Franchised Dealers Podcasts

Today I’m joined by Katelyn Gilmore, General Manager of Paradise Chevrolet Cadillac. We dive into why she’s doubling down on the world’s first fleet-only service center, her playbook for attracting and keeping Gen Z talent, and the surprising reason she’s handing out Rolexes to her top performers — plus much more. This episode is brought to you by: 1. Auto Hauler Exchange - Ship Smarter. Pay Less. No Middlemen. Tired of brokers driving up costs and slowing you down? Auto Hauler Excha...

Welcome to Industry Spotlight—a focused series hosted by Sam D’Arc, highlighting standout dealerships and innovative companies, and exploring the trends driving success in today’s automotive market. Today, Sam sits down with Terry Chechakli, Director of Operations at Smith Auto Group, and Frederick Grimm, Co-founder of FIXD. This episode of the Car Dealership Guy Podcast is brought to you by AppraisalPRO: AppraisalPRO - Stop getting hammered on hidden trade-in costs. AppraisalPRO instantly rev...

Today I’m joined by Brent Faron, manager at Bo Beuckman Ford. We cover Brent’s journey from cleaning cars to leading one of the Midwest’s largest single-point buy centers, the AI tools he’s using to acquire 100 cars a month, how a St. Louis Blues game changed his career trajectory, and much more. This episode is brought to you by: 1. OPENLANE - The world’s best online dealer marketplace for used cars, bringing you exclusive inventory, simple transactions, and better outcomes. Learn m...

Today I’m joined by Joseph Agresta, Jr., Chair of the Mercedes-Benz Dealer Board. We get into why his top salespeople are fluent in Korean, the future of Mercedes EVs in a post–tax credit market, and how outdated incentive structures are frustrating customers — plus plenty more along the way. This episode is brought to you by: 1. Podium - Don’t miss another lead. With Podium’s AI BDC, dealerships are seeing an 80% increase in after-hours appointments by handling leads 24/7. Instantly respond t...

Welcome to Industry Spotlight—a focused series hosted by Sam D’Arc, highlighting standout dealerships and innovative companies, and exploring the trends driving success in today’s automotive market. Today, Sam sits down with Autumn Ross, CFO of Ewing Auto Group, and Brittany Newcomer, VP of Sales at Corpay This episode of the Car Dealership Guy Podcast is brought to you by Corpay: Corpay - Corpay is transforming how dealerships handle payments. We help you save time, score big rebates, and dit...

Today I’m joined by Whitney Yates Woods, Dealer Principal at Yates Buick GMC & Yates Mitsubishi. We discuss how the loss of her father pulled her from a successful real estate career into leading a single-point dealership, her bold leap into social media to drive sales, the decision to build a new store for a struggling brand, and much more. This episode is brought to you by: 1. CDK Global - - Managing inventory doesn’t have to be a grind. Backed by over 50 years of CDK know-how and ...

Today I’m joined by Ed Roberts, COO at Bozard Ford Lincoln. We discuss how Ed scaled a team of 165 technicians from scratch, the strategies behind his world-class service lane, his unlikely entry into dealerships nearly 30 years ago and much more. This episode is brought to you by: 1. Cox Automotive - Discover what’s driving improved customer experiences—and dealership results. Download the Drivers of Shopper Satisfaction ebook from Cox Automotive today: https://carguymedia.com/464vOfw 2. DLR...

Welcome to Industry Spotlight—a focused series hosted by Sam D’Arc, highlighting standout dealerships and innovative companies, and exploring the trends driving success in today’s automotive market. Today, Sam sits down with Rob Scott, Executive General Manager of Bob Johnson Chevrolet, and Robert Wooden, Owner of Wooden Automotive Consultants LLC. This episode of the Car Dealership Guy Podcast is brought to you by Wooden Automotive Consultants. Wooden Automotive Consultants - Using their prop...

Today I’m joined by Mario Murgado, CEO of Murgado Automotive Group. We cover Mario’s dramatic escape from communist Cuba, his journey to building a 29-store dealership empire across five states, the growth model fueling expansion into underserved communities, the day he lost 24 employees in a single immigration raid and so much more. This episode is brought to you by: 1. Lotlinx - Get the best possible market advantage on every vehicle transaction. Optimize operations and boost profits using a...

Today I’m joined by Daniel Kim, Director of Operations at Barnes Crossing Auto Group. His journey from tech entrepreneur to dealership operations leader, the promises and pitfalls of AI BDCs, why he insists his team stay on the phones and much more. This episode is brought to you by: 1. Widewail - Power your reputation engine with Widewail. Go Google-first. Our approach is proactive: mostly automated, sometimes manual. The perfect blend of high tech, high touch. Do more than generate and respo...

Welcome to Industry Spotlight—a focused series hosted by Sam D’Arc, highlighting standout dealerships and innovative companies, and exploring the trends driving success in today’s automotive market. Today, Sam sits down with Preston Stewart, National Variable Operations Director of Napleton Automotive Group, and Rudy Nieto, CEO of MavSign. This episode of the Car Dealership Guy Podcast is brought to you by MavSign. MavSign - the secure offsite closing platform for automotive dealers and lender...

Today I’m joined by John Bergstrom, Executive Chairman of Bergstrom Automotive. We discuss his legendary 50 year career in the car business, the exponential growth curve his dealership empire is on, Why he has no plans for retirement – and much more. This episode is brought to you by: 1. Impel - Impel AI helps you drive loyalty with proactive, personalized service outreach that scales seamlessly. From service milestones to recall alerts and tailored incentives, Impel makes service outreach fee...

