Guest Posting by Chris Reed

NYC Google Automotive Summit 2009

Google has been holding a series of briefings for OEMs and agencies across the country. The NY program has some great speakers from inside and outside the industry. As you might expect, a primary topic was “when will this pain end?”.

John Casesa, the auto analyst and an advisor to the Auto Task Force, had some great historic analysis identifying that a lot of the intensity of the current slump is the result of several years of “unnaturally” high demand that was propped up by easy money and incentives. In terms of what got the domestics into their current fix, Casesa took the long view and said the root cause dates from the 1930’s when the National Labor Relations Act and State Franchise Laws were passed in reaction to predatory OEM practices. Unfortunately, these laws shifted the power dynamic in the opposite direction and created a structural rigidity that, over time, lead to bloated labor costs, inflexible rules and excess capacity in the franchise network as market shares declined. This, in turn, led to less product innovation and excess debt as import competition squeezed margins and volume.

Myself and Alex (along with Jennifer Suzuki and David Kain) will be part of the 1st Party Leads webinar hosted by Dealer.com.

Be sure to check back here for the full recording and posting of the webinar.

Until then, be sure to check out the ALL NEW DealerRefresh Dealer Technology Forum for best practices with dealer technology.

DealerRefresh has been around for almost 5 YEARS and there is a ton of information on here. Choose a category on the left or use the search feature in the top right to find HUNDREDS of articles about Internet Marketing and Best Practices.

**Below are transcripts from the from Jeff and Alexs’ presentations**

I am not sure if it was because of the simultaneously scheduled “King of Cars” TV marathon on A&E or that the all male review “The Thunder Down Under” was completely sold out this past week, but Jeff and Alex were unable to attend the Spring Digital Dealer Conference being held in Las Vegas, and I kindly stepped up to provide this friendly review for each of you…

Located at the Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas, this year’s spring conference promised some great entertainment combined with a strong agenda of current issues within our fast-moving market.  I teamed up with Alex Jefferson of Proctor Honda and Acura to attend multiple sessions, as well as to meet with several vendors to share some useful information with our DealerRefresh readers (please note the well-coached GQ pose that Alex prompted me to take…).

Kevin Frye and Alex Jefferson

“Please God, what does it take to sell a car?” That is certainly a strong opening statement, and this session led by Gil Chavez, Joe Webb, and Kim Clouse reviewed some strong fundamentals to what it takes to utilize the Internet successfully to sell cars. This was a great session for the first day as it reminded everyone of the skills that build a strong foundation for your Internet strategy. With such a challenging market, and with so many things to do, Gil, Joe and Kim emphasized that today’s Internet manager must be “God-like” – which begs the question “What type of pay plan does a God-like Internet manager deserve…”

TRILOGY ENTERPRISES ANNOUNCES CASH TENDER OFFER FOR AUTOBYTEL AT $0.35 NET PER SHARE

AUSTIN, Texas, April 20, 2009 — Trilogy Enterprises, Inc. (“Trilogy”), a provider of technology powered business services to the automotive industry, today announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Infield Acquisition, Inc., has commenced a tender offer to acquire all of the outstanding shares of common stock of Autobytel Inc. (Nasdaq: ABTL) for $0.35 net per share in cash.

The offer represents a 32% premium over the trailing 30-day average closing price of Autobytel’s common stock.

“We are pleased to offer a significant premium to Autobytel’s shareholders, “ stated Sean Fallon, Senior Vice President of Trilogy. “The automotive industry is experiencing an unprecedented decline and we believe that Autobytel must take steps now to ensure its shareholders receive the highest value. Given the significant risks of this business and the Company’s history of operating losses, we believe the premium offered is very attractive.”

“As Autobytel’s second largest stockholder and the beneficial owner of approximately 7.4% of Autobytel’s outstanding common stock, we have studied this business carefully.  We have concluded that Autobytel’s ability to  execute a turnaround and realize significant value for its stockholders is subject to significant and unacceptable risk.  We believe that a high-premium, all-cash tender offer is the most effective way to maximize value for all stockholders.  As a result, we have determined it is necessary to take the offer directly to our fellow stockholders in order to deliver significant value to them as expeditiously as possible,” added Mr. Fallon.

