I am a former HomeNet employee, and my suggestion to all Dealer Principals is to make sure you are very clear and precise as to your NDA terms, and accesses to your inventory data. I have never seen any unlawful use of information personally there. I am bound by many NDA requirements myself, any will not speak specifically about anything here. I only caution, that there is a wealth of information in any dealers DMS system, and that it is controlled by the access granted. I would advise that specific reports be created for polling, and that no "standard" polling scripts be permitted. I would advise that, while Autotrader claims that they will run HomeNet as a separate entity, they are still the parent company, and thus privy to all data that passes through HomeNet.

Michael - I guess if ATC removed the prominent and valuable dealer branding (bold dealer name, dealer logo, marketing tagline(s)) from their SRP listings and eliminated the ability for dealers to grab the shopper's attention with pertinent comments in the SRP about a car's unique history/condition, they could squeeze in 50 cars per page too. By your logic, why doesn't cars.com just increase to 250 cars per page and claim 10 times the SRPs?

Nope we count the same as ATC. we just do what dealers pay us to do our Search results page yields a consumer 50 actual car ads where ATC makes you pay double and you only get 25 actual car ads. Why? Take a look at both sites. No liner ads on Cars.com for cell phones or antibiotics, target stuff that has nothing to do with car shopping! as a matter of fact ATC has 4 liner ads per page I just saw a national clearing house ad! Wouldnt you rather them do what you pay them for list your cars on that space? Cars.com is double SRP's and VDP's because we are double listing per page. more of your inventory on our site in one page!

If that is what your ATC rep said he is wrong we count it exaclty the same there is only one way to count it. the only reason you see Cars.com numbers higher in SRP and VDP is because we offer double the classified listings than ATC. Go to both sites. Cars.com SrP will return 50 classified listings. Go to ATC the SRP will return 25 listings why? they are selling the ad space you pay for twice. they tell you get premium so your inventory can be first and on top why are they selling your ad space to assurance cell or viagra all these different companies buy liner ads from ATC look for your self then there are the Alpha liner ads then the OEM mean while your inventory is another 25 listing on the next page and the next arent you paying premium to come up first. Ask your ATC rep where and how Cars.com is doing anything different other than listing double the classified ads for you the dealership and your inventory and the consumer what consumer wants to go 3 to 4 pages deep? I dont!

So now you know the difference dealers! In my opinion you shouldnt be paying for no more than a featured plus product period if you advertise with ATC. even if you are premium look at your ROI private sellers and liner ads get more attention than your 4k-5k premium package advertising. SRP's and VDP's are counted exactly the same at both companies ATC just wont tell you that theirs are lower because they have less classified ads on the SRP!! Check it out your self count actual classified ads on Cars.com and ATC see what you come up with? Cars.com list 50 classified ads ATC list 25 classified ads pushing your inventory further and further in pages! Horrible consumer experience if you have to go 3 or more pages deep typically consumers just give up and that is why you dont see ROI on premium packages. Ask your ATC rep about why only 25 classified listings on Search Results Page? Arent you paying to have your inventory come up first if your a premium dealer? Personaly if you look at both sites Cars.com is built with consumer experience and dealership success alike. level playing field no premium or alpha etc, etc! I stand corrected 4 liner ads i just counted it all for sale where is your inventory Mr./Mrs Dealer ask your ATC rep!!!!

Now why you see a difference in numbers higher for Cars.com when it comes to SRP's and VDP's is Cars.com uses most of its space to acutally advertise cars for the dealers that are paying them to do that 50 listings on search results page. Now ATC has half the listings because they want to make more money off of private sellers which will come before the premium and featured paying dealers then there are the liner ads for viagra or target then the Alpha liner ad so you actually only have about 25 or so true classified ads. ATC has done a great job selling all ad space as much as they can. Its the newspaper online.

There is no difference I have worked for both companies. A Vehicle Detail Page is that the initial click from the Search Results Page. So if you are on either ATC or Cars you look for a honda accord both sites return a "search results page (srp)" on that page you will see multiple listings for honda accords by multiple dealers or private sellers, when a specific honda accord captures your attention you click on that honda accord that click translates to a "vehicle detail page (vdp)" both companies count it once and only once. Both companies count the maps viewed, transfered to website, viewed entire inventory and dealership info separate. If you dont believe me if you are a dealer go to www.dealers.car.com and your main page will show each one of these and their counts also go to www.dealers.autotrader.com and go to reporting tab you will find each one of these also counted out separately.

