ADM Names 2015 Dealers’ Choice Award Winners

TORRANCE, Calif. — The publishers of Auto Dealer Monthly magazine have announced the winners of the 11th annual Dealers’ Choice Awards. The program recognizes the industry’s best product and service providers and are voted on exclusively by dealers and dealership personnel.

“This year’s awards produced a record number of participants, votes and awards,” said David Gesualdo, publisher of Auto Dealer Monthly and F&I and Showroom. “Each of the winners deserves praise for earning their dealer clients’ praise and loyalty while driving their businesses forward.”

This year’s program featured 29 categories, including two new categories: Compliance Training and F&I Technology. Each voter had to write in the name of their provider in each category and score them on the product or service itself, customer support and service, value, and whether they would recommend the company to another dealer.

To qualify for a first-place “Diamond,” second-place “Platinum” or third-place “Gold” award, a company must be among those that scored above the group average score in each category. There was no Gold winner in the Traditional Auction category; F&I Training featured two gold winners, which marked the first tie in the program’s history.

Representatives of the winning companies will receive an award in a ceremony on Sept. 10, 2015, at Industry Summit in Las Vegas. The complete list of winners is below; look for more coverage in a Special Awards Section in the July issue of ADM.

New-Vehicle Leads
Diamond: Autotrader
Platinum: Dealer.com
Gold: Autobytel

Used-Vehicle Leads
Diamond: Autotrader
Platinum: Cars.com
Gold: eBay Motors

Special Finance Leads
Diamond: DealerLink
Platinum: CarsDirect
Gold: Auto Credit Express

Digital Marketing
Diamond: eBizAutos
Platinum: Dealer.com
Gold: ELEAD1ONE

Website
Diamond: Dealer.com
Platinum: eBizAutos
Gold: VinSolutions

Chat
Diamond: ActivEngage
Platinum: Client~ConneXion
Gold: Contact At Once!

Mobile Media
Diamond: eBizAutos
Platinum: Dealer.com
Gold: Dealer Synergy

Social Media Management
Diamond: Naked Lime
Platinum: Ally
Gold: Driving Sales

Reputation Management
Diamond: Dominion Dealer Solutions
Platinum: CDK Digital Marketing
Gold: Dealer Refresh

Direct Mail
Diamond: ProMax Unlimited
Platinum: Credit Mail Experts
Gold: Strategic Marketing

Online Inventory Listing Management
Diamond: eBizAutos
Platinum: Dominion Dealer Specialties
Gold: Auction123

Inventory Management
Diamond: Dealertrack
Platinum: vAuto
Gold: FirstLook

Sales Training
Diamond: Ziegler SuperSystems
Platinum: Joe Verde Group
Gold: Ally

Internet Training
Diamond: Dealer.com
Platinum: Dealer Synergy
Gold: Kain Automotive

Compliance Training
Diamond: Compli
Platinum: American Financial and Automotive Services (AFAS)
Gold: United Development Systems (UDS)

F&I Training
Diamond: United Development Systems (UDS)
Platinum: Ally
Gold (tie): American Financial and Automotive Services (AFAS)
Gold (tie): Reahard & Associates

F&I Products
Diamond: IAS
Platinum: ECP
Gold: RoadVantage

Service Contracts
Diamond: CNA National
Platinum: Protective Asset Protection
Gold: AUL

Reinsurance
Diamond: Portfolio
Platinum: CNA National
Gold: GSFSGroup

F&I Desking Software
Diamond: ProMax Unlimited
Platinum: Reynolds and Reynolds
Gold: Dealertrack

F&I Technology
Diamond: MenuVantage
Platinum: MaximTrak
Gold: F&I Express

CRM
Diamond: ELEAD1ONE
Platinum: ProMax Unlimited
Gold: VinSolutions

DMS
Diamond: Dealertrack
Platinum: Auto/Mate
Gold: Reynolds and Reynolds

Online Auction
Diamond: SmartAuction
Platinum: Manheim
Gold: ADESA

Traditional Auction
Diamond: Manheim
Platinum: ADESA

Captive Finance Company
Diamond: GM Financial
Platinum: Toyota Financial Services
Gold: Ford Motor Credit

Non-Captive Finance Company
Diamond: Ally
Platinum: Chase
Gold: US Bank

Subprime Finance Company
Diamond: Wells Fargo
Platinum: Regional Acceptance
Gold: Capital One

Biweekly Payments
Diamond: US Equity Advantage
Platinum: SMART Payment Plan
Gold: EAC