An AI policy for car dealerships is a written rule that names the AI tools staff may use, the customer information that stays out of every other tool, who checks AI output before customers see it, and who to ask. The template below runs about two pages, it’s written in plain words, and each department … Read more
Procede Excede on Azure means Procede runs the Excede server, database, backups, and upgrades in Microsoft’s cloud, while your dealership still owns the internet circuits, counter PCs, scanners, Wi-Fi, logins, and Microsoft 365 accounts at every store. Procede guarantees 99.9% uptime for Excede Hosted Services. That number covers Procede’s side of the line, and this … Read more
The Mercedes-Benz dealer ISO 27001 or TISAX Level 2 date of September 30, 2026 has passed, and the factory now also accepts the CIS Critical Security Controls. What a store does next depends on whether it’s certified, mid-audit, or hasn’t started. Mercedes-Benz USA’s guidelines for dealers aren’t published, so check the wording in your own … Read more
GM Dealer Infrastructure and Security Guidelines (DISG), explained: the PC, network, Wi-Fi, and bandwidth specs, plus GM’s 72-hour incident reporting rule.
AI legal risks for dealerships come from old laws meeting new tools: privacy, FTC deception, AI calls and lending. Where they show up and the guardrails to set.
The FTC Safeguards Rule notification requirement gives a dealership 30 days from discovery to report a breach to the FTC when unencrypted customer information on 500 or more consumers is acquired without authorization. It’s been in force since May 13, 2024. Day one of a breach, nobody at the store is thinking about a federal … Read more
FTC Safeguards Rule requirements for dealerships, explained: the nine elements of 16 CFR 314.4, the 30-day breach notice, and what stores under 5,000 can skip.
A DMS conversion checklist is the IT plan for moving a dealership from one dealer management system to another. It runs in three phases: the device, network, access, and data work before the install, the cutover itself, and the training and cleanup after go-live. Early in my career I worked in a three-person IT department … Read more
The Motility breach proved that a truck dealer’s DMS vendor is part of the dealer’s own attack surface. Ransomware hit the Reynolds-owned dealer software provider in August 2025, exposed data on 766,670 people, and ended in a $4.95 million class settlement. Picture the letter. It isn’t from a hacker. It’s from your software company, and … Read more