Used Car News, 12/16/24

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Used Car News

2024 Movers and Shakers

Chuck Tapp, chief executive officer of America’s Group, took over the top job in 2023. Tapp also cofounded and served as CEO of Primeritus Financial Services and held senior executive positions at OpenLane and ADESA. This year, America’s expanded its footprint, acquiring two sales in Texas, one in Virginia and another in Oklahoma, bringing its total number of auctions to 42.

U.S. Senatorelect of Ohio, Bernie Moreno, a Colombian immigrant who previously founded and owned a multi-state franchise automobile dealership group, upset longtime incumbent Sen. Sherrod Brown. Moreno will join the Republican majority in the Senate next month. Moreno also co-founded a digital titling company, before divesting of his businesses.

Paula Frendel is the executive director of the New York/ New Jersey Independent Automobile Dealers Association. She was named Association Executive of the Year in 2024. Frendel has led the NYIADA since 2012. She helped organize the NJIADA. This past year, Frendel also completed coursework and passed the exam to become an ASAE Certified Association Executive.

Coup of the Year – Auction Growth

In 2024, ServNet Executive Director Chris Angelicchio announced that the group, which bills itself as the “Premier Independent Auction Network,” grew its ranks to 20, adding Big Valley Auto Auction in Texas,

Oklahoma Vehicle Exchange and Central Arkansas Auto Auction.

In addition, Tommy Rogers, general manager of ServNet member Bel Air Auto Auction’s specialty sale, was elected vice

president of the National Auto Auction Association for the 2024-2025 term.

The ServNet network prides itself on helping members navigate a challenging market and expanding regulations.

Flop of the Year – Cyber Attack

CDK Global, a leading provider of integrated data and technology solutions to the auto industry, suffered a crippling cyberattack in June that

shut down dealerships and took weeks to fix.

One report estimated dealers suffered nearly $1 billion in losses.

The attack resulted in shutdowns or impairment of operations, inability to operate systems, inability to generate orders, complete purchases or

Since 1988, ServNet member auctions have been working together to provide the full range of remarketing services.

sales, and other interruptions of their normal course of business.

CDK later settled a class action suit, paying $100 million and additional costs.

optim

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Giving Back

12/16/2024

Retired Remarketer Trades In Ties for Tureens

UTICA, Mich. – Dan Kennedy

spent decades at automotive remarketing and traveling trade shows in a suit and tie.

He looks a lot different in an apron.

Kennedy has traded in fancy Las Vegas hotels for a basement in Trinity Lutheran Church and a volunteer position as production coordinator for Motown Soup, a local charity that punches far above its weight.

“Through 19 years, we’ve given back over $2 million,” Kennedy said. “Almost 100 different charities have been recipients of our funding.”

Trinity, the home base of Motown Soup, is the Kennedys’ home church and Dan, his wife, Sherry, and their son, Zak, are part of the effort.

Kennedy, after nearly 40 years with General Motors in remarketing and another seven with Jack Cooper Logistics, knows how to make a pitch.

“This organization just started its 20th year and it’s an all-volunteer group,” Kennedy said. “There are no paid people. Our mission is to support the homeless and the hungry.”

This is not some little operation.

The group builds an amazing variety of dried soup mixes, dips and baked goods, selling them at motownsoup.com

“On any given Tuesday, you will find between 50 and 100 people working, building soups at Motown, located in Trinity,” Kennedy said.

Groups work in three-hour shifts and those include not just people from the church, but also employees from area businesses who are looking for volunteer opportunities.

Motown Soup ships its goods all over the country but they also sell at craft shows and at various store fronts across the state of Michigan.

There’s a large selection of soups, from chicken pot pie and dill pickle to tomato basil bisque and spicy

Two members of the church are product developers who volunteer and help come up with recipes.

Motown Soup volunteers use a lot of creativity to make gift pack-

ages for their products. They have a Christmas-themed gift basket with Nativity scenes wrapping the box. They offer a pancake mix and syrup breakfast package – even a Michigan-themed gift box featuring a Michigan cherry scone mix.

