The destination is certain but the route might still be unclear

The Motor Trade Insider tentacles stretch far and wide and in the coming months we hope to widen that influence even further in order that our reports, from all areas of the front line, continue to keep our readers up to date with events in the rapidly changing and constantly moving world of cars.

At the eagerly anticipated Automotive Management Used Car Conference held at the Motor Cycle Museum near Coventry last week, one of our insiders also gained entry and, lurking in the shadows, was pleased to see that many of the topics MTI have covered this year, in great detail, were also exercising some of the minds of the industry heavyweights also in attendance.

Hosted by the slickly smooth, original Quentin Wilson and supported by the top people at Glasses, CAP, BVRLA and both the major auctions, opinion and facts mixed freely and rubbed shoulders with future predictions which, broadly speaking, bought some much needed confidence to dealers who may have been starting to feel slightly uneasy about the sudden drop off in activity and prices.

A wide range of topics were covered with the basic theme being how dealers will remain profitable in an ever changing and challenging environment and, in the main, there was something for everyone and most of the questions raised received an answer.

Just when our man was readying himself for a long drive north, the MD from Ford’s new on-line division, Steve Hood, took up his position by the podium and immediately endorsed our site by explaining how customers are increasingly beginning their research by accessing information via sites like MTI. The empowerment this information gives the car buyer, to make informed purchasing choices, is now well recognised in the trade and the penny has well and truly dropped with regard to the way the internet can enable car retailers to engage with their potential customers.

So we would obviously like to thank Steve Hood and Ford on-line for the plug and for acknowledging that MTI is well on the way to becoming an accepted authority. Our aim is, of course, to publish relevant, helpful and informative articles that assist the car buyer in achieving a better deal for themselves but also be a driver for a more profitable and respected dealer network.

If on the way we can aid everyone by helping to rid the trade of dealers who do not act in the best interests of either the customer or the business as a whole, then it will certainly have been a worthwhile journey.