F&I and Showroom, October 2013

TRUE CONCERN Da Man fi nds himself blindsided by an FTC investigation long after mending fences with TrueCar and its founder By Jim Ziegler O ne of John Lennons most relevant and thought provoking lyrics can be found in the song Beautiful Boy It goes Life is what happens to you while youre busy making other plans Recently that brilliant thought resurfaced and its deeper signifi cance was revealed to so many of us who missed it the fi rst time around See after 38 years in this business I am amazed at the evolution of the automotive retail industry But Im even more astonished when I look back at all of the failed concepts and revolutionary new trends that fi zzled and went nowhere By the time I shut down my offi ces in 2008 and brought the business home we had been in huge corporate offi ces for more than 20 years As I write these words I can vividly recall standing by a dumpster overfl owing 14 F I and Showroom October 2013 with thousands of fi les folders and documents we had accumulated over the years We had fi ling cabinets fi lled with failed projects and ideas wed pursued and invested in that were ultimately scrapped One of the greatest lessons I learned experientially through the years was to beware of distractions that come to you disguised as opportunities Not a week goes by that I am not approached with money making propositions affi liations and referral agreements It usually begins with someone who wants to help me make a ton of money Of course the fi rst clue is that they themselves dont have a ton of money Something always makes me a little wary when someone who doesnt have any money wants to make me rich My career as an industry activist and futurist dealer advocate professional speaker consultant trainer and columnist has been the most exciting ride of my life I am damn good at what I do and I certainly have peoples attention Things I have written and said have brought about major changes in our business and shook some of the manufacturers to their foundations My love for the people in our industry has forged a bond and created a loyal following I have said things others could not I have called out scoundrels and villains And although people have tried nobody could threaten me and they couldnt buy me off at any price After 25 years of hard hitting magazine articles speeches blogs and commentary I can breathe easy and say Ive made a positive difference for Jim Ziegler On the Point