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Jan 8, 2009

This is all terrible news. God bless the employees and their families that have been wronged after years of providing loyal service.

SS it would be wise to learn to read your audience before making your pitch.

Jan 8, 2009

I sympathize with those impacted by this layoff. I believe Cox will cull as much business as they can from the print reps they took on and will unload autotrader.com next year once they've rid the print part of the business to make it that much more desirable. I wouldn't be suprised if autotrader.com pared down it's field sales force mid year this year, they can't possibly need that many sales reps in this economy in all markets, save the major ones.

Jan 8, 2009

To comment on the rest of the bad news the rest who are staying on with Auto trader Latino formerly Auto Mercado will later be let go as soon as they are used for there leads and contacts....

Jan 8, 2009

This is amazing to me. I can understand why Auto Mart Magazine was not profitible with their heavy discounting but there had to be profitible markets that could be salvaged and kept alive?

I have to believe that Dominion is next and if they are already suing Cox for distribution- I think the writing is on the wall! The whole internet only stategy seems like having all the eggs in one basket for these companies.

Also with all of these companies killing their print and pushing us all onto their websites - major saturation! Their internet rates are going to sky rocket and my ad budget is going to explode. I wish all of you media people well- very sad to see so many loose jobs and treated terribly.

Jan 8, 2009

To "cox employee" what is the average your reps were billing weekly?

Jan 8, 2009

My unethical, corrupt GED-holding Regional gave me the news about losing my job over the phone. He said the severence would be similar to the packages given to the AT employees when their market here was shut down a couple months ago. He said preliminarily that I will get one week and it will be an average of my weekly commissions so I have a good idea of what that is looking like. I will know more next week.

Jan 8, 2009

O.K. Mike. Thanks for the advice. We will try to do better this year. Produce good results. Get shorter name.
Thank you Michael.

Jan 8, 2009

Scott,

Shameless plug for sure. Not only that but what value will your site bring to dealers? Your site name is too long, I would rather pay cars.com even if its 5 times as much then carsfosale. No point in being cheap if you can't produce good results.

Mike

Jan 8, 2009

so, "about to be jobless" - how did you find out what your generous severance would be? We don't get our until next Tuesday. I like how the news releases are really missing how whole store... and what a store it is for a multi-billion dollar company still in existence...

Jan 8, 2009

O.K. SP. We are just trying to provide an affordable option to dealers in this tough economy instead of continuing to raise rates among other things and that should take us out of consideration? O.K. SP

Jan 8, 2009

Dear Scott,

Do you sell flowers at funerals too? Seriously, anybody that was considering your site just stopped.

SP

Jan 8, 2009

Hopefully dealers will finally start to realize that our website, Carsforsale.com, is truly a great value at just $99 a month.

Jan 8, 2009

I will be losing my job on the 23rd like many others. What I found interesting about this article is how in bold it reads that we will be offered "generous severance packages". Last I checked, one week is not generous and neither is the amount for that one week.

My best to the car dealers out there, it has been a pleasure.

Jan 8, 2009

oh by the way... they are only continuing with Auto Trader magazine because the private party part of the mag is managed by Autotrader.com - there will not be dealer ads in the pub. They are continuing to distribute because they're being sued by Dominion since they have an agreement to distribute their pubs nationwide.

Jan 8, 2009

Want the scoop? The entire Cox Auto Trader company (minus Autotrader.com) was laid off Monday via an email that went out at 11:30am - probably about 3500 employees. The 140 top reps in the company were scammed into taking an AutoTrader.com rep position - they were told they wouldn't receive unemployment or a severance and offered them a whopping $25,000! My two top reps made $250,000 & over $100k! This company continues to amaze me, what has happened to mankind? The top vp's responsible for the demise... they all have jobs now at Autotrader.com. And that's 'part' of the scoop...