And about the ranking if you are a SEO master you understand to check the age report. You guy suppose to be smart. It takes time to market and advertise, lmao. The ranking is actually awesome there for the time it's been up. Just had to reply to that comment it's pretty funny. Those NY sites been up forever. LMAO, noobs. AutoLibrium was ranked at 200,000 before AutoTrader attacked them witht hename they had before. See, what Im saying love the lack of peoples understanding of the net. Please, educate yourself before you start pushing stats.

Wow! Really?

This dude even went as far as to try to damage the site. that's not what it looks like. And please keep hating on their site you just bring more attention to it, thanks. I hope they succeed because they have a great plan to help and not asking for large amounts of money there. They are trying to help dealerships bigtime. Maybe one of the only companies left that is honest and not greedy. You're stupid dude please keep hating - haters don't get it they help others succeed you haven't figured that out yet? This is the reason I came here, lmao. Now, I know how Hitler got you morons to follow very easy to PWN the mind of the weak = ROB. Ok, later people it was fun playing with you and your hatred because you can't design or code yourself out of a paper bag, ROFL!!!! Roll On The Floor Laughing. BTW, I'd love to see your web work you got a link to a site that is yours or are you going to go to someone elses site and claim it too. LMAO!!!! Rob the Last Of The Moron Tribe - Me To Short Poopy Pants.

Best. DealerRefresh. Reply.

"Humans" lol.

lmao, always one of you haters somewhere oh well. Usaully when there are people tend to follow like sheep after it becomes successful. I understand most of you like facebook user follow not create or creative. Starting to understand how you humans work, Interesting -Repetition-. Humans rather stay with the same and get ripped off instead of creating and going to places that will treat you right. AutoLibrium folks over there trying to make it so that dealerships get help not robbed oh well. I guess some dealerships just like going out of business because places like cox greed and outsourcing staff. Hmm? Americans are strange and wonder why they are in a bad economy = self not their government (and people like this guy = haters of unique change). LMAO WOW Ill go play some World of Warcraft yep played before every noob jerk wanted to claim they are nerds and computer smart -SHEEP- bah bah

Great, now you tell me, the receptionist just finished the excel spreadsheet.

@ Rob,

Are you asking for the mailing address? You do realize you need to send your inventory by USPS on a 3.5 inch floppy, right?

Derek,

Why do you do this to yourself? Look at how poorly autolibrium.com ranks
Website Grader - Check your Pages for Speed and SEO

Look to the bottom of the report. 3 NY Car dealer sites totally out rank you, making your claims of offering a value to car dealers completely... puzzling.

If fact, if you'd like to buy some ad space to build up your traffic, please contact ANY car dealer. They have more traffic than you do.
http://siteanalytics.compete.com/auctiondirectusa...

I want one!!!! LOL Where do I send my feed?

Derek,

There isn't enough Jack Daniels made to make me think that AutoLibrium.com is better looking than... anything.

If your really looking for style, may I suggest a site makeover in a motif that fits your business plan? --> http://bit.ly/i71IHw

A monopoly? really?

Last time I checked there were plenty of other options out there...

Its called monopoly - like microsoft. They are trying to stop any other websites like AutoLibrium.com because they are better looking and cheap compared to them.

A monopoly will only have the system come after you. In the end, they will have to comply and get pwned. They are trying to stick people with their high prices to post Ads.

Kelly Blue Book can forever change the Marketplace.

How? It won't be long before someone creates a certified used vehicle condition report. Wholesale Auction houses are wrestling with this right now.

I'm on the record (before the merger) that "certified used vehicle condition reports" are a perfect fit for KBB's brand. If (and when) that happens, everything you know about our used car market is gone.

Search Criteria
Choose:
Year: 2009
Make: Chevrolet
Model: Avalanche
Trim: LTZ 4x4
Price: <33,000
Miles: <15000
Color(s):
-then-
Choose: Exterior Grade = >90
Choose: Interior Grade = >80
Choose: Tire Grade => pass

Choose Sales Service Level: SelfServe or Concierge
(selfserve= NO sales rep, deduct 20% sales reps commission)

Insert Credit Card Here:--->________

AutoTrader and Manheim are jointly owned by Cox Enterprises. Thats an Uncle Joe Crystal Ball Guess... kinda spooky isn't it?

HomeNet(HN) Opens its Window.

The content and information on AT VDP's are all over the map (inconsistent) and limited to text only. AT may want to "enrich" it's VDPs but they are forced to make it work for everyone, so, AT currently offers a VDP reduced to the least common denominator. Owning HN gives AT the ability to choreograph a far superior VDP (and leave the text only VDP for everyone else). The HN & AT bond will further solidify HN's

"mission critical" position to all the players in our space.

vAuto Opens its Window

Dale P. tells us of a treasure trove of data that he has seen that is so compelling he took the short deal. Dale has earned his rock-star status by his character, so he gets a free pass on details. When it comes to AT, I believe Dale and his team will uncover many undiscovered jewels that will find its way back to AT.

