Dealers talk through three big pressures: staffing, customer loss, and used-inventory sourcing. On the tech shortage, Joshua Johnson argues, “We are well beyond our ability to try and recruit our way out of this,” and points to NADA’s apprenticeship-in-a-box pipeline. Eric DeMont/Urban Science counters with “data defection,” showing how dealers can spot leads they “don't even know we've lost.” The group also weighs operational realities—UAW supply disruptions, and Shane Wood’s “inventory cliff” and “buy center” approach to tightening used supply.
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 today at https://www.streamcompanies.com/MissedOpportunitiesReport/
Urban Science – Urban Science® is a leading automotive consultancy and technology firm serving automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and dealers, and the agencies that support them. The company provides the only source of U.S. industry-wide automotive sales data, updated daily. For more information, visit https://www.urbanscience.com/
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"Kia with hybrid sales spiking 179% and EV sales, they're up 133%... The common thread across all four is hybrids unsurprisingly carry the load."
“Hybrid sales” means how many hybrid cars a company sold. A hybrid car uses both a gas engine and an electric motor, so it can be more efficient than a regular gas-only car.
“Hybrid sales” refers to the number of vehicles sold that use a hybrid powertrain—typically combining an internal-combustion engine with an electric motor and battery. In this segment, the host treats hybrids as the main reason multiple brands’ sales are rising.
"Kia with hybrid sales spiking 179% and EV sales, they're up 133%... The common thread across all four is hybrids unsurprisingly carry the load."
“EV sales” means how many fully electric cars were sold. These cars run on electricity from a battery instead of using gasoline like a normal car.
“EV sales” means sales of electric vehicles—cars powered primarily by electricity stored in a battery rather than gasoline. The segment contrasts EV growth with hybrid growth to show how electrified models are driving brand momentum.
"The CRV hybrid alone, it accounted for 24,401 vehicles."
The Honda CR-V is an SUV. The “hybrid” version uses both an engine and an electric system to help it use less fuel. Here, they’re saying the hybrid CR-V sold a lot and helped Honda’s sales.
The Honda CR-V is a compact crossover SUV, and the “hybrid” version uses a hybrid powertrain to improve fuel economy versus a conventional gasoline-only setup. In this segment, the host highlights the CR-V Hybrid’s sales contribution as a key driver of Honda’s overall May results.
"Mazda had its best month since July 2025 at 39,000 units with the CX 50 hybrid posting its best month ever."
The Mazda CX-50 is an SUV. The hybrid version combines a gas engine with an electric system to help it go farther on fuel. They’re pointing to it as part of why Mazda’s sales were strong.
The Mazda CX-50 is a compact crossover SUV, and the “hybrid” variant adds an electrified powertrain to reduce fuel use and emissions compared with a non-hybrid model. The segment uses the CX-50 Hybrid as an example of Mazda’s strongest month and how hybrids are performing.
"Next up on the policy front, a new bipartisan bill called the Motor Vehicle Modernization Act of 2026 could create significant complications for Mercedes-Benz in the US market."
This is a proposed U.S. law the host says could change rules for car companies. If a company has certain foreign owners, the law could limit whether it can sell or make cars in the U.S. The concern here is that Mercedes might be affected.
The “Motor Vehicle Modernization Act of 2026” is discussed as a proposed U.S. policy that could restrict automakers’ ability to import, sell, or manufacture vehicles if certain foreign ownership thresholds are met. The segment frames it as a potential complication specifically for Mercedes-Benz due to its major shareholders’ foreign ties.
"Well, they're Chinese state-owned BAIC at 9.98% and Geely founder Lee Shufu at 9.69%..."
Lee Shufu is the founder of Geely. In this segment, he’s mentioned because he owns a meaningful stake in the Mercedes ownership structure, which could affect how U.S. rules apply.
Lee Shufu is identified in the segment as the Geely founder and a major shareholder connected to Mercedes-Benz. The host uses his ownership stake to quantify why the proposed bill could treat Mercedes as having significant foreign-controlled ownership.
"Well, Mercedes-Benz two largest individual shareholders. Well, they're Chinese state-owned BAIC at 9.98% and Geely founder Lee Shufu at 9.69%..."
BAIC is a Chinese company in the auto industry. In this segment, it’s mentioned because it owns a portion of Mercedes, and that ownership could matter if a new U.S. law limits foreign-controlled automakers.
BAIC is a Chinese state-owned automaker group mentioned here as one of Mercedes-Benz’s largest shareholders. The segment uses BAIC’s stake to explain why Mercedes could be targeted by the proposed foreign-ownership restrictions in the bill.
"Well, they're Chinese state-owned BAIC at 9.98% and Geely founder Lee Shufu at 9.69%... Volvo, which is majority owned by Geely, recently received a government exemption to continue US sales."
Geely is a Chinese auto company. Here it matters because it’s tied to Mercedes through ownership, and it also owns Volvo—so the host uses Volvo’s exemption as a clue about how the rules might play out.
Geely is a Chinese automaker group referenced as a major shareholder connection to Mercedes-Benz and as the parent company of Volvo. The segment also notes Volvo receiving a government exemption to keep selling in the U.S., implying how ownership structure can affect policy outcomes.
"Next up, UAW workers at a Dow Corp supplier plant in Three Rivers, Michigan, they walked out Monday over wages and the timing matters for GM truck dealers. The plant manufactures axle components for the Chevrolet Colorado GMC Canyon..."
An axle is a key part that helps the wheels move and lets the drivetrain deliver power to them. If the factory that makes axle parts stops or slows down, new trucks can’t be built as quickly.
Axle components are the parts that transmit power and support the wheels—typically including the axle shafts, differential-related parts, and related hardware. If a supplier making axle components is disrupted, truck production can slow because assemblies can’t be completed.
"The plant manufactures axle components for the Chevrolet Colorado GMC Canyon and heavy-beauty Silverado and Sierra pickups."
The GMC Sierra is a full-size pickup truck. Here it’s mentioned because the axle parts for it come from the same supplier plant that’s currently disrupted.
The GMC Sierra is GMC’s full-size pickup line within General Motors. It’s referenced because the supplier plant manufactures axle components that can affect Sierra production if labor negotiations stall.
"The plant manufactures axle components for the Chevrolet Colorado GMC Canyon and heavy-beauty Silverado and Sierra pickups."
The Chevrolet Colorado is a mid-size pickup truck. Here it’s mentioned because the factory being discussed makes axle parts that go into trucks like the Colorado.
The Chevrolet Colorado is a mid-size pickup truck built by General Motors. In this segment it’s mentioned because a supplier plant makes axle components used on the Colorado (and related GM trucks).
"The plant manufactures axle components for the Chevrolet Colorado GMC Canyon and heavy-beauty Silverado and Sierra pickups."
The Chevrolet Silverado is a full-size pickup truck. The podcast mentions it because axle parts for these trucks are made at the plant that’s facing a labor walkout.
The Chevrolet Silverado is a full-size pickup line from General Motors. The segment ties it to production risk because axle components for Silverado are made at the supplier plant in Three Rivers, Michigan.
"The plant manufactures axle components for the Chevrolet Colorado GMC Canyon and heavy-beauty Silverado and Sierra pickups."
The GMC Canyon is a mid-size pickup truck. In this story, it matters because the factory makes axle parts that are used on the Canyon.
The GMC Canyon is a mid-size pickup truck from General Motors’ GMC brand. It’s included here because the supplier plant makes axle components for Canyon models alongside the Colorado.
"Ram posted a 20% sales gain in Q1 while Ford dealt with its own truck supply constraints from supplier plant buyers."
Ram is a truck brand. The podcast is saying Ram is doing well in sales, and supply problems at other brands can help Ram attract more buyers.
Ram is the truck brand within Stellantis, best known for its lineup of pickups. The segment mentions Ram’s sales gain and CEO strategy because supply disruptions at GM can create an opening for Ram to win truck buyers.
"Ram posted a 20% sales gain in Q1 while Ford dealt with its own truck supply constraints from supplier plant buyers."
Ford is a car company that makes trucks. The segment mentions Ford because its truck supply was also constrained by supplier problems.
Ford is a major automaker whose truck production can be affected by supplier constraints. Here it’s mentioned alongside Ram to show how different brands are dealing with supply-chain timing issues.
"Ram's CEO has been openly looking for ways to capture more truck buyers, and a GM inventory gap, even a temporary one, gives rivals a window."
An inventory gap means there aren’t enough vehicles available to sell right now. If one brand runs short, shoppers may buy from competing brands instead.
An inventory gap is a shortfall between how many vehicles (or key parts) are available and how many are needed to meet demand. In this context, a GM inventory gap—especially if temporary—can shift sales toward rivals like Ram and Ford.
"They renamed it CDGR and bringing the Michelacca-based group to 24 stores across five states."
