The two are inexorably linked and they are the underlying focal points of this issue - indeed, of our business as a whole.

Being Canadian auto dealer's first issue of the New Year, it is an opportune time to reflect on where we have been and assess our future prospects as an industry. In both respects, the two words above - change and opportunity - effectively define the state of this business we are all in. And they are reflected on almost every page of this magazine. 

The past year has to go down in history as one of the most volatile ever. Nothing stayed constant for more than a month at a time, and the changes that occurred were not subtle. We were bounced from one extreme to another as soaring gasoline prices dried up our prospects and extravagant incentives cleared our lots. But overall, as the year-end Sales Report in this issue shows, it wasn't a bad year for most of us, once we got to the end.

The year-end is just a mile-marker
The reality is, however, it is not the end of anything, on any more than a calendar basis. We don't get to stop and start over. It is just a mile-marker (make that kilometre-marker) in an on-going continuum, and the chaotic period of change we have been going through is not about to abate just because the date we write on our cheques has changed.

As our look into the future - 2006 and Beyond - suggests, change is the only constant we can count on. It seems dramatic enough as we live it day by day, but extended out 10, 20, or 30 years it becomes far more so. It has the potential to become catastrophic if we don't prepare and adjust for it. So adjust to it we must, if for no other reason than that our customers will demand it.

Our interview with Steve Kelleher, president and CEO of Hyundai Canada, is a textbook example of successfully adapting to change and keeping ahead of that curve. Complacency is the enemy to be avoided, Kelleher says. We have to stay aggressive just to keep from being swept up by the relentless pace of change.

To that end, many of the changes we as an industry are experiencing are those we have initiated ourselves. Changes geared to better serving our customers and advancing our own businesses. The dealer expansions and renovations reported in our News section exemplify just a few of the entrepreneurial initiatives we have collectively undertaken to maintain control of our own destinies.

Not all the changes that confront us are of our own making, however. Many, in fact, are driven by factors well beyond our control. But that does not mean that we are at their mercy. Quite the contrary. In every change and every challenge there is opportunity to be seized.

Seizing the opportunities
Helping you in recognizing the opportunities and learning to seize them is our role here at Canadian auto dealer, and that is the stuff that fills these pages, from first to last. 

In our Publisher's letter, he addresses the opportunity that exists simply in the service advisor's walkaround. And the opportunity missed when it is not conducted thoroughly and consistently. Opportunity is worth nothing if it is not seized.

 A case in point - there is huge potential on the aftermarket side of the business these days, and frankly, the dealer body as a whole is letting much of that revenue get away without even going after it. In our feature on the Aftermarket, we provide some insight into that market and the tremendous opportunity it presents, as well as some suggestions on how to take advantage of it.

Addressing that issue from another direction, in our Parts & Accessories section we begin a series on how merchandising displays can be used to attract extra dollars through the sale of those accessories and branded merchandise.

This is auto-show season and there is untapped opportunity there, too, just waiting to be leveraged. Tom Tonks, general manager of the Canadian International Auto Show, tells us that one-third of auto-show attendees plan to buy or lease a new vehicle in the next year. They are primed and ready. But they need some encouragement to show up, cash in hand, on your showroom floor. Tonks gives us some tips on how to attract them, and on how the auto show experience can be used as a perk to enhance your current customers' satisfaction.

Streamlining operations while simultaneously improving customer satisfaction is a win-win that everyone can relate to. Our F&I column proposes that moving further toward paperless transactions can help accomplish both goals. On the remarketing front, Jay Dyer suggests that changing the way you tell your recon story can improve your success rate in that department, and he offers some guidelines for you to follow.

One big change that is sweeping the industry is the trend toward dealer consolidation. They don't get much bigger than that. Windsor's Rafih Auto Mall, highlighted in the News section, is an example of the positive results that can come from consolidation. But is that the direction you should go? There are cons as well as pros, and Chuck Seguin takes a look at both sides of the ledger to help you with that decision.

Opportunity exists in every corner of your operation, including the back-shop. Perhaps especially in the back-shop. Does your service department have its own identifiable brand? If not, it should, says Jim Bell, our resident fixed-op guru. What is special about your business that should keep customers coming back? It may take a culture change to figure it out and take advantage of it, but it will be in your best interest to do so, he says.

As it was in 2005, so it continues to be in 2006. This business is all about change, and seizing the opportunity that change engenders.

We're changing, too
There is change happening at Canadian auto

dealer, too. Tony Chisolm has taken the position of Account Manager, here at head office. And Linda Nadon has joined our team as Associate Publisher located in Quebec. You can find more information on them in our News section. Welcome aboard, both.

Linda's arrival heralds another change for us as well. From the beginning, we planned to add a parallel French-language edition, with greater focus on the Quebec market, and they will help make that happen.

Au revoir!

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