vAuto Podcast

In this vAuto podcast, Dan Winchester, senior director of customer program management, shares how vAuto’s recent innovations help dealers improve decision-making, process execution and performance outcomes. Dan details how deeper integrations and dealer data-reporting help dealers increase appraisal to sales ratios to acquire more vehicles from customers; save more deals with more efficient customer follow-up and workflows; manage acquisition objectives and outcomes across more inventory sourcing channels; and get a clearer view of each deal’s overall ROI to drive ongoing performance improvement.

In this quarter’s Quick Takes, Bethany Johnson, Director of Business Development for vAuto, joins Lance Helgeson, Director of Business Intelligence, to break down what’s happening in the new- and used-vehicle markets. She covers the headlines from new-vehicle pricing and incentives to the fuel-economy shift reshaping depreciation, and why used-vehicle acquisition is where dealers win or lose right now. Watch the 7-minute conversation for practical inventory and acquisition takeaways you can act on this quarter.

As affordability concerns shape almost every conversation on the showroom floor, dealers must ensure they have vehicles in stock that match customers’ budget-minded buying power. In this Q3 2026 Live Market View, Derek Hansen of Cox Automotive and Mike Colacchio of Fullpath outline a new AI-driven vehicle acquisition workflow that helps dealers acquire the inventory they need in their service lanes and beyond. Hear how Fullpath’s CDP combines customer and inventory intelligence from Cox Automotive’s ecosystem of solutions to drive automated, customer-specific offers and engagements that help dealers efficiently meet today’s vehicle affordability challenge.

In this vAuto podcast, Micah Tindor, AVP of consumer vehicle disposal for Cox Automotive, details the factors driving a higher share of vehicle buyers in negative equity positions and the impact the trend creates for consumer pocketbooks and dealer conversations with their customers. Tindor offers practical pointers to help dealers turn this market dynamic into an opportunity. Hear how you can: Bring more empathy to your lead/engagement process as you work with equity-challenged customers; use the “market” to serve as a primary driver of a customer’s negative equity position—not a bad decision they made years ago; develop a “blend”-minded approach to your inventory strategy to put equity-challenged buyers into vehicles they can afford; ensure your appraisal process delivers a clear understanding of a vehicle’s value and the reasons behind your offer to each customer.

In this vAuto podcast, Greg Plank, senior manager of dealership operations for vAuto’s Performance Management team, discusses a growing gap in the average cost of vehicles in dealer inventories compared to what’s selling in local markets. Dubbed an “affordability gap,” Plank shares how dealers can identify the extent of the gap in their inventories and implement a corrective plan. Get pointers to help you ensure your overall inventory levels match your rolling 30-day total of retail sales to minimize aging risks; align your average inventory investment value to meet the market-movers; sharpen your appraisal process to evaluate a higher share of affordability-minded customer vehicles; and, make ‘save a deal’ conversations and follow-up part of your sales team’s culture/performance priorities.