Selling from the web site, craft fairs and store fronts is only part

Continued on page 7

Thai coconut. Also available, dip mixes like chili con queso or spinach, along with baking mixes for everything from chedder garlic and apple cider muffin mix to pancake or corn bread mix.

Used Car News

Economist Hangs Up His Analytics

Tom Kontos, longtime chief economist of ADESA, is calling it a career in early 2025. He stepped down from his regular duties last summer and will officially retire this coming February 14.

Readers of his Kontos Kommentary, a monthly analysis of the wholesale auto market, saw the last edition come out in July, after 20+ years of insights.

It truly is the end of an era.

For a guy whose field of study is known as the “dismal science,” Kontos is anything but.

He always seems to have a bright demeanor, even when offering a dreary forecast.

Kontos’ path to the auto industry was not a straight one. He attended Penn State University and acquired an undergraduate degree and mas-

ter’s degree – but neither having to do with automobiles.

“I got my degrees in mineral resource economics,” Kontos said recently from his home base in

Florida. “I worked in mining companies for almost a dozen years.”

Initially he worked for an agricultural chemicals company, W.R. Grace and Company, which had mining operations in Florida.

“I wrote my thesis on the U.S. phosphate rock mining industry,” he said.

From there he moved to construction aggregates – crushed stone and gravel – basic material, he said.

Kontos put down roots in Nashville with his then-wife and two kids.

“That’s where ADT Automotive had its headquarters,’ Kontos said. “Somehow I found out about the ADT job.”

Tony Moorby, one of the founders of ADT, talked about that time during a panel discussion at the NAAA Convention in Orlando earlier this year.

Moorby said his company needed someone to make sense of all the data being collected in the wholesale automotive market – so they hired Kontos.

“They wanted a thought leader, as we now say, in the auction industry and hired me because I was outside the industry and wasn’t biased in any way,” Kontos said. “I could look at the industry more objectively.

“I was also very analytical and had all the quantitative skills to produce analysis and indices to look at the market.”

Little by little, that analysis and work grew to where it was a product ADT could offer to its clients, Kontos said.

Continued on page 6

In Memoriam

12/16/2024

This year saw the loss of several pioneers who played a big part in the used car industry during their lives.

BOB KELLEY

Bob Kelley, former publisher of the Kelley Blue Book, died on May 28th at his home in Indian Wells, California. He was 96 years old.

Bob’s uncle Les Kelley (18971990) founded the Los Angeles auto dealership Kelley Kar Company and Kelley Blue Book

His father, “Buster” Kelley (1908-2001) managed the business for many years. The Kelley family played an important role in the growth and development of the automotive industry in Los Angeles and eventually the entire nation.

Recognized by the U.S. government as an “official guide,” Kelley Blue Book was relied upon to establish pricing for used cars during WWII when new cars were not manufactured.

Kelley started working at the dealership as a lot boy doing various odd jobs.

Ultimately, he managed and published the Kelley Blue Book, building it from a well-known auto value guidebook into a pioneering internet resource.

Born Robert Sidney Kelley in 1927 in Los Angeles, Bob graduated from Los Angeles High School class of 1945.

During WWII, he attended the University of New Mexico’s naval aviator training program. At the end of the war, he left the Navy and rejoined Kelley Kar Company. At the dealership, he was responsible for appraising, reconditioning, pricing and selling hundreds of used cars a month.

Based on his expertise, Kelley would help determine the values published in the Kelley Blue Book. He became one of the most knowledgeable and influential minds in the burgeoning post-war car industry.

The dealership was sold in the ’60s and Kelley became publisher of the Blue Book. He extended the coverage from used cars to include imports, trucks, motorcycles, RVs, mobile homes, new, and classic/ collector cars.

Kelley supported developing innovative ways to distribute information. He oversaw expansion to computer-based products and the internet, resulting in Kelley Blue Book becoming the premier resource for automotive value information to both the industry

and consumers. Kelley Blue Book, also known as kbb.com, was sold in 2010 to Cox Automotive.

Kelley was the patriarch of the Kelley family, and his life is cel ebrated by Wanda, his wife of over 50 years, his sister, his five children, 12 grandchildren, and 10 great-grandchildren.

