Auto Titans

Welcome back to Auto Titans. This week, Diana Lee and Lucas Donat sit down with Fred Weick, CEO of Autonomy, to unpack why car subscriptions may finally have their moment. Diana, Lucas, and Fred discuss how Fred's belief, "mobility is a right," shapes Autonomy's approach to affordability, why Autonomy is expanding beyond EVs into gas vehicles, and what customers are asking for, h...

Welcome back to Auto Titans. This week, Diana Lee and Jamie Butters sit down with Steve Greenfield, General Partner at Automotive Ventures, to unpack how AI is rewriting the rules of software valuations, dealer operations, and where the smart money is headed next. In this conversation, Diana, Jamie, and Steve discuss how Steve built Automotive Ventures from a scrappy $7 million debut fund into a f...

Welcome back to Auto Titans. This week marks a special milestone for the show as Jamie Butters and Diana Lee sit down with Tim McCarthy, CEO of The McCarthy Companies, to unveil a new partnership between McCarthy Companies and Constellation, bringing together three decades of dealership advertising expertise with cutting-edge AI capabilities. In the conversation, Jamie, Diana, and Tim explore how...

Welcome back to Auto Titans. This week, Jamie Butters and Diana Lee sit down with David Spisak, consultant, podcaster, and President & CEO of Disruptive Growth Solutions, for a conversation on the risks and realities reshaping dealerships in 2026. In this conversation, Jamie, Diana, and David discuss the FTC's shift from the CARS Rule to the FTC Act and the compliance traps quietly costing...

Welcome back to Auto Titans. This week, Jamie Butters sits down one-on-one with EV titan Jimmy Douglas to talk about the state of EVs and how his company, Plug, is becoming the go-to solution for dealers sourcing used EVs from the consumer market. Jamie and Jimmy dig into how Plug increasingly sources inventory directly from consumers, turning cars around to a new dealer owner in as little as 48 h...

Welcome back to Auto Titans. This week, we sat down with Matt Leone, CEO of DriveCentric, the AI-powered CRM platform now used by more than 3,000 dealerships across the country. Join Diana Lee, Jamie Butters, and Matt Leone as they discuss: 1. Why DriveCentric is betting the CRM and the CDP should be one and the same 2. Matt's "VUCA" philosophy for leading through tariffs, war, affor...

Welcome back to Auto Titans. This week, we sat down with Brian Benstock, General Manager and Vice President of Paragon Honda and Paragon Acura, one of the most successful dealership groups in the nation, the #1 Honda dealer for new car sales since 2017 and the #1 Honda CPO dealer in the world for 16 years.

Welcome back to Auto Titans. This week, we sat down with Chris Walsh, President and acting CEO of Reynolds and Reynolds, one of the most influential DMS companies in automotive retail and one of fewer than a thousand US corporations still standing after 160 years.

Welcome back to Auto Titans. This was one of our favorite conversations yet. This week, we sat down with Scott Painter, the serial entrepreneur who helped digitize car buying, founded TrueCar, and just bought it back for $227 million. Join Diana Lee, Jamie Butters, and Scott Painter as they discuss: Why buying a car in 2026 is still as painful as it was in 2006, How he turned TrueCar from a money-...

Welcome back to Auto Titans, where we sit down with the biggest names shaping the future of the automotive industry. This week, we’re joined by Dr. Kjell Gruner, President & CEO of Volkswagen Group of America , for an honest conversation about where the auto industry is headed and how Volkswagen is navigating one of the most unpredictable moments the business has seen in years.