KBB opens its window

From my seat, This is the weak link to help AT's site. Although KBB is important while shopping, IMO, KBB is not an anchor brand that shoppers NEED and demand. Everyday, our men in the trenches easily "de-certify" KBB's prices all because no-one knows what a KBB price is. Bottomline: it's easy to blow KBB off.

KBB must have traffic, ad revenue, SEO leverage and brand good will to make it stand alone. AutoTrader has a lot of TV advertising, now it can enhance it's retail message with the KBB brand.

I can't help myself! I love the tactical side of business & marketing. This is the biggest automotive business news since Jerry Thibeau paid for my lunch

Here is my latest spin:

If AT Top Management gets all properties to share its resources & align its goals, you have everything needed to completely renovate the AT shopping experience as we know it.

--Better AT VDPs from Homenet and KBB

--Better Marketing Data and Ideas from vAuto

Its more than possible for AutoTrader to re-invent itself with these elements.

So, what does the future hold for ATC and it's recent acquisitions. Nobody really knows and any assessment would have to be deemed speculation. I think we have had enough conjecture from multiple parties. Let's get back to best practices in our space and other topics that we can actually affect change. Merry Christmas to all!!!

@Joe I am glad you chose to walk out of my session at #DD9 you've demonestrated exactly what Digital Dealer is all about. If you don't agree or like what you here you are free to leave and go to another session that why there are so many, so thank you for acting on your convictions.

Joe you have heard a small part of me speak and you have seen me post some comments so I'm sorry you don't get to tell me what I am, that is your opinion and you're welcome to it as is anyone else.

My behavior here is exactly what I think and my opinion, I didn’t realize Joe you were the opinion police here and that no one was allowed to have one, or is it just vendors you think aren’t allowed to have opinion, or is it just me you think isn’t allowed to have an opinion? I gotta be honest with you I’m confused because there have been a lot of opinions expressed here by dealers and vendors but I seem to the only one you think you need to warn, and BTW who elected you as the guy to warn people?

Joe I wouldn’t believe very much in my own product if I didn’t think it was a good value for a dealer so if you ask me as you did your comment, I’m not going to lie I will tell you yes I think I have a better value proposition than most of what ATC sells now. With that said it's not my opinion that matters that is a decision dealers have to make, they are the only ones who can assign value. I think we know where you value is and that is ok.

Lastly I am a dealer, always have been a dealer and always will be a dealer. So don't you pretend to able to tell me what I am. I would never do that to you, that is unprofessional, giving your opinion has never been unprofessional, its what blogs are for and you are welcome to walk out of this one too.

This will be my last comment on this post clearly we have far over stepped the usefulness to the community.

A Dealer to Vendor warning.

Larry, you're a vendor and you're way out of line. These are YOUR WORDS LARRY:

-”Get out of ATC before you lose more money"

-”The ATC Alpha program is a joke"

-”Drop ATC you are better off taking that money to eBay motors"

-”Dealers need to limit their exposure with ATC"

-”ATC will bring nothing more than higher pricing & little value"

-”Your ATC bill go through the roof and service through the floor"

-”What was the last thing ATC built that was innovative?"

-”ATC is no more than cheap magazine tricks they brought online"

-”Get rid of your alpha program and Autotrader entirely"

-”ATC does not have the footprint they want you to belive"

-”ATC isn’t a technology company, isn’t a web marketing company "

-”ATC at its root a magazine"

-”The fact is ATC is not about a better product or more help"

-”Move some of your budget to eBay"

-”ATC actions say to me they are not trying at all"

-”ATC has no strategy"

-”ATC has no idea what these companies... except raise rates'

-”you are wasting your time if you use VDP as a measurement"

-”Cars and ATC both offer the dealer little..."

-”I’m not privy to ATC algorithms"

-”I could be wrong but not likely..."

Then you follow with:

-"Dale, it is unprofessional of you to pretend you know anything about me or my motivations."

-"Gretchen, posting with such an obvious company line is almost insulting in some ways."

Larry, Your behavior here is clearly irresponsible.

YOU ARE A VENDOR, NOT A DEALER, NOT A DEALER ADVOCATE.

YOU ARE HERE TO PROMOTE YOURSELF & YOUR BUSINESS. Your words about your business again:

-"My new business absolutely could be an alternative to ATC..."

-"I believe a dealership spend with my company would produce more than a spend with ATC"

-"The name of the game here “DERVISIFY”"

Larry, Now I remember why I walked out of your DD9 presentation. Your opinion of yourself knows no bounds and gets in the way of what little knowledge you have.