Today I’m joined by Lauren Wilson Reeves, GM at Wilson Kia. We discuss her path from plastic surgery technician to high-powered GM, the untapped potential of having more women on the sales floor, how her open-door leadership bridges the gap between employees and executives, and more. This episode is brought to you by: 1. Cox Automotive - Omnichannel isn’t a buzzword anymore—it’s the playbook winning dealers are running. In a world where the buyer journey is more fragmented than ever, the most ...

Welcome to Industry Spotlight—a focused series hosted by Sam D’Arc, highlighting standout dealerships and innovative companies, and exploring the trends driving success in today’s automotive market. Today, Sam sits down with Trent Waybright, Vice President of Pre-Owned Operations for Kelley Automotive Group, and Patrick Janes, AVP of vAuto Inventory Solutions. This episode of the Car Dealership Guy Podcast is brought to you by vAuto: vAuto - As the industry’s premier provider of end-to-end in...

Today I’m joined by Josh Potts, CEO of Mac Haik Automotive Group. We dive into how living in his car at 17 sparked his journey into auto retail, his rapid rise to GM at one of Houston’s top dealerships, and how he built a $500M empire by balancing accountability with culture — and so much more. This episode is brought to you by: 1. CDK Global - CDK SimplePay is the only payment solution that's built into CDK solutions for unrivaled reliability and financial efficiency. To learn more ...

Today I’m joined by Josh Clinton, GM of Cape Coral CDJR. We dive into how he doubled his close rate using simple AI prompts, the headwinds Stellantis is facing after cutting key models, the evolving role of the salesperson in an AI-driven landscape, and much more. This episode is brought to you by: 1. Lotlinx - Get the best possible market advantage on every vehicle transaction. Optimize operations and boost profits using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. Learn more @ https://...

Welcome to Industry Spotlight—a focused series hosted by Sam D’Arc, highlighting standout dealerships and innovative companies, and exploring the trends driving success in today’s automotive market. Today, Sam sits down with Matt Hogan, General Manager of Taverna INFINITI North Miami, and Omar Mohammad, CEO of Nomad Content Studio. This episode is brought to you by: Nomad Content Studio - $3.50 per lead. $105 per car buyer. That’s what an Infiniti store in Florida is getting using Nomad Conten...

Today I’m joined by Jeff Laethem, President of Ray Laethem Buick GMC. We dig into why "ego doesn't sell cars"—and how Jeff learned that lesson the hard way, why Buick might be on the brink of a major comeback, what made him pull the plug on Stellantis stores in the heart of metro Detroit—and much more. This episode is brought to you by: 1. Cox Automotive - Omnichannel isn’t a buzzword anymore—it’s the playbook winning dealers are running. In a world where the buyer journey is more fragmented t...

Today I’m joined by Kyle Coleman, CEO of Coleman Automotive Group. We unpack his bold plan to scale to 40 stores in 10 years, the frameworks driving rapid growth, why investing in top talent is non-negotiable and much more. This episode is brought to you by: 1. Authenticom – DealerVault connects over 12,500 dealerships across 100+ DMS systems, offering both dealers and vendors secure, standardized, and compliant data. With Record Recharge, we validate and cleanse records daily—so your team can...

Today I’m joined by Howard Tenenbaum, President of Keyes Automotive Group. We dive into his 45-year run leading top dealerships, why survivorship bias distorts the industry, how a Tony Award barely cracks his top achievements, why 7 stores keep him busier than 15 ever did and more. This episode is brought to you by: 1. Widewail – Power your reputation engine with Widewail. Go Google-first. Our approach is proactive: mostly automated, sometimes manual. The perfect blend of high tech, high touch...

Welcome to Industry Spotlight—a focused series hosted by Sam D’Arc, highlighting standout dealerships and innovative companies, and exploring the trends driving success in today’s automotive market. Today, Sam sits down with Paul LeBlanc, Service Director at Longo Toyota, and Derek Simonds, Executive VP Automotive at Numa. This episode is brought to you by: Numa - In the world of dealerships, service is everything — but it’s also where everything breaks down. Missed calls, unreturned voicemail...

Today I’m joined by Richard Lupo, Fixed Operations Director at Apple Tree Automotive. We dig into why he’s training master techs from the ground up, how streamlining the online service flow drove a 10x jump in appointments, and how Apple Tree goes toe-to-toe with powerhouse neighbors — and more. This episode is brought to you by: 1. CDK Global - CDK SimplePay is the only payment solution that's built into CDK solutions for unrivaled reliability and financial efficiency. To learn more or schedu...

Today I’m joined by Greg Smith, VP operations at Leaven Automotive Group. We dive how he became the #1 Volkswagen CPO dealer in Canada, why he’s mystery shopping his own stores every month, his loss-leader strategy behind auction purchases and much more. This episode is brought to you by: 1. Uber for Business - With Central, you can request a ride on behalf of your customers even if they don’t have the Uber app. If you’re ready to reduce the costs associated with maintaining shuttles and limit...

Welcome to Industry Spotlight—a focused series hosted by Sam D’Arc, highlighting standout dealerships and innovative companies, and exploring the trends driving success in today’s automotive market. Today, Sam sits down with Scott Traylor, Vice President of Sales at Mia, and Tom Eggers, CMO of Covert Auto Group. This episode of the Car Dealership Guy Podcast is brought to you by Mia: Mia - Your 24/7 AI receptionist who speaks like a human, not a robot. No more "press 1" - just natural conversa...