NEWS

Winner: Volkswagen.co.uk Produced by: Tribal DDB Runner up: Audi.co.uk 3rd: Fiat.co.uk SOLID and reliable – just like its cars – the Volkswagen website packs in a host of clever touches to take the Car Manufacturer title. The German site has recently had an overhaul and offers users a typical VW experience. The branding on the [...]

THE Car Dealer Ewards are back – and this year they’re bigger and better than ever. In 2008 we launched our search for the best automotive websites – and now we’re doing it all again. We know as well as you do just how important the internet is to car dealers. Our survey of buyer [...]

THE judges for the Car Dealer Ewards 09 in association with Autotorq.com make up the great and the good of the online automotive retailing world. Here are the details of the experts that will be casting their eyes over your websites and deciding who gets the gongs in 2009. Clive Jackson [NEW JUDGE] Autotorq founder: 020 [...]

THE best website in the entire Renault network – it’s quite some claim, but one that TC Autos is proud to boast. Managing director Damien Maguire says they’re not his words, but those of the Northern Ireland director for Renault after checking out his firm’s website TCAutos.biz. The Renault dealer, in Omagh, Northern Ireland, set [...]

CUSTOMER relationship management is a hot topic. No doubt you have read about it, started to consider implementing it or are already up and running. CRM can make a huge difference and really shape the way your business operates. CRM is the ideal way to secure loyalty, increase brand awareness and keep in regular contact [...]

YOU don’t have to be a franchised main dealer to have a smart website to enter into the Car Dealer Ewards 09 in association with autotorq.com. DC Automobiles is an independent dealer based in Banstead, Surrey, that knows the importance the internet can have on a business. Lorraine Angell, from DC Automobiles, explained they had [...]

Previously I’ve said that having a great-looking website is not enough – it’s what you do with it that counts. This month I’ll cut through the hype of search marketing and explain how it can drive visitors to your website – done well it can significantly increase both leads and sales. Search marketing is highly [...]

HOW should a dealer start leveraging their investment in the digital channel to make it more effective and what should they focus on and expect to achieve?   Firstly, set yourself a goal to improve the number of leads you get from your website, whether new, used or aftersales and make this a key business objective. [...]

ONE month into our hunt to find the best automotive retail websites on the net and we’ve been flooded with entries. Dealers have been sending in their Ewards 09 entries in their droves as they vie to catch the attention of our judges. We’re looking for the best websites in five categories this year – [...]

WHEN I was asked to share my industry insights in a regular column, I thought “why not, I’ve been doing this longer than most”. Having launched online a total of 12 cars from the Porsche Boxster in 1996 to Jaguar’s XF in 2008, four motorsport teams (two in F1), Sony’s Gran Turismo 5, Ann Summers’ [...]