On my mind at year end
I love the end of the year. Beyond the holidays and all the food and family gatherings this entails, I find it a great time for reflection and renewal. And it’s safe to say that, for those in the automotive …
Category: Opinion
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. …
Starting a deeper look at AI
We know it’s coming. We know it will infiltrate many aspects of our businesses, from supporting the decisions of our staff to engaging directly with our customers either with or without a member of your human resources team. We’ve been …
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 …
We’re going hybrid!
Given all the work we do with the industry associations and our common mission to serve Canada’s new car dealers, cohabitation made great sense. Universus, the parent company that publishes this magazine, is now fully committed to what is often …
Cultivating the EV influencer
For decades, the automotive industry has understood the value of the automotive enthusiast. The enthusiast, for whom their vehicle is much more than just a transportation resource, is the reason that magazines (and now their digital media channels) like Car …
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 …
What your financial statement is telling you
A financial expert takes a look at dealership financial statements and offers insights into what dealers might be missing. My profession is an interesting one. It’s often misunderstood and commonly discounted in the automotive industry. In a world of exotic …
The devil in the post-pandemic details
As we contemplate a return to the office in the coming months, there’s lots of discussion around a hybrid model that blends remote work with office-based work. At first glance, that seems easy enough to implement, but on closer inspection …
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 …
Help your team surf the third wave
We thought we’d be on the downside by now. Case loads dropping. Economies opening. Stress levels associated with the pandemic easing back. We thought that’s where we would be by mid-April, but it’s absolutely not where we are. Instead, for …
