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CHICAGO — After a robust couple of years when retailers of all sizes and their frenzied dealership acquisitions helped create a seller's market, what's to come? A few industry experts shared their thoughts on why and more during the Let's Make a Deal panel at the Automotive News Retail Forum: Chicago last week.

A shift may already have begun, according to Jeff Rosen, CEO of Rosen Automotive Group. Rosen Automotive in April expanded to five stores with its purchase of the former Francois Ford in Belleville, Wis.

Rosen said the cost of capital may nudge dealers who have held off on selling during times of big profits.

"I think they're probably gonna come off the sidelines, and get off that fence, and make the decision to sell," Rosen said.

Mark LaNeve, chairman of Franchise Equity Partners, agreed, saying as business normalizes, more sellers will enter the market. Profits in 2021 and 2022 gave dealers a pause on selling…

The coronavirus pandemic forced a reexamination of workplace culture both broadly and within automotive retailing, and many dealerships — particularly those honored through the 2022 Best Dealerships To Work For program — are still exploring ways to improve their work environments for the long term.

Stores up and down the Best Dealerships To Work For list have kept in place at least some of the strategies they added or strengthened in the last two and a half years to accommodate the work-life challenges employees were facing. Some dealership leaders stressed to Automotive News the importance of continuing to offer flexible schedules, improved pay and benefits and hybrid or remote work options. Others reported that efforts to create more inclusive environments for women and minorities, including placement in key store operating roles, have boosted their retention rates and their dealership groups' desirability among would-be hires.

Several dealer…

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Last year, Asbury Automotive Group was mindful of that rule when it purchased Larry H. Miller Dealerships for $3.2 billion.

Following the acquisition, Asbury left Rick Trinkl — general manager of Larry H. Miller Hyundai Peoria in Arizona — in charge of his fast-growing dealership.

Which comes as no surprise. In 2021, the suburban Phoenix dealership sold a record 2,779 new vehicles, up from 2,005 the previous year. Last year, it also sold 993 used vehicles, up from 874 in 2020.

And now the store has topped Automotive News' annual list of the 100 Best Dealerships To Work For.

This is the third-straight year that the dealership has been recognized as the nation's best large dealership — a category that covers stores with more than 100 employees — and the first time it has been honored as the overall winner.

Trinkl is sticking with the personnel practices that have made his store such a success. Sales associat…

DCH Millburn Audi is part of Lithia Motors' growing empire, but it has the feel of a family-run business.

The Maplewood, N.J., dealership has had barbecues for staff, rewarded workers with Audi swag, held quarterly social gatherings and hired relatives of employees.

It's a well-honed recipe for DCH Millburn Audi, the top medium-sized store — a category of dealerships with 50 to 99 employees — on Automotive News' Best Dealerships To Work For list.

The luxury dealership was the overall winner in 2020, and it has been on the list every year since the Best Dealerships program began in 2012.

Employees seem to appreciate the attention. In 2021, staff turnover was 25 percent, less than the industry average of 34 percent that year.

Last year, the store sold 1,105 new and 855 used vehicles. New-vehicle volume declined slightly from 2020 amid a top-to-bottom renovation and the industry's supply chain woes. This year, DCH Millburn Audi's new-vehicle…

Stores up and down the 2022 Best Dealerships To Work For list have established ways to reward their employees for their hard work and build camaraderie in the process.

Hungry? Some opt for a food-based approach. Store leaders bring in food trucks to supply lunch or buy supplies for on-site picnics or barbecues.

"I'll roll out the flat top and cook breakfast for the dealership, call in food trucks to celebrate an achieved goal or set up an off-site event," said Nate Riesen, general manager of Lexus of Madison in Middleton, Wis.

Rewards can get more elaborate from there. Some store leaders plan off-site events, giving employees time to bond beyond the work environment.

