SLANTS & TRENDS—NEW PRODUCTS AND INFORMATION

ZURICH ANNOUNCES EXPANDED COVERAGE FOR DEALERS
February 11, 2008—In response to the ever-increasing regulatory burden on U.S. dealers, Zurich North America Commercial (booth 4121N) is launching expanded coverage to defend against noncompliance lawsuits. The firm’s newest policy, Unicover VI, protects against new risks in the areas of credit, identity theft, and terrorism. The policy is already receiving positive reviews from dealers in the marketplace. Steve Cline, assistant vice president of dealer marketing, says when it comes to creating policies for new risks, “we write the book ourselves from scratch,” so as to avoid “gaps” in coverage. For more information on Zurich’s Unicover VI, visit www.zurichna.com/zdu.

REYNOLDS AND NORTHWOOD U. TEAM UP ON NEW COURSE
February 11, 2008—Reynolds and Reynolds (booth 7615S) and Northwood University (booth 7222S) announced the joint development of a program to be offered by Northwood University as part of their automotive marketing curriculum. The class will first be offered in the spring quarter 2008 on Northwood’s Florida, Michigan, and Texas campuses. The course, called “Measurement-Driven Management: Powered by Your DMS,” utilizes Reynolds software applications and technology, and was designed by Reynolds and Northwood for students at the senior level. It includes a study of dealership operational and financial processes and includes a review of the functions and management of each dealership departments.

REYNOLDS: REMOVING GUESSWORK FROM HIRING, EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT
February 11, 2008—Reynolds and Reynolds (booth 7615S) announced today the broad availability of TestFirst Hiring, a pre-employment diagnostic tool that can help dealerships make the right decisions when evaluating prospective employees. TestFirst Hiring is a low-cost assessment and screening tool that lets dealers test every job applicant efficiently and economically up front before any interviews. The TestFirst assessment helps answer whether candidates have the right personality, work habits, and potential before calling any of them in for an interview.

DEALERTRACK HELPS DEALERS FIGHT ID THEFT WITH ‘REDFLAGS’
February 11, 2008—DealerTrack (booth 7341S) offers “RedFlags,” a tool to help dealers comply with the Federal Trade Commission’s recently issued “Red Flags Rule” concerning identity theft.  The rule requires that dealers have a program in place by November 1 to detect potential signs of  identity theft. DealerTrack’s new product cross-checks customers’ info against various databases to determine if they’re using a false identity, or if there are address discrepancies, Social Security number mismatches, or credit files with fraud alerts or security freezes. DealerTrack is also launching a new Web site, thecomplianceguide.com, where dealers have free access to podcasts and Webinars on Red Flag compliance.

GMAC FINANCIAL SERVICES ANNOUNCES NEW PRODUCTS, STRATEGIES
February 11, 2008—GMAC Financial Services (booth 4900 N) is working to grow its base of dealers in 2008 by offering its products and services to dealers outside the GM network. “We’re no longer a GM-focused organization, and no longer just a product-based organization,” says Thomas D. Callahan, executive vice president of dealer products and services for GMAC Insurance. “We’re attempting to become a big presence in the market.” The company will provide solutions that address everything from sales to service to administration,” he says. Some of the recent new offerings include Repair Advantage, Dent Restore Plus, and a no-cost menu-selling process.

DENT WIZARD, PERMAPLATE, SONSIO JOINTLY ANNOUNCE ASSURANCE PROTECTION PROGRAM
February 11, 2008—Three companies jointly debuted a new product here called Assurance Vehicle Appearance Protection. Dent Wizard, PermaPlate, and Sonsio have joined forces to offer the bundled service package designed for F&I sales. Dent Wizard provides ding and dent repair, PermaPlate specializes in interior and exterior surface protection, and Sonsio provides tire and wheel road hazard coverage. Assurance offers F&I managers optional packages to sell, with three levels of protection and three lengths of coverage. “We are leveraging the three companies to create a unique product for the dealers,” said Dent Wizard president Kelly Conger, president of Dent Wizard (booth 7915S).

