Vendor Insights Podcasts

Today, I'm joined by Jen Speerbrecher, Vice President at Veramatic. We dive into the "unsexy" but critical world of the dealership back office , where tribal knowledge is disappearing, and manual errors are eating into razor-...

Today I'm joined by Chris Walsh, President and Acting CEO at The Reynolds and Reynolds Company. Chris breaks down how to transition from a fragmented "bolt-on" tech stack to a unified AI ecosystem that automates routine admin...

In this episode of the Industry Spotlight, joining host Sam D’Arc are Roman Spriggs, General Manager of All Things Automotive, and Ross Tinkham, VP of Automotive at Podium, to discuss how Roman replaced a potential human hire...

Today I'm joined by Mo Zahabi, AVP of Product Consulting at Cox Automotive. Most dealers think the race begins when the lead arrives . But by that point, the customer has often been in-market for five or six weeks already. Mo...

Today I'm joined by Paul Nadjarian, Chief Product Officer at Carfax. We break down why the smartest dealers are shifting from one-time gross to lifetime value , how vehicle history data closes the trust gap with consumers, an...

Today Sam D'Arc is joined by Zach Billings, Co-Founder of Wikimotive. We break down why AI search is an evolution of SEO — not a replacement —and why consumer behavior is changing far slower than the hype suggests. Zach expla...

Today Sam D'Arc is joined by Justin Zane, SVP, US Marketplace & Services at OPENLANE. We unpack why digital auctions have overtaken physical lanes in reach and efficiency , and why old habits —not economics—are keeping brick-...

In this episode of the Industry Spotlight, we dive into why used car success in 2026 is no longer j ust about the purchase price , but about the high-stakes ability to acquire and articulate a vehicle's complete story. Joinin...

Today I’m joined by Jake Cronin, CEO of Siro. We break down the massive “dark matter” problem in dealership sales, why most of the sales process has been invisible until now , and how AI is finally capturing what actually hap...

Today, Sam sits down with Steve Hoggle, General Manager at Honda of Lake City and Sarah Copp, Director of Major Accounts at Lotlinx to pull back the curtain on the "Moneyball" strategy of modern automotive retail. While many...

Today I’m joined by Eric Rea, CEO of Podium. Eric breaks down how AI agents are replacing labor across sales and service , why speed is now the ultimate competitive advantage, and how fixed ops is finally getting real AI help...

Today I’m joined by Brian Hoang, CEO of Mia. We dive into why dealerships are moving beyond fragmented SaaS tools toward AI-native platforms that automate real work, not just conversations. Brian explains why consolidation is...

Today I’m joined by Annie Fallows, Head of Navigator Platform at Capital One. We dive into a massive shift in market sentiment , exploring how dealer trust skyrocketed from 44% to 70% . Annie breaks down why Gen Z is your mos...

Today I’m joined by George Karolis, President of The Presidio Group. George breaks down the tension between record-high blue sky multiples and the rising cost of capital, offering a rare look at who is buying, who is selling,...

In part 5 of our Pre NADA AI Spotlight series, Sam sits down with Luke Sontag, Marketing, & IT Manager at Kissee Ford and Ari Polakof, CEO & Co-founder of Flai. We explore how one family-owned dealership used voice AI to capt...

Today I’m joined by Brian MacDonald, CEO & President of CDK Global. We explore the massive scale of the CDK's automotive data ecosystem and what it means to have a touchpoint with nearly 90% of car owners in the country. Bria...

Today I’m joined by Alexi Venneri, Co-founder and CEO of DAS Technology. We dig into why dealers are spending a record $29,000 a month on SaaS yet still feel buried by noise, how AI search is shifting power from SEO to review...

In part 4 of our Pre NADA AI Spotlight series, I’m joined by Shaun Sorensen, CEO and Co-Founder of Kenect. We dig into why the biggest untapped profit pool in dealerships isn’t sales —it’s service—and how AI agents are moving...

In part 3 of our Pre NADA AI Spotlight series we break down why call handling is still broken , and how a new generation of agentic AI is changing the equation . Today, Sam sits down with Chris Murphy, General Manager of Volk...

Today I’m joined by Sanjay Varnwal, Co-Founder & CEO at Spyne.ai. In part 2 of our Pre NADA AI Spotlight series we break down how AI is actually being deployed inside dealerships today—from faster merchandising to smarter lea...

Today I’m joined by Eric Cohen, CEO at Merchant Advocate. We break down why credit card processing is one of the most overlooked expense lines in dealerships, how 60–70% of stores are overpaying , and which “non-negotiable” f...

This year, auto retail crossed a real inflection point with AI — not just experimentation, but actual adoption inside dealerships. With that shift came a flood of questions from operators trying to separate signal from noise....

Welcome to Industry Spotlight—a focused series hosted by Sam D’Arc, highlighting standout dealerships and innovative companies, and exploring the trends driving success in today’s automotive market. Today, Sam sits down with ...

Today I’m joined by Chase Abbott, VP of Sales at Cox Automotive. We break down how AI, data, and connected technology are reshaping dealership operations , customer experience, and competitive strategy. Chase explains where d...