Jan 7, 2009

I'm somewhat surprised at the magazines they're stopping, and I feel sorry for the people that have been laid off from the company (like several of my close friends as recently as this week who were going on 5-10 years). Something else I heard today was interesting though. Not sure about the veracity yet, but if you look at the words chosen by Cox Auto Trader in their release, they say "[Auto Trader]...magazines will continue to be distributed as before". I'm told Auto Trader magazines, although distribution will continue, is moving away from the dealer advertisements altogether. In fact I spoke with a print rep this afternoon who said his last day (and everyone else in his area) will be on the 23rd. I guess they're forcing dealers to go the private party route, one vehicle at a time at full price. Makes sense to me, as profit margins are significantly higher on the dot com side compared to print pubs, but I know a lot of dealers aren't going to be happy. Besides, AT.com has been trying to figure out for years how they can combat the objection that every AT.com sales rep hears: "why do I need you when my print ads show up on the site for free?"

Whether it's a smart business decision or if they're just trying to consolidate and stay afloat when they're worried about other things, who knows. Interesting stuff nonetheless.

Jan 6, 2009

Thats too bad, the Automart print worked better than our Newsaper ads did.
The website worked well for the cost attributed too.
I guess Autotrader is going to provide it all now to US dealers, but that's not a surprise.
I hope we all save $$ from their consolidation strategy, but I'm sure we won't in the end

Jan 6, 2009

I was a manager at Cox Automart until July 08 when the company was in the "middle" (?) of layoffs. Part of me is surprised, part not given what I saw STILL going on.

Jan 5, 2009

We have seen a noticeable drop in leads originating from autotrader.com as well as cars.com could be a based on market conditions however ebay seem to be providing as much as ever...

Jan 5, 2009

I'm surprised they are still doing the AutoTrader.com magazine

bpulseadmin · Jan 5, 2009

ATLANTA (January 5, 2009) – Cox Auto Trader, parent company to AutoTrader.com and Cox AutoTrader/AutoMart, is making strategic changes to its business in an effort to better address the needs of both consumers and commercial advertising customers through its online automotive advertising business led by AutoTrader.com.

Cox AutoTrader/AutoMart, the print-based subsidiary of Cox Auto Trader, will cease publishing AutoMart and AutoExtra magazines. AutoTrader and Truck Trader magazines will continue to be printed. These magazines will continue to be distributed as before, along with other Trader titles owned by Dominion Enterprises.

The AutoTrader.com organization, based in Atlanta, will assume responsibility for AutoMart.com, AutoExtra.com and AutoTraderLatino.com (formerly known as AutoMercado.com). AutoTrader Classics and AutoTrader Latino magazines will continue as part of the AutoTrader.com suite of products and services.

“Consolidating the majority of our resources into a single AutoTrader.com organization will facilitate long-term growth and also help us maintain a singular focus on serving our consumers and advertisers,” said Sandy Schwartz, president of Cox Auto Trader.

As part of the consolidation process, some Cox AutoTrader/AutoMart employees will be reassigned as AutoTrader.com employees. Some positions in the Cox

AutoTrader/AutoMart organization will be eliminated. Impacted employees who are eligible will be offered generous severance packages. The print distribution system for the Trader family of paid magazine titles will not be affected.

The ongoing shift in emphasis to an online automotive advertising business strategy is in response to the decline in demand for print-based automotive advertising products. As more automobile dealers and private sellers shift their advertising from print to the Web to take advantage of the efficiency and reach that online platforms offer, Cox Auto Trader is adjusting its business strategy accordingly.

“We are ready for these strategic moves and look forward to supporting the needs of all of our consumers and advertisers,” said Chip Perry, president and CEO of AutoTrader.com.

AutoTrader.com is the industry leader for classified automotive advertising in the United States. Expanding its offerings allows AutoTrader.com to provide product and service combinations that no competitor can match, which solidifies its position as the most effective and efficient way to buy, sell or research a vehicle.

About Cox Auto Trader
Cox Auto Trader is one of the world’s leading providers of online and print automotive consumer information. Operating business units include AutoTrader.com and Cox

AutoTrader/AutoMart. AutoTrader.com is the Internet’s leading auto classifieds marketplace and consumer information web site with more than 3 million vehicle listings

and over 13 million qualified buyers each month. Cox AutoTrader/AutoMart consists of AutoTrader Publishing, a leading producer of classified automotive advertising publications with nearly 350 automobile and light truck titles and a total circulation of 3.5 million per week; and AutoMart, the leading provider of print and online classified automotive advertising for dealer customers with more than a million used car Internet listings from dealers combined with print publications in 75 separate markets. Cox Auto Trader is a subsidiary of Atlanta-based Cox Enterprises, Inc.

