Car Dealership Guy Podcast

Latest Episodes:

#28 Marketing with college athletes, Future of online car sales, Brewing auto lending issues, Creativity in an unsexy business | Rick Ricart, President of Ricart Automotive Sep 22, 2023

Show notes

This episode is brought to you by:

⁠⁠KEYper Systems⁠⁠ - Key Management Simplified.

Fullpath - Discover Automotive's Leading Customer Data and Experience Platform.

In this episode, I'm speaking with Rick Ricart, President of Ricart Automotive.

Interested in advertising with CarDealershipGuy? Drop us a line here

Interested in being considered as a guest on the podcast? Add your name here

00:00 - Intro

02:40 - The Ricart Family & Rick’s background

08:08 - Sponsorship deals in the era of NIL (Name, Image, Likeness)

12:29 - Marketing, media, crafting company culture

19:46 - Ricart’s unique business model

28:30 - Ricart’s fastest-growing division

35:03 - Optimizing the online buying experience

50:02 - Lending, negative equity, repossessions

54:00 - Rick’s marketing idea that didn’t get picked up

56:55 - Inside look at OEM politics and EV rumors

1:01:40 - How manufacturers will change and adapt to new market trends

1:08:00 - Software and investing in the future

1:14:19 - Wrapping up

Follow Rick:

@RickRicart on X.

Rickart Automotive's website.

Check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠the website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for more and follow me on X ⁠⁠⁠⁠@GuyDealership⁠⁠⁠⁠!

This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.

#27 State of auto lending, Best and worst car deals, UAW strike, #1 issue for car shoppers, Winners & losers in the EV space | Jonathan Smoke, Chief Economist at Cox Automotive Sep 15, 2023

Show notes

This episode is brought to you by:

⁠KEYper Systems⁠ - Key Management Simplified.

Interested in advertising with CarDealershipGuy? Drop us a line here

Interested in being considered as a guest on the podcast? Add your name here

Today, I'm speaking with Jonathan Smoke, Chief Economist at Cox Automotive.

00:00 - Intro

02:00 - DJ Smokey Smoke returns

05:55 - The general state of the market

15:25 - Interest rates and how they affect the industry

18:03 - Supply & demand, inventory issues, price improvements

26:55 - Winners & losers in the EV space

34:00 - Used car market update

38:30 - Will UAW strike?

48:00 - Best deals for consumers right now

52:25 - The state of auto lending

1:03:10 - Wrapping up

Follow Jonathan:

@SmokeonCars on X.

Jonathan's LinkedIn.

Smoke on Cars insights at Cox Automotive.

Check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠the website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for more and follow me on X ⁠⁠⁠@GuyDealership⁠⁠⁠!

This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.

#26 Secret sauce of used car wholesaling, Biggest threat to used car auctions, Viability of zero-fee auction, Elon Musk and A.I. | Robert Hollenshead, Founder of RH Auto Sales and Accu-Trade Sep 08, 2023

Show notes

This episode is brought to you by:

⁠KEYper Systems⁠ - Key Management Simplified.

Interested in advertising with CarDealershipGuy? Drop us a line here

Interested in being considered as a guest on the podcast? Add your name here

In this episode, I'm speaking with Robert Hollenshead, Founder of R. Hollenshead Auto Sales and Accu-Trade.

00:00 - Intro

02:21 - Bob's background

08:27 - Lack of transparency back in the day

13:11 - Creating things the industry needed

35:24 - Accu-Trade, Galves, Manheim index, Kelly Blue Book

48:31 - Consensus forces bad decisions

55:59 - A.I. & The future of auctions

1:07:16 - Wrapping up

Follow Robert:

⁠LinkedIn⁠

⁠R. Hollenshead Auto Sales⁠

⁠Accu-Trade⁠

⁠Galves⁠

Check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠the website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for more and follow me on X ⁠⁠⁠@GuyDealership⁠⁠⁠!

This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.

#25 Raising $47M to simplify car shipping, How RunBuggy makes money, Solving the "cold start" problem, Growing repos in the car market | Kevin Malik, CEO of RunBuggy Sep 01, 2023

Show notes

This episode is brought to you by:

KEYper Systems - Key Management Simplified.

In this episode, I'm speaking with Kevin Malik, CEO of RunBuggy.

00:00 - Intro

01:54 - Kevin’s background

04:36 - Getting involved with RunBuggy

12:54 - Building the MVP and getting funded

18:04 - The hauling business

21:28 - How RunBuggy makes money

32:57 - Challenges with scale

36:02 - Zooming out

43:17 - Wrapping up

Follow Kevin & check out RunBuggy:

Kevin's LinkedIn

RunBuggy's website

Check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠the website⁠⁠⁠⁠ for more and follow me on X ⁠⁠@GuyDealership⁠⁠!

Interested in advertising with CarDealershipGuy? Drop us a line ⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠.

This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.

#24 Acquiring 60+ dealerships within 7 years, Raising kids into generational wealth, Paying $200M+ for a Toyota store & Brett’s blunt message to Ford CEO Jim Farley | Brett Morgan, CEO, Morgan Auto Group Aug 25, 2023

Show notes

This episode is brought to you by:

KEYper Systems - Key Management Simplified.

⁠⁠Fullpath⁠⁠ – Discover Automotive's Leading Customer Data and Experience Platform.

In this episode, I'm speaking with Brett Morgan, CEO of Morgan Auto Group.

