Car Dealership Guy Podcast

Today's show features:

- Brian Baker, President Automotive at Stream Companies

- Zach Slabinski, Director of Retail Ready at Stream Companies

- Brian Hoang, CEO & Co-founder at Mia Labs

- George Ripley, VP at International Association of Auto Theft Investigators

This episode is brought to you by:

Haig Partners – When it comes to selling your life’s work, trust the only advisors who have built a reputation for maximizing valu...

Today's show features:

- Don Hall, President and CEO of Virginia Automobile Dealers Association

- Alan Haig, President of Haig Partners

- Aaron Zeigler, President of Zeigler Auto Group

- Grant Cardone, CEO of Cardone Capital

This episode is brought to you by:

Podium – Most AI is a black box. Podium's is yours to control — and it increases conversion by upwards of 26%. Check it out at http://podium.com

Today I'm joined by Scott Traylor, Vice President at Mia Labs.

Scott breaks down how voice AI is pulling $8,000 to $30,000 a month in after-hours revenue at stores where customers used to just hit a voicemail, why service advisors are letting calls go unanswered on purpose, and how Mia became the first voice AI company approved by General Motors for their co-op program.

If you think AI is still a future conversation, Scott makes the case that you're already in the same moment as when someone first told you that you needed a website.

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In this episode of the Industry Spotlight, joining host Sam D'Arc are Mike Martucci, General Manager at Jim Ellis Kia, and Kevin Esmezyan, Chief Product Officer at Matador AI to discuss how conversational AI is turning a three-person sales team handling 700 leads a month into a machine that doubles close rates and books service appointments at nearly 90% — while most dealers are still missing after-hours calls and watching customers drive to the competition.

Mike walked into a store with a light lead count and a low close rate and used Matador AI to nearly double both.

To...

Today's show features:

This episode is brought to you by: Podium – Most AI is a black box. Podium's is yours to control — and it increases conversion by upwards of 26%. Check it out at http://podium.com

Check out Car Dealership Guy’s stuff:

CDG Circles ➤ https://cdgcircles.com/

CDG News ➤ https://news.dealershipguy.com/

CDG Jobs ➤ https://jobs.dealershipguy.com/

CDG Recruitin...

Today's show features:

- Matt Haiken, Dealer Principal and President at Prestige Collection Auto Group

- Damon Egan, Service Director at Sherwood Ford

- Luis Malespin, Parts Director at Premier Hyundai

This episode is brought to you by:

Zurich – Zurich Advisor IQ is Zurich’s AI-driven training and coaching platform built to help F&I teams perform more consistently and sell more effectively — using real transaction data, not theory. By analyzing actual F&I transa...

Today I'm joined by AJ McGowan, VP of Research and Development at Reynolds & Reynolds.

He breaks down why fragmented software platforms are quietly limiting what AI can see and do, uses a service drive scenario to show how a fully connected system could surface a high-value trade opportunity in real time, and explains why Reynolds is investing in its own hardware infrastructure to make that scale.

Topics:

03:25 Why Auto AI Is Different.

06:45 Real AI Vs. Gimmicks.

08:45 Why Reynolds Is Buying Hardware.

13:15 The Bloomberg Terminal...

Today's show features:

- Jameson Riley, General Manager at Riley Volvo Cars Stamford

- Eric Barbosa, VP of Variable Operations at Plaza Motors

This episode is brought to you by:

Zurich – Zurich Advisor IQ is Zurich’s AI-driven training and coaching platform built to help F&I teams perform more consistently and sell more effectively — using real transaction data, not theory. By analyzing actual F&I transactions, Zurich Advisor IQ helps identify behaviors and trends influencing results, delivers actionable insigh...

Today I'm joined by Paul J Daly and Kyle Mountsier, Co-founders at More Than Cars.

Paul and Kyle break down exactly how a single exposed API key can hand a hacker access to an entire dealer management system, why dealerships are uniquely at risk given the volume of sensitive customer data they store, and what the best operators are doing to build securely before the first major breach hits the industry.