About AutoTrader.com
AutoTrader.com, created in 1997 and headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., is the Internet's leading auto classifieds marketplace and consumer information website. AutoTrader.com aggregates in a single location more than 3.5 million new, used and certified pre-owned vehicle listings from 40,000 dealers and 250,000 private owners and the site attracts more than 14 million unique monthly visitors. Through innovative merchandising functionality such as multiple photos, videos, detailed descriptions and comprehensive research and compare tools, AutoTrader.com unites new and used car buyers and sellers online, improving the way people research, locate and advertise vehicles. AutoTrader.com is a majority-owned subsidiary of Cox Enterprises. The venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers is also an investor. For more information, please visit www.autotrader.com.

This thread has been closed but feel to read the comments.

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Jan 7, 2009

Excellent article! It's what I have been preaching for the last year. The traditional way of doing business has changed. Which means, the business model has to change along with it. Change of perception, change of attitude and change of behaviors. Dealerships have to take a real close look at how they market; both internally and externally.
First the change must begin internally with effective leadership and training. Second is to impliment a solid staff development program to insure processes are followed.
It all requires change, which we all know most are resistant to. Those who understand that change is needed, are on the course for success. Congratulations to those who make the neccesary changes in 2009.

Gregg Hunter · Jan 3, 2009

Wow, I could have written Lee's post! I've been in the business for over 30 years and the current lack of innovation at most stores absolutely staggering. I switched jobs back in the summer for the opportunity to run an internet department the right way. After 2 months, management pulled the plug and are doing it their way, to save money. Well, guess what, you can't save your way to prosperity! Leads are not being responded to properly, the website is stagnant and sales are in the tank. And, I get to stand on the showroom floor and grab ups. But I have a plan to approach other dealers in our area with a plan for growth with the internet, so I'll be moving on down the road soon. A good internet/BDC manager can grow a dealership's business, plus reduce the cost per sale.

DigitalRalph.com · Jan 2, 2009

Shaun,

Thank you for the great article and th embedded video clip! I agree that all conditions point to a loss of a significant number of dealerships in 2009... continuing the trend started with over 700 franchises lost on 2008. My own personal experience has been less of seeing dealer principals and General Managers who are unwilling to change, and more of witnessing a lack of daily task execution on a consistent basis, for a wide varity of reasons... Sometimes, this ack o daily excution is driven by quality of human resoures, but more often origintes from the sheer drudgery of getting on people every day for the same issues... Almost seems lke a form of management fatigue in some stores. In other dealersips, certain employees are asked to do more than is reasonable to expect within any given day. This problem smming from a fear of head count. You know which ones I am talking about, where the Internet Sales Manager is expected to supervise 6 sales people, update site specials, photograph used cars, manage the invoices and billing, desk deals, appraise trades, etc., and of course I am exagerating but you get the idea.

At any rate, I believe the biggest challenge car dealers face in 2009 is related to EXECUTION... In the past, many dealerships were able to be profitable DESPITE a lack of daily business process execution, but in 2009 the wilingness and discipline to execute consistently will be a big part of which stores are around for the good times coming in 2010, and which ones end up as Recession Roadkill.

Len Critcher · Jan 2, 2009

Fantastic post with an excellent message.

Dealers have been reluctant to change for too long now. Change is inevitable, and dealerships must rethink and reallocate resources. New direction and/or new initiatives must be directed from the top down. If the DP doesn’t “buy-in”, no manager (good or bad) will have any success.

Dealerships in the past made “enough” money to mask their inefficiencies. This economic shift we are experiencing has simply exposed what has been a myriad of poor decisions by management. I too see great things to come in 2009 – it will be bloody – but “change” will be good.

Again, great article and a fantastic forum.

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