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Steve Finlay's Blog

Most Recent Blog Posts

by Steve Finlay Apr. 30, 2012

Text-Happy People Skip Phone Part of Smartphones

The text set skews towards young people with fast and nimble fingers that can type terse messages on tiny keyboards....More

by Steve Finlay Apr. 30, 2012

Tales From the Dealership F&I Front

Frustration can reign when showroom salespeople and finance and insurance managers clash at auto dealerships....More

by Steve Finlay Apr. 11, 2012

With Dealers, Auto Makers Lighten Up, Listen Up

No one in the auto industry gets closer to car buyers than dealers. Auto makers finally realize the importance of what that means. In the past,....More

by Steve Finlay Feb. 6, 2012

VW Retools to U.S. Tastes, Finally

It wasn’t that VW didn’t make good cars. It did. Instead, it made cars for its home market, expecting Americans to adjust to Euro-tastes....More

by Steve Finlay Jan. 30, 2012

Market Research Vs. Market Reality

The Nissan Titan represents a case of what researchers thought would happen opposed to what happened....More

by Steve Finlay Dec. 28, 2011

Subprime Lending Gets Friendlier

The auto-finance industry is showing a new level of compassion to customers who once were considered second-class citizens....More

by Steve Finlay Dec. 13, 2011

And I Thought I Was Mad at Scott Painter

Some dealership people claim TrueCar has hoodwinked dealers into giving it proprietary pricing information that TrueCar then gives to consumers....More

by Steve Finlay Nov. 28, 2011

Where Dealers Can Go to Find Good Help

Some dealership sales people perform poorly because their hearts aren’t fully in it, says Luis Garcia, training....More

by Steve Finlay Nov. 11, 2011

Data-Driven Inventory-Management System Debuts

The topic turned to data – a treasure trove of it – when I interviewed AutoTrader.com Chief Marketing Officer Clark....More

by Steve Finlay Oct. 26, 2011

Skipping F&I Interview Shocks Some

An automotive conference attendee can’t believe what he just heard. He asks how dealership finance and insurance....More

by Steve Finlay Oct. 6, 2011

It's Now the Mercedes-Benz Superdome

The Superdome, home of the NFL’s New Orleans Saints, becomes the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, one of only a few major....More

by Steve Finlay Sep. 8, 2011

Disingenuous Car Shoppers Claim to Hate Price Negotiations

Just because car shoppers claim to dislike price negotiating at a dealership, doesn’t mean they won’t do it – and....More

by Steve Finlay Aug. 3, 2011

Ford's Jim Farley Swings Mean Bat Against Rival GM

I’ve occasionally tried to get auto executives to rap their rivals. It never seems to work. When I once asked Ford....More

by Steve Finlay Jul. 12, 2011

Satisfied With the Dealership? Heck No, But…

So what do customer-satisfaction surveys accomplish, anyway? A perplexed couple asked that after their unsatisfying....More

by Steve Finlay Jul. 1, 2011

Autobytel Reinvents Itself, Again

Autobytel has reinvented itself a few times since becoming a pioneer of providing sales leads to auto makers and....More

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