ConnectedPodcast

Today on Connected, Greg speaks with Jim and Bridget Fitzpatrick, co-founders of CBT News and co-hosts of the new CBT Live. While Jim and Bridget have produced content with CBT News for the past 14 years, they took on a new endeavor back in September when they launched CBT Live, a daily live show streaming on YouTube. They've developed such a notable presence in the industry and are still finding...

Today on Connected, Greg talks with Felicia Barr, service director at Bertera Auto Group. Felicia has spent the past 14 years working her way up through the dealership to her current role. Now she's taking on another endeavor: building a social media presence sharing skits about what's working in the service drive. Felicia pulls back the curtain on her social media approach and the changes she's s...

Today on Connected, you'll hear from Rich Sands, CEO of Stella AI and a longtime automotive technology leader. Rich has spent nearly 30 years at the intersection of automotive and technology, with leadership roles at J.D. Power, Ford, Microsoft, and now Stella AI. In this episode, Rich shares how artificial intelligence is reshaping dealership operations, improving customer engagement, and creatin...

Today on Connected, Greg speaks with Chris Lasko, general sales manager at BMW of Pittsburgh and winner of the Innovation Award from the 2026 Automotive Amplifiers Contest. Chris is a two-time finalist at the Automotive Amplifiers Contest and has a history both in and out of the dealership, devoting his time to innovation and problem-solving. In this conversation, he digs deeper into his winning b...

Today on Connected, you'll hear from Randy Carlton, general manager at Volvo Cars Bellevue and one of the winners of the 2026 Automotive Amplifiers Contest. Over the past 30 years, Randy has built an impressive automotive career spanning retail, software, finance, and leadership roles with some of the industry's largest organizations. Randy shares the experiences, lessons, and leadership principle...

Welcome to Connected, an audio/video podcast from Reynolds and Reynolds. Every other week, host Greg Uland (Reynolds vice president of marketing) sits down with the people shaping the future of automotive retail. These are real conversations with the experts and innovators driving change across the automotive industry. Whether you're a service manager, a sales leader, or just curious about where t...

This week on Connected, you'll hear the best practice presentations from the winners of our 2026 Automotive Amplifiers Contest. At Amplify 2026, we held our Automotive Amplifiers Contest for the third time. This year's event was in Carlsbad, CA. Five finalists presented their innovative ideas at the live event, and the panel of judges selected two winners. In this episode, you'll hear the two winn...

On today's episode of Connected, Greg sits down with with Zach Doran, president of the Ohio Automobile Dealers Association, to learn more about their Concert for a Cause event that happened on August 8. This is the second year of the Columbus Auto Dealers Concert for a Cause, an event where they bring in notable artists for a night of great music and raising money for local charitable organization...

Dealership advertising is nothing new. But where those ads are being shown and the strategy behind them is always evolving. With new advertising channels and changing customer behaviors, it can be difficult getting your ads in front of the right audience by doing it the way it's always been done. Today, Greg's catching up with Owen Moon, CEO at DealerStream. Owen was on Connected 131 back in 2024...

Great ideas don't always come from the boardroom. Sometimes they come from the service lane, the parts department, the accounting office, or the showroom floor. They're the small innovations and best practices that solve real problems and make dealerships run better every day. In this episode of Connected, Greg sits down with Michael Cirillo, founder of The Dealer Playbook and one of the judges fo...

In this episode of Connected, Greg sits down with Nikhil Kalani, Reynolds' chief information security officer and vice president of information security, to discuss the cybersecurity threats dealerships are facing today and how AI is changing the game for both attackers and defenders. From deepfakes and financial fraud to ransomware and identity protection, Nikhil shares practical advice that ever...

Today on Connected, Greg catches up with Chris Ponte, parts director at Scranton Chevrolet. Chris won the Impact award in the 2025 Automotive Amplifiers Contest and will return as a judge for the 2026 contest. In every conversation with Chris, his commitment to improving operations at his store is clear. Chris and Greg get into: -How Chris approaches parts as a business, not just a department. -Hi...