“We are confident our fellow stockholders will find that this compelling offer reflects a superior value for their shares, both in light of Autobytel’s current and recent trading history, as well as any realistic near or long term assessment of Autobytel’s prospects.  We are committed to completing this offer and remain willing to work cooperatively with Autobytel,” concluded Mr. Fallon.

The tender offer is scheduled to expire at 12:01 A.M., New York City time, on Tuesday, May 19, 2009, unless extended.  The tender offer documents, including the Offer to Purchase and related Letter of Transmittal, will be filed today with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).  Autobytel’s stockholders may obtain copies of the tender offer documents when they become available at www.sec.gov.  Free copies of such documents can also be obtained when they become available by calling Morrow & Co., LLC, toll-free at (800) 662-5200.

The tender offer was detailed in a letter dated April 20, 2009 from Trilogy to Autobytel’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Jeffrey H. Coats, and Autobytel’s Board of Directors.  The full text of the letter is set forth below.

_____________________

April 20, 2009
Autobytel Inc.
18872 MacArthur Boulevard, Suite 200
Irvine, California 92612-1400

Attention: Mr. Jeffrey H. Coats, President and Chief Executive Officer

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Trilogy Enterprises, Inc. (“Trilogy”), through its affiliates, owns approximately 7.4% of Autobytel Inc.’s (“Autobytel” or the “Company”) stock and is Autobytel’s second largest stockholder. We have successfully created and delivered innovative solutions to the automotive industry for more than a decade.

We believe Autobytel is facing a crucial period in its corporate existence. The automotive market is undergoing a crisis so severe that it is difficult to adequately describe.  Strong companies may find a way forward.  Weak companies will undoubtedly fail.

Unfortunately, Autobytel has historically struggled to create an independently viable business. For example:

• In 2006, Autobytel incurred operating losses of $40MM on $85MM in revenue;
• In 2007, Autobytel incurred operating losses of $35MM (not including litigation settlement costs) on $84MM in revenue; and
• In 2008, Autobytel incurred operating losses of $36MM (before impairment charges and litigation settlement costs) on $71MM in revenue, which declined by 15% from the prior year.

Autobytel has itself acknowledged that the market is “extremely challenging” and it expects the U.S. automotive industry to decline more than 20% in 2009. Given the market outlook, what should stockholders reasonably expect from a company that has not proven itself viable historically?

We recognize that Autobytel has taken steps to address this crisis.  However, we do not believe the steps taken are adequate to address the severity of the situation.  Autobytel facing another corporate reorganization during potentially the worst market in history seems highly unlikely to prevail. The current plan appears akin to “let’s give this one last shot”. Unfortunately, shareholder cash and value is at stake.

Given Autobytel’s business prospects and the significant historical and recent operating losses, the Board should take steps now to preserve as much shareholder value as possible. We believe the only means to accomplish this is the immediate sale of the business.

We are aware that Autobytel had engaged a financial advisor to evaluate the possible sale of the Company.  Autobytel announced that its advisor conducted an extensive process which resulted in Autobytel concluding that shareholder value could not be maximized in the current environment. We assume this means no buyer desired to pay a price required by the Board.

Today, our wholly-owned subsidiary has commenced a tender offer that provides stockholders with an opportunity to sell shares at $0.35 per share in cash.  We believe this price is likely lower than the share price the Board aspired to obtain during the recent sale process. However, we believe it is a full and fair value for the Company and offers both an attractive premium for stockholders, as well as immediate liquidity for a stock that is thinly traded.

We hereby request that the Board support the proposed tender offer, and in doing so, consider the following:

• The offer represents a 32% premium on the stock’s trailing 30 day closing price;
• The offer provides immediate liquidity for all stockholders;
• The trading volume reported for April is less than 65,000 shares per day, on over 45 million shares outstanding;
• The Company is a sub-scale public company and may not be able to continue to bear the costs and obligations of a public company;
• The Company cannot withstand another shift in strategy during what may be the worst market in history;
• The Company may not be able to continue to bear the costs of its management team, including the lucrative packages offered to its recent hires;
• The Company recently issued executive stock options at $0.35 per share, which the Company must believe is fair value;
• The Company had $32MM in cash in September and only $27MM in December;
• The Company continues to burn cash and is likely to do so for the foreseeable future.  It is reasonable to believe that the Company may run out of cash by the end of 2010;
• Without at least breakeven results, stockholder value will only continue to deteriorate until no stockholder value remains;
• Any acquiror must take on the Company’s cash burn and fund the Company in a highly uncertain environment; and
• Any acquirer may have to invest significant additional funds into the Company to make it operationally efficient and competitive.