CDGR is the new shortened name for that dealership after it was rebranded. It still represents the same set of brands the store sells.
CDGR is the shortened dealership name used after Victory Clyde Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram was renamed. It’s a branding shorthand that signals the store’s Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep/Ram franchise identity.
"And Jason Patak of Woodhouse Auto Family closed on Ferrari of Denver, props to him in that acquisition, from Lithia Motors on May 28th."
Ferrari of Denver is a dealership that sells and supports Ferrari cars in the Denver area. The podcast is talking about a dealership acquisition and what happens to the store name.
Ferrari of Denver is a Ferrari-branded dealership location. The segment notes it was acquired from Lithia Motors, which is relevant to how dealership ownership and local service/sales channels shift for the Ferrari brand.
"And Jason Patak of Woodhouse Auto Family closed on Ferrari of Denver, props to him in that acquisition, from Lithia Motors on May 28th."
Lithia Motors is a company that owns dealerships. Here, it’s mentioned because it sold a dealership location (Ferrari of Denver) to another dealer group.
Lithia Motors is a dealership company that owns and operates many stores across the U.S. In this segment, it’s the seller in a dealership acquisition involving Ferrari of Denver.
"And Jason Patak of Woodhouse Auto Family closed on Ferrari of Denver, props to him in that acquisition, from Lithia Motors on May 28th."
Jason Patak is the person credited with completing a dealership purchase. The episode is tracking dealership ownership changes, so his name matters.
Jason Patak is identified as the person completing a dealership acquisition (Ferrari of Denver). In dealership-focused episodes, named buyers are useful because they signal who is expanding store footprints and brand presence.
"[817.4s] once he gets back from Monaco, says,
[819.4s] Hey, Sam, I'm in Monaco for the annual F1 Grand Pre-Race Rally
[822.7s] with a ton of dealer principles."
Monaco is a famous place in Europe known for luxury and for hosting major motorsport events like Formula 1.
Monaco is a principality on the French Riviera and a major motorsport destination. The episode references an F1 Grand Pre-Race Rally there, tying the dealer audience to Formula 1 culture.
"[831.5s] The issue with tech is payouts for hours from warranty companies.
[835.8s] Do you give any advice as you're going through this training, Joshua,
[840.3s] on warranty reimbursement, labor reimbursement?"
When a car is fixed under warranty, the shop has to do the work first. Warranty reimbursement is how the shop later gets paid back for that warranty repair.
Warranty reimbursement is how a dealer gets paid back for work performed under a manufacturer’s warranty. It typically covers the approved labor time and parts costs, but the exact payout can vary by contract and by location.
"[835.8s] Do you give any advice as you're going through this training, Joshua,
[840.3s] on warranty reimbursement, labor reimbursement?
[843.7s] And Igor, I would say you're correct,"
Labor reimbursement is what the shop gets paid for the technician’s time. If the paperwork or time allowance doesn’t match what the repair actually took, the shop may not get fully covered.
Labor reimbursement is the payment for technician time spent on a warranty (or other approved) repair. Dealers are usually reimbursed based on a standardized labor time guide, so disputes often come down to whether the job is being paid at the correct hours.
"[843.7s] And Igor, I would say you're correct,
[845.2s] but I would actually say that very state by state.
[847.9s] The NADA has done a great job of creating reimbursement rates
[851.6s] state by state across the country,"
NADA is a dealer industry group in the U.S. Here, they’re mentioned as helping set up reimbursement rates that can differ from state to state.
NADA refers to the National Automobile Dealers Association, an industry group that represents franchised car dealers in the U.S. In this context, it’s credited with helping create standardized reimbursement rates by state, which affects how dealers get paid for warranty work.
"[851.6s] state by state across the country,
[853.4s] and OEM labor reimbursements very wildly.
[858.2s] But there's a lot of protections in the individual states"
OEM means the original car maker—the company that built the vehicle. In warranty talk, it usually refers to the brand’s rules for how repairs get paid.
OEM stands for original equipment manufacturer—the company that built the vehicle and supplies the warranty program. In dealer discussions, “OEM” is often used to distinguish manufacturer-approved reimbursement rules from other payment sources.
"...give them an incentive to come in and experience the service bay, come in for a oil change."
A “service bay” is the shop area where the dealership works on cars. The idea is to get customers in for service so they’re more likely to come back.
A “service bay” is the garage/work area inside a dealership where technicians perform maintenance and repairs. The hosts are describing using a service visit (like an oil change) to improve customer retention and future business.
"...give them an incentive to come in and experience the service bay, come in for a oil change."
An oil change is when a shop replaces the old engine oil with new oil. It helps keep the engine running smoothly, and it’s also a common reason people visit a dealership for service.
An oil change is routine maintenance where the engine oil is drained and replaced with fresh oil, often along with an oil filter. It’s a key service visit that dealerships use to keep customers coming back and to maintain vehicle health.
Concept
repeat purchase
"...it also increases the repeat purchase of those folks that went out of cycle, bought somewhere else, but then they're coming back to the dealer."
“Repeat purchase” means the customer comes back to buy again. In this case, it’s about people returning to the dealer after they previously went somewhere else.
“Repeat purchase” refers to customers buying again after an initial transaction—here, returning to the dealer for service after going elsewhere. Dealerships track this because it’s a major driver of long-term profitability.
"...appreciate your perspective on how customers are becoming more price sensitive."
“Price sensitive” means people care a lot about the cost and deals. If they’re price sensitive, they may switch dealers if another place offers a better price.
Being “price sensitive” means customers are more likely to choose based on price and discounts rather than brand loyalty or service experience. The segment ties this to dealership competition and the need for follow-up and incentives.
"So a couple months ago, the FTC sent out a letter to 97 dealer groups across the country
...that might be flagged to the FTC"
The FTC is a U.S. government agency that helps protect consumers from unfair or misleading business practices. In this segment, it’s being mentioned because the FTC sent a letter about dealership advertising and pricing behavior.
The FTC (Federal Trade Commission) is a U.S. federal agency that enforces consumer-protection and advertising rules. Here, it’s referenced in connection with alleged dealer-group practices involving advertised price and related conduct.
"In your date on defection, are you seeing a shift over the past 60, 90 days that kind of takes in that letter
...we are bringing to market a capability to survey those defectors three days after they purchase at a competitive dealership, asking them about the reasons for loss."
“Defection” here means a customer didn’t end up buying at the dealership you’re talking about—they bought somewhere else. The discussion is about why that happens and what dealers can learn from it.
In dealership talk, “defection” means a customer leaves one dealership and buys elsewhere. The hosts discuss how dealers can lose sales due to issues like pricing tactics or poor customer treatment, and how those reasons can be surveyed after purchase.
"Amongst the things that we see when it is price related, we've even seen some things like bait and switch, or those things that might be flagged to the FTC"
“Bait and switch” means a dealership advertises a great deal to get you interested, but then tries to move you to a different deal that costs more. The host says this is the kind of behavior that could be flagged by regulators.
“Bait and switch” is a deceptive sales practice where a seller advertises an attractive price or offer (“bait”) but then steers the buyer to a different, usually more expensive outcome (“switch”). In this segment, it’s mentioned as a pricing-related issue that could trigger FTC scrutiny and hurt dealership trust.
"Let the dealer take that 1K loss leader if they're going to do that
[2140.9s] to try to put a month together at the end of the month."
A “loss leader” is a deal where the dealer may not make money right away. The hope is that it brings the customer in, and then the dealer makes money later through other work—like service.
A “loss leader” is an offer priced so the dealer expects to lose money on it in the short term to attract customers. The segment suggests using a loss leader strategically to help “put a month together,” then ultimately retain the customer through ongoing service.
"So Eric Damont, executive director, dealer solutions and growth at Urban Science.
[2150.9s] Thanks so much for joining the show to discuss all things defection."
Eric Damont is the guest in this part of the show. He works with dealer-focused solutions and is here to talk about how dealerships can keep or regain customers.
Eric Damont is identified as an executive director for dealer solutions and growth at Urban Science. He’s the guest being brought in to discuss dealership “defection” and how dealers can win customers back.
"So Eric Damont, executive director, dealer solutions and growth at Urban Science.
[2150.9s] Thanks so much for joining the show to discuss all things defection."
Urban Science is a company that helps car dealers with data and technology. The guest is talking about dealer strategies using that kind of support.
Urban Science is a company that provides data and technology solutions for automotive retail operations. In this segment, it’s referenced through an executive role focused on dealer solutions and growth.
"So Eager, if you got a bunch of dealers, you're on a boat,
[2185.5s] you can fire up that Starlink and join the show live Friday."
Starlink is satellite-based internet. They’re mentioning it so someone can livestream or join the show even while away from normal internet access.
