the retail automotive market. After a modest year of gains in 2011, most were predicting …
Fighters like Frank Lauria just rise to the challenge The generation of larger-than-life entrepreneurs who ran dealerships in the “good old days” in Canada might be getting a bit gray, and some might not push as hard as they once …
When we list the attributes of great leadership, the ability to change one’s mind rarely makes it to the top of the list. Decisiveness? For sure. Clarity of vision? Yes, no question. Changing your mind? Not really. But in a …
Two solitudes exist between the front of your store, and the back I’ve had a number of conversations over the past month that ended in a similar manner; talking about the (generally) poor job being done at many dealerships when …
Misconceptions over public education spending fuels tensions The evolution of the student protests in Quebec the past few months has sparked a national debate much greater than the original aim of the movement. At its outset earlier in the spring …
If you want to sell more cars — conduct more test drives. The math is simple. in its 2011 Auto Shopper Behaviour Study, Google studied automotive purchasing behaviour, and vehicle shoppers were asked the following: How useful were each of …
Canadian auto dealer delivers new tablet edition The role of the tablet device as a communications tool is one of the most interesting technology debates raging. How it all sorts itself out is something that auto dealers need to keep …
Harper’s ho-hum budget didn’t rattle as many cages as feared In the end it was neither the intensely political document that has characterized the Harper government’s tenure in power until now nor the Canada-redefining blueprint long feared by many opponents …
The best part of publishing magazines in the automotive industry is the chance to participate in key industry events. There’s just no substitute for exchanging ideas face-to-face. Earlier this spring I had a chance to do just that as part …
It’s the big question with no easy answer Social media is one of the biggest issues facing dealers that nobody can really define, quantify, measure, grasp or figure out what to do about. In this swirl of confusion, there are …
