Auto Collabs

Tomi Mikula says he receives death threats almost every week. He's moved homes to protect his privacy, built a business that challenges how dealerships sell cars, and believes the industry's biggest problems start with the way salespeople are paid. But...

What if the biggest thing holding back the automotive industry is the people leading it? Former Toyota executive Jack Hollis has spent decades building relationships with dealers, developing teams, and watching some of the best leaders in the business ...

What if the biggest opportunity for AI in dealerships is giving your people more time to actually be people? Mike Gilson, CEO of Conversica, joins Paul J Daly, Kyle Mountsier, and Michael Cirillo to explore what happens when artificial intelligence mov...

What happens when you've spent nearly 30 years seeing the automotive industry from every side of the table? You start realizing that some of the biggest dealership problems have less to do with technology and more to do with how people understand each ...

What do cruise ships and car dealerships have in common? More than you'd think, especially when it comes to making people feel welcome. Andy Steinhauser, Director of Sponsorship and Business Development for the LA Auto Show, joins Paul J Daly, Kyle Mou...

A mobile service van can look like an expensive side project—right up until it starts bringing back customers the dealership hasn’t seen in years. Amir Alahwal shares how Mercedes-Benz of Temecula turned mobile service into a real retention strategy af...

Amazon has trained consumers to expect convenience, transparency, and fulfillment. But when it comes to selling cars, Carlos Mojica sees one important difference: Amazon still needs the dealer. Carlos, Senior Manager of Retail Development at LaFontaine...

Your Dealership AI Is Only 90% Right. That’s the Problem. AI can make messy data look usable. But AJ McGowan says that gets a lot more dangerous when you expect AI to actually run dealership workflows. AJ, VP of Research and Development at Reynolds and...

Zach Doran believes dealer relationships are built long before there’s a problem to solve. As president of the Ohio Auto Dealers Association, he’s pushing the organization beyond traditional advocacy and member services by creating more reasons for dea...

Everyone is talking about how AI search is changing changing how dealerships are evaluated, how reputation gets interpreted, and which marketing metrics still tell the full story. Chad Graves of Reunion Marketing joins Paul and Kyle to unpack what’s ha...

Don Hall has spent decades fighting for car dealers. That doesn’t mean he’s afraid to tell one when he’s wrong. The president of the Virginia Automobile Dealers Association joins Paul, Kyle, and Michael for a conversation that goes well beyond legislat...

After watching the same bad vehicles circulate through auctions, one independent dealer decided to build the solution himself. Dealer Defender is tackling one of the biggest challenges facing independent auto dealers: wholesale arbitration and the lack...

AI is being broadly adopted in the automotive industry, but many companies are implementing it without a clear understanding of the customer problem they're trying to solve. In this episode of Auto Collabs, John Coles of ACV explains why successful AI ...

Compliance changes can create uncertainty for dealerships of every size. Laura Perrotta, President of NJ CAR, explains how dealer associations help retailers navigate evolving regulations, access trusted resources, and stay informed when new compliance...

Dealership sales training can make or break a marketing investment. Eric Mercado, Chief Revenue Officer and Partner at Force Marketing, explains why even the best marketing campaigns fail when dealership teams aren't prepared to deliver on the customer...

Dealership growth doesn't always come from selling more vehicles. Sam Weaver, dealer principal of Chevy Chase Acura and author of Together Is How We Win, explains why many dealerships are overlooking valuable revenue opportunities that already exist wi...

TrueCar CEO Scott Painter shares his vision for a future where AI helps consumers choose the right vehicle, financing becomes more flexible, and car ownership itself may look very different than it does today. Special thanks to Force Marketing for maki...

Dealership compliance has become one of the most important conversations in automotive retail. Kevin Frye shares how his organization responded after receiving an FTC warning letter and what dealers can learn from the experience. Special thanks to Forc...

Transparent pricing starts with marketing. At the CBT New Auto Leadership Summit on Fair Pricing & Compliance, John Fitzpatrick of Force Marketing explains why dealership compliance challenges often begin long before a customer enters the showroom. Whe...

Building trust in automotive retail starts with transparency. At the CBT News Auto Leadership Summit on Fair Pricing & Compliance, Zach Shefska, co-founder and CEO of CarEdge, explains how AI-powered shopping tools, objective dealer data, and changing ...

Dealership leadership is built in the everyday choices that shape hiring, culture, accountability, and trust. John Osborne of Carter Myers Automotive joins AutoCollabs to talk about leading with consistency, growing a dealership group without losing it...

Most dealerships are chasing AI tools. Dave Perry argues the real opportunity is solving bigger problems, keeping service customers for life, and turning AI into a force multiplier instead of a replacement. Dave Perry has spent his career solving compl...

Send us Fan Mail The rules around pricing transparency are changing fast, and the industry is scrambling to keep up. Jim Fitzpatrick, Founder and CEO of CBT News, joins Auto Collabs to discuss why he's bringing the industry back together for a live eve...

Send us Fan Mail She's spent decades watching technology trends rise, crash, and reshape industries and she says the AI era feels familiar, dangerous, and full of opportunity all at once. Beth Hill, General Counsel & COO/Founder, The Shop at Ford Direc...

Send us Fan Mail Most companies chase growth—Sanjay Varnwal is chasing velocity, and it’s changing how dealers think about inventory, AI, and survival. In this episode, the crew sits down with Sanjay Varnwal, co-founder of Spyne, to unpack how dealersh...