AutoNation and Scott Painter patch things up

After a public feud over customer-data access led to severed ties, AutoNation and TrueCar made amends. Now, the dealership group is giving Scott Painter, who was at TrueCar's helm throughout the quarrel, a second chance.

AutoNation, the nation's largest dealership group, last week announced a partnership with Fair, a used-vehicle leasing subscription service. Painter is Fair's CEO.

"The process has begun to rebuild a relationship between AutoNation and Scott," Marc Cannon, AutoNation's chief marketing officer, told Automotive News. But working with the Fair model and with Georg Bauer, chairman of Fair and former CEO of Mercedes-Benz Credit Corp., was the draw, he said. AutoNation CEO Mike Jackson worked closely with Bauer when Jackson led Mercedes-Benz USA in the late '90s.

Through Fair, which launched in August 2017, consumers can shop for used-vehicle leases with no term via a mobile app. They scan their licenses to get prequalified for a range of monthly payments that cover maintenance, a warranty, insurance and roadside assistance. Rather than stick to a two- or four-year lease term, with five days' notice, customers can return their vehicles whenever they want.

Fair has partnered with more than 3,000 dealerships nationwide, including three of AutoNation's public retailer peers: Penske Automotive Group, Asbury Automotive Group and Group 1 Automotive, a Fair spokeswoman said.

The company operates in 23 markets in 14 states and will have a nationwide footprint by year end, she said.

In 2015, TrueCar demanded that AutoNation share customer data for all of its transactions, not just TrueCar-related sales. That customer information would include 41 data points on each AutoNation vehicle sold, Jackson said. His response? "Over my dead body."

AutoNation and TrueCar cut ties in July 2015, and Painter resigned within a month.

Three years later, AutoNation calls TrueCar one of its best partners, crediting Chip Perry, Painter's successor, with the repaired relationship.

The Fair spokeswoman declined to comment on the history between AutoNation and Painter, saying that AutoNation and Fair are simply "looking forward."

"We see a lot of strategic alignment between how our companies are approaching customer innovation across our industry," she said, "and that is where all of our executive team's focus will be."