RON HOPE

Ron Hope, 80, of Franklin, Tenn., died Friday, June 21, 2024, at his home. He was CEO and Board Chairman of CARS Recon Inc., an associate member company of the National Auto Auction Association.

Hope worked in the automotive auction industry for over 50 years and was the founder of CARS Recon that has existed now for over 20 years.

He served in the U.S. Navy and had a great passion and was involved in motorsports racing. Though he had a love for racing and his rebuilt dragster “Rat Trap,” his biggest pride was his family.

He was preceded in death by his parents Harold and Margaret Hope and his sister Patricia Aldrich.

Hope is survived by his wife of 53 years, Dianne, and his children Wendy and Todd Landsiedel, Brian and Rebecca Hope, Virginia and Keith Veal, Rebecca and Brian Anderson, Deborah and Richard Wright, Jeneal Whitmore, his brother Steven Hope, sister Sherry King, 18 grandchildren and 1 great- granddaughter.

R.B. GRISHAM

R.B. Grisham, who helped lead NIADA in the late 1990s, died April 26 at the age of 71.

Grisham served as executive vice president and CEO of the association starting in 1996. He previously served in the Missouri House of Representatives and as the Missouri Motor Vehicle Commission director.

“He was a super nice guy that helped us in his time here,” said former NIADA President George Karlen.

According to Grisham’s obit, after falling terminally ill in the early 2000s, he was given a second chance at life in 2005 via a heart transplant.

He spent his retirement years working part-time at Auto Zone enjoying working on cars, talking with customers, and building relationships with his fellow employees.

Used Car News

12/16/2024

Economist – Continued from page 4

Clients wanted to know, ‘How are my cars doing in the market? Can you do an analysis for me?’” Kontos said.

He eventually started doing more and more of that type of work.

Later, Manheim acquired ADT, but Kontos followed Jim Hallett to ADESA.

“Jim Hallett was very persuasive,” Kontos said. “And frankly, I thought Indiana was a better place to raise my kids.

“Both my kids ended up going to in-state schools, with my daughter going to Purdue and my son went to IU (Indiana University),” he said.

Once at ADESA, Kontos started to dig even more into auto data.

“We really ramped up what I call ‘analytical services,’ Kontos said. “That’s because we wanted it to be part of the value proposition of doing business with ADESA.”

The company could pitch to the

business that, by joining with ADESA, Kontos could do analysis for that company’s portfolio to determine how it was doing compared to the overall market.

“That’s how we kind of grew into the functional area that I ran at ADESA for 24 years,” Kontos said.

Things changed over the years with ADESA becoming KAR Global, then the major market earthquake as KAR sold ADESA’s physical auction business to Carvana in 2022.

Kontos said he is grateful for his career.

“My co-workers, of course, were great to work with,” Kontos said, “from the Jim Hallett at the top and on down. Especially the sales team I have to say, like John Combs and Jim Randazzo, along with the operations team like Tommy Caruso and Mike Caggiano.”

The sales team always tapped into Kontos to go with them to call on

clients from manufacturers to the banks, rental companies and fleet companies.

“I went on all those trips and so the comradery with the co-workers was awesome,” Kontos said. “I liked the work, of course. I’m a very analytical person anyway. Doing analytical work and economic analysis is what I trained for.

“I’m pretty happy how it all worked out.”

Kontos said the biggest change over the years was technology, which got bigger and faster over the course of his career, which was huge for a person on the analytics side.

Kontos said being an economist during sweeping, worldwide events is like being a weatherman during a hurricane.

“People rely on weather people for a reasoned perspective for what’s going on out there and what to expect as a result,” Kontos said. “That’s

kind of when they thrive. They are earning their pay.

“It’s the same thing with being an economist during the Great Recession, or 9/11 or COVID. You’re trying to provide a reasoned perspective about what to expect.

“You can’t predict the future, of course, but you can at least provide some insights for people to look out for and give them a directional sense of what is likely to happen.”

One thing people may not know about Kontos is he’s had a sideline as a drummer.

