Used Car Week 2022: Interview With Kevin Lombardi (Podcast)
At Used Car Week 2022, Kevin Lombardi and Jeremy Louisos discuss NASCAR simulators, logistical challenges of transporting EVs, the importance of networking, and more. Listen to their conversation now.
Jeremy Louisos: Okay, greetings. My name is Jeremy Louisos. I’m with Preowned Auto Logistics and we’re here with another episode of the PAL podcast. Today, very special episode, we are here at Used Car Week 2022 in San Diego, and we’re on day three.
Focus on Logistics at Used Car Week 2022
The PAL team has been having a lot of fun at the NASCAR booth on the exhibit hall floor, talking to lots of interesting folks, enjoying ourselves quite a bit. We’re going to start here with our friend, Mr. Kevin Lombardi is going to come up to the stage in just a moment here and chat about what he’s seeing but so far for me, the big event and the story of the day has been with our perspective on the logistics front, just how many folks out here are talking logistics. The past year, that seems to have been a different story than in previous years where it’s like the conversation about transportation.
Hey, you’re a truck driver and you want to do what? Talk to me about moving some vehicles around. Well, the conversations changed quite a bit. There are folks really paying attention to the logistics conversation, trying to leverage that as an opportunity. Go back to Walmart, flash forward to Amazon, figuring out your logistics as an important piece of the puzzle and there are a lot of folks now really taking that as a serious consideration and trying to plan for how they will harness the power of logistics.
So lots of great conversations. Some really interesting takeaways so far, but a quick description of the booth while we’re waiting for some of our friends to come and join us. So the PAL team, and this is a shameless self plug here, but the PAL team came out kind of big this year. We rented a NASCAR simulator. This thing is sitting right in the exhibitor hall.
It is bouncing and moving when folks are racing down a simulation of Talladega. We have a lot of enthusiasm and excitement. Folks that are going to get a top score if you finish first place on the week, it’s going to be a $1000 gift card, second place, second lowest time will be $500, and third place will be $250. Last night during our happy hour cocktail hour, there was quite a bit of commotion. Noise would erupt either when a new first place or leaderboard racer made their way to the podium, or when someone spun out. I was not aware that the car could spin out, but that’s apparently a thing that was a lot of fun.
So a little bit of a gimmick, but we were having tons of fun just kind of bringing folks up and getting to know some new people, some new friends, hanging out with some old friends, good times all around, but getting out of the car and then taking the conversation a little further, trying to get to know people and learn as much as we can about the industry. So I want to welcome my friend Kevin Lombardi, up to the stage. Kevin Lombardi’s been with Preowned Auto Logistics for quite some time. How many years now Kevin?
Kevin Lombardi: Going on 10.
Jeremy Kevin is about the best auto logistics sales guy in the biz. Kevin, how’s the show going?
Kevin: It’s going great.
Jeremy: Yeah.
Meeting Competitors at Used Car Week
Kevin: We got a little advice early in the conference to meet everybody, and we’ve met everybody and people are just very cordial, very professional, and it’s a place where you learn. Every time we come here, we learn something new.
Jeremy: Yeah, yeah. That’s great. Who have you been especially excited to bump into? I know you have lots of friends here.
Kevin: Well, yeah, our competitors, I mean, we have a great relationship with our competitors and we really share the nuances of our industry. I think we all want to work together to make it a better experience for all our customers and we believe that there’s enough business for all of us.
Jeremy: Yeah, that’s a really interesting takeaway I would say. It’s amazing though. There can be some fierce competition. A lot of folks in this space, the group out here, they’re great people. On a personal level, I like a lot of our competitors, some really great folks and I think we’re entering an age, I hope I’m not getting too far ahead of my skis on this one, but we’re entering an age where we’re playing nice in the sandbox together. We all kind of bring something different to the space and I think the famous line is there’s enough business out there-
Kevin: For everybody.
Jeremy: For everybody and especially if we’re working in some, maybe partnership is strong in some cases, but if we’re working alongside of each other, doing the right thing, I think there was, the example that comes to mind was being on ATI a few weeks ago, the titans of the auto industry.
We had all sorts of folks that are in this space that are at this conference now come together and maybe not agree on everything, but, and the kumbaya moment is strong, but there’s a lot that we have in common. And I think we’d like to see our business be elevated, see some standardization brought in that on a few matters so I think there’s some opportunities to work together. I’m always excited to meet with those folks. So aside from our competitors who have you seen out there?
Digital Remarkers and Auction Houses at Used Car Week
Kevin: We’ve met with a lot of digital re-marketers, auction houses. When I first came into the business, I was really a dealer guy and I don’t come from the car industry. I’ve kind of learned on the fly.
Jeremy: Yeah.
Kevin: And there’s a lot of people who are very experienced in the auto industry from the auctions, the digital remarketing campaigns to the elevation of even women in our industry. I mean, we’ve got a lot of bright minds that are now emerging as leaders in our industry, and we want to meet everybody.