Starlink is a satellite internet service. The host mentions it as a practical way to get reliable connectivity to join the show while traveling (e.g., on a boat).
"...ok $20,000, $30,000 losses to get into this cheap Camry with good gas mileage. We haven't seen that this ..."
The Toyota Camry is a regular-sized family car (a sedan). It’s known for getting good gas mileage, which is why people look for it when they want to spend less on fuel. The podcast brings it up while talking about the cost of finding a Camry that’s both affordable and efficient.
The Toyota Camry is a mid-size sedan that’s widely known for efficient everyday driving and strong fuel economy. It’s frequently mentioned in pricing discussions because it can be a relatively affordable way to get into a reliable, gas-efficient car. In the podcast context, it’s used to illustrate how buyers may face significant price differences when shopping for a “cheap” Camry with good mileage.
"Last time you were on, you were six months into building out a buy center culture from scratch. Tell us where that sits today because getting that great used car, that's still job number one or two..."
A “buy center” is where a dealership focuses on getting used cars in stock. “Culture” here means how the team is organized and trained to buy cars consistently and efficiently.
A “buy center” is a dealership operation focused on acquiring used vehicles (often via trade-ins, purchases, and sourcing). “Buy center culture” refers to the internal process and mindset that prioritizes consistent buying and conversion of those acquisitions into inventory.
"And we're seeing what I would describe as like an inventory cliff right now in automotive. We have fewer leasing happening."
An “inventory cliff” means there are suddenly fewer cars available for dealers to sell. In this case, it’s tied to fewer leased cars coming back and people keeping their cars longer.
An “inventory cliff” describes a sharp reduction in available vehicle inventory—here, specifically fewer used cars available to dealers. It’s often driven by upstream changes like lower leasing volumes and longer vehicle retention by owners.
"We have fewer leasing happening. I think in 2019, we were seeing about 32% of new vehicles were leased. And now that number is down to 23%..."
Leasing is like renting a car for a few years with monthly payments. When fewer people lease, fewer cars are returned later, so there can be fewer used cars available to buy and sell.
Leasing is a financing structure where you pay to use a vehicle for a set term, then typically return it (or buy it at a pre-set price). When leasing drops, fewer vehicles come back to the market later, which can tighten used-car supply.
Concept
SAR dip
"Now you have a situation where four years ago, 2022, we saw the SAR dip is lowest 14 million. It's starting to rise again. But that's a huge drop in available used cars right now."
“SAR” is a dealer-industry number that tracks something about how many cars are available and how sales are moving. The point here is that it bottomed out around 2022 and is improving, but the earlier shortage still hurts used-car availability.
“SAR” is an industry shorthand often used in dealer reporting for a sales/availability metric related to used-car supply (the exact definition can vary by source). The speaker is saying that the SAR metric hit a low point around 2022 and is now rising again, but the earlier drop still left a large used-car shortage.
"But that's a huge drop in available used cars right now. And to boot, which it's a good thing for service, we have people holding onto cars longer than ever."
It means people are keeping their cars for more years instead of switching sooner. That can reduce the number of used cars dealerships get from trade-ins and returns.
“Holding onto cars longer” means owners are keeping their vehicles for more years before replacing them. That reduces the flow of trade-ins and lease returns, which can worsen used-car inventory shortages even if demand stays steady.
"But that's 15 unique cars that are not paying transport and are not paying
auction fees and are giving me a little bit of life in my used car department"
Auction fees are the extra charges you pay when you buy cars through an auction. The speaker is saying the buy center helps avoid those extra costs.
“Auction fees” are the charges a buyer pays to participate in and purchase vehicles at an auction (separate from the bid price). The speaker contrasts buy-center sourcing with auction sourcing by saying these cars aren’t incurring auction fees, improving used inventory profitability.
"He's buying around 15.
But that's 15 unique cars that are not paying transport and are not paying
auction fees and are giving me a little bit of life in my used car department"
Transport is the shipping or moving cost to get a car from where it was purchased to the dealership. Avoiding it means the dealership keeps more money on each car.
In used-car sourcing, “transport” refers to the cost and logistics of moving a vehicle from where it’s bought (or where it’s located) to the dealership. The speaker says the cars coming through the buy center avoid transport costs, which improves the used department’s economics.
"Has it allowed you to reduce your reliance on auctions?
Have you bought less vehicles at auctions?"
If a dealer relies on auctions, they’re mostly buying cars through auction houses. The question here is whether the buy center lets them buy more cars another way instead.
“Reliance on auctions” describes a dealership’s dependence on auction channels for acquiring used inventory. The host asks whether the buy center has reduced that dependence, which would typically mean more predictable sourcing and potentially lower acquisition costs.
"You flagged forward at 105 days supply. Give us your take on OEM winning in first half of 2026."
“Days supply” is a way to estimate how long the cars sitting on lots will last. If it’s high, there are more cars than the market is buying right now; if it’s low, cars may sell out faster.
“Days supply” is an inventory metric that estimates how many days the current stock will last at the current sales pace. In dealer and OEM discussions, a higher days-supply number can mean slower sales or excess inventory, while a lower number can mean tighter availability.
"As it relates to supply, I don't know how Stellantis is doing on a day supply standpoint. I know Ford is doing okay still."
Stellantis is a big car company that makes multiple brands. Here, they’re being discussed in terms of whether they’re getting enough cars to dealers and how that affects deals.
Stellantis is a major automaker formed from the merger of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and PSA Group. In this segment, the host discusses Stellantis’ supply situation and how dealer buy-sell activity is responding to inventory availability.
"I know Ford is doing okay still. F-150 is an issue, but that's mostly because we are not building enough of them right now."
The Ford F-150 is a very popular pickup truck. The host is saying the issue is that there aren’t enough of them being produced, so dealers can’t get as many as customers want.
The Ford F-150 is Ford’s best-selling pickup, and it’s being singled out here as a supply problem. The host’s point is that the truck is constrained not because of demand, but because Ford isn’t building enough of them right now.
"We've just talked about Carvana, what they're doing at some of these Stellantis stores, and amazing."
Carvana is a company that sells cars, often through an online-first shopping experience. In this segment, it’s mentioned as part of what’s happening at certain dealer locations and how deals are changing.
Carvana is an online used-car retailer that also operates physical vending-lot style stores. Here, the host references Carvana’s actions at some Stellantis stores as an example of how dealer inventory and pricing momentum can improve when supply tightens and then eases.
Term
multipliers
"So, I'm feeling good about Stellantis. Stellantis is on the upswing in terms of multipliers."
“Multipliers” here is a shorthand for how strongly the market is responding to inventory—basically how much demand and pricing strength you’re seeing. The host is saying Stellantis is getting better on that measure.
In dealer/OEM inventory talk, “multipliers” typically refers to a pricing or sales-rate factor used to describe how inventory levels translate into demand and deal strength. The host uses it to say Stellantis is improving in terms of how strongly cars are moving and being priced relative to supply.
Brand
Nissan Infinity
"Stellantis is on the upswing in terms of multipliers. I also think Nissan Infinity. You see people that got great deals on those brands and they're riding the wave up, we hope."
This seems to be talking about Nissan and Infiniti (Nissan’s luxury brand). The host is saying people who got good deals earlier are now seeing things get better.
The transcript appears to reference Nissan and Infiniti together; Infiniti is Nissan’s luxury brand. The host’s point is that shoppers who found “great deals” on those brands are now benefiting as the market improves.
Select text to request an explanation
Hey, everybody, welcome back to another episode of the Daily Dealer Live.
I'm your host Sam Darkin.
Thanks for choosing to be here on this third day of June, this Wednesday, coming up today.
We've got two of the best dealers in the business who will tell you the same thing.
You don't win by recruiting talent.
You win by building it.
Josh Johnson has stopped chasing techs and started growing his own.
Shane Wood built a buy center from scratch and is now developing the people to run it.
Both are betting everything on the human side of this business.
And then there's the uncomfortable question hanging over it all.
What about the customers you're losing and don't know you've lost them yet?
Eric DeMont from Urban Sciences here to argue that most dealers obsess over their wins
and stay willfully blind to their defections.
So here's the show.
Two dealers who believe people drive every number that matters.
And one data guy who says the numbers are already telling us where it's broken if you just look.
Develop your way to growth or measure your way there.
Today, we find out it's both.
A reminder, we're streaming live across all CDG social media platforms.
Post your comments into the chat.
We've already got the automotive retired guy saying, hey, Sam, what's up?
What's up?
We've got Brian Schwelling coming in.
Aaron Norman, that must be a secret message for someone out there.
Let's dive into today's auto industry headline.
All right.
First up today, taking a look at May sales first, Kia posted a record 80,000
80,000 units, which is up 11% year over year.
Kia with hybrid sales spiking 179% and EV sales, they're up 133%.
