How Family Turmoil—And A Patriarch’s Dying Wish—Sparked A Bold New Chapter For Crain Automotive | Christian Crain, VP of Operations at Crain Automotive

Today I’m joined by Christian Crain, VP of Operations at Crain Automotive — a 16-store dealer group based in Arkansas. We dig into a story that’s both unique and all too common in the car business: generational turmoil, how control can fracture a family, what it takes for the next generation to rebuild and much more.

CDG's Automotive Tariff Tracker mentioned in this episode: https://news.dealershipguy.com/p/breaking-cdg-s-automaker-tariff-tracker-is-here-2025-04-03

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Topics:

00:20 – How have tariffs impacted dealership operations?

02:35 – What shaped this family automotive legacy?

05:05 – How do family dynamics affect business decisions?

10:16 – What leadership changes drove transformation?

18:28 – Which technologies revolutionized your operations?

23:18 – What were your first critical challenges?

24:57 – How do you elevate customer experience?

29:26 – Why are OEM relationships crucial?

38:09 – What's your vision for strategic growth?

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