Dealership Performance CouncilAutomotive & RV
Automotive Division

Dealership Performance Council

"The standard for dealership performance — automotive and RV."

For 40 years, the best dealership consultants in the country have worked alone. Dealer groups are bigger. OEM programs want whole-dealership coverage. Private equity is buying up rooftops and expecting coordinated performance improvement across a dozen stores at once. No single independent consultant can serve that market anymore.

The Dealership Performance Council is a curated group of independent experts — sales, fixed operations, technology, accounting, and exit advisory — organized across both automotive and RV. One call gets a dealer a coordinated bench of specialists, instead of five separate engagements and five separate invoices.

"I don't work for the Council. I sit on the Council."

50+
AI and technology vendors evaluated through the Council's AI Quarterback endorsement program
7
Disciplines spanning the full Dealership Performance Lifecycle, from monthly financials to exit
Where We Cover the Market

Two disciplines anchored. Five lanes open.

The Automotive Division launches with Fixed Ops and Technology anchored by founding members. The remaining lanes are open — reserved for the right names, not filled to look complete.

Anchored

Fixed Ops Performance

The Council's founding discipline. Service sales process, advisor training, and department performance — built around each dealership's own staff and goals, not a canned script.

Anchored

Technology & Cybersecurity

Private-label menu and performance technology, retention platforms, and the vendor evaluation work behind the AI Quarterback program.

Sales Performance
Showroom and BDC process — the discipline that pairs naturally with fixed ops on a coordinated engagement.
Open
Parts Performance
A distinct audience from fixed ops, with its own inventory and margin discipline.
Open
Accounting & Financial Management
Monthly benchmarking and internal controls, plus the financial groundwork buy/sell advisory depends on.
Open
GM Training & Development
Fixed ops literacy for sales-bred GMs — the gap between running a store and understanding what it owns.
Open
Buy/Sell & Exit Advisory
Where clean financials and operational performance convert into transaction value.
Open
How the Council Works

Discovery first. Recommendations second.

The Council isn't a directory of solutions — it's a working knowledge base. These are the same assessment tools Council members use with their own dealer clients, open here first. Run the numbers, see where the gaps actually are, and if a real need turns up, a Council member is the next call — not the first one.

Coming Soon

ROI / Profit Potential Calculator

The same profit-potential model Chris runs with his own fixed ops clients — see what a service department turnaround is actually worth before the first conversation.

Coming Soon

Service Lane Selling Process

Four decades of virtual service drive programs distilled into a working process — the same one behind the Council's fixed ops discipline, not a canned script.

Featured Members

The names anchoring the Automotive Division today.

A growing bench of independent experts sits on the Council — the founding names below are the start, not the whole roster. Named, invitation only.

SK

Steve Kwiatkowski

Founder & Chair · Liqqid Systems Group

40+ years in automotive and RV fixed operations consulting. Pioneer of virtual service presentation technology, with the industry's first virtual F&I programs in 1995 and virtual service drive programs in 2002. The AI Quarterback — evaluating and endorsing emerging dealership technology on the industry's behalf. Host, Automotive Insider with SteveKw.

CS

Chris Schmidt

Automotive Anchor · Independent

25+ years in automotive fixed operations and aftermarket sales, building distributor networks and turning underperforming service departments into profit centers — on both sides of the business, dealership operations and national aftermarket sales. Built proprietary training and menu systems that generated $30K–$60K a month in incremental gross profit for dealership clients.

NT

Norman Thiem

Technology Anchor · N2Plus

Integrated technology and retention platform expertise, functioning as an embedded technology partner across the Council's founding accounts.

CC

Charlie Carney

Technology & Fixed Ops · Dealer-ProTech

Current Liqqid private-label distributor, bringing an established fixed ops and technology practice — and an existing dealer association network — into the Council's founding roster from day one. Experienced president with a demonstrated history in the automotive industry — skilled in negotiation, market planning, business planning, operations management, and channel sales development.

JM

Jim Muntz

Media & Distribution Partner · DealersEdge

Three decades building automotive management education — from on-site dealer consulting in the 1980s to DealersEdge's archive of 400+ resources and 500+ management topics introduced over the last 15 years. Anchors the Council's media and distribution channel: co-branded webinars, Council-branded content, and the annual State of Dealership Performance report.

One Call.

For dealers, dealer groups, and OEM programs: one point of contact brings sales, fixed ops, technology, accounting, and exit advisory together — fully coordinated around your stores and your goals.

Start a Conversation