Does TrueCar deserve a second chance?

[Jeff Kershner]

Do you think TrueCar deserves a second chance after all that has been said and done?

​

AutoCon 2012 (conference) is right around the corner. Kudos to Ralph and the DealerElite team for breaking into the conference arena - going up against the Digital Dealer Conference and the dis-likes of Mike Roscoe. I hope the best for Ralph and everyone working hard to make AutoCon become a success. There's no doubt that our industry desperately needs continued education. The difficult task is getting the dealer principles and owners more involved, but thats another topic of conversation.

One of the big surprises IMO is the announcement that TrueCar has become a sponsor of AutoCon 2012 by offering a Full Ride Scholarship Program to 12 automotive professionals. Click here to read more about the sponsorship and or to sign-up.


"The TrueCar AutoCon Scholarship Program is further evidence of the remarkable transformation that has taken place at TrueCar since the beginning of 2012. After receiving a remarkable level of criticism within the auto industry during the second half of 2011, TrueCar has evolved and revised their automotive purchasing programs for consumers and affiliated corporations to be far more dealer friendly. TrueCar’s objectives supported by these changes have included raising dealer profit margins to levels that provide more room for dealers to cover facility costs and the staffing levels needed to properly service new vehicle buyers sent to them by TrueCar."


Has TrueCar really changed? ..or is this nothing more than another marketing stunt - trying to once again pull the covers over the dealers eyes. I'm not sure I personally have a full opinion on this move quite yet - but I do believe that it seems like a stretch, after all of this...

Dealers, wake up! Edmunds TMV and TrueCar Has Your Transactional Data
TrueCar Scam on Dealerships - Are You Being Scammed?
http://forum.dealerrefresh.com/f40/truecar-using-zag-dealer-data-create-value-743.html
California New Car Dealers Association TrueCar Alert
Colorado Department of Revenue Cities TrueCar Advertising Violations
http://forum.dealerrefresh.com/f43/...truecar-dms-scandal-i-cant-remember-2391.html
http://forum.dealerrefresh.com/f46/...te-truecar-thread-post-your-updates-2369.html

VatorNews - How TrueCar faced down the auto industry and rebounded

And let's not forget Jim Zieglers post/rant against TrueCar with 100's of comments from the industry (that happens to be on the same site that is now allowing them to sponsor) True Car and ZAG - Cyber Bandits or Good for the Business? - Automotive Digital Marketing Professional Community

I'm in not way using this thread to call out AutoCon and the AutoCon crew for allowing TrueCar to be a sponsor. Maybe they have good reasons for this (other than $). Maybe TrueCar has changed their stripes and are wanting to now side more with the dealership.

After all that has been said and done out of the TrueCar camp - do you believe this is nothing more than a marketing stunt and MORE importantly - does TrueCar deserve a second chance?

What do you think?

 

[Jerry Thibeau]

Rule 3 from "The 48 Laws of Power"

Conceal Your Intentions

Otto von Bismarck was a deputy in the Prussian parliament at a time when many
fellow deputies thought it was possible to go to war against Austria and defeat it.
Bismarck knew the Prussian army was not prepared, so he devised a clever way to
keep the war at bay. He publicly stated his praises for the Austrians and talked about
the madness of war. Many deputies changed their votes. Had Bismarck announced
his real intentions, arguing it was better to wait now and fight later, he would not have
won. Most Prussians wanted to go to war at that moment and mistakenly believed
their army to be superior to the Austrians. Had he gone to the king his sincerity would
have been doubted. By giving misleading statements about wanting peace and
concealing his true purpose, Bismarck’s speech catapulted him to the position of
prime minister. He later led the country to war against the Austrians at the right time,
when he felt the Prussian army was more capable.

