When I was young I hated listening to “old” people say how time was flying.  It was so ridiculous.  When I was in school time went backwards.  Later, when I was in the Marine Corps I always said that if I were to catch a terminal disease I would re-enlist because time stands still in there, you’d live forever.    But I can’t lie to anybody about this, 2012 took about  4 seconds.  This is out of control.  This is the last sale of the year and I don’t have a clue where the other 76 sales went.

They must have happened however because I am sitting at my desk looking at the numbers and thanks to all of you, the dealers we do business with, at your stores, at the auction, on simulcast, and on our product you know as Trade in Marketplace, it was a record year.

I bought and sold more cars than anyone in the history of the car business…by a multiple.  From one location (and a terrible one at that as any of you that have been there know) 27,680 units were bought and sold and we priced and guaranteed the price on another 2,000,000.    This has never happened before in the history of the car business.  Needless to say, in a market where fewer cars were sold we sold more.  In an auction environment that sees lower conversion rates and lower volume due to a myriad of reasons, we sold more.

My intention is to smash these numbers in the year to come.  I won’t be able to do anything without you and the people that work for our companies.  I deeply appreciate every one of you as dealers we do business with or as employees that work with us.  A dream remains a dream until it is put into action and it isn’t possible to do what we do without the trust of the people we do business with and the dedication and hard work of our people. 

Thanks to all of you.  I hope everybody has a spectacular Holiday and please take one second to think about how lucky we are to have the businesses we have and to be in the circumstances we are in.   By exercising our right to be in business for ourselves we have the wonderful experience of success or failure measured only by our wit and will to work and sacrifice.  We are taking advantage of our freedom that was guaranteed to us by our Constitution.   It is easy to take our freedom for granted and forget what it means.  It takes a day like today when there are a few seconds at the end of the year to think about it.  It leaves me humbled.   Maybe I’m just getting too many miles and need a good clocking. 

Have a chillofied Holiday and we’ll see you on the block for the final sale of the year…unbelievable.

Bob