Here we go again…
Just as people in the auto industry were starting to use the past tense to describe their experience with the pandemic, outbreaks of COVID-19 have sprung up across the country, and in some ways we are now back to where …
Category: Opinion
Silicon Valley, eh?
Amid the flood of information that comes through our inboxes, once in a while something really stands out. At a time when so much is expected to change in the automotive customer experience and the tools that support the retail …
Develop an experimentation mindset
One of the most important messages from the recent Auto Dealers Innovation Series & Expo (ADIS) was all about the need to innovate, experiment, fail, reassess, and experiment again. All companies — including car dealerships — need to develop an …
A formula for success with online events
Admit it, we’ve all done it. In fact, it’s probably the norm more than the exception. What am I referring to? Attending an online event, minimizing the browser window it’s playing in, and carrying on with other work while a …
More relevant than ever
Producing the annual CADA Laureate award issue detailing the winners and finalists is always an amazing part of the Canadian auto dealer publishing schedule. Not only do we get to showcase the 15 finalists and three winners, but we get …
Dealers will withstand the storm
For car dealers, this isn’t their first rodeo. They’ve lived through recessions and economic downturns of all shapes and sizes, OEM bankruptcies, onerous factory image overhauls and all manner of upheaval — and survived. But even by the standards of …
Are we what we see?
The cover treatment of this issue of Canadian auto dealer was an inspired idea from the publisher, Niel Hiscox. And it was a good one. Even in the midst of a global health crisis, there are other major forces reshaping …
Black Lives Matter
The cover of this issue was designed to get your attention — so you would read this note. Amid all the upheaval and adjustments we’re making as a result of the pandemic, I felt it important to change focus for …
Act like a paramedic
Over the past few weeks, I’ve had the privilege of speaking with dozens of amazing car dealers across the country. They are holding up well. They are adapting. They are innovating. But make no mistake, they are hurting. Some describe …
Save your pennies for the second wave
I love this time of year. It’s finally warm in Toronto, and no doubt across most of the country as well. Everything is green and growing; the picture of new, vibrant life. It’s a time of renewal. A time of …
Some notes for the next phase
The news is now dominated by questions around reopening and restarting the economy. That’s good. The economy can’t sustain the level of lockdown we’ve endured through April. Your businesses can’t sustain it, nor can mine. Here’s the challenge, as we …
Dark days: light ahead
We have all just gone through, and continue to experience, the most difficult stretch in our industry’s history — and perhaps in history. No one could have fully imagined the entire world grinding to a halt, with commerce all but …
