Dealer News Today Podcasts

Matt Gunderson came from a large family in western Wisconsin, never intending to sell cars. But after getting into business with his brother in an open Infiniti dealership point in California, he found himself two decades later, running that successful dealership, plus two others he had started from the ground up. On this episode, Matt Gunderson talks with Derek D. about his unlikely path to both...

Liza Borches is a fourth-generation automotive dealer, but once upon a time, she never imagined she’d want to sell cars. Over the last 15 years, Carter Myers Automotive has experienced explosive growth, from three rooftops to 20 - and Liza, Cox Automotive’s 2020 Woman of the Year, says they’re ready to go even further. Listen in while Liza Borches, President and CEO of Carter Myers Automotive, sha...

Rita Case has literally spent a lifetime in the auto industry. She was born into one car-selling family, married into another, and now is the president, CEO, and owner of the country’s largest retail auto group that is owned and operated by a woman. Listen as Rita Case, the CEO and owner of the largest woman-owned retail auto group in America, tells the tale of her lifelong journey in what she cal...

The Crain Companies began as “Paul Crain Wholesale” in Searcy, Arkansas in the early 1950s. “Mr. Paul”, Larry Crain Sr.’s father, started out “peddling” tire repair items and now Crain Automotive is 23 rooftops strong - all from the trunk of a car. Listen to industry veteran Larry Crain Sr. as he discusses the history of Crain Automotive and how he went from one dealership in 1991 to 23 thirty yea...

45-Year-old automotive brand has seen it all. With 26 dealerships and over 35 facilities, Rob Cochran, #1 Cochran President, and CEO, has a wealth of leadership and operational insights. “ Building a brand means developing the organizations’ culture, and that culture needs to be one of growth and empowerment.” — Rob Cochran CEO, #1 Cochran Listen to industry veteran and thought leader Rob Cochran...

Time Magazine Dealer of the Year - 40 dealerships across four states, Scott Kunes, Kunes Auto Group COO, looks into his crystal ball. What’s in store for the auto industry? Listen and find out. From professional chef to one of the top Cheif Operating Officers in the auto industry, Scott Kunes has a unique point of view on the industry and has some core values he’s learned in the kitchen and applie...

Opportunity remains extremely strong in the automotive M&A sector, and for nearly two years, this high-reward dynamic has allowed auto groups to be especially “picky” and strategic about the dealerships they acquire. Today, Dave takes a deep dive into the art of strategic acquisitions and how dealer groups today are positioning themselves across the US market.  For example, groups are being mo...

Brett Hopkins has had a fascinating career story.  He went from a try at medical school, to 3 years in Paris, to being CFO of the 2002 Salt Lake CIty Olympic Committee, where he forged a relationship with Bob Garff, then the 2nd-generation CEO of Ken Garff Automotive Group .  Brett joined Ken Garff Auto Group following the 2002 games, and in 20 years, he’s helped grow the company from nearly 20 de...

An Exclusive Interview with Sugar Ray Leonard Before His Appearance at the NADA Afterparty Hosted by DCG. “There’s a special something, a way to live that helps you win the fights that matter.” ~ Sugar Ray Leonard He’s an Olympic gold medal winner, Golden Gloves winner, world champion boxer in five weight classes (the first boxer to ever achieve this), a legendary sports icon, Hall of Famer, bests...

Today we talk about the true nature of value .  Dave reflects on DCG Acquisitions’s recent announcement that, in 2021, the firm closed over $1B in total M&A transactions. ( Read more in Business Wire .) But they didn’t do so by gunning for the billion dollar mark. Instead, the team was focused on more essential elements of value.  Later in the episode, Dave talks about the long game of automot...

Get ready to take notes.  Today, Dave runs down the checklist of dealership profitability and talks about entrepreneurs who are skilled at purchasing dealerships, increasing profits, and then selling them at a higher price three to five years later.  Plus, Dave and Derek share predictions on the performance of mainstay automakers over the next 12-18 months, especially GM, which suffered Q4 losses...

The auto industry is changing faster than it has since the days of Karl Benz and Henry Ford.  Manufacturers are investing billions into EVs. Dealers are adopting “order your vehicle” sales models and transforming the way they do business with customers.  In this environment, M&A remains full-steam-ahead. Smaller auto groups and family dealerships continue to look at historic high valuations, d...

