Vendor Insights Podcasts
The Time Bomb In Labor Rate Increases (& How Dealers Are Maximizing P…
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 ...
"Money's not in the CRM, It's in the DMS!”– Tracking the Pulse of AI …
Today I’m joined by Art Dessein, VP of Sales at Impel. We dig into how AI is reshaping inventory management, the playbook big dealer groups use to roll it out without losing culture, and why less customer communication is act...
Remote Deliveries Are Booming—So Is Fraud (Here’s How to Stay Safe) |…
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 ...
“Like Watching Game Tape”: Exposing How Deals Slip on the Floor—And H…
Today I’m joined by Jake Cronin, CEO and Founder of Siro. The untapped profit potential hiding in F&I, winning strategies to secure consent to record customers, using data to diagnose dealership challenges—and more. This epis...
Booms, Busts, and Big Sales: Top Trends Steering Today’s Dealership B…
Today I’m joined by Alan Haig, President of Haig Partners. We dig into why Stellantis and Nissan are still searching for the bottom, which states are commanding the highest blue sky multiples, the drivers behind Carvana’s fir...
From Dead Weight to Cash Flow: The Transfer Fix for Aging Cars | Indu…
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...
"Stop the Churn": How AI Is Predicting (and Preventing) Service Defec…
Today I’m joined by Vishal Vadodaria, CEO of AutoEngage. We dive into the product obsession Vishal learned under Steve Jobs, why a major public dealer group bet early on his AI tech, how Agentic AI is poised to reshape the fu...
"Race to the Top": How Dealers are Creating Trust at Scale—and Domina…
Today I’m joined by Alex Vetter, CEO of Cars Commerce. We unpack why consumers are getting shellshocked in the service lane, reveal the CRM blind spots from retail research to retail shopping behavior, and explore why 95% of ...
Cut Costs, Go Viral: Taverna INFINITI's Repeatable Formula for Domina…
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 ...
"Customers Calling the Service Dept is a Sign of Failure" — Inside Ho…
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 ...
The Auto Retail Crystal Ball: What Shipping Trends Reveal (And How De…
Today I’m joined by Royce Neubauer, CEO of Auto Hauler Exchange. We dive into how dealers are footing the bill for shipping delays in unexpected ways, how smart operators are turning logistics into a profit center, why fraud ...
The Big Shift: Why Omnichannel Dealers Are Winning—and Fragmented Sto…
Today I’m joined by Jessica Stafford, SVP Consumer Solutions at Cox Automotive. We dive into the how car buying behavior is evolving, why consumers are embracing AI faster than dealers and much more. This episode is brought ...
“This Is the Worst It’ll Ever Be”—State of Dealership AI and What Dea…
Today I’m joined by Eric Rea, CEO of Podium. We dive into the state of Dealership AI in 2025, the questions dealers should be asking to stay ahead, why 10% of US dealers are using Podium's AI and much more. This episode is br...
Car Shopper Report: Why Ease of Purchase is Crashing in Q2 (And How D…
Today I’m joined by David Thomas, Director of Content Marketing at CDK Global. We dive into why dealership's ease of purchase is crashing right now, why credit denials are racking up, the fate of the EV market post tax-credit...
Cracking the Code on Scalable Customer Care in the Car Business | Ind…
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 ...
The Human Advantage in Car Sales—And Why Ted Rubin Won’t Let It Die |…
Today I’m joined by Ted Rubin, President of ActivEngage. We dive into why dealers don’t need more leads — they need better ones, the danger from AI that dealers don’t see coming, why a human touch is still the missing peice a...
The Hunt For Auto Tech's Next Unicorn: Why Silicon Valley Is Betting …
Today I’m joined by Monik Pamecha, CEO and founder of Toma. We unpack why they embedded in Oklahoma dealerships for months, how that groundwork attracted top VCs, and why Toma refuses to build one-size-fits-all AI. This episo...
Dealers Are Saving Thousands in Labor: How They Solved the #1 Bottlen…
Today I’m joined by Graham Anderson, CCO & Co-Founder of KENECT. We get into how dealers are solving the #1 bottleneck in fixed ops, the best times to text customers, how Gen Z is flipping the script on dealer communications,...
Beyond the Buzzwords: The Top Tech Dealers Are Leaning Into | Barb Ed…
Today I’m joined by Barb Edson, CMO of CDK Global. We dive into why post-sale support is becoming the new battleground for dealerships, what tech top dealers are asking for and leaning into, and why a wave of imitators still ...
The Hidden Variables Driving Used Car Pricing—and How to Exploit Them…
Today I’m joined by Derek Hansen, VP of Operations at Cox Automotive. We get into how AI is reshaping inventory pricing, pro tips for navigating vehicle tariffs, where vAuto is innovating next—and more. If your dealership is ...
From Tesla Exec To The Auction Block: How One Startup Is Turning A De…
Today I’m joined by Jimmy Douglas, CEO of Plug. We dive into why over half of dealers are missing an entire used segment, how two months on the lot is the tipping point for EV valuations, why dealers are shipping EVs an average of 800 miles — and much more. This episode is brought to you by: 1. Cop…
Industry Spotlight: The New Playbook For Vehicle Titling: How One Sta…
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 ...
Industry Spotlight: Why Most Dealers Fail at Lead Follow-Up—And How 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 ...
Industry Spotlight: Why Tariffs Could Fuel a Used Car Squeeze– And Ho…
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 ...