Hyundai sold 87,000 vehicles up 3% with hybrid sales jumping 90% year over year and four models
setting new May records.
How did Honda do in the month of May?
Well, they tallied 148,000 units for the month, including a hybrid sales record of 42,500 vehicles.
The CRV hybrid alone, it accounted for 24,401 vehicles.
Mazda had its best month since July 2025 at 39,000 units with the CX 50 hybrid
posting its best month ever.
The common thread across all four is hybrids unsurprisingly carry the load.
Next up on the policy front, a new bipartisan bill called the Motor Vehicle Modernization
Act of 2026 could create significant complications for Mercedes-Benz in the US market.
The proposed legislation would borrow automakers in which a 15% stake is controlled by foreign
adversaries from importing, selling or manufacturing vehicles for US sale.
What's the issue?
Well, Mercedes-Benz two largest individual shareholders.
Well, they're Chinese state-owned BAIC at 9.98% and Geely founder Lee Shufu at 9.69%
combining for 19.67% that rounds to 20 of the parent company.
The bill is far from becoming law, but it reflects the same legislation momentum
that's been building around Chinese auto influence for months.
Volvo, which is majority owned by Geely, recently received a government exemption
to continue US sales.
Whether Mercedes would receive similar treatment is unclear,
but I'm willing to bet they get that exception.
The US auto market loves our Mercedes a little too much to let that go.
All right.
Next up, UAW workers at a Dow Corp supplier plant in Three Rivers, Michigan,
they walked out Monday over wages and the timing matters for GM truck dealers.
The plant manufactures axle components for the Chevrolet Colorado GMC Canyon
and heavy-beauty Silverado and Sierra pickups.
General Motors currently has roughly two weeks of axle inventory on hand to keep
building paroiders.
If a deal isn't reached quickly, production disruptions could follow.
The competitive context makes this one worth watching closely.
Ram posted a 20% sales gain in Q1 while Ford dealt with its own truck supply
constraints from supplier plant buyers.
Ram's CEO has been openly looking for ways to capture more truck buyers,
and a GM inventory gap, even a temporary one, gives rivals a window.
And finally up today, two deals to close on.
Gurley Leap Automotive family closed on Victory Clyde Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram
in Merrillville, Indiana on June 1st.
They renamed it CDGR and bringing the Michelacca-based group to 24 stores
across five states.
Another Stellana store changing hands, which has been one of the consistent
buy-sell themes of 2026.
And Jason Patak of Woodhouse Auto Family closed on Ferrari of Denver,
props to him in that acquisition, from Lithia Motors on May 28th.
The store name stays.
The group adds its first Ferrari franchise, and Lithia continues the portfolio
management moves it's been making throughout the year.
For more information on this buy-sell activity and all buy-sells,
check out the CDG buy-sell tracker at cdgbuysell.com,
which means Q, that's right, Q the, Q the, I love that.
Everybody's got to have a jingle.
So, and that, folks, is a wrap on today's auto industry headlines.
The Chinese story is super interesting to me.
Volvo Mercedes-Benz by percent of ownership now gets wrapped up into it.
This is why I go back, and I've said it many times on this show,
I think we've got to figure out a way to compete,
because I think we're going to get exception to back into being forced to compete.
And the faster we learn how to compete, how to create less expensive vehicles
that are super competitive against Chinese brands, the better.
And, you know, it'll be interesting to see how that story develops over time.
All right, first up today, a repeat return guest,
Joshua Johnson, CEO of Don Johnson Auto Group.
Joshua, welcome to the show.
Good afternoon. Thanks for having me back.
Thanks for being back.
So you're just north of the Chicagoland.
You're north in Wisconsin, and you've got a family group there over 100 years old.
So thanks for being here.
You look young for 100 plus, but I know it wasn't who started it.
Yeah, yeah, that's right.
So, hey, you pointed out in the green room a big disparity
between the number of technicians that are currently in the workforce
and what will be needed to sustain the workforce.
Tell us about the technician problem in automotive today in 2026.
Absolutely. Well, the technician shortage is real and it's expanding.
You know, dealers feel it every day.
Service capacity, repair timelines, guest experience and fixed ops growth.
And it's only going to get worse.
NADs identified over the next eight years,
71,000 technicians are going to retire in our industry.
Less than 50,000 will graduate from technical colleges.
And we know that within that, a new technician,
a first year technician in automobile dealership,
has less than a 50% retention rate.
So we've got a big problem today and it's going to get worse.
So we need to find a way to move away from talking about the technician shortage
to building the tech pipeline.
So that's why NADA, in collaboration with ASC,
the ASC Education Foundation and the Department of Labor,
launched the new apprenticeship in a box program.
And it's available for everyone.
It's absolutely free and you can get it online at nada.org forward slash a i b.
And what you'll get in there is a free practical playbook
that's going to help dealers build their own tech pipeline
with structure, mentorship, competency based training
and a clear career path.
So it's exactly the kind of resource
that NADA should be leading a practical, credible,
and built for the real world of dealership operations.
All right, so give us the website again
for those that want to log into that.
That's nada.org forward slash a i b.
Yeah, I have a question.
So that NADA, that makes sense.
ASC, that makes sense because they certify the technicians.
And I think to a new technician to be able to get an ASC certification,
that's a super valuable thing.
How does the U.S. Department of Labor get wrapped up into this?
Where do they say, hey, we want to be part of this?
This is a fully accredited apprenticeship program
through the Department of Labor.
And they help work with the two organizations
to structure every component of it.
It includes 2,000 hours of hands on time.
It includes 405 hours of classroom or related tech construction
and 197 competencies that the individual will be signed off on
by the time this is done.
Because what we've learned over time
is that when it comes to fixed ops,
time doesn't provide competency.
Allocation and testing is what guarantees the competency.
So we can take an individual through this program
from no experience to an 18 to 24 months,
have a junior technician that's got a career path
to continue to advance through your organization,
being able to service both ICE vehicles, EV vehicles,
and whatever technology is coming forward in the industry.
So they go to the guide,
and ADA's created ASC Department of Labor's involved in it.
Is this an off-site training?
Do you send your applicants to another place
or do you run them through this curriculum?
No, that's the beautiful thing is that AIB
gives you the practical tools
that you need to do everything in-house.
It gives you the full program framework,
the competencies to be tested, timelines,
a guiding program for the mentors.
You're taking a leader technician from your shop
to help teach competencies
and transfer already service department culture
to that new team member.
Gives you the interview tools to help identify candidates,
readiness assessments, all the resources
and implementation support that you'll ever need
is available in literally all of these documents
that they've provided for you.
And NAD is going to support that even further
through some new mentorship and apprenticeship training
that's going to be rolling out in our education system,
which, if you're a member of the NADA Education Subscription,
will also be included absolutely free.
But you don't even have to be a member of NADA
to get the current guide.
Not at all.
No.
What's the business?
Those are the future of transportation is headed,
and they want to do whatever they can to help support it.
So whether you're a member of NADA or not,
this isn't behind the paywall.
It's free for anyone.
Yeah.
The automotive retired guy comes in
and says, very huge shortage of ASC tax here in South Florida.
And I think that that's true all across the country.
You are part of developing this curriculum.
Obviously, the need is great.
Something like 20,000 tax shortage.
What prompted you to get involved?
Why did you say, hey, this is something I want to be in on?
I can't imagine it's a huge income generator
other than it will help keep our technician,
our shop staffed and turning.
Well, that's just it.
I'm very fortunate to be a member of the board of directors
with NADA, and I get to work with their dealership operations
team, which is just an incredibly talented
and committed group of individuals that look at not
just where the industry is today, but where it's going.
And make sure that every dealership within the industry
has got the resources that we need in the roadmap
to take us from point A to point B in the future.
But in our organization, we know that technician capacity
is service capacity.
It's a guest experience and has a direct correlation
to profitability, warranty responsiveness, OEM compliance.
So we need to make sure that we're building
and taking care of our organization, not just today.
But if we want to be here for the next generation,
we've got to have that pipeline that we've put in place.
And this gives us everything that we need
because we wouldn't have the resources
to develop this without the support.
So you were part of ideating this and creating this
and bringing this into light.
What is your take right now?
AI is more than a buzzword.
It is a reality and automotive.
And I think auto dealers, we auto dealers,
are trying to hustle to figure out
where does it make sense to implement?
Where is it a little early?
And what is going to drastically change about our business
over the next year, five years, 10 years?
When you think about the future of being a technician,
how does AI make its way in there?
And how do you anticipate some of that in the curriculum?
Well, the way that I see it is,
this will always be a people business.
But there are so many administrative tasks
that we encounter on a regular basis that consume time.
You can apply AI to become so much more efficient
in that diagnostic process, in the communication process,
whether it's to the OEMs, to the guests,
or within the service departments.