00:00 - Intro

02:48 - Brett’s background

08:20 - Succession & raising kids in generational wealth

13:51 - The journey to becoming CEO

29:53 - What Brett looks for in an acquisition

50:50 - Toyota and EVs

1:02:00 - Has dealership profitability peaked?

1:07:39 - Brett’s message to Ford CEO Jim Farley

1:11:37 - Raising capital through private equity

1:20:08 - Finding the best people

1:28:45 - Wrapping up

Follow Brett:

Morgan Auto Group

Check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠the website⁠⁠⁠⁠ for more and follow me on X ⁠⁠@GuyDealership⁠⁠!

Interested in advertising with CarDealershipGuy? Drop us a line ⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠.

This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.

#23 Vegas meeting w/ Michael Rubin, Economics of mobile car care, Trick to hiring 600 technicians, Leveraging AI, Why EV maintenance is so profitable | Scot Wingo, Founder & CEO of Spiffy Aug 18, 2023

Show notes

In this episode, I’m speaking with Scot Wingo, Founder & CEO of Spiffy.

01:09 - Scot’s background

04:50 - The hardest business meeting ever

07:05 - Being a serial entrepreneur

15:41 - Trick to hiring technicians

20:08 - Leveraging custom software to drive process efficiency

25:30 - How Spiffy makes money

32:38 - Consumer behaviors around auto repair

35:00 - Where the industry is headed

46:24 - Wrapping up

Follow Scot & Spiffy:

@scotwingo on X

Spiffy's website

Check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠the website⁠⁠⁠⁠ for more and follow me on Twitter ⁠⁠@GuyDealership⁠⁠!

Interested in advertising with CarDealershipGuy? Join the sponsor waitlist ⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠.

This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.

#22 Gatekeepers of Automotive media, Carvana avoiding bankruptcy, Integrating AI into your car, Making EV batteries obsolete, CDG’s announcement for 2024 | Cliff Banks, Founder, The Banks Report Aug 11, 2023

Show notes

In this episode, I'm speaking with Cliff Banks, Founder of The Banks Report.

00:00 - Intro

01:38 - Cliff’s background

08:30 - The Fate of Carvana

16:40 - What’s next for the used car dealer?

34:10 - Are new car prices sustainable?

39:36 - Talking public auto stocks

44:25 - How automotive media is changing

56:30 - Wrapping up

Follow Cliff:

⁠Twitter⁠

⁠The Banks Report⁠

Please take a moment to visit this episode's sponsor:

⁠⁠Fullpath⁠⁠ – Discover Automotive's Leading Customer Data and Experience Platform

Turn your first-party data into customers for life with ⁠⁠Fullpath⁠⁠.

Check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠the website⁠⁠⁠⁠ for more and follow me on Twitter ⁠⁠@GuyDealership⁠⁠!

Interested in advertising with CarDealershipGuy? Join the sponsor waitlist ⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠.

This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.

#21 Secrets of buying and selling dealerships, Best and worst auto franchises, Lessons from $5.5B of dealership buy-sell transactions, Have dealership profits peaked? | Alan Haig, President & Founder, Haig Partners Aug 04, 2023

Show notes

In this episode, I'm speaking with Alan Haig, President & Founder of Haig Partners, LLC.

00:00 - Intro

01:51 - Alan's background

10:07 - The journey to founding Haig Partners

20:21 - The state of dealership M&A

50:11 - Best & worst brands for consumer experience

59:36 - Will this hot market continue throughout the decade?

1:03:54 - The independent dealer market of the future

1:20:57 - Wrapping up

Follow Alan:

Haig Partners

Please take a moment to visit this episode's sponsor:

⁠Fullpath⁠ – Discover Automotive's Leading Customer Data and Experience Platform

Turn your first-party data into customers for life with ⁠Fullpath⁠.

Check out ⁠⁠⁠the website⁠⁠⁠ for more and follow me on Twitter ⁠@GuyDealership⁠!

Interested in advertising with CarDealershipGuy? Join the sponsor waitlist ⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠.

This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.

#20 Selling a company for millions, Why most car sales are private party, Online car marketplace economics, Dealership hazing stories | Brad Parker, Founder & CEO of PrivateAuto Jul 28, 2023

Show notes

In this episode, I'm speaking with Brad Parker, Founder & CEO of ⁠PrivateAuto⁠.

00:00 Intro

01:05 Brad's background

04:55 What inspired Brad to build a P2P marketplace

16:25 Inside PrivateAuto's business

32:05 Why most transactions are still private party

43:10 Wrapping up

Follow Brad:

⁠Twitter⁠

⁠PrivateAuto⁠

Check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠the website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for more and follow me on Twitter ⁠⁠⁠@GuyDealership⁠⁠⁠!

Interested in advertising with CarDealershipGuy? Send us a note ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.

#19 How Ghost is different than Tesla, Bringing true self-driving to every car, Raising $230M for auto tech | John Hayes, Co-Founder & CEO of Ghost Autonomy Jul 21, 2023

Show notes

In this episode, I'm speaking with John Hayes, co-founder and CEO of Ghost Autonomy.

00:00 - Intro

01:12 - John's background

05:19 - What is Ghost?

09:34 - The Levels of Autonomy

23:13 - Ghost's business model

29:13 - OEM adoption & benefits

39:33 - The future of AVs & commuting

44:11 - Wrapping up

Follow John:

Twitter