Dale Pollak VS Michael Rose AT DSMC

[JohnH]

I was midly entertained that Vauto's visonary showed concern over a race to the bottom. Is that not what Vauto has done in the used vehicle arena; lowered gross expectation by encouraging dealers to compete for the same top 10 spots on autotrader? Now before the rush of Pollaknation supporters comes in, take note i do not use vauto's software but do acknowledge that there is more to it than that.

Viracocha,

I don't think vAuto has done that deliberately. vAuto, simply enough is a third party inventory tool that enables the dealer to look at the live market with a quick glance. Before vAuto, I used to price my cars manually by going on all the third party platform and manually searching for other cars similar to mine. The exercises I did 5 years ago is no different then the exercise I am doing today, the system has just made my job much more efficient.

When we think of large used car dealers such as Carmax, the real strength behind the company is the IT. Carmax has such a sophisticated IT that they are able to determine the first markdown on a car in the first 15 days of the car, if it hasn't had any action (based on test drives, VDP's and interest) when it has been placed as "Front line ready". vAuto simply made sophisticated IT available to the dealers at a much cheaper price then developing it yourself.

The real "race to the bottom" is done when vendors empower retail shoppers with information such as average price, days in inventory, leverage etc. vAuto empowers dealers to make better decisions when it comes to inventory marketing/merchandising.

 

[yagoparamo]

Viracocha,

I don't think vAuto has done that deliberately. vAuto, simply enough is a third party inventory tool that enables the dealer to look at the live market with a quick glance. Before vAuto, I used to price my cars manually by going on all the third party platform and manually searching for other cars similar to mine. The exercises I did 5 years ago is no different then the exercise I am doing today, the system has just made my job much more efficient.

When we think of large used car dealers such as Carmax, the real strength behind the company is the IT. Carmax has such a sophisticated IT that they are able to determine the first markdown on a car in the first 15 days of the car, if it hasn't had any action (based on test drives, VDP's and interest) when it has been placed as "Front line ready". vAuto simply made sophisticated IT available to the dealers at a much cheaper price then developing it yourself.

The real "race to the bottom" is done when vendors empower retail shoppers with information such as average price, days in inventory, leverage etc. vAuto empowers dealers to make better decisions when it comes to inventory marketing/merchandising.

I agree that perhaps vAuto is not the best tool to blame for a race to the bottom, but the company that owns vAuto also owns KBB and other assets that I believe provide very similar data to what Michael Rose explains Google will do. I can see though that vAuto has empowered mediocre managers to be as accurate as good managers when it comes to price and inventory predictions. So while is not a race to the bottom it is becoming a race to the status quo.

I don't think the issue Dale Pollak has is the "race to the bottom" but the "race to the front". That is to the front of Google's searches and the race is by vendors not dealers.

 

[Viracocha]

Viracocha,

I don't think vAuto has done that deliberately. vAuto, simply enough is a third party inventory tool that enables the dealer to look at the live market with a quick glance. Before vAuto, I used to price my cars manually by going on all the third party platform and manually searching for other cars similar to mine. The exercises I did 5 years ago is no different then the exercise I am doing today, the system has just made my job much more efficient.

When we think of large used car dealers such as Carmax, the real strength behind the company is the IT. Carmax has such a sophisticated IT that they are able to determine the first markdown on a car in the first 15 days of the car, if it hasn't had any action (based on test drives, VDP's and interest) when it has been placed as "Front line ready". vAuto simply made sophisticated IT available to the dealers at a much cheaper price then developing it yourself.

The real "race to the bottom" is done when vendors empower retail shoppers with information such as average price, days in inventory, leverage etc. vAuto empowers dealers to make better decisions when it comes to inventory marketing/merchandising.

I agree that it was most likely not deliberate, but was definitely a result of making so many UCM's price conscious.

 

[yagoparamo]

No words needed

 

[JohnH]

Google must have geniuses sitting around a table all day thinking about the next industry to disrupt. I believe the information shown to the customer on the Cargurus.com marketplace will be similar information provided by Google, just not as direct (good deal vs bad deal). When Google breaks ground with this everyone will call it "revolutionary", disruptive and innovative, greater transparency than all the other marketplaces and eventually all the other sites will follow suite. This is entirely my opinion. Also with the targeting power Google has, it's definitely going to be another powerhouse in our space.

 

[yagoparamo]

Google must have geniuses sitting around a table all day thinking about the next industry to disrupt. I believe the information shown to the customer on the Cargurus.com marketplace will be similar information provided by Google, just not as direct (good deal vs bad deal). When Google breaks ground with this everyone will call it "revolutionary", disruptive and innovative, greater transparency than all the other marketplaces and eventually all the other sites will follow suite. This is entirely my opinion. Also with the targeting power Google has, it's definitely going to be another powerhouse in our space.

You can have the greatest idea that if it is shared only with a few will have little impact on things.

Google's ability to take it to the masses is what gives them the advantage over everyone else.

They will not destroy anything but they will surely change it. We will learn, adapt, find the wholes, and exploit the new opportunities.

I'm ready.

 

[joe.pistell]

Wait till it comes to the used car biz.

You heard it here 1st (2 years ago Is DealerTrack Chrome the Answer Google Has Been Looking For?

 

[joe.pistell]

Google must have geniuses sitting around a table all day thinking about the next industry to disrupt. I believe the information shown to the customer on the Cargurus.com marketplace will be similar information provided by Google, just not as direct (good deal vs bad deal). When Google breaks ground with this everyone will call it "revolutionary", disruptive and innovative, greater transparency than all the other marketplaces and eventually all the other sites will follow suite. This is entirely my opinion. Also with the targeting power Google has, it's definitely going to be another powerhouse in our space.

John,

Google has got to the auto biz late. Google's "front running" its own products ahead of others in Air Travel, Hotels, Insurance, Banking (loans) and they're in a zillion products.

OUCH. garmin nuvi 50lm (exact make/model match)

FLIGHTS

best price on hotel in nyc:


Be afraid mr perry, be very afraid

 

[yagoparamo]

John,

Google has got to the auto biz late. Google's "front running" its own products ahead of others in Air Travel, Hotels, Insurance, Banking (loans) and they're in a zillion products.

OUCH. garmin nuvi 50lm (exact make/model match)

FLIGHTS

best price on hotel in nyc:


Be afraid mr perry, be very afraid

Joe,

All those are great examples but they haven't destroyed Expedia, etc. I don't know how much they have been affected financially though.

I find two things more interesting:

One is the fact that by Google being involved people may have a higuer confidence level to communicate so Google's assets are the ones that will produce the call/email even though the customer may also shop other sites at the same time.

Secondly is the proxy contact. As much as I hate that as a salesperson I see its benefit from the consumer side. Even in my little world when we deliver a new website and we test the forms we will add TEST as the last name, we will put THIS IS A TEST in the comments section, etc and we will still get calls from some salesman over, and over, and over. I still get mailed letters from a special finance site I delivered 3 years ago. Proxy contact may be a game changer as the number of leads increase thus benefiting those that learn how to handle them best.

 

[joe.pistell]

Joe,

All those are great examples but they haven't destroyed Expedia, etc. I don't know how much they have been affected financially though..

IMO, where an industry has a 'branded solution', Google's un-branded solution will have a harder time making an impact. AirTravel one of these spaces (PriceLine, Expedia, Kayak, Orbitz, etc...). Getting a quote for term life insurance... not so much.

Google coming into our space is really a call to arms for AT and Cars. They will have to maintain or increase their traditional advertising to keep share.