The Fort #247: Will Churchill - Owner of Frank Kent Motor Company - Current State of Auto Industry and the Future of Car Dealerships
Will Churchill is the Owner of Frank Kent Motor Company. Frank Kent Cadillac has been awarded GM Dealer of the Year for 2012 – 2014, an honor given to only the top 2% of GM dealers throughout the country.
On this episode, Chris and Will discuss:
- A deep dive on the auto industry.
- The current state of the auto industry.
- What the future of buying cars looks like.
- DTC, EV cars, Hydrogen?!
- And more!
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Links:
The Fort #50 with Will Churchill
Email Will: willc@fk1935.com
Topics:
(3:18) - Introducing Will
(4:51) - Will’s background in the auto business
(7:06) - What’s happened in auto over the past two years?
(11:16) - Where are we now with the chip shortage?
(13:10) - Thoughts on pricing strategies in the industry
(17:53) - Where do people get auto loans from?
(20:18) - Is there anything that changed through Covid that will be permanent?
(22:37) - Moving the car buying experience online
(27:43) - Thoughts on Carvana
(31:36) - Focusing on the Wholesale market
(34:45) - What do most people do when they’re owing way more than the car is worth?
(36:25) - What warranty do people really need?
(41:23) - At what point can a car not get a warranty?
(42:58) - Why is there a need for car dealerships in the future?
(44:41) - Why doesn’t Tesla’s model work for everyone else?
(47:03) - Will the Car Dealership look the way it does now in 10 years?
(48:50) - What happens if Wall Street moves to a profitability model?
(50:23) - Buick’s buyout of their dealers
(51:39) - Who dictates investing in a dealership?
(53:31) - The process of opening a new dealership
(56:33) - What’s the pathway to becoming a dealer?
(1:02:25) - Thoughts on the EV revolution
(1:08:12) - What happens to the new cars that got wrecked from the recent hurricane in Florida?
(1:10:09) - Where do cars go to die?
(1:11:29) - Do you see the industry moving to cars-as-a-service rather than traditional ownership model?
(1:12:52) - How are auto loans performing right now?
(1:13:35) - How many catalytic converters have been stolen from you and are manufacturers looking to fix this?
(1:14:33) - How’s the auction market looking right now?
(1:15:16) - What’s the single most impactful thing a dealer can do to improve the car buying experience?
(1:17:13) - How has ride-share impacted the auto world?
(1:18:43) - Final thoughts
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