Bridget Beyer’s family has been in automotive for over 100 years.  She’s the COO of Beyer Family Automotive Group in New Jersey, which operates Ford, CDJR, and GMC franchises, multiple commercial truck dealerships, and even a Fleet dealer that sells over 2000 police vehicles annually to municipalities across NJ.  Today on DNT, Bridget brings up some key under-recognized points about the inventory...

There’s no crystal ball for the year ahead, but the automotive industry is not slowing down and 2022 may shape up to be a stronger year than 2021 or 2020.  However, there’s one thing we’re keeping our eye on — how will manufacturers respond to dealers making record profits, while they aren’t seeing the same on their end? Dave and Derek discuss why this is happening and what options manufacturers m...

The week between Christmas and New Year’s is usually quiet in the M&A world. Not this year.  At a moment when DCG has 37 deals in the pipeline, Dave breaks down how two key attributes in a buyer—speed and confidence—are essential to winning dealership acquisitions.  He goes on to discuss how New Year’s is his favorite holiday, because it’s a chance to hit the restart button. For business execu...

This episode is full of rich insights and data from one of the industry’s leading analytics experts. Jessica Caldwell began her career with various OEMs and has spent the past 15 years at Edmunds, where she is now Executive Director of Insights. Jessica and Derek discuss the great flux the industry has felt since the start of the pandemic, and attempt to form a picture of what may take place in th...

Today’s episode of Transactions starts with some holiday cheer and jumps quickly to the frenzy of M&A activity happening at the close of the year. “It’s the unknown,” Dave says, that’s driving the rush to close. We all know factors are favorable in 2021 — from laws and taxes, to interest rates and dealership profits — but nobody knows exactly how things will change in 2022. Dave and Derek go o...

Don Forman is one of the top names in the Vegas auto market.  As CEO of Forman Automotive , he’s now getting ready to open his sixth dealership in the greater Las Vegas area.  On this episode of Dealer News Today, Don tells how he found his career in Vegas by chasing opportunity, and he gives us a sense of the work ethic and passion that are behind the growth of his auto group.  Don wakes up each...

If there’s a phrase to sum up today’s episode, it’s “positive outlook”.  Dave kicks off the conversation by describing how he chooses a positive outlook as often as possible, in any situation, to stay on the right path, take the right actions, and guide his team toward consistently positive outcomes in dealership transactions.  Then he delves into the positive forecasts for the M&A market in 2...

John Stech’s story is one of an automotive entrepreneur crossing disciplines and crossing continents.  Born in Germany, he moved to the US at a young age. As a professional, he’s gone from developing plastics for car components, to working for European OEMs in various global markets, to consulting as an automotive expert with major players in other industries.  His journey has taken him across the...

This episode is about turning your visions into reality.   “Some people dream it but they don’t live it,” says Dave, “And they don’t live it because they’re not executing.”  Today, we discuss how the ability to execute makes all the difference in the efficiency of dealership transactions, in people’s careers, and in our daily lives. Dave explains how two motivations, a passion for Automotive M&amp...

In a way, Paul Meijer’s career has been all about understanding how dealership businesses work and finding ways to make them work better.  41 years ago, Paul started as a service technician, quickly rising to a manager position, and later went on to gain a variety of regional sales experiences with Audi, Subaru, Saab, and other brands. He became an early adopter of online auto sales, after he’d se...

When you’re involved in Mergers & Acquisitions, you understand that every deal has a business side and a human side. Both are important, for very different reasons. While the human element — the trading of legacies — is a large part of what makes the work so rewarding, it’s important to run the deal itself strictly along business lines and not allow emotions to interfere. On this episode of Tr...

Today we talk less about technical aspects of the auto industry, and more about what it means to be a professional in this business.  Scott Biehl has been learning and growing in his career for 35 years. At age 21, he took a semester off school to sell cars. He sold 15 vehicles in his first 12 days and never looked back. Today, he’s CEO of Triunity Automotive Group, with dealerships in Fresno and...

A successful dealership acquisition involves much more than just matching a buyer to a seller.  On episode 3 of Transactions, Dave explains how every acquisition is a puzzle — and you have to know how to put the pieces together to make it successful. Along the way, he describes the nine members of an M&A team involved in any acquisition and how they complete the due diligence of a prospective...