It's simply going to be the tool that would,
appropriately applied,
will be able to turn every technician into a super tech.
Yeah.
A lot of our guests online are a lot of our audience,
daily dealer live audience online is coming into the chat.
Igor Kay, who we will have on the show
once he gets back from Monaco, says,
Hey, Sam, I'm in Monaco for the annual F1 Grand Pre-Race Rally
with a ton of dealer principles.
Igor, hopefully you're spreading the daily dealer word
even in Monaco.
We've got an international audience this week
who are attending the event.
The issue with tech is payouts for hours from warranty companies.
Do you give any advice as you're going through this training, Joshua,
on warranty reimbursement, labor reimbursement?
And Igor, I would say you're correct,
but I would actually say that very state by state.
The NADA has done a great job of creating reimbursement rates
state by state across the country,
and OEM labor reimbursements very wildly.
But there's a lot of protections in the individual states
that protect dealers and technicians.
But Josh, anything you want to say on that
as it relates to reimbursement?
You know, I think we're fortunate to have a relationship
with the manufacturers that we're constantly engaging
to make sure that that compensation is fair
to allow us to continue to attract the appropriate individuals
into the industry.
And actually within this program,
there are two built-in wage increases
following competency improvements and acknowledgments.
So the way that you make time
and the way a technician can help to earn extra money
is by being overly competent
and be able to produce and resolve those
any vehicle concerns in a timely manner.
Going into it with a program like this
that provides you with the education and the basis to do so
is what's going to help elevate those incomes going forward.
Because I think if you look at across the industry,
the RGB level technician, I believe,
median compensation is around $71,000.
You get into a master technician, that's a six-figure value.
The sooner that we can bring our young men and women
to that level of competency,
the sooner they're going to be earning compensation levels
that far exceed their dreams.
And actually, three S&M comes into the chat
saying we also have to make sure we're showing young people
and adults entering the workforce
what can be accomplished in our inventory or our industry.
And I think that's true, Joshua, right?
That a lot of times we don't advocate loudly enough,
publicly enough, what a great career path
to automotive technicians are.
And I don't know if that's...
I think there's a concern in our industry that people,
if they hear the path that a tech can take,
they'll think getting serviced at an auto dealer
is more expensive than a non-OEM shop.
And we've also seen that's not the case, right?
What's the challenge in advocating career path
for young people looking to get into fixed ops?
I think, first and foremost,
it's letting them know that the opportunity exists.
That when you enter this industry and develop competency,
you can find employment virtually the next day
wherever you go in the country.
And that these aren't dirty seven-day-a-week jobs.
These are incredibly technology-forward,
clean environments, Monday through Friday,
eight to five jobs that are available
that can provide fantastic career paths,
starting on repairing vehicles,
but also give the ability to move outside of that
if you decide to make a move later in your career.
But if you want to go into service advising,
service management, parts management,
there's any number of paths that that career can take,
and it all starts with that knowledge of the automobile
and the ability to repair.
Yeah. Do you see NADA doing anything
in the service advisor space in terms of training?
That's another position
that requires a certain amount of expertise.
And notoriously, it's underserved by training,
I think, within the industry.
Absolutely. And thankfully,
NADA is the gold standard when it comes to training.
And their training resources provide opportunities
across all departments and roles within the dealership.
We've got actually two levels of service advisor training
in our professional series,
entry and advance that are available,
both in person or online that travel around the country.
Those can also lead into service management training,
parts advising, training, and parts management training.
So any role that exists in fixed operations,
NADA provides role-specific training for
that's available and included in the education subscription
for any dealership that chooses to participate.
And for those that want to advance beyond it,
we've got, again, the gold standard in NADA's dealer academy,
which will take you across all aspects of dealership management.
Yeah. All right.
So most dealers talk about career paths
as it relates to technicians and everybody in fixed ops,
but very few have a real one.
So what is a defined career path for a tech look like at Don Johnson?
Given this training,
so I come in as someone with very little or no experience,
and how do you make sure that that path lives up to its
purpose in reality and doesn't just sit on paper, Josh?
Well, first and foremost,
you really need to have a champion within the organization.
Someone who's going to support that program
and understand the resources that are required,
because you do need to spend time on that relationship.
You are assigning a superior level technician
to help provide that mentorship for that guiding time
with the young man or woman as they move through their career paths.
But within this, it's the competency tests
that are taking place on a regular basis
that allow you to see whether we're progressing forward.
And I think it goes down to,
this provides us the ability to inspect what we expect
versus a set it and forget it model
that most dealerships start to implement
and ultimately ends up with forget it.
What does the competency test look like?
What does that look like in 2026?
Well, it crosses all aspects of the vehicle.
It starts from the basics of simplified maintenance,
moves into drivetrain and electronics,
both ICE and EVs as you continue to progress forward.
As I said, there's actually 197 competency-based tasks.
They have to be completed multiple times
throughout the course of that process
to ensure that when somebody exit that program,
they are a fully certified junior technician.
Yeah.
Well, hey, we absolutely appreciate you joining the show today
to share this new program.
I know a lot of our audience will go to that website, check it out.
I think everybody's looking for better solutions
and fixed ops in ways,
not only to retain the best talent,
but also help them to grow
and realize the potential that is a career in automotive.
So Joshua Johnson, CEO of Don Johnson Automotive Group.
We'll have you back at the very end for a roundtable.
Thanks for being here.
Looking forward to it.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Great conversation and a ton of comments online.
AV Chevy says, we're paying flag tech $75 to $80 an hour
out here in California,
and we're still struggling to recruit
with our door rates continuing to rise.
We are able to offer these rates and still retain 78%.
But he said, we're still struggling to recruit.
It says 45 miles north of Los Angeles.
And then a whole conversation around warranty labor reimbursements
through off-label or private warranty companies,
which is also an interesting part of the conversation overall.
Let's talk stream companies.
Today's 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 streamcompanies.com slash d-d-m-o-r.
Props to Stream Companies for supporting today's content,
including that great conversation with Joshua Johnson
about the technician shortage and what NADA in particular,
and he is doing to help fix that.
So we often talk on the show how great isn't about knowing,
it's about doing.
And I do wonder,
maybe we'll ask Joshua this in the roundtable at the end,
you give a resource that could walk people,
dealers through training a technician
up from no experience to one that is more experienced.
I wonder how many execute on that, right?
So it's not about knowing what to do,
it's about executing on it and executing quickly.
So we'd also love to have him back just to talk about
what the progress that looks like over time.
All right, transitioning to our next guest,
Eric Damont, Executive Director,
Dealer Solutions Growth at Urban Science.
Welcome to the show.
Welcome.
How are you doing, Eric?
Good to have you with us.
Thanks, Sam.
Yeah, it's a great 73-degree day here in Detroit.
It's phenomenal.
You know what?
Anytime it's over 70 in Detroit, it's a great day.
And we get about four months of that, right?
No, I'm kidding.
It's that much?
Yeah, exactly.
So hey, walk us through this, Eric.
Urban science is built around data defection,
the idea that dealers are losing customers
that we don't even know we've lost.
How did that become a core of what you bring
to dealerships at Urban Science?
Yeah, I'm proud to say that at Urban Science,
we're built for dealers through the input of dealers.
And we have a very robust, long-standing dealer advisory
board that helps us identify, well, first,
collects all the challenges that dealers are looking to solve.
And then we work with them directly to figure out
how Urban Science can assist them to solve those challenges.
And one of the key ones we found a couple years ago
was that we didn't really have insight into the leads
that we weren't closing.
We suspected they were closing elsewhere,
but we really didn't know for sure.
And so what we came up with was a solution
that simply helps dealers identify which of those ups
in their CRM that are less than 90 days old
have actually purchased from another manufacturer,
or whether it be at any brand in the country,
and they purchased that in another dealer.
How do you get that data?
What are the sources for that?
How do you connect those dots?
Yeah, Urban Science has an industry exclusive agreement
with the manufacturers to receive the RDR data the next day.
So we compile that, we household it, we cleanse it,
and we make it available for all of our solutions
that feed these, that power these capabilities that we have.
And so the next day, we now have the ability
to let dealers know which of those ups
have defected elsewhere.
Wow, so one of the differences is speed to that information.
You can instantly know basically as soon as that card
gets punched exactly who you've lost.
As you've watched trends over time, Eric,
maybe even the last six months or so,
what are you seeing as trends in defection?
What are allowing customers or causing dealers
not to fully close that customer in that sale in June of 2026?
Yeah, and I would say we're kind of in a macro trend here
for the last 18 months or so,
where affordability has driven increased shopping behavior.
Shopping meaning consumers are researching
more than they ever have before.
And they're going to multiple dealer websites,
multiple OEM websites, multiple dealer websites.
