Car Dealership Guy

Finding top-tier auto industry talent is grueling. But Steven D. Adragna has a winning formula for easy, stress-free recruiting. I spoke with Steve, former President of Global Auto Staffing, about the biggest trends in automotive hiring and becoming the head of CDG Recruiting, a Car Dealership Guy Company Top takeaways: 1. The talent gap is real. – The difficulty with trying to balance business operations and hiring. – How dealerships can better connect with the absolute best talent. 2. COVID-19 changed everything. – Low turnover and high pay made sales roles easy, but the market is shifting. – Now, sales commissions are dropping, but work-life balance is improving. – Candidates are finding better roles with more manageable hours. 3. Compensation isn’t one-size-fits-all. – In some markets, pay packages have shrunk by 30-40%. – Why dealership staff in California might earn less than their counterparts in the South. – How to manage the nuances of offering differences in pay. 4. Latest hiring trends. – The days of unpredictable commission-based pay are fading. – More upper management positions are opening up than ever before. – Why this is the perfect moment for those looking to step up into leadership roles. 5. Hottest automotive roles. – Why fixed ops and accounting roles are huge right now. – The need for corporate controllers is skyrocketing. – But the toughest role to fill? Technicians. 6. A new way to hire: CDG Recruiting. – Meet our white-glove recruiting service tailored for the auto industry. – CDG Recruiting has a network of over 180,000 automotive pros. – Innovative strategies to match the perfect candidates with the right roles. The full episode is live! Stream it now: Apple Podcasts: https://lnkd.in/e2RF6keb Spotify: https://lnkd.in/e63xfy7U YouTube: https://lnkd.in/eCVrrwF3

ANNOUNCEMENT: Car Dealership Guy has acquired Global Auto Staffing One of the craziest things about the Car Dealership Guy platform is our direct access to thousands of dealership and automotive employees. I always felt like we could build an incredible platform for finding talent in the auto industry. And we have… Earlier this year, we launched our free CDG Job Board to help fill roles in the auto industry — and it’s been a huge success. Hundreds of employers have signed up, and thousands of candidates. But there was a problem… Not every candidate wanted to publicize their name on a job board, and some employers sought a more white-glove hiring experience. So, we found a solution: This morning on my podcast I announced that Car Dealership Guy has acquired Global Auto Staffing, a leading provider of automotive recruitment services led by Steven D. Adragna. Re-launched as CDG Recruiting, a Car Dealership Guy Company, this new venture builds on the success of our free CDG Job Board, which has collected over 16,000 active dealership professionals in its database. Our goal is to build the premier destination for automotive talent and hiring — and we’re uniquely positioned to do so by leveraging our vast network of over 180,000 automotive and auto-adjacent professionals. But there's even more to the story... The creator economy is booming. Goldman Sachs projects it could reach $500 billion by 2027. Why? Consumers now prefer individuals they trust over faceless corporations. And content creators now serve as both the producers and the distribution channels, maintaining deep, ongoing relationships with their audiences. We're proud to be leading this charge in the automotive space, while building a loyal following through transparency and authenticity. Steven D. Adragna, former President and CEO of Global Auto Staffing, will be overseeing CDG Recruiting (an expert in automotive hiring and a great friend!) If you're interested in learning more, shoot me or Steven D. Adragna a direct message or visit cdgrecruiting dot com. LFG! With love, Yossi J Levi

Another massive recall is plaguing Ford: Over the weekend, Ford announced that more than 90,000 vehicles had faulty engine intake valves that could break and cause engine failure. Affected models include the 2021-2022 Bronco, F-150, Edge, Explorer, Lincoln Nautilus, and Aviator equipped with either a 2.7L or 3.0L Nano EcoBoost engine. The fix? Ford says dealers will check each vehicle's engine cycles. If the count is too low, they’ll run the engine at high RPMs as part of a test... And here's the punch line: Vehicles that don't pass these inspections will get a whole new engine. Bottom line: With recall and warranty costs hitting $2.3 billion in Q2, Ford is losing $25.5 million a day. The pressure’s on to fix these issues fast — or risk even bigger losses. Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/eskHJT-x

Interest rates at decade highs. Vehicle prices near all-time highs. Monthly payments near all-time highs. So… new car sales *must* be declining, right? Nope. +8% from last year and +12% from last month. The resilience of the American economy is bewildering. (Data via Cox Auto)

[NEWS] Japan’s auto giants face off with dueling alliances: On one side – Mazda, Subaru, and Toyota, and on the other –  Honda, Mitsubishi, and Nissan. But here’s the thing – car partnerships have a history of falling apart. Remember Honda and GM? They aimed to make affordable EVs, pulled the plug after only a year, unwilling to risk billions on an uncertain future. Now, Honda-Mitsubishi-Nissan is diving into a risky all-in bet on EVs. They’re banking on the market growing fast enough to justify massive investments in new tech. On the flip side, Mazda-Subaru-Toyota is taking a different approach. They’re focusing on what they know best—internal combustion engines powered by alternative fuels like hydrogen and biofuels. No massive risks, no big surprises. Ready to pivot to EVs if needed. So, who’s got the smarter play? Time will tell. Read the full article brought to you by OPENLANE US: https://lnkd.in/gJCnUCUW

A story in 2 parts…

Would you let AI pick your next car? I sat down with Matthew Taylor Crawford, Chief Product and Innovation Officer at Cars Commerce, to explore the future of AI in auto retail. The key takeaways? 1. In 12-18 months, AI might eliminate buyer's remorse. 2. In 3-5 years, AI could predict the car you'll buy before you even know it. The shift is starting—here's Matthew's prediction: #carscommercepartner

Dealership real estate valuations are a mixed bag. So how are values really determined in this market? Mark Pomella of SAB Capital breaks down the 4 primary factors that affect dealership real estate values: #sabcapitalpartner

[NEWS] General Motors just got dealt a major blow: A federal appeals court has ordered GM to face a class action lawsuit that has been in the works for years. The claim? Plaintiffs allege GM knowingly sold vehicles with faulty transmissions that caused their cars to shake in higher gears and lurch bizarrely in lower ones. 800,000 vehicles are potentially affected, with 514,000 units across 26 states already identified. Key models include the Cadillac Escalade, Chevy Silverado, and GMC Yukon from 2015-2019. GM’s response? They argued that most drivers haven’t had these problems, and individual concerns should be settled through arbitration.  But the court wasn’t having it. Bottom line: If found guilty, GM will likely have to pay a significant chunk of change to settle the issue. But the risks to its reputation could be far greater. Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/eha3_heq

NEWS: New EV projections bank on incentives for growth… Plus, auto brand loyalty ticks up for the first time since 2020, and GM faces lawsuit for allegedly selling cars with hidden defects… Today’s top 3 stories in automotive: 1. J.D. Power expects EVs to grab 9% of the market in 2024 — down from an earlier 12% forecast… https://lnkd.in/gkSz5WzU 2. As supply rebounds, consumers now have more options to stay with their preferred brand… https://lnkd.in/g4urefST 3. The plaintiffs claim their vehicles suffer from severe shaking and lurching issues caused by defective transmissions… https://lnkd.in/gna5xZ3M Read today’s automotive news, brought to you by CDG Jobs: https://lnkd.in/g2MZaS8P