Topics:

00:25 Dealerships' Most Under-Resourced Dept.

02:40 Why Auto Ads Are The Worst.

04:50 The $734 Symptom Dealers Ignore.<...

Today's show features:

- Vic Keller, Founder and CEO at Experience Ventures

- Namu Keys, Senior Product Marketer, Digital Retail at CDK Global

- Sam Vesely, Director of Marketing & Public Relations at Ford of Cookeville

This episode is brought to you by:

Zurich – Zurich Advisor IQ is Zurich’s AI-driven training and coaching platform built to help F&I teams perform more consistently and sell more effectively — using real transaction data, not theory. By analyz...

Today's show features:

- Matt Bowers, Owner of Matt Bowers Automotive Group

- Vince McIsaac, Director of Parts Operations at Hawk Auto Group

- Jim Sabino, Fixed Operations Director at All American Ford

This episode is brought to you by:

OPENLANE – OPENLANE is getting ready for DealerFest 2026, its biggest customer event of the year. For the entire month of July, earn points for every transaction you make on OPENLANE, and redeem them for incredible pr...

Today I'm joined once again by Alan Haig, President at Haig Partners.

Dealer profits fell 16% in the first quarter of 2026, yet the number of dealerships changing hands surged 39% over the same period last year.

Alan breaks down the capital stockpile dealers built during the COVID era, why franchise values have held steady despite softer earnings, and which brands represent the best buying opportunities right now.

Topics:

00:20 Buy-Sells Boom As Values Drop.

01:45 The Profit Number Dealers Can't Hide.

05:35 39% More Stores Sold.

09:20 Two Beaten...

Today's show features:

- Patrick Haggerty, President/General Manager at Faulkner Infiniti of Willow Grove

- Peter Massimilla Jr, Internet Sales Manager at McGovern CJDR

This episode is brought to you by:

OPENLANE – OPENLANE is getting ready for DealerFest 2026, its biggest customer event of the year. For the entire month of July, earn points for every transaction you make on OPENLANE, and redeem them for incredible prizes! Make sure you’re ready for the rockin’ sales event of the summer...

Welcome to Dealer War Room from Car Dealership Guy, where we sit down with top operators to break down how they're navigating the biggest challenges in auto retail.

These three rural store owners share the specific moves working right now: Scott Simons bought a Chevy store for $6.9M and tripled sales & fixed ops in under a year.

Rob Ruth built a street-sourcing machine buying 300 cars/month from consumers at a 7% cost advantage over auction.

Kyle Coleman launched a $59.99 oil change, driving a 20% jump in customer-paid service visits in 30 days while the industry shrank.<...

Today's show features:

- Ryan Knight, Director of Operations at Knight Automotive Group

- Britt DeJohn, Sr. VP of Business Operations at Impel

- Nicholas Velez, Internet Director at Valley Kia of Fontana

This episode is brought to you by:

OPENLANE – OPENLANE is getting ready for DealerFest 2026, its biggest customer event of the year. For the entire month of July, earn points for every transaction you make on OPENLANE, and redeem them for incredible pr...

In this episode of the Industry Spotlight, joining host Sam D'Arc are Frederick Grimm, Co-Founder and COO of AppraisalPro, and Danny Galat, General Sales Manager at Lithia Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram of Bend, to discuss how dealers are using real-time diagnostic scanning to stop taking hidden mechanical losses on trade-ins and turn a wholesale department that was bleeding money into one that's actually profitable.

Danny walks through the $8,000 Ford Raptor miss that kept him up at night and drove him to find a better way to appraise used vehicles.

The numbers that follow are hard...

Today's show features:

- Joel Love, Service Director at Toyota of Montgomery

- Liam Golightley, SVP Dealer Success at Podium

- Ryan Carlstedt, EVP Fixed Ops at Willis Auto Group

This episode is brought to you by:

Experian – Experian Automotive helps marketers identify and engage high-value auto shoppers, strengthen customer loyalty, grow service revenue, and activate 1,100+ automotive audiences across 30+ advertising platforms. Learn more here: https://carguymedia.com/3RTNi9H

Pod...

