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The first thing you’ll notice in this issue of Canadian auto dealer is that my picture replaces the picture of our longtime editor Gerry Malloy in this spot. But all is well with Gerry, and you’ll still see his face and read his writing in different parts of the magazine.
Gerry is stepping back to focus on writing and no longer looks after running the magazine and assigning stories.
As an example of this new focus, in this issue, we are pleased to introduce Gerry’s new “Tech Talk” column. He’ll draw on his engineering education and dozens of years as one of Canada’s top automotive journalists to explore the technology behind today’s vehicles, with a glance at what’s coming next and what it means for your dealership.
In his first installment, he takes an in-depth look at the electrification of the automobile. His columns will help provide our dealers — and their sales staff — with insights into emerging technologies that are showing up in the vehicles in their showrooms.
There are some other changes in store that we’ll unveil in the coming months. You’ll see more of a focus on fixed operations, starting with the feature story featuring a case study of how Oakville, Ont.’s Budds’ Collision emerged as one of the premier facilities of its kind in North America. We are always on the lookout for best practice stories of Canadian dealers who are driving increased service revenues.
With the launch of our Digital Drive column, we now provide you with a regular snapshot of digital marketing, social media, and what dealers in Canada and beyond are doing to better attract and interact with their online customers and prospects.
Canadian auto dealer’s creative team is also hard at work redesigning and preparing to launch fresh new websites for Canadian auto dealer and Affaires Automobiles. It won’t just be a model “refresh” it will be a whole new online vehicle launch that will make it easier for our readers to interact with us and with one another via social media and the community tools we are putting in place.
These are just a few of the steps we are taking to ensure that we remain your must-read dealer-focused media of choice in Canada.
We get out into the industry every chance we get, but the best stories are happening around you all the time, so if you want to see those stories told, please pick up the phone or drop me an email. I’ve been in this business a long time and there’s nothing I like more than hearing from readers. I don’t care if it’s good or bad feedback, but what I can’t stand is indifference!