“I consider myself a very versatile drummer,” he said. “I can play anything from rock, to jazz, to Latin to Greek music. I kind of cut my teeth on Greek music when I was young because I’m of Greek descent.

“I’ll soon be playing at a Florida arts center with a big jazz band playing Christmas tunes,” he said. So for Kontos, the beat goes on.

Soup – Continued from page 3

of what the group offers.

Motown Soup also creates custom-made boxes for businesses that would like to use the products as gifts for clients or customers.

“We have one organization that, when their clients’ birthdays come around, they send a package from Motown Soup out to them,” Kennedy said.

Another time, Motown Soup was having a vendor night at the Detroit Zoo.

“A guy came up to me and said, ‘You’re the one,’” Kennedy said. “I said, ‘I’m the one for what?’’

The man told him each year he writes a check to a charity on behalf of his clients, but they rarely acknowledge it.

“He said ‘This year, I want to write you a check and I want to ship a box to all my different clients, but I want to customize it,’” Kennedy said. He wanted the company’s logo on the front and something customized on the inside.

Kennedy said that the charity can do that.

“We customized 125 boxes for him and shipped them out in time to ar rive just before Christmas for his cli ents,” Kennedy said.

Although it sounds like a tradition al business, Kennedy stresses the allvolunteer aspect of it.

Because it’s not just members of the church like Kennedy who vol unteer.

A local credit union headquartered close to the church had more than a dozen volunteers there one day helping create the soup packages as part of the volunteer service encouraged by the company.

Various local companies, churches and charities are represented each week in packaging the soups, dips and baked goods.

“Our headquarters is right at Trinity Lutheran,” Kennedy said. “But Continued on page 8

ed $200,000 to 47 charities for its

The charity determines who gets the money through a vetting process. For example, Motown Soup will approach the people who run the stores that sell their soups. Because they want to give back to the communities where those storefronts exist, they will ask those stores to recommend good local charities.

“Because if we sell in Grand Rapids, Mich., we want to give some monies back into Grand Rapids,”

Motown Soup then vets those charities to make sure they are legit and that they have the same mission.

A lot of the big charities get something, but Motown Soup also started to target the smaller groups which don’t have big corporate sponsors.

A small local food bank might serve 100 to 150 people a month, so Motown Soup will make sure they

12/16/2024

Used Retail Sales Rise News

Assessing retail vehicle sales based on observed changes in units tracked by vAuto, initial estimates of retail used-vehicle sales in November were up 5% compared to October and higher year over year by 15%, according to a Dec. 6 report.

The average retail listing price for a used vehicle increased 0.4% over the last four weeks.

Using estimates of retail used days’ supply based on vAuto data, an initial assessment indicates November ended at 46 days’ supply, down one day from 47 days at the end of October and down nine days from November 2023 at 55 days.

New-vehicle sales in November were up 10.1% from last year, and volume increased 1.3% from October. The November sales pace, or seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR), came in at 16.5 million, up 1.0 million from last year’s pace and higher than October’s revised 16.3 million level.

Combined sales into large rental, commercial, and government fleets decreased 4.6% year over year in November.

Including an estimate for fleet deliveries into dealer and manufac turer channels, the remaining new retail sales were estimated to be up 15.5% from last year, leading to an estimated retail SAAR of 13.6 mil lion, up 5.3% from last year’s pace and up from October’s estimated 13.5 million level. Fleet share was estimated to be 12.6%, down from last year’s 16.7% share.

On the rental side, the average price for risk units sold at auction in November increased 0.8% year over year. Rental risk prices also rose by 0.7% compared to October. Average mileage for risk units in November (at 48,700 miles) rose just 0.6% for the month against last year’s level.

For the month of November, rental unit average mileage was down 7.3% from October 2024.

Retail Markets

12/16/2024

FLORIDA

Byron Oldham, owner, Honest Autos, Fruitland Park, Fla.

“Next year, 2025, will be 45 years in business. My father Gordon started the company and I took it over.

“We try to stock anywhere from 80-100 vehicles. We move about 45-50 on an average month.

“For years we were 50-50 selling cars and trucks. Now the truck prices have gotten so high we don’t stock them the way we used to. Now, SUVs are probably 60-40 over cars.

