The $11B Dealer Group Secret – Why Your Used Car Strategy Needs More Data and Less Emotion | Industry Spotlight
Today, Sam sits down with Steve Hoggle, General Manager at Honda of Lake City and Sarah Copp, Director of Major Accounts at Lotlinx to pull back the curtain on the "Moneyball" strategy of modern automotive retail.
While many dealers are still relying on gut instinct and "emotional buying" at auction, the nation’s top-performing groups—including the $11 billion Morgan Auto Group—have shifted to a predictive, VIN-specific model.
We explore how Honda of Lake City achieved a staggering 4:1 used-to-new sales ratio and why the traditional "channel-first" marketing approach is often a recipe for wasted spend and aged inventory.
Learn how to identify "at-risk" vehicles the moment they hit your lot and discover the AI-driven tools that allow managers to see around corners before a car becomes a liability.
This episode of the Car Dealership Guy Podcast is brought to you by Lotlinx.
Lotlinx - What if ChatGPT actually spoke dealer? Meet LotGPT — the first AI chatbot built just for car dealers. Fluent in your market, your dealership, and your inventory, LotGPT delivers instant insights to help you merchandise smarter, move inventory faster, and maximize profit. It pulls from your live inventory, CRM, and Google Analytics to give VIN-specific recommendations, helping dealers price vehicles accurately, spot wasted spend, and uncover the hottest opportunities — all in seconds. LotGPT is free for dealers, but invite-only. Join the waitlist now @ https://lotlinx.com/LotGPT/
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Topics:
01:41 What are the used car buying challenges?
03:28 How to make data-driven decisions?
07:33 How does LotLinx help dealerships?
24:08 How are inventory strategies changing?
24:37 Why is VIN-level detail important?
26:41 How does a team manage used cars?
30:10 How does AI optimize ad spending?
37:15 What is AI's future in dealerships?
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