In this episode of the Industry Spotlight, joining host Sam D'Arc are Aaron Zeigler, President of Zeigler Auto Group, and Johnny McKellar, who leads NationsGuard for Hendrick Automotive Group, to discuss why Zeigler is leaving its third-party warranty provider to stand up its own dealer-owned program, Zeigler Guard, and what Rick Hendrick himself says has been the single best decision in his 50 years in the car business.

Rick Hendrick joins the conversation to explain how his dealer-owned warranty company became the financial reserve that let him avoid layoffs through COVID, recessions, and 20% interest rate...

Today's show features:

- Michael Cottone, Head of Subaru Motors Finance at Chase Auto

- Steve Rowley, President of Cox Automotive

- Aharon Horwitz, Co-Founder and CEO of Fullpath

- Katie Gattuso Duncan, General Manager at Mohawk Chevrolet

This episode is brought to you by:

Experian – Experian Automotive helps marketers identify and engage high-value auto shoppers, strengthen customer loyalty, grow service revenue, and activate 1,100+ automotive audiences across 30+ advertising platforms. Le...

Today I'm joined by Vic Keller, Founder and CEO at Experience Ventures.

In this conversation, he makes the case that most dealers are sitting on hidden enterprise value they haven't tapped, that the vendor landscape is moving too slowly for dealers who want to win now, and that the single biggest lever in any dealership is still the people, not the platform.

Topics:

01:30 Fixed Ops Is Unbeatable.

02:45 The $2,600 F&I Number.

04:10 The Cold Call That Changed Everything.

07:40 Job Descriptions Don't Work.

11:00 Unicorns...

Today's show features:

- Adam Stein, Executive Director at Plaza Auto Group

- Brian Benstock, Vice President & General Manager at Paragon Honda and Paragon Acura

This episode is brought to you by:

Experian – Experian Automotive helps marketers identify and engage high-value auto shoppers, strengthen customer loyalty, grow service revenue, and activate 1,100+ automotive audiences across 30+ advertising platforms. Learn more here: https://carguymedia.com/3RTNi9H

Check out Car Dealership Guy’s stuff:

Today's show features:

- Dave Rogers, Fixed Operations Director at Piazza Auto Group

- Todd Kaminski, President, Direct Markets at Zurich

- Doug Coyle, Vice President, Direct Markets at Zurich

- Chris Skinner, Fixed Operations Director at Granbury Nissan

This episode is brought to you by:

Stream Companies – How much revenue is slipping through the cracks at your dealership? Stream Companies’ Missed Opportunities Report analyzes your strategy and highlights wher...

In this episode of the Industry Spotlight, joining host Sam D'Arc are Karen Chagnon, VP Sales at Guidepoint Systems, and Ferris Hamdan, General Manager at Wesley Chapel Honda, to discuss why most dealers are operating blind — unaware of which vehicles on their lot have a dead battery, a check engine light, or low fuel, and equally unaware of what's happening inside the vehicles they already sold, data their manufacturer sees but doesn't share with them.

Ferris walks through how Wesley Chapel Honda nearly doubled sales volume to 400 units a month, and credits real-time vehicle he...

Today's show features:

- Joshua Johnson, CEO of Don Johnson Auto Group

- Eric DeMont, Executive Director, Dealer Solutions and Growth at Urban Science

- Shane Wood, General Manager of Port Orchard Ford

This episode is brought to you by:

Stream Companies – How much revenue is slipping through the cracks at your dealership? Stream Companies’ Missed Opportunities Report analyzes your strategy and highlights where you can drive more sales, faster. Request your free report toda...

Today, Sam D'Arc is joined by Jon Alcorn, Operating Partner at Dogwood Automotive Group.