“I think most people come in wanting to buy an import, Honda or a Toyota, but find

been some debate so we just use GPS trackers. That’s less friction for us and our customers.

“We occasionally go to auctions in person but it has moved pretty much to online buying.

“I think our customers’ average down payment runs about $1,800.

“Our reconditioning is fairly high, it’s creeped up. Last time I checked we were at about $1,100 per vehicle.

“We work a lot more deals over the phone than we used to. Customers sometimes don’t come in until they’re ready to (purchase).

“Our advertising is mostly online, but we’re a little dif

read a newspaper every day.

“We’re not looking for an average age of a car. But it’s probably about a 10-year-old vehicle and 100,000 miles.

“Managing capital is always key. Get involved in the dealer association, get in a 20 Group. Some of the greatest ideas I’ve had have come from sitting at a table with a couple other dealers. I want to know what’s coming down the pike as far as regulations.

“The last car we sold was a 2013 Kia Soul, which is our No. 1 selling used car. It had about 100,000 miles and we got around 10 grand.”

SOUTH DAKOTA

25 to 30 a month. We keep our inventory turned.

“Cars make up about 10 percent of our sales. SUVs and trucks split the rest, 4545.

“We’re not historically an import market. But we stock Toyota and Nissan. I would say, as a percentage, domestic is 75 percent, imports 25.

“I buy online from auctions. I’ve learned to do that, and very well actually. For many years I was driving 30,000-40,000 miles. But with the ability to research inventory better than ever, it’s lowered our travel expenses. It’s allowed me to be in the dealership. It’s nice when it’s 30 below at the

tion and it doesn’t turn into a bidding war. Therefore, I don’t get carried away like I used to.

“This year we seem to have a lot of cash buyers and the down payments were big. With the interest rates up, they didn’t want to finance more than they had to.

“Our reconditioning costs have absolutely gone up. I used to spend $150-$200 for a detail, now it’s $300-$400 per unit. We don’t have a service department so when you take something into the shop, it’s $175 an hour. Our recon costs have increased 30 percent over the last couple of years.

“I’d say 3-5 years old is the

“I sold a ’21 Bronco this morning. It had 52,000 miles and we sold it for $28,500. He was a rancher and he had a good year in the cattle

Wholesale Markets

12/16/2024

IDAHO

“Things are going really well. It’s been a phenomenal year. It was a really good October and a fantastic November. There’s a little turkey hangover but sales are still up.

“We run somewhere around 500 units a week that we offer.

“We do – and it varies from in-lane to online – anywhere from 300 to 400 bidders.

“Our average price across the block is just under $10,000 for our regular sale, maybe at $9,900, excluding GSA.

“Our volumes are probably 60% dealer cars to 40% fleet. For sales percentages, we’re just under 70% for vehicles offered. But that does include 200 GSA, which

helps the conversion rate. But even without it, we’re still selling around that 60% range, which we hadn’t been before.

“I just spoke with some of our franchise dealers on Dec. 5 and they said their November was pretty good, though they didn’t set any records. Most of them were up over last year. Most of them were down that Friday after Thanksgiving, but they attributed that to a home Boise State football game that day.

“We do an RV/powersports sale twice a month. We do that on our first and third week of every month.

“In November, we were offering 40 to 45 every other week. There’s a little bit of a seasonal impact to this, like if you’re selling a boat in November or December (it will affect the bids). We still move a good bit of that

metal.

“We had our Country Concert Sale in August, with Diamond Rio (performing). It was the best we’d ever had. I think we sold more cars than we ever did.

“I feel cautiously optimistic about 2025. We just find a way to get things done.”

OKLAHOMA

Kyle Clopton, general manager, Oklahoma Auto Exchange, Oklahoma City, Okla.

“My dad started the business in 2004, but our first sale was in 2005. So, we are about to start our 20th year, which is very exciting.

“We are running between 750 and 850 cars per week through three lanes. We’ve been able to grow throughout the year and have success with different consignors and commercial accounts we’ve been able to acquire.