They're submitting two and a half leads,
they're visiting two dealerships.
They're far less loyal than they ever have been
because the car that they're buying
is more expensive than it's ever been in the past as well.
So they're looking for value, a deal.
It's not the, it's table stakes.
You need to have a great value proposition,
but then you need to be able to execute upon those leads
once they come in.
And because they're submitting multiple quotes,
sometimes to the same manufacturer,
dealers of the same manufacturer,
if you're not executing the basics brilliantly,
you're going to lose the up before it even gets into your showroom
because someone else is going to respond
because consumers are reaching out to multiple dealers at this point.
So I'm interested by this.
You've mentioned that your insights help remove
out-of-market leads from daily operations.
What does that mean, remove out-of-market leads?
Are you saying ignore those that are outside your market
and focus on those in?
Or that would be a concern to any dealer that hears that, I think.
What does that mean?
Yeah, you know, market can be interpreted in many ways.
What we're talking about primarily is those consumers
that are in your CRM last the 90 days old
that you're still actively following up with,
either through your sales teams, your BDC centers, through AI.
But surprisingly, for most dealers that we talked to,
20% of those leads, those leads less than 90 days old,
have already purchased elsewhere.
An average dealer spends 80 hours a week,
80 hours a month chasing those dead leads
through the use of their sales teams.
And so simply taking those out of your follow-up process,
those leads that have purchased elsewhere,
taking them out of your follow-up process
allows you to recap 80 hours a month.
Think about that.
That's a half a salesperson.
That's four units for a typical store.
And that's just by stopping working those ones in our market.
That doesn't mean that you can't continue to address those folks,
especially the ones that bought from the same brand,
which we are able to let dealers know about.
You can turn that into service messaging.
You can turn that back into your relationship message
when you're back in later.
I would think having access to that defection data fast.
So if I lost a customer, and whatever the reason is,
if I could reengage with a note generated by AI or human,
basically saying, hey, sorry, we lost the opportunity
to earn your business, come in for the free oil change
or the free first service experience,
try to get them in retention and fixed ops,
and fix the problem, figure out what that affection was.
Are you seeing that as a good strategy in 2026,
trying to reach out to get service business post-defection?
Yeah.
And in fact, another one of our dealer advisory board members
has really taken that to the next level.
So not only did they reach out,
they actually send a handwritten note to the folks that left,
acknowledged that things could have gone better.
Maybe it was price, maybe it was inventory,
maybe it was something else,
but they know now what the main drivers of defection are.
And believe it or not, it's not price, typically, that's number one.
It's not even inventory, that's number one.
It's usually something about the relationship,
something about the follow-up, the way that we treated the customer.
And so if we acknowledge those and we engage the consumer,
ask them to come back in, give them an incentive
to come in and experience the service bay,
come in for a oil change.
And then when they do continue to follow up with that consumer
from a loyal perspective, what they've seen is
not only does that fill up the service bay,
but it also increases the repeat purchase of those folks that
went out of cycle, bought somewhere else,
but then they're coming back to the dealer.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And it actually is punitive against the dealer
that just undercuts you by 500 bucks just to get the cheap deal.
If you can own them in service, ultimately you end up winning, right?
Like that's the ultimate win.
It would be interesting to see you folks come out with a report
that says what are the top five defection causes month to month
and see if from marketplace condition standpoint,
if those reasons shift giving to your point of portability,
interest rates, cost of gasoline, all the other factors,
but appreciate your perspective on how customers are becoming
more price sensitive.
So a couple months ago, the FTC sent out a letter
to 97 dealer groups across the country,
and they cited issues they had with the way
some dealer groups were doing business allegedly
as it relates to advertised price and other things.
In your date on defection, are you seeing a shift
over the past 60, 90 days that kind of takes in that letter
and maybe operational moves that any dealers are making?
Yeah, I'm glad you brought that up.
And back to your previous question, we actually
are in development right now, so I'm on the product side as well.
And we're in development now with a dealer advisory board members
where we are bringing to market a capability to survey
those defectors three days after they purchase at a competitive
dealership, asking them about the reasons for loss.
So we're able, we already have begun to categorize
those responses.
We have about 80 stores on that solution at this point.
And what we're finding so far is that relationship, follow up,
and the way the customer was treated,
our trending right now is the highest causes of defection.
Amongst the things that we see when it is price related,
we've even seen some things like bait and switch,
or those things that might be flagged to the FTC
that are certainly going to be concerning to the store
and we need to take process, we need to update processes
to make sure we're, you know, whatever we're doing online
and in the store is compliant.
So the new solution that we're coming out with
flags any of those concerns related to price to the
leadership of the store so that they can take immediate action
on that before it gets out of hand.
So I imagine you provide this information.
We talked about it in the first guess, right?
Success isn't about knowing, it's about doing,
it's about taking action on information.
So as you share this defection data with a dealer,
what's the hardest thing to get a dealer to do in 2026
as far as acting on?
What's the toughest part to get us to act on in automotive?
I mean, for decades, we've been managing to leads
and our close rates.
And you know, hey, if we have 12% phenomenal,
that's a great job, we should celebrate that every day.
Absolutely.
But there's also the 20% of leads that are buying elsewhere.
So even the person that's turning 20 units
might be losing 30, 40.
It's the improvement opportunities that we can take.
And so what's the hardest thing to do?
It's change management.
It's a new metric, frankly.
It's not a metric that people like talking about.
It's talking about the times you missed and you lost.
But the progressive dealers that we're working with
understand that and they're willing to invest the time,
energy and updates to their process
to embark upon that change management journey,
to put new training classes in place,
to put new systems in place, new processes in place
to incorporate that data into daily stand-ups,
into your process updates.
Because when you do that, you start to see the results that we,
what we've seen is that the dealers
who are leveraging our solutions
are driving about six more units a month
with a very minimal investment.
That's what I was going to ask is, as you see best practices,
those that focus on the defection data and work to better
the experience to bring that customer back, what is the lift?
And it looks like it's about six units a month average, okay.
Yeah, we measure everything in urban science.
So we've done a pretty comprehensive lift study
and for dealers that are logging in into the solution in the UI,
of course, our data goes into the CRM as well and into CDPs.
But for the dealers who are logging into the UI,
just a couple times a week,
what we're seeing is that they're driving about six units a month more.
So you've talked about savvier shoppers
and you've talked about a heavier tech stack coming at dealers fast.
When you picture the dealers who handle that best,
what are they doing differently right now in June of 2026?
You know, what we've seen is that they're making key strategic bets.
And so they can't install everything everywhere
and you need to make the key strategic bets and then go all in on.
Anyone can buy a solution, especially one that's fairly inexpensive.
Yeah.
How do you implement it?
How do you use it?
How do you make it part of your culture?
The best dealers are the ones that are investing in that training
and fully implementing and installing and adopting
the capabilities that are inherent within the tool to buy.
Yeah, yeah, very cool, very cool.
We just appreciate you sharing some of your findings from this data.
And then interesting ways that you can engage.
You have a seven-day action item with auditing loss leads.
For a dealer who's never looked at the data before,
how do you help them figure out what they're seeing
as a marketing problem versus a conversion problem?
We talked a little bit about the process that might be needed to help fix it.
But when you look at the data with a dealer,
how do you decipher marketing into conversion, Eric?
Yeah, you know, it's great.
Now that we have about 4,500 dealers on this solution,
so we have great benchmarking capabilities.
And when you start to be able to look at your store versus
all the other stores in your group, maybe stores in your 20 group,
stores in your region, what you can begin to understand is,
hey, how are my lead volumes relative to my expected level of sales?
How do those compare?
What is my lead quality because we score the leads as well?
What is my lead quality versus my expectation versus those other areas?
And if those are off, there's opportunities to maybe drive more leads through the funnel.
But then conversely, if your conversion rates are low,
maybe you have low quality leads, or if the buy rate is really high,
meaning all the leads that's submitting, the buy rate is high,
but they're defecting somewhere else,
now there's an opportunity to work on the conversion side of the house.
And so being able to benchmark against those different levels
help you kind of zero in pretty quickly where your biggest opportunity is.
And more often than not is what we see,
it's not doing something new that we've never talked about before,
but it's putting renewed focus on those basics that we do every day
that we thought we had solved years ago,
but they're still important and maybe even more important in today's world
with the consumer shopping more than they ever had before.
Yeah.
Well, my big takeaway from today's conversation,
I'm sure everybody will have their own to put into action is
engaging with the defected customers to figure out how to get them back into service
and maybe even sell them that second car.
Let the dealer take that 1K loss leader if they're going to do that
to try to put a month together at the end of the month.
But ultimately, I want to own that customer at the end of the month in service.
So Eric Damont, executive director, dealer solutions and growth at Urban Science.