BMW North Scottsdale in Phoenix, for instance, hosts workers at sporting events so they can accommodate more people, said Steven Khouri, the dealership's general manager. Jaguar-Land Rover North Dade in North Miami, Fla., offers free tickets to games and…

Nearly half of this year's Automotive News list of the 100 Best Dealerships To Work For is dominated by a single company: Penske Automotive Group Inc.

The nation's third-largest new-vehicle retailer has long had a strong standing in the annual ranking, which has honored top dealerships across the country for 11 straight years. Best Companies Group selects the winners based on surveys of U.S. dealership employees.

In 2021, 35 Penske dealerships made the list. This year, that figured swelled by 11 to 46 — a record for the number of stores by one company ever on the annual list.

Margaret Lane, Penske's talent and development officer, said the retailer over the past five years has increased its focus on expanding the number of its dealerships making the list.

Penske's store general managers are "naturally competitive" but also have adopted a long-term view that goes beyond doing well on a one-time survey, Lane said.

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Tim Boylan enjoys the best of both worlds.

As general manager of a small dealership — Acura Turnersville in Turnersville, N.J. — he is on a first-name basis with each of his 34 employees.

Yet his store also benefits from the expertise of its corporate owner, Penske Automotive Group.

With a state-of-the-art facility, motivated employees and little turnover, Acura Turnersville was the top small store on the 2022 Automotive News' list of the 100 Best Dealerships To Work For. Acura Turnersville also was the overall winner in 2018.

"We put our human capital above everything else," Boylan said. "I truly believe that if you treat employees well, the store will succeed and you will get more out of your employees."

The store's employee turnover rate tells the tale. This year, the store has lost only one worker — a porter who pursued career opportunities after getting a college degree. The store's managers have been there an average of 13 years. The…

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DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. on Wednesday posted a third-quarter loss of $827 million that it largely blames on newly revealed plans to shut down Argo AI, a self-driving vehicle development company the automaker had invested in heavily.

CEO Jim Farley said the company now believes mass deployment of fully self-driving vehicles is "a long way off," while CFO John Lawler added it could be “five-plus years away.”

Ford's adjusted earnings before interest and taxes fell 40 percent from the same period a year ago, to $1.8 billion. That's slightly higher than the $1.4 billion to $1.7 billion range it projected last month along with a warning that inflation had significantly increased supplier costs.

The automaker's adjusted profit margin fell by almost half, to 4.6 percent, while revenue rose 10 percent, to $39.4 billion.

Lawler told journalists that Ford’s Q3 results “could have been better” but that the automaker was encouraged by its $3.8 billion operati…

Tesla Inc. is under criminal investigation in the United States over claims that the company's electric vehicles can drive themselves, three people familiar with the matter said.

The U.S. Department of Justice launched the previously undisclosed probe last year following more than a dozen crashes, some fatal, involving Tesla's driver assistance system Autopilot, which was activated during the accidents, the people said.

As early as 2016, Tesla's marketing materials have touted Autopilot's capabilities. On a conference call that year, CEO Elon Musk described it as "probably better" than a human driver.

Last week, Musk said on another call Tesla would soon release an upgraded version of "Full Self-Driving" software allowing customers to travel "to your work, your friend's house, to the grocery store without you touching the wheel."

A video on the company's website says: "The person in the driver's seat is only there for legal reasons. He is not doin…

Self-driving startup Argo AI will shut down operations and its employees and parts will be absorbed by its main backers, Ford Motor Co. and Volkswagen Group, TechCrunch reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Argo employees were told that some of them would receive offers from the two automakers, TechCrunch said, adding that it was not clear how many employees would go to Ford, Volkswagen, or lose their jobs.

Argo AI declined to comment.

Ford did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment, but in its third-quarter report said Argo AI "had been unable to attract new investors."

Ford said it recorded a $2.7 billion non-cash, pretax impairment on its investment in Argo AI, which led to it taking a $827 million net loss for the thrid quarter.

Argo AI in July said it had laid off about 150 employees as it made adjustments to its business plans. It still had over 2,000 employees globally after the job cuts. Read more