What if your dealership software didn’t just process transactions but actually learned from your business as it runs? For this special episode of Connected, we’re sharing a keynote presentation from AJ McGowan, vice president of research and development at Reynolds, recorded live at our Santa Clara AI Summit. In this session, AJ walks through how AI is evolving inside automotive and what comes nex...

On the latest episode of Connected, Greg sits down with Jason Pappas, executive manager at Copeland Chevrolet. These two automotive industry veterans first met when Jason was a service manager and Greg was selling fixed ops products. Jason's curiosity and willingness to dive deep to make the best decisions for the business made him someone Greg always remembered. Now in his role as executive manag...

Today on Connected, Greg is joined by two guests: Michael May, vice president of Cloninger Auto Group, and Graham Nesselrode, a Reynolds performance manager in Mike's area, to talk about the value of good partnerships. When you're running your business, it's important to build strong relationships with your partners to work together towards a common goal. Mike and Graham share some insight into th...

On the latest episode of Connected, Greg sits down with Marco Zwanenberg, a technician and industry voice who’s helping dealerships rethink how they operate from the service bay up. With decades of experience across Europe and the U.S., Marco brings a perspective that cuts through the noise, especially as dealerships struggle with declining productivity and increasing complexity. Marco and Greg co...

Building operational efficiency and creating a good experience for employees and customers goes hand in hand. In our industry today, what are some of the ways to drive real progress in these areas? In just five years, the Swickard Auto Group grew from one store to over fifty. For the 200th episode of Connected, Greg Uland sat down with a legend in our industry, Jeff Swickard, dealer principal at S...

Corpay diem! The business office is evolving — and payments are at the center of it. From fraud risk to cash flow visibility, the way dealerships manage payments is changing quickly. In this episode of Connected, Catherine Hart of Corpay joins Greg to break down how digital payments are changing dealership operations. Together they cover: • Where fraud risk hides in traditional payment methods. •...

Customer retention and loyalty remain top of mind across the dealership, especially in the service department. On today's Connected, Richard Lupo, fixed ops director at Apple Tree Honda and Acura, returns to talk about how his team is preparing for the next phase of service growth. Rich and Greg go over: • What's on Rich's roadmap for fixed ops in 2026. • The value of transparency in the service d...

We’re thrilled to share today's thought-provoking episode with Uli De'Martino of Daily Dealer Live, recorded at NADA! Uli’s unique perspective sheds light on how to navigate the evolving landscape of the automotive industry. In this episode, you’ll discover: • How flexibility and innovation drive success in today's automotive market. • The importance of staying connected and adapting to new trends...

Service departments don't get as many at-bats as they used to. With customers visiting less frequently, every service opportunity matters now more than ever. On today's Connected, Greg sits down with Dave Rogers, fixed operations director at Piazza Auto Group, to get his perspective on what it really takes to maximize every visit in today's service drive. Dave and Greg discuss: • How MPIs and vide...

In our latest episode recorded on the floor of NADA, Greg talks with Todd Smith, founder of QoreAI and author of "The Intelligent Dealership." Todd sheds light on his groundbreaking ideas and shares his vision for the auto industry’s future. In this episode, he and Greg cover: • The inspiration behind "The Intelligent Dealership" and its impact. • How AI is redefining dealership operations. • Stra...

It's another special Friday episode of Connected, recorded live at NADA! Today, Greg's catching up with Paul J Daly, founder and CEO of More Than Cars. If you're not watching Season 2 of their docuseries, The Truth About Car Dealers, you're missing out. In this episode, Paul and Greg discuss: • How to leverage storytelling in building a narrative. • Creating attention and making moments feel big....

We're thrilled to bring you another insightful episode recorded live from NADA, featuring Brian Pasch, automotive marketing expert and founder of Pasch Group! Brian recently released a report evaluating the current landscape for CRMs in the dealership world. It's titled: Dealership CRMs Must Evolve or Get Left Behind. He joined us at NADA to discuss the transformative trends shaping the automotive...

In today's conversation from the NADA floor, Greg's talking with Kyle Mountsier, COO of More Than Cars. If you have the chance to catch up with Kyle, you can't pass it up. He's got such a great mind for marketing and is so plugged into the automotive industry and where we're headed. He and Greg touch on: • How technology impacts both the consumer and employee experience. • The amazing growth of AI...