Thanks so much for joining the show to discuss all things defection.
Fun topic.
Thanks, Sam.
Thank you.
A lot of great comments coming in.
Eager K is all over the comments today.
Way to go, Eager.
It sounds like I'm getting that Eager is on a yacht,
but potentially at F1 in Monaco and that he's with a bunch of dealers.
And they may or may not intend to actually go to F1.
So they're having conversations about yachts and boats and all the other things.
So Eager, if you got a bunch of dealers, you're on a boat,
you can fire up that Starlink and join the show live Friday.
We'll bring in for a quick segment there.
So anyway, we appreciate all the comments, including the conversation
among all of our Daily Dealer Live Listening audience.
And let's jump into our final guest today before we hit the round table.
Shane Wood, general manager of Port Orchard Ford.
Welcome to the show.
Hey, Sam.
Great to be here.
It's good to see you again.
Have you been to Monaco F1 and have you been on a yacht?
Where is Eager anyway?
I think we get Eager's details and we see what's going on with him later.
He's usually in the chat about Mannheim auction values.
We haven't gotten an update for a little while because he's enjoying time on a yacht,
which props to him.
Way to go him for getting there.
So, hey, how's biz, Shane?
June of 2026 as you're starting to kick off a new month this month.
Yeah, business is good.
You know, we're rolling in service.
We're rolling in used.
We're a little flat on new.
But being a Ford store with gas prices at $6 a gallon right now is that's to be expected.
So, no, all in all, we're feeling pretty good about how things are and just continually moving forward.
One of the topics we're going to pull through Friday show, Fixed Ops Friday,
is the impact of the oil prices on oil changes in service departments and expenses it relates to
there. How much of an impact are higher oil gas prices, $6 plus in some parts of the country
having on your business, Shane?
Well, we've had the conversation of how much gas are we going to put in sold units?
Yeah.
You know, we've been looking at, you know, how to manage that expense.
But honestly, right now, we haven't really pivoted in any way.
We're just moving forward and doing things as we've been doing and trying to be as good of a value
as we've been before we had any of this.
So, I've been curious.
I remember in 08, so I was in automotive in 08, and in 08, we saw this weird trend where
everybody, when gas hit five bucks a gallon, they sold their Suburbans and their Tahos and
Yukon, like they all went away, and then people took $20,000, $30,000 losses to get into this
cheap Camry with good gas mileage.
We haven't seen that this go around yet, and I'm curious, will we, if gas prices continue to
escalate, at what dollar amount will that kind of trigger happen or does the availability of EVs
and hybrids and some of the other, does it take kind of the air out of the room on that?
Yeah, I think it does.
I think the question isn't going to be whether or not we, you know, see a bottom fall out on
some of these, you know, gas guzzlers or diesels, even diesels like seven bucks.
We're still selling diesel, but what we are seeing is definitely a rise in demand for all
things EV and all things hybrid.
And there was a lot of speculation just considering how many EVs we're going to come
into the market this year that we'd see some problems with that, and that's just not the
case right now.
I haven't seen it.
The automotive retired guys coming into the chat.
So sales in South Florida so far in June, well, they're horrible according to him.
So tell us what city we've got the state, but whereabouts are you located?
So all right, let's pivot from the economy, from current events and news.
Last time you were on, you were six months into building out a buy center culture from
scratch.
Tell us where that sits today because getting that great used car, that's still job number
one or two and automotive behind retention and fixed ops, which we've already covered today,
Shane.
Yeah.
Yeah, I think you nailed it.
Fixed ops retention is service retention is probably the number one goal, but that's
all fed from when we sell a car.
And we're seeing what I would describe as like an inventory cliff right now in automotive.
We have fewer leasing happening.
I think in 2019, we were seeing about 32% of new vehicles were leased.
And now that number is down to 23%.
That's about a 1.8 million car gap.
That's significant.
Even if it were just that, but it's not.
Now you have a situation where four years ago, 2022, we saw the SAR dip is lowest 14 million.
It's starting to rise again.
But that's a huge drop in available used cars right now.
And to boot, which it's a good thing for service, we have people holding onto cars
longer than ever.
So it's great for service.
There's a lot of opportunity in maintaining those cars.
But it just is another obstacle to keeping that used car department rolling.
So the buy center is doing well.
We are developing the guy and skill sets.
We are expanding our website, all things marketing and branding and really trying to
position ourselves as just an authority on all things buying in this community.
Tell us from a buy center standpoint, how many people are in there?
What are they doing to buy vehicles?
And how many vehicles did you buy as an example in the month of May through the buy center?
So we're new.
And I even say that we're now after six months, we're still pretty new.
I have a building across the street that we're remodeling and getting ready for
an expansion of this thing.
I've got one guy right now.
He's going to be my main guy that is going to manage this whole department.
And he's doing a phenomenal job.
I can't say he's buying 30 cars a month.
He's buying around 15.
But that's 15 unique cars that are not paying transport and are not paying
auction fees and are giving me a little bit of life in my used car department that I didn't
have before.
Yeah, it's been really, really fabulous for us.
Has it allowed you to reduce your reliance on auctions?
Have you bought less vehicles at auctions?
Or have you just added and grown the used business as a result of that ad?
We'll still buy cars at the auction for sure.
But it's more about filling holes and gaps in our inventory at that point.
We had situations where we'd have a big weekend.
And so we'd go, it's like going shopping when you're hungry.
You know, you end up buying stuff that you don't need, or you just buy too much.
That's my weakness.
It just, it caused problems for us.
So now we just have a consistent flow of inventory coming in along with what we do
at the auction.
And it's really benefited our used car situation.
Yeah, okay.
Before we go on to the next question, I do want to talk one area in particular here
as we transition.
What's one thing you're still working to solve on the buy center?
What's a challenge you've run into and you're like,
we just have not figured this out yet, or it's still a struggle?
Yeah, so to me, the buy center's primary focus is two lanes.
You got your service acquisition and then you got your private party stuff.
The private party stuff to include like Facebook, Craigslist, all things like,
you know, these third party places that you might find a car for sale.
Facebook is something that we're really struggling with.
Because when you reach out to customers to express interest in their vehicle,
in volume, Facebook thinks that you're like spamming or something.
Ah, yeah, yeah.
We're trying to find a way to get through and they'll ban your account.
And this is like a real thing.
Interesting.
It is interesting that we have, we have sellers and then we're a buyer.
We just want to buy these cars.
And so that's been something that's been challenging to navigate because,
look, when you think about, I think CarMax bought almost a million cars
private party last year, a million cars private party.
Carvana, I saw was almost half a million.
And so the opportunity along with this inventory cliff, as I described it,
is huge.
And a lot of those cars that they're buying customers are listing on these private party
marketplaces.
So that, that's how do they get around it?
How do they get around the Facebook challenge?
I wonder.
Well, they don't have to go to Facebook.
These customers are going to them because they position themselves in ways that dealerships
aren't right now.
So here's the thing.
I heard a guy in a 20 group that I was at recently and he said,
well, if a customer is local, we won't give them an offer, right?
We'll tell them that they want, they need to come down to the dealership.
And I, well, why is that?
Well, because obviously we'd rather them be at the store and we have a little bit more
control when they're in front of us.
And I said, well, okay, that makes sense.
But if they weren't on the phone with you, wouldn't they just be able to go to your website
and see what the valuator tool says it's worth?
Yeah.
Okay.
Well, then why do they need to come into the dealership?
They don't need to go to Carvana.
They don't need to go to CarMax.
Yeah.
So I just think creating frictionless processes and really in some ways,
mirroring what Carvana and CarMax are doing.
And that's that we're easy.
This is simple.
We're going to take care of all the paperwork.
We'll give you a check today, all that stuff.
Jane, why does friction cause removing friction cause so much fear for dealers?
Like as you described that, I'm like, why would you not give that value?
Why not just be transparent?
Why not earn that customer's business, their trust?
Even if, you know, they take it, they go somewhere else.
I like the idea of the defection data that Eric talked about.
Because look, somebody takes a thousand bucks or two grand difference on price,
then I can come back around and reengage that customer.
I think that data set could be incredibly valuable.
But what is it about automotive where friction just freaks, freaks us out the lack of it?
Like we're old school, man.
I mean, you got some old school people, you know, right now we have AI.
We have technology on our websites that, you know,
same thing goes for scheduling service.
But, you know, if a customer can get what they want without you,
then they should be able to get an even better value with you and all, right?
So your fear of like giving them a number that's shoppable
is getting in the way of you being seen as trustworthy as, you know, transparent.
And it's costing you deals.
You're giving the number.
For sure.
You should remove the friction.
100%.
We give the number.
Now, my strategy is I'm going to give you your highest invest deal.
I'm going to offer you what I think the car is worth
if it's as you're describing, perfect.
