David Barkholz

Dealer swaps shoe leather for Facebook
When Chris Morrison started out as a car salesman 30 years ago in the placid southern Mississippi city of McComb, he spent every Tuesday at local employers handing out bu ...

Snap-Happy
Donna Gebers, general manager of East Bay BMW and East Bay Mini in Pleasanton, Calif., makes no apologies for including at least 60 photos of each used vehicle. ...

Veteran Texas dealer mines data to sell pickups
It takes something special to get Hayden Elder's attention now that he has run a Chrysler dealership in Texas for decades. But software installed at Elder Chrysler-Dodge- ...

AutoTrader's VinSolutions buys Haystak Digital Marketing
VinSolutions, a unit of the AutoTrader Group, has agreed to buy Haystak Digital Marketing. ...

Study: Think python, not buying funnel
Car shoppers 25 to 39 years old are trashing the traditional path to a vehicle purchase, according to a new study by Incisent Labs. ...

Affinity sales saved the day for TrueCar
TrueCar Inc. owes its survival to the 1,500 associations, including USAA and AAA, that give their members an opportunity to buy vehicles through the online auto-shopping ...

Suzuki's top-selling U.S. dealer finds a new path with Subaru
Closing up shop was not an option for Scott Pitman, America's best-selling Suzuki dealer. He couldn't fathom leaving the business and laying off 86 employees at his Suzuk ...

Why ADP Digital Marketing became GM's neighbor in Detroit
ADP Dealer Services is looking for goodwill and good designers (not necessarily in that order) in deciding to open a digital marketing innovation office in downtown Detro ...

'Ask my manager' is taboo to car buyers, study says
Dealers who want showroom shoppers to have a satisfying buying experience should avoid getting more than one employee involved in price negotiations, a study by Maritz Re ...

Used-car shoppers want it all online
Dealers should post rich information online to sell used vehicles, not just new ones, according to respondents in a new study by J.D Power and Associates. ...

If Uncle Rich made me store Internet boss
In the fast-changing world of digital auto marketing, it's challenging for a dealer to separate important sales tactics from the clutter. ...

Social media aid Visteon design
Visteon Corp. is using social media-style software to share part designs with potential customers and employees, a process it says will help speed new products to market. ...

Subaru uses Google to clear out '13 Foresters
Subaru of America in the first quarter used Google and other digital marketing to reduce inventory of its 2013 Forester crossover and make way for the redesigned 2014 mod ...

Subaru uses Google to clear out 2013 Foresters
dbarkholz@crain.com ...

AutoTrader CEO Perry to resign
Chip Perry, AutoTrader.com's only CEO since the company began operating in 1997, will resign effective May 1. ...

Study: Car shoppers' loyalty rises
Loyalty to dealers and vehicle brands is on the rise, but so is customer impatience with dealers who fail to provide information in a timely manner, according to a study ...

AutoTrader CEO Perry to resign May 1
Chip Perry, AutoTrader.com's only CEO since the company began operating in 1997, will resign effective May 1. ...

Infiniti will get new DMS
Infiniti is preparing to retire InfinitiNet, a homegrown dealer communication and management system that Infiniti dealers have used since the premium brand's first U.S. v ...

Scion to Kansas City: We have a Google problem
Scion is changing its online presence in a pilot it launched in December. Scion is buying pay-per-click advertising on Google for all 41 Scion stores in the six-state Kan ...

Infiniti will get new DMS
Infiniti is preparing to retire InfinitiNet, a homegrown dealer communication and management system that Infiniti dealers have used since the premium brand's first U.S. v ...

Google's national shopping plan has dealers on edge
Dealers are greeting with angst -- and anticipation -- Google's intention to roll out nationally an online vehicle shopping service. ...

Drilling data for repeat sales
Software that peers into a dealership's own data to anticipate when customers are ripe for a new vehicle has helped Daytona Toyota-Scion almost double monthly vehicle sal ...

Study: Fickle shoppers need salespeople
Even though online shopping gives shoppers more information and clout, salespeople still play a key role in closing deals, given the propensity of shoppers to change thei ...

Google poised for major retail push
Google is poised to expand its online car-shopping service to dealers throughout California and enter more states, sources say. ...