Winchester, Virginia's three-brand Dogwood Auto Group hasn't printed a paper pencil in over a year, yet grosses are up, and finance penetration sits at 89%.

Jon breaks down the two systems behind that shift: a salesperson efficiency scorecard that grades reps from 113% down to 58% on metrics they can actually control, and a digital retailing stack that will deliver a 30-second actual cash value and a 60-second real quote to every online shopper starting June 1.

Topics:

09:30...

Today's show features:

- Tim Pohanka, Vice President & Executive Manager at Pohanka Automotive Group

- Jacob Glassman, Dealer Principal at Brookville Chevrolet

- Frankie Florey, General Sales Manager at Acura Of Denville

This episode is brought to you by:

Stream Companies – How much revenue is slipping through the cracks at your dealership? Stream Companies’ Missed Opportunities Report analyzes your strategy and highlights where you can drive more sales, faster. Request your free report today at h...

In this episode of the Industry Spotlight, joining host Sam D’Arc are Damian Arras, General Sales Manager at Credit Union Auto Sales, and Barton Harris, Chief Revenue Officer of Titan Secure, to discuss a South African-inspired prevention model that stops vehicle theft before a car ever crosses the curb.

Damien shares how his New Mexico dealership eliminated losses by shifting from reactive GPS tracking to proactive ignition and fuel-cut technology.

Barton explains how this "prevention-first" approach secures inventory in high-crime areas while creating a significant F&I revenue stream with a 90% plus customer penetration ra...

Today's show features:

- Nick Ruffolo, Fixed Operations Director at Rohrman

- Matt Norris, Fixed Operations Director at Bozard Ford Lincoln

- Jeremy Stephens, Remote Operations Director at Bozard Ford Lincoln

This episode is brought to you by:

OPENLANE – OPENLANE brings easy, intelligent digital wholesale to dealers across the country, and was once again voted the most preferred digital wholesale marketplace by dealers.

If you’ve never used OPENLANE before, or it’s been...

In this episode of the Industry Spotlight, joining host Sam D'Arc are Ben Atkinson, VP of Auto Lending at Upstart, and Evan Driscoll, General Sales Manager at Audi Jacksonville to discuss why the credit score has become the most overrated number in auto lending and how a full-spectrum dealership running everything from $2,000 used cars to $400,000 Rolls-Royces gets first-time buyers approved at competitive rates with no money down.

Evan breaks down how a slow approval costs his store at least $1,000 per car per day in aging inventory, and how a 10-second automated decision changed the math.

...

Today's show features:

- Kenneth Criscione, Finance Manager at Harte Auto Group

- Rich Stazzone, Director of Business Development at Highstreet Automotive

- Mike Keese, Agency President at Highstreet Automotive

- Dana Wines, Director of Training at WE Auto

- Valerie Niedermeier, Director of Community Relations at WE Auto

This episode is brought to you by:

OPENLANE – OPENLANE brings easy, intelligent digital wholesale to de...

Today I'm joined by Marcello Sciarrino, Co-Owner at Island Auto Group.

Marcello runs 20 stores across New York and New Jersey — the 37th largest business in New York State, ahead of the Yankees and the Giants — and he watched peers go from 3 stores to 12 overnight while he and his partners sat on their hands.

He breaks down the math trap killing over-leveraged dealers, why brokers in the New York market are secretly extracting thousands per deal at the consumer's expense, and why his next big bet isn't more acquisitions — it's 70 to 100 new service bays in the next 1...

Today's show features:

- Manny Sedano, Dealer Principal at Sedano Chevy and Sedano Ford

- Andrew Sweet, CEO of SelectFI

- Chris Taylor, Owner of Certified Auto Brokers

- Katie Lamphere, Founder of Veterans in Automotive

This episode is brought to you by:

OPENLANE – OPENLANE brings easy, intelligent digital wholesale to dealers across the country, and was once again voted the most preferred digital wholesale marketplace by dealers.

...

