As Digital Dealer wraps up and a brief lull occurs in the major automotive conference schedule, I'd love to take some time to reflect on what has been going on in the industry and where it's all headed. Over the last several months, really since attending a conference in November of last year, I've been putting a lot of thought into how to improve the conferences in…

I was having a discussion with a dealer over a nice vodka tonic and a nice cigar when the discussion turned to conferences. "There are just too many that it's hard to know which ones to go to and which ones to skip," he said.

This concerned me a bit. I've been on that side of the debate before but with the help of friends like Jared Hamilton, Brian Pasch, and Ralph Paglia I have come to the conclusion that the industry doesn't have enough conferenes. Before…