ADP INTROS WEB MARKETING PRODUCTS
February 11, 2008—ADP’s Dealer Services Group (booth 6621S) offers a Virtual Marketing Representative Service and Digital Advertising Managed Service, examples of how the company is moving from merely helping dealers do certain jobs to actually doing the job for them. The first service will work with the dealer to create, execute, and analyze an advertising campaign—using automatic notifications and reminders—that’s based on the store’s demographics and buying history. The dealer can choose whether to use live voice, auto voice, or e-mail. The Digital Advertising Service helps dealers switch their advertising from traditional media (print and electronic) to Internet based, and helps dealers navigate search-engine marketing and optimization, and landing-page issues.

COMCAST SPOTLIGHT ACQUIRES VEHIX
February 11, 2008—Comcast Spotlight, the ad sales division of Comcast Cable, announced its acquisition of Vehix, a multiplatform network that offers car buyers one-stop shopping. The online network was launched in 1996 as a portal designed to facilitate consumer automotive research and purchase processes.  Today, the company distributes automotive content through multiple platforms, including the broadband and on-demand platforms of Comcast Spotlight, allowing more than 3,000 dealers to promote nearly 800,000 vehicles in online inventory. In addition to creating video content and proprietary virtual showroom technology, Vehix co-develops content with brands like J.D. Power and NADA Guides. "Acquiring Vehix demonstrates our commitment to bringing advanced integrated marketing solutions to this important advertising category," said Comcast Spotlight John Drain, senior vice president, finance/administration.

ONECOMMAND OFFERS NEW ONLINE COMMUNICATIONS TOOL
February 11, 2008—Direct communications company OneCommand (booth 1559W), formerly CallCommand, has Preference Manager, which lets consumers manage communication preferences from dealers and OEMs. With more and more regulations being placed on the industry—such as consumer  bills governing e-mail, text messaging, direct mail, and voice communications—the online platform offers a consumer-friendly way for the auto industry to self-regulate, says president and chief operating officer Mike Martinez. For example, Preference Manager allows a dealer’s customers to choose how they want to receive a recall notice or new-product information. “OneCommand is all about being a one-stop direct interactive marketing service for dealers,” Martinez says. “We offer a full suite of products, but more importantly we’re allowing dealers to reach out to customers using the [customers’] preferred channel of communication.”

DATAONE SOFTWARE ENHANCES IMARKETAUTO FOR INVENTORY MANAGEMENT
February 11, 2008—Leading auto dealer core technology provider DataOne Software, a division of Dominion Enterprises (booth 5343N), has beefed up iMarketAuto inventory management program to support all major inventory management provider solutions. It captures data from on-the-lot service companies like Dealer Specialties, Dealerskins, and CDMdata.  The data is then broken down, scrubbed, cleaned, and rebuilt as an iMarketAuto inventory file with a new feature, Data-Whitening.  The inventory can then be managed from the iMarketAuto console, where dealers can change prices, add and remove vehicles, add seller notes, upload additional photos, and print window stickers.  Once updated, the inventory is available for broadcasting to online destinations.

ROTARY LIFT ADDS ULTRA-LOW-PROFILE  SMARTLIFT
February 11, 2008—Rotary Lift (booth 6433S), the Madison, Ind., based company that invented the first automotive hydraulic, has introduced the new SL210-MP8 Moveable Pad SmartLift in-ground lift that makes raising a car  for service faster and easier than ever. Plus, its ultra-low profile of just 2 3/8 inches reduces concerns about scraping the undersides of lower profile vehicles on the lift superstructure. This patent-pending adjustment design provides an infinite number of positions to accommodate a wide range of unibody vehicles. The moveable pad style of in-ground lift is unique to Rotary in North America.