“It looks like in 2024 we’re going to sell about 3,000 more cars than we did in 2023. We’ve seen impressive growth in 2024. We want to continue that trend in 2025, which would be aggressive, but if you don’t have goals that are aggressive, then why have goals?

“At our Dec. 4 sale we had 382 bidders between in-lane and online. We have consignors like Stellantis, Exeter and Wheels, which ran a good group of (vehicles).

“When we are running commercial consignors like that, we see an uptick. Online bidding has been very active.

“We run about 65% franchise trades and 35% commercial/special finance repos, etc.

“Year to date (Dec. 6) we’ve run at a 68% sales rate.

“We’ve got some talented

independents who are hungry for cars and we’ve been a good stop for them.

“Our average sales price is about $8,000 to $8,100.

“I feel we’ve built some great momentum and our fleet/lease manager Dusty Adams has done an incredible job.

“Car dealers are resilient. I saw a clip of an interview with Elon Musk referencing starting Tesla. He said something like having a start-up or being a business owner and trying to get it off the ground is like ‘staring into the abyss, eating glass.’ That really stuck with me. All the problems fall in your lap. Ninety-eight percent of things could be going great, but the 2% of things that are not going well are the things that consume your mind.

“But I’m really encouraged by how 2025 is looking for us.

Inventory Management

Compliance With Industry Regulations

ADESA Boston January 3, 17, 31

508-626-7000

ADESA Charlotte January 9, 23

704-587-7653

ADESA Chicago January 3, 31

847-551-2151

ADESA Cincinnati/Dayton January 7

937-746-4000

ADESA Golden Gate January 7, 21

209-839-8000

ADESA Indianapolis January 7, 21

317-838-8000

ADESA Kansas City January 7, 21

816-525-1100

ADESA Lexington January 16

859-263-5163

ADESA New Jersey January 9, 23

908-725-2200

ADESA Salt Lake January 7, 28

801-322-1234

ADESA Tulsa January 10

918-437-9044

ADESA Washington DC January 8, 29 703-996-1100

Manheim Atlanta January 23

404-762-9211

Manheim Dallas January 15, 28

877-860-1651

Manheim Milwaukee January 15, 29 262-835-4436

Columbus Fair January 8, 15

614-497-2000

Manheim Atlanta January 9, 15, 23

404-762-9211

Manheim Dallas January 15, 28, 29

877-860-1651

Manheim Denver January 8, 29

800-822-1177

Manheim Detroit January 9, 23

734-654-7100

Manheim Fredericksburg January 2, 16, 30

540-368-3400

Manheim Milwaukee January 15, 29

262-835-4436

Manheim Minneapolis January 22

763-425-7653

Manheim Nashville January 8, 14

615-773-3800

Manheim Nevada January 10

702-730-1400

Manheim New England January 7

508-823-6600

Manheim New Jersey January 15, 29

609-298-3400

Manheim New Orleans January 15, 29

985-643-2061

Manheim Orlando January 7, 14, 21, 28

800-822-2886

Manheim Palm Beach January 15, 16

561-790-1200

Manheim Pennsylvania January 3, 9, 10, 17, 23, 24, 31

800-822-2886

Manheim Phoenix January 2, 16, 30

623-907-7000

Manheim Pittsburgh January 2, 29

724-452-5555

Manheim Riverside January 2, 14, 16, 28, 30

951-689-6000

Manheim Seattle January 8

206-762-1600

Manheim Southern California January 9, 23

909-822-2261

Manheim Tampa January 9, 23

800-622-7292

Manheim Texas Hobby January 9, 23 713-649-8233

Manheim Atlanta January 23

404-762-9211

Columbus Fair January 15

614-497-2000

Manheim Dallas January 15, 28

877-860-1651

Manheim Milwaukee January 15, 29 262-835-4436

Manheim Nashville January 8 615-773-3800

Manheim Nevada January 10

702-730-1400

Manheim Orlando January 28

800-822-2886

Manheim Palm Beach January 15 561-790-1200

Manheim Pennsylvania January 9, 23

800-822-2886

Manheim Phoenix January 2, 16, 30

623-907-7000

Manheim Riverside January 2, 16, 30

951-689-6000

Manheim Seattle January 8 206-762-1600

Manheim Nashville January 8 615-773-3800

Manheim Nevada January 10

702-730-1400

Manheim Palm Beach January 15 561-790-1200

ADESA Boston January 3, 17, 31

508-626-7000

ADESA Charlotte January 9, 23

704-587-7653

ADESA Golden Gate January 7

209-839-8000

