Velocity: From the Front Line to the Bottom Line

by Dale Pollak

In From the Front Line to the Bottom Line , retail automotive expert Dale Pollak reveals how car dealers in today's pre-owned automotive marketplace can shift out of low gear toward accelerated profits. Today's dealers are facing increased competition brought on by Internet shopping and in this book, Pollak delivers a gut check to dealers employing traditional used car disciplines while revealing new strategies that turn money-losing departments into profit-generating winners. "The used vehicle marketplace is less giving and less forgiving than it's ever been before. Astute, investment-minded management processes are essential for today's dealers to survive and thrive," says Pollak.

Genres: Business

144 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Ladz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good overview of how dealers should price cars based using a data-based approach to get closer and closer to fulfilling that $4,000 Fantasy. Very repetitive, however.

[Cori · Rating 4 out of 5]

What intrigued me: Another book I borrowed from Fiona's office bookshelf.

What I liked: This is a straightforward book that has good insights into the tech needs of a used car dealership. As someone on the tech side of the industry, this was really eye-opening for how our products can and should be leveraged.

The pandemic has surely caused a lot of dealers to adopt a better online presence so I wonder if that has sped up the transition to what he coins "velocity" dealerships.

What I didn't like: I didn't think the grey callouts or graphics in the book were particularly effective.

Favorite quote: "...Chalfant views sales as a process where transparency, shared knowledge, and limited negotiation are the new orders of the day. He doesn't resent the fact that his customers are better armed; he embraces it." p. 11

[Ed Barton · Rating 4 out of 5]

While the book is a soft sell for the author's vAuto tool, the premise is very solid and relevant for all dealers. There is a capital cost associated with holding inventory, a value to velocity of turn on the inventory, and a balance point based on capital costs, average price, and inventory investment that dealers must make to maximize dealership profit. As a 25 year CPA/CFA now in the automotive business, I've been shocked by the lack of focus on profit maximization, and Dale Pollack provides a focus on inventory velocity that more dealers need to understand.

[Steve Knier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Different view of Inventory Management

Puts a model forward to create a higher focus and visibility on used vehicle inventory, based on data and Internet information. Technology has evolved from the publish date, but the direction stands.

[Denis Romanovsky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Investment-minded approach in used cars business for dummies. An easy and short read. It was good for me as I like to read something from a radically different domain. You still can find something similar like business velocity, assest turnaround, data-driven analysis and so on...

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dale highlights a new way of thinking for the automotive retailer. While I agree there are some valid points made within the book, some are less than practical for every retailer.

He's also selling the program that he wrote, vAuto within the book. While I believe vAuto is a useful tool, its not the only way car values are judged and relies on the user to choose the span of the research missing the global trend of the vehicle.

[Gabriel Pinkus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply awesome. An entrepreneur, practitioner, and overall wonderful person. He changed the game. The Billy Beane of used car dealerships!