We all know that most cars are not going to be perfect.
Car max, when you go into car max, after they've given you their highest
invest deal on average, they deduct what their offer is by about $1,800.
So that's significant.
They're going to do a professional appraisal, an active appraisal,
and they're going to get real.
But they get the customer there first by giving them, you know, what it could be
if it's as described, like I said, which is perfect.
Yeah.
All right.
Let's transition to NADA in a conversation we had last episode.
So you came back from NADA.
You were consolidating your tech stack.
You were bringing in my karma full path.
You're doing a CDP car review, all the things.
Since that time, Cox made its big announcement regarding acquiring full path.
Give us your take on that.
We're going to have the president of Cox on, I believe, next week,
as well as the head of full path.
Is that helped?
Is it put a slowdown in your process?
Do you have any concerns about it?
Give us your take, Shane.
We have what I would say a combination of concerns and curiosity.
You know, Cox is a big company.
They have a lot of money.
They're able to fund full path in ways that I'm sure are going to be valuable for them.
So a lot of what full path does is R&D and development.
So that costs money.
So I think that'll be a really valuable thing for full path.
Where this leads products like Vin Solutions and some of that stuff,
if they were to combine those or, you know,
you have AMP with Vin Solutions and you have a full on CDP with full path.
I feel like there's going to be some challenges on, you know, how that goes.
But right now we're excited.
I'll be honest, we're with Drive right now.
We did just re-engage with Vin just to kind of see what's new and get their take on
what this is going to do for them.
And what I'm hearing from them is basically
not a lot is changing right now.
They're excited about the future.
But for right now, everyone's still a little bit
siloed and, you know, kind of doing their own thing.
So you're sticking your CRM where it is,
and then you'll still use the integration with full path to clean it up on the CDP side.
For now, but I'll tell you, we do like the idea of everything being connected.
I love the CDP and all of that stuff.
Do you think the future of automotive tech and AI is going to be more like one company
having the full source, the full process all the way through,
or does that remove the competition element and make it not as good?
Automotive needs to get rid of contracts, long-term contracts,
make it easier to pivot platform to platform and just let everybody compete.
But I also get the need for investment,
but there's got to be a balance between investment and contract size
that helps make sure that you're on the best product today,
delivering best product to the customer.
Yeah, I think most dealers want that.
I think we want one dashboard or, you know, one login.
But you're right.
I mean, we're going to this product with my karma that allows us to clean up some things
and kind of consolidate a lot of stuff.
They do a lot of cool stuff.
What I don't know is if they do those things as well as the people that we've been paying,
you know, and kind of put in a Frankenstein operation together.
So my karma is the service solution, right?
It does the videos and whatnot.
What were the, this isn't an ad for my karma, but it's curiosity.
What are the top one or two things you think you got
by switching to that versus where you were previous?
The most attractive thing for me was the consolidation of all of these products.
So, you know, I'm not going to name the people that we're replacing,
but it's going to save us money.
And I believe based on the demos that we've had with them,
we're going to have a pretty good product.
So time will tell.
I haven't heard a lot of any negatives on that.
But we're really excited about just having one login, one software to master.
Yes, there's a lot of parts of it, but I think that'll be really valuable for us.
Yeah. Well, we'll stay up on that progress as you go through it.
You last time, and we'll do this as our wrap question.
We'll go into the round table.
You were cautiously optimistic on the future of Stellana.
Six months has gone by or as many months has since your last on.
You flagged forward at 105 days supply.
Give us your take on OEM winning in first half of 2026.
Stellana scorecard and Ford as it relates to supply.
As it relates to supply, I don't know how Stellantis is doing on a day supply standpoint.
I know Ford is doing okay still.
F-150 is an issue, but that's mostly because we are not building enough of them right now.
That is the truth.
That's a problem.
But I got to tell you, I'm really happy with the moves that Stellantis has been making.
I think they're actually making an upward swing.
We've just talked about Carvana, what they're doing at some of these Stellantis stores,
and amazing.
So, you've got some, you guys do the CDG buy-sells, either some people that were able to buy some
of these Stellantis car.
There you go.
They were able to buy some of these when the struggle was really bad and they're on the
upswing right now.
So, I'm feeling good about Stellantis.
Stellantis is on the upswing in terms of multipliers.
I also think Nissan Infinity.
You see people that got great deals on those brands and they're riding the wave up, we hope.
DanC comes into the chat, says looking forward to see Steve Rowley coming on the show.
We're excited to have him as well.
Lauren Klein comes in, says, you know, it's not really ever fully connected though, is it?
Speaking of the tech stack out there, Lauren Klein comes back in regarding Techion, says
they're on the right track, but all the others are just tack-ons and integrations that come
with extra costs, limitations, and headaches.
But I think one of the biggest challenges and changes that are going to happen the next
five years in automotive is we're going to see a consolidation unlike we've ever seen.
And there will be big brands that will be brushed aside who fear that integration,
push back against it and don't allow it.
They try to protect turf.
I think in 2026, Shane, for you and I, automotive, we're all best served by organizations that
are hustling towards the finish line.
The challenge is it's not free, so we have to figure out a way to pay for it too,
but which they all want us to do.
So anyway, Shane Wood, General Manager, Port Orchard Ford, thanks for being on the show.
We'll have you back on in just a moment as part of the roundtable.
Thanks.
Thank you.
That was fun.
That's a good conversation.
I'm excited to have Steve on and talk about this full path Cox deal.
I've seen many emails come across my desk, good because we have a great relationship with Cox.
And it will be interesting to see the enhancements that are available as a result of that collaboration.
Igor Kay comes in, says, Chrysler, bye-bye, I think.
Igor, they're not going anywhere.
Usually, they're not going anywhere, but they are working their way back up.
All right, let's hit the roundtable.
Josh Johnson, CO Don Johnson Auto Group, Shane Wood, General Manager, Port Orchard Ford.
Let's kick it off with a little talk about training.
Shane, you've got the buy center, you've trained a bunch of people.
Josh, you've worked with NADA around training service technicians.
If the dealer only has the budget and attention to fix one side of the house this year,
front end acquisition talent or fixed ops talent, tell me, gentlemen,
where do you tell them to put it and why?
Whoever wants to go first can.
Go ahead, Josh.
I'll jump first.
I'm going fixed ops all the way.
That's the foundation of the business.
That's what takes us through the high times, the low times, and every time in between.
We are well beyond our ability to try and recruit our way out of this.
We need to make sure that we are creating a pipeline and developing it ourselves.
That's exactly why NAD is providing the resources we are and that's why we're utilizing
every single one of them in our stores to make sure that our people are second to none.
Josh, you must be giving a compelling argument because the automotive retired guy
from Fort Lauderdale, I'll tell you, Florida says fixed ops as well.
Shane, are you going to defend that and say we should put it into use car acquisition training?
No, I wouldn't.
I think that he's spot on.
I love what he's doing with NADA and developing technicians.
I think that's brilliant.
He's right.
If your strategy is to continually recruit, your cost of sale is going to be higher and higher and
higher and it's just easier to build them from within.
But I wouldn't stop at the techs.
I think advisors are the ones that are woefully under trained in most cases and they're overworked.
So all things support for advisors is where I would throw some money.
Yeah, I did ask Josh that question on advisors because I do think we have a chronic
under training of advisors.
We train salespeople, we train FNI, almost every role in automotive.
And advisors, I've actually reached out to RockEd, which is a great training platform as well.
I'm like, I would love to see something just truly elite that helps create that customer
experience for advisors.
And I'm sure people are working on it.
So Josh, NADA, have them go get it, right?
They're all over it.
Nobody interacts with more guests on a daily basis than a supervisor does.
Modify that experience or have a direct impact on dealership profitability than those.
And yet, according to the CDK data that I keep talking about, 25% of all calls are put on hold
for service.
And when they're put on hold, it's a nine-minute average hold time.
So they're a little bit overwhelmed and it's all about, we had a guest on last week.
They don't do any service appointments.
It's just walk-in only.
And they have to tenaciously train there.
All right.
Josh Johnson, CEO of Don Johnson Auto Group.
Shane Wood, General Manager of Port Orchard Ford.
Thank you both so much for being back on the show and joining for another roundtable.
Look forward to have you back soon.
Awesome.
Appreciate it.
And to you, our Daily Deal Alive listening audience, thank you so much for spending time
with us in the chat today.
Particularly Eager K, but also Paul Salisman, Lauren Klein, Dan C, the automotive retired guy.
And everyone else, thank you for watching Daily Deal Alive, where you break down the biggest
moves in the car business as they happen.
Don't forget, we're here live every Monday, Wednesday, Friday.
So if this is your world, hit like, hit subscribe, turn on those notifications so you never ever
miss a beat.
We'll see you next episode.
Thanks for being here, everybody.
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