I’m not saying keep it up, just saying that was pretty slick.

Something nobody commented on, and IMHO, a major issue with way too many dealer sites (not to mention the manufacturer sites), SPEED.

This giant network of ours is supposed to help us find information – fast. Some sites I visit are so slow that I leave before the page loads. Heavy, bloated, fat, and ugly are words we used in school to describe [you decide here]. If your site conjures up these words, well, um, find a good diet.

What’s wrong with them?

I really like visiting a dealer website to find the car i want to buy, only to be spoken to by some chick on my lower right… wow she just gets right up in ur grill wanting to help, i luv it. She’s being suggestive and helpful, and persistent. Whats wrong with that Alex? Why does that annoy u Alex?
i mean you wanna buy a car or what?
shes helping people man?!
plus she’s usually hot.

Now if i was to have a beemer franchise, i’d put this link as my welcome video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPsLIPljJkE&feature=channel_page#t=00m55s

Ok, everyone raise your hand if you’ve ever used the, “… you gotta be borderline retarded not to buy this car mr(s). customer.” sales close.

Guilty! yeah, i’ve used that a few times, lol.

Seriously tho, rethink those welcome videos now Alex, they all aren’t that bad.

Your frend ,-Stew

I apologize for the long post. I thought that if I didn’t mention any website, a point of view of the new guard (Social Media) vs. the old guard (AT, etc.), it would be acceptable. I didn’t intend it that way. I will definitely work on my posts so that they are more focused and keep to the topic at hand. Thanks for the reminders that there’s a fine line between posting and self-promotion.

I think I understand your position and would rather be a productive contributor than not.

Maybe you can get 117 free leads for the time loss?

I here by induct your post as a finalist in the DealerRefresh “Spammys”.

I can’t believe I lost 117 seconds reading this, I want a time refund!

Joe

I thought you might find this very interesting.

The $22 lead is dead.

The $18 lead is dead.

The $12 lead is dead.

And the $6 and the $4.

And the $2.

“Twitter and Facebook Fight it Out Over Streaming and Car Buyers.” ( Just Google “Twitter vs. Facebook”)

(This is my take on the dozens of articles that have come out since Wednesday.)

The battle is fierce. Google, Facebook, MySpace and Twitter are engaged in an intense battle for the king of activity-streamers, and by extension, the car business.

Subject: Who’s Set To Be The Next Google?

Whoever wins, automotive dealerships are going to take the spoils and save a bunch of “Ad Words dollars” in the process, now and from now on.

Each mega-site is currently working point-by-point to position themselves as the next go-to destination for one of industry’s most lucrative markets: car buyers.

This is the new game everyone, and it’s called social media.

When 82% of ALL U.S. internet traffic flows through either Facebook, MySpace or Twitter, you know that the fight for that traffic is going to be brutal. And when Facebook, with its $450,000,000 in funding goes after a start-up like Twitter, we should all take note. If you don’t know why, I can’t explain it to you.

A not-so-minor point of comparison is this: 3rd-party-lead websites like Autotrader and Dealix don’t even come close as an “also-ran” when it comes to the real, generated business that Twitter does. Twitter and Facebook are generating leads (soft and hard) for dealerships IN ONE DAY what Autotrader does in a month. Think about that.

As your namesake, Jeff Spicoli, said in Fast Times at Ridgemont High: “Not even close, bud.”

Google “Dell and Twitter” if you still have any doubts.

But however it turns out for them, Of one thing we can be sure, AutoTrader, Cars, CarsDirect, Dealix and the rest are on their way out. It’s a new world.

The $22 lead is dead.

The $18 lead is dead.

The $12 lead is dead.

And the $6 and the $4.

And the $2.

Can anyone say Open Social?

Bank it.

Throw some pre-owned ads on Twitter with link-backs directly to your vehicle detail page for about 10 continuous days and see what happens.

POW! You win.

Free, clean, sold.

Do you think that Autotrader is raising they’re prices for fun, just to ruffle their clients? It’s a last ditch money-grab, folks. (What would YOU do if you were one of those (old-guard 3rd party lead providers” now?)

When Facebook and Google are battling Twitter with no clear winner in sight, what chance does the old-guard (AT) have?

The online world has gone social. Period. End of story.

(ps. Look for much anonymous hate from AT trolls in this post.)

In the end, this ain’t about you and me. It’s not our fight; just our spoils. I’m talking about Facebook vs. Autotrader. Twitter vs. CarsDirect. MySpace vs. Dealix.

Look at the facts.

Twitter alone gets more postings about cars for sale by dealerships in ONE DAY than all of these sites deliver to their “dealer-clients” in a month. Just think about that.

Can you say “Gettin’ fleeced”? Twitter and Facebook are free for everyone.

I was an ISM for a long time, and while I’m not doing that for a living now, it’s still my passion. (Wait until I launch my blog about dealer email!) No, Jeff, I won’t pimp it here. Your site is your site, and I respect that. lol

And here’s another tidbit: 60% of ALL Facebook users have an annual income of over 60k.

AT, not half that high.

That, Spicoli, is a “friend” worth fighting for.