551 episodes
The 65-Year Dealership Empire Born Out of the Wild West of NY Auctions & The Hard Lessons Learned | Laddie Stern of Stern Auto Group
27/08/2026 | 38 mins.Laddie Stern is the Founder of Stern Auto Group, a 20-store empire he has built over 65 years in the car business.
He started as a wholesaler for his uncle before buying and scaling the Skyline and Hatfield auctions into the country's largest privately held auction company, then returned to grow a new car group alongside his son Jonathan.
He speaks candidly about the 2008 downturn that changed how he manages cash for good, the mistakes he made prioritizing the business over his family, and what he looks for before letting the next generation, including his own grandchildren, into the business.
Topics:
03:50 Odometer Rollback Was Legal.
06:30 Auctions Beat Casinos.
09:10 $7M Property Now $50M.
13:25 Cash Is Always King.
14:35 Undercapitalization Kills Dealers.
18:00 Hand-Sells Wholesale To Prevent Theft.
20:50 Never Burn A Bridge.
This episode is brought to you by:
1. Kenect - Kenect helps dealership GMs automate customer outreach by turning days of manual calling into seconds.
Go to @ here to see how top rooftops are scaling retention today.
2. CDG Circles - Connect with verified dealers all inside the CDG Platform. Learn more @ here.
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Industry job board ➤ http://jobs.dealershipguy.com
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Fix your dealership’s social media ➤ http://www.trynomad.co
Request to be a podcast guest ➤ http://www.cdgguest.com
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Everything else ➤ dealershipguy.comUlrich on Digital Dealer, McVeigh on Leadership Balance, Yates on AEO | Daily Dealer Live
26/08/2026 | 1h 4 mins.Today's show features:
- Tustin Ulrich, General Manager at Roper Kia
- Mike Yates, General Manager at BMW of Bridgewater
- Mike McVeigh, Sales Manager at Jeff D'Ambrosio Auto Group
This episode is brought to you by:
Zurich – Zurich Advisor IQ is Zurich’s AI-driven training and coaching platform built to help F&I teams perform more consistently and sell more effectively — using real transaction data, not theory.
By analyzing actual F&I transactions, Zurich Advisor IQ helps identify behaviors and trends influencing results, delivers actionable insights and roleplay scenarios, and gives dealership leaders visibility into performance across managers, stores and rooftops. Connect with your Zurich representative to request a demo and see how Zurich Advisor IQ can help turn F&I insight into stronger dealership performance. Check it out at https://carguymedia.com/46ibHtn
Check out Car Dealership Guy’s stuff:
CDG Circles ➤ https://cdgcircles.com/
CDG News ➤ https://news.dealershipguy.com/
CDG Jobs ➤ https://jobs.dealershipguy.com/
CDG Recruiting ➤ https://www.cdgrecruiting.com/
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Everything else ➤ dealershipguy.comHow a Viral Lemon Video Took This Dealer to #1 in Alabama | Kielan Whitner, General Manager at Townsend Nissan
25/08/2026 | 34 mins.Kielan Whitner made more in his first 90 days selling cars than he made in an entire year working as a certified public accountant at a Big Four firm, and he says that gap is exactly why automotive struggles to attract the talent it needs.
A fourth-generation dealer, he built his foundation on the fixed side of the business, service advisor to service manager, before stepping into the general manager role, and now leans on a network of industry mentors and organizations like NAMAD to keep leveling up.
Topics:
04:20 90 Days Beat CPA Salary.
16:00 Viral Video Beats Paid Ads.
17:00 Organic Beats Car Pitches.
20:05 Used Car Inventory Is Art.
22:15 Negativity Gets Sent Home.
24:10 Eighth To First In 20 Months.
This episode is brought to you by:
1. Experian Automotive - Experian's Fraud Protect solution helps dealers identify potential fraud risks earlier in the sales process by leveraging advanced data, analytics, and identity verification tools. Visit @ here for more info.
2. CarMax - Access thousands of cars weekly at 50+ locations nationwide through our 100% online auctions. Register now for free @ here.
3. CDG Circles - Connect with verified dealers all inside the CDG Platform. Learn more @ here.
Check out Car Dealership Guy’s stuff:
For dealers:
CDG Circles ➤ https://cdgcircles.com/
Industry job board ➤ http://jobs.dealershipguy.com
Dealership recruiting ➤ http://www.cdgrecruiting.com
Fix your dealership’s social media ➤ http://www.trynomad.co
Request to be a podcast guest ➤ http://www.cdgguest.com
For industry vendors:
Advertise with Car Dealership Guy ➤ http://www.cdgpartner.com
Industry job board ➤ http://jobs.dealershipguy.com
Request to be a podcast guest ➤ http://www.cdgguest.com
Car Dealership Guy Socials:
X ➤ x.com/GuyDealership
Instagram ➤ instagram.com/cardealershipguy/
TikTok ➤ tiktok.com/@guydealership
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Threads ➤ threads.net/@cardealershipguy
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Everything else ➤ dealershipguy.comShaver on Auto Tech, Schrementi on Risk, Singleton on Recession-Proofing | Daily Dealer Live
24/08/2026 | 59 mins.Today's show features:
- Nathan Shaver, Managing Partner at Shaver Auto Group
- Christopher Schrementi, Managing Director at Gallagher
- Chris Singleton, Managing Partner at Mike Terry Auto Group
This episode is brought to you by:
Zurich – Zurich Advisor IQ is Zurich’s AI-driven training and coaching platform built to help F&I teams perform more consistently and sell more effectively — using real transaction data, not theory.
