Vendor Insights Podcasts

Today I’m joined by Chase Abbott, VP of Sales at Cox Automotive. We break down how AI, data, and connected technology are reshaping dealership operations, customer experience, and competitive strategy. Chase explains where dealers are falling behind, why ecosystem-level integration matters, and how to overcome resistance to new tools. Reach out to Chase directly here: chase.abbott@coxautoinc.com 913 624 4963 Check out the full podcast recap here: https://news.dealershipgu...

Today I’m joined by Mark Altieri, EVP of Business Development at Zonic Design. We break down why fixed ops is still the most under-leveraged profit center in dealerships—and how communication gaps are quietly eroding customer loyalty. Mark explains how AI is reshaping customer engagement, why half of a dealership’s DMS often sits untouched, and what operators can do to immediately improve retention. Clear takeaways, practical frameworks, and fast-changing tech insights make this a must-...

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 Jeremy Nowling, Sales and Digital Retailing Director at Rohrman Auto Group, and Matt Muilenburg, Chief Product Officer of Impel. This episode is brought to you by Impel: Impel - Meet the AI Operating System built for a new era of automotive retailing. From CRM to service ...

Today I’m joined by Kim Saylor, Senior Director of Product Marketing at CDK Global. We break down why younger customers choose service providers based on online reviews, how AI is reducing wait times in service, and why mobile service is becoming a premium convenience buyers will pay for. Kim also explains how recalls create real service opportunities and how dealers can better educate customers. This conversation is full of actionable strategies for adapting to Gen Z expectations. This episo...

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 Kevin Frye, Marketing Director Jeff Wyler Automotive Family, and Paul Nadjarian, Chief Product Officer at CARFAX. This episode of the Car Dealership Guy Podcast is brought to you by CARFAX. CARFAX - Here's a reality check: CARFAX data shows that 55% of car buyers won't re...

Today special guest host Sam D'Arc is joined by Shane Wilson, President at Connected Dealer Services. We dive into the tug-of-war between dealers and automakers for customer ownership after the sale, how real-time vehicle data is fueling explosive fixed-ops growth, the playbook dealers are using to win loyalty long after delivery – and much more. This episode is brought to you by: 1. Connected Dealer Services - Staying connected after the sale isn’t optional anymore, it’s your competitive edg...

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 David Long, Executive General Manager at Hansel Auto Group, and Curtis Lewsey, Founder of DealerCards. This episode is brought to you by: DealerCards - With DealerCards, you can send personalized thank-you notes, birthday cards, and service reminders — even include ...

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 Parker Boice, General Sales Manager at BMW Utah and Than Hancock, Chief Sales Officer at Podium. 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 lea...

Today I’m joined by Len Short, CEO of Lotlinx. LotGPT is here — and it might change how dealers manage inventory forever. In this episode, Len Short and I break down the world-first dealer-focused LLM, how it diagnoses inventory issues in real time, the 7 most-searched dealer prompts, and why he’s giving it away completely free. To try LotGPT for yourself, 100% free, join the waitlist at lotlinx.com/lotgpt This episode is brought to you by: 1. OPENLANE - The world’s best online dealer market...

Today I’m joined by Amol Waishampayan, Co-Founder of fullthrottle.ai, and David Regn, CEO of fullthrottle.ai. We break down what’s really working in dealership advertising right now, what’s getting left behind, and the new approach smart dealers are using to reach more buyers — plus plenty more. This episode is brought to you by: 1. Repair360 - If you’re in the used car business, you know wasted time is wasted money. Check out Repair360—the first and only reconditioning software that connects...

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 Jim Roche, CEO of WarrCloud. We dig into the $100K+ most dealers miss in warranty work, why surging warranty volume has made WarrCloud one of the fastest-growing companies in America (#1 in Missouri), and how you can retain techs and boost profits at the same time—plus much more. This episode is brought to you by: 1. Matador AI - Discover why the biggest dealership groups in America are using Matador AI to enhance their Sales and BDC teams to sell and service more cars than...

Today I’m joined by Sanjiv Yajnik, President of Financial Services at Capital One. We cover why tech integrations are still the biggest challenge for F&I, how lenders are anticipating an EV market slowdown, why "6%" is the most important number in dealership leads and much more. This episode is brought to you by: 1. vAuto - As the industry’s premier provider of end-to-end inventory management solutions, vAuto gives every dealer—from a single point store to the largest groups—the data, insights...

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 Jason Swiech, Product Marketer at CDK Global. We discuss what top-performing dealers are doing in the F&I office, why double-entry data is crushing customer satisfaction, the add-on products flying off the shelves and much more. Read CDK Global’s 2025 F&I Shopper Study mentioned in the episode here: https://www.cdkglobal.com/insights/new-report-shows-shifts-fi-trust This episode is brought to you by: 1. Repair360 - If you’re in the used car business, you know w...

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 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 actually leading to more sales—plus plenty more along the way. This episode is brought to you by: 1. Widewail - Want real insights instead of guesswork? With Voice of the Customer Analytics, Widewail uses AI to turn raw customer feedback into clear operational insights so you...

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 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 episode is brought to you by: 1. BizzyCar – CDG’s Recall Tracker powered by BizzyCar monitors 70M+ vehicles with open recalls, packed with insights: timelines, fix status, campaign numbers—everything you need to bring lost customers back. Transform your recall manage...

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 first brick-and-mortar win and 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 @ http...

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 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 future of the car business and 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 or schedule a demo visit @ ⁠http://www.CD...

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 car buyers still start their journey on third-party websites—plus much more. This episode is brought to you by: 1. CarNow - Tired of tools that promise the world but don’t deliver? CarNow isn’t one of them. One store switched to CarNow's full platform and went from a 3% to...

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...