It is time to stop the erosion in stockholder value. Looking at where Autobytel’s stock price traded a year ago is not indicative of the true value of the Company, but it should serve as a reminder of the value that was destroyed.  Autobytel’s management should realistically evaluate the prospects for its business. A candid assessment of that situation should lead management to conclude that an all cash offer at a significant premium to all Company stockholders is in the best interests of the stockholders.

We are pleased to make this proposal to our fellow stockholders.  We believe they will find it to be attractive in light of both the Company’s trading history, and a realistic assessment of the Company’s prospects.  We are committed to completing this offer and hopeful that we will be able to work cooperatively with the Company in doing so.

We look forward to your timely response.

Sincerely,

Trilogy Enterprises, Inc.

About Trilogy Enterprises, Inc.
Trilogy creates technology-powered business solutions that deliver profitable new customers to companies worldwide.    Trilogy, through its affiliates, has enjoyed decades of success by delivering innovative solutions to the world’s largest companies.

As most of you know, we launched the DealerRefresh Technology Support & Best Practices Forums (yes, we know that is a mouthful, call it the “DR Forums” for short) this last Wednesday and it was nothing less of exciting. Phone calls out the whazoo from friends, long time supporters to even several vendors already asking us to remove threads and comments. HA!

We have positioned DR Forums as a unique spot for dealers to get some help with all these technologies we’re struggling with and a good place to discover new products (almost a 24/7 NADA without all the badgering). It didn’t take long to get some great discussions going on…

If you’ve been thinking about switching CRM companies, or have been curious about what other dealers think of other CRM/ILM solutions, check out the >> Which CRM are you using? << thread.

Been thinking about doing video walkarounds or getting into the nitty gritty of VideoSEO? Take a look at the >> Taking videos of your vehicles << thread.

Live Chat on Dealership Websites is getting ready to become common practice – why aren’t you doing it? But before you sign a contract on that Live Chat tool, check out the >> Low Cost Live Chat Software << thread – which isn’t just about Low Cost solutions. If there are any vendors paying attention – this thread has quickly become a blueprint for building a live chat tool!

If you haven’t already check out the DR Forums, slide on over there and sign-up.

Don’t forget about Digital Dealer Conference this week. I’m sort of bummed about  not being there this time around but I just couldn’t work it into the schedule.

By the way…WHO will be tweeting from Digital Dealer and what will the hashtag be? #ddconference or #digitaldealer?

I did post “Digital Dealer 6 Conference – Are you going?” with some recommendations on which sessions to attend. After I wrote that, there was another session added to the agenda that I wanted to be sure to mention and would highly recommend attending.

Avoid Internet FAIL with a SUPER Strategy
Dealer websites originated in the mid-late 1990’s and were designed as digital, interactive billboards. Consumers expect better in 2009, yet seldom get it from car dealers.  Call and email is not what today’s consumer wants. Come to this session if you want to learn practical, proven, profitable ideas that dealers are successfully using today to break away from low gross, high effort, low engagement Internet failure.

My buddies “Rock Star” Shaun Raines (CEO of DealerAdvisor) and Brian Hoecht (founder of Ai-Dealer) will be putting on this session Tuesday 11:15. Be sure to check it out!

Paul Rushing wrote a must read article over on driving sales – State of the Click – Banner Ads

Ward’s e-Dealer 100 Snafu. Ward’s e-Dealer 100 ranking was tallied with some incorrect data. As a result, they have published a new corrected list of the 2009 Ward’s e-Dealer 100.

Check out this VIDEO – How to use Twitter for linkbuilding. Somewhat interesting.

A Four-Door Porsche? Porsche introduces the four-door Panamera at this year’s Shanghai Motor Show. Somehow I’m on their press release distribution list and they sent me a link to download some Panamera video footage. I LOVE Porsche!

Ohhh before I forget, I just posted a question over in the DR Forums that hit my inbox yesterday.

“I’m asking about Autobytel the lead source provider and wondering how it works for dealerships. Have any of you had experience with them and are you happy?”

Anyone using Autobytel with success anymore? Post your comments in the forum.

That’s it for this week! Hopefully we can get back on board with the weekly refresh (we’ve heard that before).