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The latest automotive industry news and insights to fuel your growth.

Amazon and Music Create Headlines for Automotive at CES 2018

People don’t just drive their cars. They talk to them. And they listen to them. And the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show has offered some compelling reminders as the automobile evolves into a utility for managing everyday tasks and enjoying entertainment such as music. A few examples stand out: Amazon Alexa Everywhere Toyota announced that it […]

2018 Consumer Electronics Show Generates Excitement for the Auto Industry

The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is also an automotive show. So far, CES 2018 has underscored the rapidly evolving nature of the 4Ps of Automotive Marketing™ (product, price, place, and person) – especially product. Highlights of the first few days include: Augmented reality (AR) Re-imagines the Driving Experience On January 7, software maker NVIDIA unveiled […]

The Power of the Car Shopper: A Conversation with Brooke Skinner Ricketts

Automotive marketing has changed forever. The 4 Ps of marketing – product, price, place, and promotion – have been reinvented thanks to changing consumer behavior. The new 4Ps of Automotive Marketing™ are product, price, place, and person — reflecting the heightened importance of people in creating relationships that lead to sustained growth as opposed to […]

What a Stranger in Mexico Taught Me about the Automotive Customer Experience

Sometimes you need to look outside the automotive industry to learn a compelling lesson about great customer service. Case in point: while I was recently on vacation with my husband in Huatulco, Mexico, a stranger reminded me of why “person” is one of the 4Ps of Automotive Marketing™. Here’s the story: Meeting Jordan My husband […]

How to Win in 2018: Harness the Power of Your People

2018 is the year of the person in the automotive industry, and the two most essential people in the purchase of a vehicle are the customer and salesperson. So it’s fitting that in a recent webinar, Cars.com, our DealerRater brand, and DrivingSales discussed ways to empower dealership salespeople. The webinar, “How to Win in 2018: […]

Here Are the Nominees for the 2018 Cars.com Best of Awards

What do the Chrysler Pacifica and Volvo XC90 have in common? Both are past winners of Cars.com’s annual Best Of Awards, given to the best cars of the year during the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS). On January 16, during Cars.com’s 2018 Best of Awards event at the NAIAS in Detroit, we’ll announce the winner […]

Automotive Thought Leaders Predict: Brian Pasch

Cars.com recently talked with automotive industry leaders to get their thoughts on trends that will affect the industry in 2018. Following are insights from Brian Pasch, founder of PCG Companies. Among other predictions, Brian sees technologies such as artificial intelligence changing the way consumers shop for cars. Thank you for sharing, Brian! How will the […]

How to Win Against Amazon

Amazon is coming to the automotive industry. It’s only a matter of time before one of the most successful online marketplaces in history becomes a destination for buying and selling cars, which is ironic because the automotive industry helped create the template for the modern-day marketplace. In my newly published DrivingSales post, “Amazon Is Coming: […]

Grow With Cars’ Top 10 Posts of 2017

Consumer behavior is changing – and the automotive industry is responding. Throughout 2017 automotive marketing leaders kept up with the changes – from the rise of voice-activated cars to the limitations of last-touch attribution in a mobile world – here on GrowWithCars.com So, what were the topics that most automotive marketers were reading to grow […]

How Dealerships Can Build Your Brands on Instagram

The recent news that Instagram will permit users to follow hashtags has once again cast the spotlight on the popular photo and video sharing app. Over the past two years, Instagram’s user base has doubled – from 400 million to 800 million monthly active users. And with that growth, brands have gotten involved to sell […]

Cars.com Drives It Forward for I Grow Chicago

On the afternoon of December 20, a Cars.com team made a special delivery to I Grow Chicago, an organization dedicated to igniting collective hope: a new 2017 Chrysler Pacifica filled with winter gear and toiletries. The moment created a connection that I know will endure for everyone who was there. I Grow Chicago provides social services, […]

“Standing Still Is Not an Option” – Cynthia Hiskes on Embracing a Growth Mindset in the Automotive Industry

Auto dealers, you don’t need anyone to remind you how much the industry is changing. The question is whether you will thrive amid change. How well you adapt to change depends on whether you adopt a growth mindset. That was the key message of the Women in Automotive conference keynote address delivered by Cars.com Chief […]

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