Today's show features:

- Spencer Nicholson, Fixed Operations Director at Stuckey Automotive

- Xavier Rivera, Service Director at Greenacres Nissan & I-95 Nissan

This episode is brought to you by:

Zurich – Zurich helps dealers operate with clarity, confidence and certainty — driving stronger performance today while protecting long‑term value. From proven F&I processes and insights‑driven training to income‑generating programs, profit participation, and risk management solutions, Zurich is built to help dealers win now — and build for what’s next. Discov...

In this episode of the Industry Spotlight, joining host Sam D'Arc are Art Dessein, Vice President of Sales at Impel, and Rebekah Scheussler, Business Development Director at Walters Auto Group to discuss why luxury dealers are quietly losing service customers to independent shops and how AI is rebuilding the personalized experience at scale across both sales and service.

This conversation surfaces the silent retention leak inside fixed operations: a nine-minute average service hold time, an 80% abandonment rate on the online service scheduler, and 190,000 independent shops siphoning loyal owners away.

Walters has run 107,000 leads and over 600,000...

Today's show features:

- Christian Crain, VP of Operations at Crain Automotive

- Doug Fusco, Managing Partner, Dealer Compliance at Informativ

- Leo Portaluppi, Owner/CEO at P4 Automotive

This episode is brought to you by:

Zurich – Zurich helps dealers operate with clarity, confidence and certainty — driving stronger performance today while protecting long‑term value. From proven F&I processes and insights‑driven training to income‑generating programs, profit participation, and risk management solutions, Zurich is...

Today I'm joined by Corina Straub Diehl, CEO and President at Diehl Automotive Group.

After the sudden loss of her husband in 2007, Corina ignored advice to sell the business and instead scaled it into a 24-store powerhouse generating over a billion dollars in revenue.

This conversation breaks down her "rebel" leadership style, her aggressive 5-year ROI acquisition strategy, and why she views collision centers as the ultimate customer retention tool.

This episode is brought to you by:

1. Openlane - If you’ve never used OPENLANE be...

Today's show features:

- Chris Hudson, GM at Mark Miller Subaru

- Lee Perine, VP of Partnerships at YASSI

- Scott Simons, Dealer Principal at Simons Chevrolet GMC

This episode is brought to you by:

Zurich – Zurich helps dealers operate with clarity, confidence and certainty — driving stronger performance today while protecting long‑term value. From proven F&I processes and insights‑driven training to income‑generating programs, profit participation, and risk management solutions, Zurich is built t...

  Today's show features:

- Scott Morrison, Fixed Operations Director at Mercedes Benz of Hampton - Dave Thomas, Director, Content Marketing at CDK Global

- Richard Lupo, Fixed Operations Director at Apple Tree Honda and Acura

This episode is brought to you by:

Uber For Business – Not every service customer needs a loaner. Uber for Business gives your dealership a lower-cost courtesy ride option for customers whose vehicles are in the shop. Same convenience, less overhead. Book a demo and they’ll buy you lunch with an Ube...

In this episode of the Industry Spotlight, joining host Sam D’Arc are Nathan Johns, CFO of Smith Auto Group, and Justin Feist, President of Auto Dealer Payments, to discuss how credit card processing is the "last frontier" of dealership expense management, yet most CFOs struggle to decipher their 20-page monthly statements.

This conversation pulls back the curtain on how processors use "price creep" to erode margins and why dealerships are structurally disadvantaged in the world of chargebacks.

We break down how to audit your effective rate and implement a defense strategy to reclaim lost pr...

In this episode of the Industry Spotlight, joining host Sam D’Arc are Dennis Gingrich, Sales and Finance Director at the Niello Company, and George Chamoun, CEO of ACV Auctions to discuss the shift from gut-based appraisals to VIN-specific data science and how Niello Company exploded their lead volume by democratizing trade-in values.

George breaks down why traditional inventory management is dying and how automated service drive inspections are uncovering hidden $8,000 mistakes before they hit the books.

This conversation highlights the tension between "the artist" manager and the machine, proving that transparency is the ultimate to...