DEALER Beware: Check out Jim Ziegler's "More Food For Thought" piece on page 46. You may be losing some sales each month from expiring lease customers without even knowing it. After getting a call from a friend of mine, Dave Anderson, a GM with the Anderson Dealership Group out in the San Francisco Bay area, it seems as though the leasing division of a large automotive finance company iswell, I don't want to steal Ziegler's thunder, but don't miss "More Food For Thought" on page 46.
After attending WD&S Publishing's Auto Retailing on the Web Conference in Nashville last month, I have come to the firm conclusion that it's not a matter of "if," it's a matter of "when." I have seen the light and now believe that it is possible for a dealer to sell a considerable number of vehicles on the internet and make money. Auto sales on the internet are going to continue to grow to astounding levels with or without your involvement. Starting with our March/April 1999 technology issue, DEALER will feature a multi-page section on the internet. As with DEALER itself, I intend to make it so that a dealer who has read it will have a distinct advantage over a dealer who has not. Mark my words, it's not a matter of "if" you maximize the potential of the internet, it's a matter of "when." Just as was the case with the growth of the importance of your F&I department, the internet will become an indispensible part of your sales & marketing mix. You can be one of the first ones in or you can be one of the last, it's up to you. If you're in a little early, you may be out a little money, which you can make up. If you're in too late, you will be out market share which you may never make up. The choice is yours...choose wisely.
You may get tired of hearing it, but I never tire of saying it: this issue is our best ever, ad sales-wise. We even beat last year's February NADA Convention issue! But this doesn't happen by accident. We couldn't have done it without your readership and your response to our advertisers and editorial, which continue to prove that DEALER is the #1 read and used magazine in the business.
And, of course, we couldn't have done it without the folks who pay for you to receive this magazineour advertisers. Speaking of which, I would like to welcome some first-time full-page advertisers in DEALER: Americredit, World Omni, ADP, Household Automotive Finance, Manheim Auctions and Loan Data. Thanks to the following companies for renewing their advertising with us in 1999: API, Carfax, Manheim Auctions, Promax and Warrantech. These companies are paying for you to receive DEALER in 1998 and 1999. Special thanks to GMAC and PPG, who have paid for you to receive DEALER since 1997, Ryko Manufacturing, who has been with us since 1996, and Kwik Kleen Car Wash, with us since issue #1. With the money these companies spend with us, I am able to bring you this magazine, each issue of which is backed by over 300 years experience in the retail automobile business. Please remember, we get no percentage of dues and we are not owned by a publishing conglomerate. Without these companies there would be no DEALER magazine for you to read. I never forget that, and I hope you won't either. Good luck to us all in 1999!