F&I and Showroom, October 2013

On the Point proach The blogs cooled off before going dark In the months that followed TrueCar did indeed make major changes to its business model It was no longer a reverse auction that forced dealers to sell cars at huge losses TrueCars pricing although still the lowest by far became fair to retailers and consumers Later that year Painter actually fl ew to Atlanta and invited me and my wife Debbie to have dinner with him at a local Cajun restaurant I picked out Timmons was also there to meet with us But get this Painter fl ew to Atlanta to spend a few hours with us before hopping back on plane to fl y back to California Thats 10 hours or more of travel time Painter wanted to show me the new business model his fi rm rolled out He also wanted to show me his latest TV ad I wasnt about to endorse him or the changes he made Being a dealer advocate and industry activist I never endorse a vendor even the ones I really really like But I have to say despite starting with an aura of tension and mistrust I found that I really like Scott Painter We will never agree on just about anything but the guy has the same belief and conviction in his causes as I do in mine I was smirking at the very fact that I had this sprout eating preppy ass Californian sitting in a Cajun restaurant eating spicy deep fried alligator tails It was all in good humor I even took a photo of Scott Painter wearing my Alpha Dawg hat I have since stated publicly on many occasions that I am OK with TrueCars current business model It has rebounded from the edge of the cliff and its business is now thriving Thats great for consumers and retailers alike Are they perfect No They still have issues with dealers but they are ready to listen and work through them In the past that was not the case With that said if I were a dealer myself chances are Id do business with them Now I never did accept a position on TrueCars dealer council but Painter and Timmons have contacted 20 F I and Showroom October 2013 me on occasion to discuss how to improve the companys dealer relations Timmons discussed with me the possibility of TrueCar sponsoring a cocktail reception at one of my Internet Battle Plan conferences I turned his offer down several times but I decided to let them sponsor a reception at my Las Vegas event in August The FTC Cometh Shortly before my recent knee replacement surgery I received a special gift from Mike Timmons It was a beautifully crafted ebony wood walking cane a very special gift Scott Painter also called and wished me a speedy recovery Between the good wishes and the surgery I received a registered letter from the Federal Trade Commission FTC It informed me that I was involved in an investigation concerning fi rms in the retail automobile industry that had purportedly agreed to refuse to deal with TrueCar The letter warned me not to destroy any evidence or e mails pertaining to this case Within a few days the industry was buzzing with the news Im still receiving calls every day from dealers and others who want to know more about it It seems they are sending out the same letter to everyone or almost everyone who participated in the blogs and forums The dealer associations who admonished their members about TrueCar and even the dealers whose employees commented on it have received one In interviews Painter emphatically denied that TrueCar had anything to do with fi ling any complaints with the FTC I think he said something to the effect of pursuing a complaint would be sort of like sending in reinforcements after the war is over Many people in the business are telling me they dont believe him They think this is a blatant back door ambush by a company seeking revenge on an industry that spoke out against it I believe Painter is sincere Ive seen them make too many strides and good faith gestures I walked away from every conversation Ive had with the man believing him to be sincere I dont always like the way he thinks but I do not believe TrueCar is behind this If I am proven wrong it would greatly disturb me As far as TrueCar goes lets face it it has too much positive momentum with dealers to want all of this regurgitated and dragged out again Besides we have all moved on On the other hand I think its important to know exactly who did initiate this investigation It might be nothing more than the FTC doing some due diligence But what prompted it It seems to me the agency would have been more interested in the data abuse issues real or perceived and investigated that There are a lot of vendors doing some very kinky things with consumeridentifi able data theyre taking out of your DMS So its puzzling to me that the FTC would investigate the whistleblowers There have to be some First Amendment issues at play here Who knows The long and the short of it is that none of us really knows yet where this is headed or what the FTC is trying to accomplish Maybe the agencys intent will be much clearer by the time this column is published The conversation I had with the FTC attorney who wrote my letter was civil and polite although I didnt really learn a lot from it I got the impression that perhaps they perceived some sort of large organized effort by a consortium of anarchists I assured the attorney that my company and entire staff is just me Debbie and our dog operating out of our basement Im not even sure if my shredding machine works Ive been meaning to take it back to Offi ce Depot Until next time keep those letters and e mails coming and dont forget to check out the November edition of Auto Dealer Monthly Jim Ziegler is the president of Ziegler SuperSystems Inc E mail him at jim ziegler@ bobit com