Welcome to another edition of the Car Dealership Guy Podcast Recap newsletter—the key lessons from top operators, founders, and execs shaping the future of auto retail.
Today’s guest is Howard Tenenbaum, President of Keyes Automotive Group.
We dive into his 45-year run leading top dealerships, why survivorship bias distorts the industry, how a Tony Award barely cracks his top achievements, why 7 stores keep him busier than 15 ever did, and more.
The traditional path to dealer ownership has fundamentally changed.
Howard watched his sales floor colleagues become dealers—a path that's much more difficult now due to higher entry costs.
"When I sold cars back in the late 70s and early 80s, a lot of those guys that I was on the line with, they're dealers today. I don't know that that'll be the case 20 years from now. The price of poker went way up. You used to be able to rub a few nickels together and get a corner lot and get a B or C franchise and open up. Those days are gone."
The traditional bootstrap path to ownership has become much more challenging due to facility requirements, franchise costs, and inventory capital needs that are significantly higher than previous generations faced.
Focus on the 800 who didn't buy, not the 200 who did.
While everyone celebrates CSI scores, Howard obsesses over the much larger group of customers who left without purchasing.
"People talk about CSI. CSI is a score. CSI measures the people you sold. But if 1,000 people came in and I only sold 200, I want to measure the 800 that didn't buy from me. That's what keeps me up at night. Not the CSI score. They had to like me somewhat to say yes and buy a car."
Many dealers are only hearing from people who already said yes, while ignoring the majority who said no.
Private and public dealers are different businesses entirely.
The difference isn't just ownership structure—it's about community presence and entrepreneurial energy that shows up every day.
"The private dealer, the private cap dealer still has a brand in his community, on the size of their group. They're still very involved in the community, the community politics, everything, to where the publics are nationwide. And they've got a lot of employees, but there's not an entrepreneur that shows up there every day."
Private dealers build their reputation one handshake at a time locally, while publics excel through systems and scale across hundreds of locations.
Dealers have likely reached a new benchmark on store profitability.
Unlike temporary market fluctuations, these profitability improvements have become the new baseline for the industry.
"I think it left us with two things in the business that are here to stay. And one of those is F&I profits. F&I profits historically went from like $1,500 to $2,500 through COVID. And I think that's here to stay. And the other thing is the shop rates."
Higher vehicle prices create larger loan amounts supporting sustained F&I income, while accelerated shop rate increases provide ongoing fixed operations revenue growth that customers have accepted.
Presented by:
1. Widewail – Power your reputation engine with Widewail. Go Google-first. Our approach is proactive: mostly automated, sometimes manual. The perfect blend of high tech, high touch. Do more than generate and respond to reviews; use Voice of the Customer AI to gain insight into what's making your customers happy and what's not. Put your best foot forward with great reviews - because customers buy from those they know, like, and trust. 2,000,000 reviews managed and counting. Ready to see the difference? Visit widewail.com to book your live demo today!
2. Cars Commerce – The platform to simplify everything about buying and selling cars. Learn more at carscommerce.inc.
3. Nomad Content Studio - Most dealerships still get social media wrong—ignoring it, posting boring inventory photos, or handing it off to someone without a plan. Meanwhile, the dealer down the street is pulling millions of views and closing real car deals. That’s where Nomad Content Studio comes in. They’re the team behind dealers like Paragon Honda, Benzs & Bowties, and EV Auto. Nomad trains your videographer, guides what to film, then edits and posts across every platform for you. Want your dealership to be next? Head to trynomad.co and book a call.
The right general manager makes impossible situations possible overnight.
Despite all the technology and systems available, Howard believes one person determines whether a store succeeds or struggles.
"I think it still comes down to the guy that runs your store. And that's the guy that will navigate you through the ups, the downs, the compliance, the managing risk. When you have the right guy in that seat, the impossible becomes possible overnight."
Technology enables efficiency, but it can't replace the leadership, judgment, and problem-solving ability that separates great stores from mediocre ones.
The importance of setting strict acquisition standards and sticking to them.
Howard learned that "more isn't always more" and now operates with non-negotiable financial standards for any new store.
"We call it our standards of excellence... And one of those standards is 5% net to sale. So if the store can't do 5% net to sale, I can't really have it. And also, I need to make it, it needs to be $100 million of revenue. Or have the potential to be $100 million."
This discipline prevents the common trap of acquiring stores that look attractive but don't generate enough profit to justify the operational complexity and liability.
Market knowledge beats algorithmic pricing in used cars.
Howard gets frustrated watching managers rely on pricing tools without understanding what actually moves in their specific market.
"Today you have vAuto, and it makes me a little crazy when I talk to somebody and say, well, I've got the car at 97%. Do they really know what the car is worth or V-Auto telling them what it's worth? You got to know your market. You got to know what sells in your market."
The data is only as good as what goes in, and if you're providing most of that data through your own inventory, you might be creating circular logic instead of market insight.
Taking chips off the table enables strategic repositioning.
Howard's sale of nine stores to Lithia wasn't about stepping back—it was about optimizing operations and reducing complexity.
"We talked about it for a while... The employee issues became overwhelming. And it was just, you know, my partner and I, we just decided that this was probably a good time for us to divest if some, take some chips off the table here in California and re-employ those."
Sometimes the smartest move is cashing out of high-hassle situations while keeping the businesses that energize you and make the most financial sense.
Success comes down to four daily fundamentals.
Instead of complex strategies, Howard runs his entire operation on principles anyone can understand and execute consistently.
"I call it the four pillars, which is market leadership, maximize your profitability, grow your people, enhance the customer experience. If we do those four things every day, we win. It's that simple."
Simple doesn't mean easy—it means you can't hide behind complexity when something isn't working. Either you're executing these fundamentals daily or you're not.
The "no heat" policy prevents bigger problems later.
Howard's approach prioritizes quick resolution over being right, understanding that small problems become major headaches if left unresolved.
"You know one of the things I want no heat, you know I don't care if the guys had the car 60 days if he's not happy take it back I I don't have time to play with him, you know, you know, I need to sell 500 cars I can't I can't spend four days with him on this one car if he's not happy and I can't make him happy take the car back because that's where you run into trouble."
The cost of unwinding one deal is nothing compared to the time, legal fees, and reputation damage that comes from letting unhappy customers escalate their complaints.
