With NADA 2025 in the books, it’s hard not to be excited about the future of variable ops. The unofficial theme of the conference was clear: AI is revolutionizing automotive retailing, particularly in the realm of sales and F&I. As we navigate this new landscape, I had the unique opportunity to sit down with industry leaders at the show and hear their stories, experiences, and visions for the future of our industry and these technologies.
Here are my main takeaways:
1. Efficiency Must Be the Priority
Customer expectations are changing rapidly, and with the digital landscape evolving, your dealership faces more competition than ever before. In my conversation with Mark Boniol, the dealer principal of the innovative Mark Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram, he shared his journey of transformation. Inspired by the success of other top-performing dealerships reaching well outside their geographic areas, Mark rethought his strategy and revitalized his business by focusing on efficiency and innovation. Throughout our conversation, Mark emphasized the importance of finding new ways to do more with less, selling more cars with higher margins, and investing in ways to enhance the customer experience he delivers. He even described his team as “obsessed with efficiency,” attributing much of their success to this focus.
2. New Technology Will Drive Greater Profitability
My conversation with Brad Title, the founder and president of Gubagoo, and Aharon Horwitz, the CEO of FullPath, provided a clear look into the future. Gubagoo’s Curator, the industry’s first Unified Intelligence Engine, doesn’t just build a marketing database, it consolidates, cleanses, and dedupes data across all dealership sources – DMS, CRM, website, Chat, Virtual Retailing, and more – creating the driving force behind marketing, sales, and customer retention. Aharon Horwitz illustrated the power of Curator with the story of a top-performing salesperson who sets a goal to sell 10 cars in a single day and actually achieves it through automation. Technologies like Curator, our own Spark AI, and AutoVision’s Avery are more than just tools; they’re intelligently making dealerships more effective with virtually no learning curve.
3. Synthetic Credit Fraud is on the Rise
Our industry has always been susceptible to fraud, and we need to be at the forefront of protecting ourselves from the latest tactics. Fraud isn’t just a possibility – it’s a growing reality. According to Ken Hill, the managing director at 700 Credit, synthetic identity fraud is on the rise. These are customers who have spent years building a fake credit profile with a real person’s identity. They use this credit to buy a vehicle before selling it to a chop shop or using other methods to remove the VIN from the vehicle. They dispose of the vehicle with no intention of ever making a payment. To safeguard your business, you have to remain vigilant and proactive, ensuring you aren’t left out to dry as a victim of these credit criminals.
I loved catching up with these folks at NADA to talk shop, hear their perspectives, and get a feel for where they see our industry heading. With so much going on, there’s never been a more exciting time to be in our industry. To stay up to date with the latest conversations and industry trends, visit our
Connected podcast.