ADESA Salt Lake January 7, 28

801-322-1234

Columbus Fair January 8 614-497-2000

Manheim Dallas January 29 877-860-1651

Manheim Pennsylvania January 9, 23

800-822-2886

Manheim Riverside January 2, 16, 30 951-689-6000

Manheim Seattle January 8 206-762-1600

Financial Services*

Manheim Fredericksburg January 2. 16, 30 540-368-3400

Manheim Milwaukee January 15 262-835-4436

Manheim New England January 7 508-823-6600

Manheim New Jersey January 15. 29 609-298-3400

Manheim Orlando January 7, 21 800-822-2886

Manheim Atlanta January 15

404-762-9211

Manheim Dallas January 15, 28

877-860-1651

Manheim Milwaukee January 15, 29

262-835-4436

Manheim Pennsylvania January 10, 24

800-822-2886

Manheim Pittsburgh January 2, 29

724-452-5555

Manheim Seattle January 8 206-762-1600

Manheim Southern California January 9, 23 909-822-2261

Manheim Palm Beach

January 15

561-790-1200

Manheim Pennsylvania January 9, 23

800-822-2886

Manheim Riverside January 2, 16, 30 951-689-6000

Tony Moorby Disconnected Jottings From

I write this on a new computer – a Christmas present to myself, my thirteenyear-old MacBook Air now gasping and wheezing in its efforts to maintain the pace of today’s tumult of information. The battery, recently replaced, needed two top-offs a day just to browse through e-mails, Google searches and Instagram and YouTube scrolling.

Use of a computer over time exerts a certain ‘muscle memory,’ almost subconsciously knowing where to go and which buttons to press, moving relatively quickly and gracefully over the keyboard.

I’ve graduated to using more than one-fingered hunting and pecking but I still have to look at the letters as I type.

My grandson has amazing ‘keyboarding’ skills,

never looking at the letters as his quick-silver fingers flash hither and yon.

Writing these essays over the last fifteen years has improved my dexterity enormously but negotiating the new programs, layouts and updating passwords on a new machine all contribute to hair-rending, teeth-gnashing, blood pressure-raising irritations, testing my temper for the last couple of days. I was comfortably used to my old rut. Now I’m afraid to press the wrong button, fearing I may lose some valuable (to me, at least) file or easy access. Instagram has now kicked me off for cocking up passwords and many attempts at logging in –they’re a picky bunch anyway.

They’ve accused me of running afoul of their

“Standards” about five times now. I have no idea how scrolling and hitting a heart-shaped ‘Like” button or offering congratulatory comments constitute offensive behavior - enter an emoji of a person shrugging here!

I have to say that my mental acuity is no match for all that my new machine can do and maybe my old one is eons out of date in today’s technology terms.

I still had to enlist the help of my daughter to transfer files from old to new and ensuring access to ‘The Cloud’ was still established and that I had sufficient storage to acquire my new-found playground.

She assured me that I can’t do anything wrong or do something that can’t be reversed but just trying to get used to opening a new

document in the same format as 330 prior efforts on my old machine, was a test. No doubt repetition will reform the muscle memory

Now that the battery lasts longer than it takes to make a cup of coffee, I’ll play with moving (unimportant) files around with attachments downloaded from the web or perhaps write imaginary speeches to no one in particular with bullet points and pictures for an accompanying slide show! NOT!

I should probably turn my back on my old laptop but for now I’ll keep it charged (or wind it up with a key!) just in case I crash this new-fangled machine.

It won’t improve my English or grammar but thankfully finds the occasional muff of a missing comma

or misspelling just like before.

Perhaps I can look forward to finding new subjects to fill this computer with essays.

A Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year to all of you in one of the hardest, most difficult businesses in the world.

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