Break-Out Sessions at Used Car Week
Jeremy: Yeah, yeah, that’s awesome. So have you had a chance to get to many breakout sessions? I know we’re kind of busy on the floor, but have you-
Kevin: Yep. I’ve been to a couple of the luncheons. I got to see some of the award ceremony and really, after the award ceremony, discuss what they did, how they got there. I’m always interested in how people become successful. You may learn something again.
Jeremy: Sure.
NASCAR Simulator
Kevin: Additionally, we have a NASCAR simulator in our booth.
Jeremy: I gave a little preview. What’s your take on the simulator?
Kevin: It’s really entertaining to watch people go crazy over something that doesn’t even move.
Jeremy: It does move though, right?
Kevin: It moves in your mind.
Jeremy: It’s got this sort of hydraulic-
Kevin: Hydraulics, yeah, yeah.
Jeremy: Suspension and it’s bumping up and down. You hit the wall, you’re going to feel it.
Kevin: Yeah, it moves, it does move okay.
Jeremy: Yeah. It doesn’t go forward and backwards.
Kevin: Well, my time-
Jeremy: But up and down, yeah.
Kevin: My time was so poor. It was like we didn’t move.
Jeremy: I have a confession to make. I’ve not even tried it yet. I’ve not even sat in it.
Kevin: I was the first.
Jeremy: You were, yeah. Yeah, you were. Do you have any, in case we have any race fans listening now that might jump into the simulator, would you have any advice? How do you get that top time?
Kevin: I don’t know, because I have the… I know what not to do and that’s make sure you keep your foot on the pedal, number one.
Jeremy: Yeah.
Kevin: Make sure I’m not the tallest human on the planet. Make sure if you’re not tall, you use the back rest of-
Jeremy: That back pad yeah.
Kevin: Move you up to the pedals.
Jeremy: Yep.
Kevin: Stay in the lane and be brave taking the turns.
Jeremy: Yeah. That’s awesome. So do you have any final thoughts you want to share as we kind of move throughout this conversation and-
Kevin: Yes.
Jeremy: Move throughout this event? I’m sure there’s lots.
International Automotive Remarketers Alliance (IARA) Preparing for Logistics of Moving Electric Vehicles
Kevin: Yeah. I really want to promote what you are doing in the EV space. Every dialogue we have around electric vehicles, everybody’s looking for the answer and it’ll be you and your committee and your colleagues and your knowledge that will set policy and procedures and understanding of our industry because it’s something, the transportation business that we are learning literally on the fly.
Jeremy: Well, I appreciate that shout out, the work that we’re doing at the IARA and actually the introduction that was made by you. So the backstory here, so I’m involved with the Industry Advancement Committee for IARA. That committee has really been focused on EVs and has broken off into three subcommittees, one for consigners, one for auctions, and then the committee that I’m co-chairing with a friend Michelle Paraag, we are the education logistics and infrastructure EV subcommittee.
So hoping to do the things you say that we’re looking to do, really understand the space, how are EVs going to impact in particular logistics. I’ve already received a number of phenomenal takeaways from my time on that committee, such as there’s going to be some equipment concerns. We might need different gear, different trailer equipment. We might need different charging equipment, plugs, but even charging stations, both stationary and potentially mobile on trucks. There are going to be some big expectations on keeping these things charged, the EVs charged, because they don’t do, the batteries apparently do not do very well in the heat.
They do not do very well in the heat when they’re in charge in particular. So some of the onus is going to be maybe put on the logistics and the transportation space so that’s some we’re paying attention to. I think as we’re talking about liability and our responsibility to the EV product, the most expensive part of these vehicles is the battery, right? Undercarriage damage traditionally is if something is to happen and it does occasionally happen, they’re going to get some damage.
One of the most common forms of transportation damage is going to be some undercarriage damage. And well, if the undercarriage damage is no longer an oil pan, but a $20,000 battery, what is that going to do for liability? So you need some new equipment to handle heavier vehicles, you need some new sort of liability and insurance requirements to handle all this and so it’s a space that we’re watching very closely and I appreciate the shout out on that.
Making Important Connections Through Networking
Kevin: Well, and one final note that I’ll leave, and this is again, a result of us being present at these conferences at the IARA conference last year, we were all invited, every attendee could go to these meetings, these focus group meetings, and we were encouraged to participate.
Jeremy: Yep.
Kevin: And I saw her an opportunity through one of the members of that particular EV group where I was not, I’m not qualified to be a part of that, but you were. I thought it was a perfect marriage and I will say that I was correct.
Jeremy: Yeah, again, I appreciate that introduction, Kevin. Oh, so that was kind of where I started this whole thing and kind of tapered off thinking about EV stuff but yeah, you made the first introduction to Venkat who was running the Technology and Industry Advancement Committee, and the rest is kind of history. They’ve really been a warm group with me, both Tony Long and Venkat and the rest of the team, they’ve really kind of welcomed me on, showed me the ropes a bit. I’m still getting my bearings a year into it but yeah, it was a great fit and I would not be a part of that if it wasn’t for you, Kevin so thank you my friend.
Kevin: You’re welcome.
Jeremy: I really appreciate that.Kevin: All right, cool. Talk to you soon.