By analyzing actual F&I transactions, Zurich Advisor IQ helps identify behaviors and trends influencing results, delivers actionable insights and roleplay scenarios, and gives dealership leaders visibility into performance across managers, stores and rooftops. Connect with your Zurich representative to request a demo and see how Zurich Advisor IQ can help turn F&I insight into stronger dealership performance. Check it out at https://carguymedia.com/46ibHtn
Gallagher – Dealerships face a dynamic risk landscape—rising litigation, weather-related losses, workforce pressures and technology-driven exposures—and Gallagher delivers tailored insurance and risk management solutions built for today's dealership operations. Connect with Chris and the Gallagher team for a one-on-one conversation—visit https://www.ajg.com/industries/dealership-insurance/ and click "Get Started."
Check out Car Dealership Guy’s stuff:
CDG Circles ➤ https://cdgcircles.com/
CDG News ➤ https://news.dealershipguy.com/
CDG Jobs ➤ https://jobs.dealershipguy.com/
CDG Recruiting ➤ https://www.cdgrecruiting.com/
My Socials:
X ➤ https://www.twitter.com/GuyDealership
Instagram ➤ https://www.instagram.com/cardealershipguy/
TikTok ➤ https://www.tiktok.com/@guydealership
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Threads ➤ https://www.threads.net/@cardealershipguy
Facebook ➤ https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077402857683
Everything else ➤ dealershipguy.com- In this episode of the Industry Spotlight, joining host Sam D'Arc are John Keohane, VP of Operations and Partner at Temecula Valley Buick GMC, and Liam Golightly, SVP of Customer Success at Podium to discuss how AI operator agents are giving dealership leaders a way to run their entire operation without being in every conversation themselves.
John built his own AI agent, which he nicknamed Emily, to scrape telematics data, run weekly revival campaigns on stale leads, and even coach his sales team by timing how fast they respond before Emily steps in.
The results are hard to ignore: Emily replaced his old bulk texting tool, helped uncover a customer-pay revenue drop in six seconds instead of weeks, and pushed his service department's customer-pay repair orders up 12 to 13 percent this year.
For a single-point dealer competing against much larger groups, John says the technology has become a genuine equalizer.
This episode of the Car Dealership Guy Podcast is brought to you by Podium.
Topics:
04:15 CPA Brain Overwhelmed By Reports.
06:10 Low-Hanging Tech Is Ripe.
07:25 Telematics Data Was Untouched.
09:25 Cold BDC Texts Feel Impersonal.
10:45 Operator Is AI For GMs.
13:00 Emily Texts Revival Campaigns Daily.
14:25 AI Revives Dead Leads Warmly.
16:15 Emily Surfaces Near-Miss Sales.
18:45 Salespeople Race To Beat Emily.
19:55 Employees Use AI To Beat AI.
23:30 Podium Sieves All Outreach.
33:50 AI Levels The Playing Field.
Podium - the AI platform trusted by one in three dealerships. Podium helps dealers consolidate sales, service, messaging, and voice into one connected system that actually runs the work. If your AI isn’t driving real outcomes, it’s time to take a closer look @ here.
Check out Car Dealership Guy’s stuff:
For dealers:
CDG Circles ➤ https://cdgcircles.com/
Industry job board ➤ http://jobs.dealershipguy.com
Dealership recruiting ➤ http://www.cdgrecruiting.com
Fix your dealership’s social media ➤ http://www.trynomad.co
Request to be a podcast guest ➤ http://www.cdgguest.com
For industry vendors:
Advertise with Car Dealership Guy ➤ http://www.cdgpartner.com
Industry job board ➤ http://jobs.dealershipguy.com
Request to be a podcast guest ➤ http://www.cdgguest.com
Car Dealership Guy Socials:
X ➤ x.com/GuyDealership
Instagram ➤ instagram.com/cardealershipguy/
TikTok ➤ tiktok.com/@guydealership
LinkedIn ➤ linkedin.com/company/cardealershipguy
Threads ➤ threads.net/@cardealershipguy
Facebook ➤ facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077402857683
Everything else ➤ dealershipguy.com
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About Car Dealership Guy Podcast
The Car Dealership Guy Podcast Network is your front-row seat to the people, companies, and trends shaping the future of automotive retail—delivered across three focused formats:
The Car Dealership Guy Podcast (Tuesdays & Thursdays)
Hosted by Yossi Levi, these deep-dive interviews feature top dealers, operators, and innovators driving the industry forward.
Daily Dealer Live (Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays)
Our live-streamed show, also released here in audio format, brings real-time news, sharp takes, and high-impact guests—think CNBC for car dealers.
Industry Spotlight
Hosted by Sam D’Arc, this segment highlights standout dealerships and vendors with tactical insights and stories from the front lines.
Follow us on X, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube for highlights and behind-the-scenes content from every episode.
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