Wisdom in a nutshell:
• Use decoyed objects of desire and red herrings to throw people off scent.
• Use smoke screens (a poker face) to disguise your actions.
• False sincerity is one powerful tool that will send your rivals on a wild goose
chase.
• Publicly declare your false intentions to give misleading signals.
• A noble gesture can be a smoke screen to hide your true intentions.
• Blend in and people will be less suspicious.

I wouldn't trust them.

 

[ddavis]

I visited a friend that is the COO for a dealer group that uses TrueCar. They recently sold over 60 vehicles through them, at one store. They received two letters from TrueCar. The first was to congratulate them and the second was to threaten them for selling vehicles far above the quoted price. They have staggering addendum labels that include $295 door edge guards which aren't installed on the cars.

 

[Jerry Thibeau]

Rule 12: USE SELECTIVE HONESTY AND GENEROSITY TO DISARM YOUR
VICTIM.

Count Victor Lustig promised Al Capone into giving him $50,000 on the terms that he
would double this investment in sixty days. Lustig kept the money untouched in a safety
deposit box. After the sixty days were up, he apologized to Capone saying he had failed
to double the money. Capone expected either $100,000, or nothing, what he did not
expect was an honest gesture of Lustig actually returning the $50,000. Al Capone was a
man who lived in constant mistrust of people around him, and was so touched by the
honest gesture he gave Lustig an extra $5,000.

The classic tale of the Fall of Troy is one example of hiding your ulterior motives within a
gift. The Trojan Horse was designed to hold soldiers that would attack the city of Troy
and recapture Helen who had been taken away from the Greeks by Paris.

Wisdom in a nutshell:
• The essence of deception is distraction. An act of kindness, generosity, or
honesty will distract and disarm people and turn them into gullible children.
• Give before you take.
• Nothing in the realm of power is set in stone. Overt deceptiveness may
sometimes cover your tracks. If you have a history of deceit behind you, then
play the rogue, be consistent and this will be interpreted as you simply being
yourself. Your dishonesty becomes an act of honesty.

 

[yagoparamo]

But in the end, if the equation works:

$$$ to TC Vs. $$$ to Dealer

then everything is fine.

Their program is more "traditional" now, not so different than Costco, edmunds, Autobytel, etc.
Whether it works or not will depends on the equation working for the dealer and True Car being able to bring enough leads (that is the part I don;t think it will work).

 

[Jerry Thibeau]

How many third party lead providers do dealers need for things they should be generating on their own? There are some bigger players out there who have established themselves and they are not going anywhere. The new ones that pop up need to squashed like bugs! They won't survive if dealers don't pay them. TC is one that should have never been fed.

 

[kcar]

Just applied to the scholarship, wish me luck.

 

[ddavis]

TrueCar has a scholarship program? Will this be enough to change Jerry's opinion?

 

[Jerry Thibeau]

TrueCar has a scholarship program? Will this will be enough to change Jerry's opinion?

NO!
Remember rule 12!

Wisdom in a nutshell:
• The essence of deception is distraction. An act of kindness, generosity, or
honesty will distract and disarm people and turn them into gullible children.
• Give before you take.
• Nothing in the realm of power is set in stone. Overt deceptiveness may
sometimes cover your tracks. If you have a history of deceit behind you, then
play the rogue, be consistent and this will be interpreted as you simply being
yourself. Your dishonesty becomes an act of honesty.

 

[ddavis]

But in the end, if the equation works:

$$$ to TC Vs. $$$ to Dealer

then everything is fine.

Their program is more "traditional" now, not so different than Costco, edmunds, Autobytel, etc.
Whether it works or not will depends on the equation working for the dealer and True Car being able to bring enough leads (that is the part I don;t think it will work).

Yago,

The store that I visited did over 60 cars. If they were all new cars, which I doubt, that is $18,000. Considering their $2000 addendum labels, what would you guess their closing ratio is? The GM told me that they do not accept loosing deals. They are obviously getting plenty of leads.

I don't want anyone to think that I endorse TrueCar or this way of doing business. The others that you name, I don't like them either.

Don't piss Jerry off!