Topic: How Are We Doing?

[aquadorhj]

not to plug autotrader or anything, but i recently did some online window shopping, and was surprised to find so many new car listings and expanded granularity in search ability.

not too annoying to use, and can filter out BS listings without price easily, and i found the "promoted listing" vs normal listing as reasonably well identifiable.   it did annoy me a little that the normal listing takes up like 1/4 of the page space and promoted listing and in the middle sandwiched between paid ads (same cars over and over again on every page) is 3/4 of the page.  maybe go half and half, at least, or like kijiji does, just the top 1/3?.


also, the used car price analysis tool displayed on the used car pages, surprisingly helpful. 
it did cheese me off when local GM dealer is listing a *NEW* 2017 left over SUVs well over MSRP then saying 6k off, while STILL being more expensive than MSRP on GM website, but that's not Trader's fault.

[JacobBlack]

A thought:  If even the car guys on this forum do not perceive trader as a source for new car research, then how likely is it that the average car buyer has this knowledge / perception of trader?  It would appear that trader may yet to have gotten the "new car" message out.

We're working on it. 

[pi314]

A thought:  If even the car guys on this forum do not perceive trader as a source for new car research, then how likely is it that the average car buyer has this knowledge / perception of trader?  It would appear that trader may yet to have gotten the "new car" message out.

We're working on it. 

I genuinely appreciate the effort you're making to reach out to us. The fact you are willing to take the time is itself worth a lot.

Your previous points about the tool being useful for someone who knows nothing about what they want makes sense. I'd suggest take it one step further - make a what cars should I consider type tool. Might be useful for someone, who is, say, shopping for an EV.

What I suppose I should have also said it's just not a use-case of the tool that's immediately apparent. I mean, I'm relatively young (under 25) and even I remember autotrader as a magazine for used cars.

I also have found the price analysis tool advantageous. Especially when searching in NB where the selection is too limited to manually compare local ads.

[me_2]

..and prefer watching video reviews. Speaking of which, does autotrader have a youtube channel?

With content from this muppet

Oh, Rick Mercer isn't that you ?   
https://www.youtube.com/user/MercerReport

Mainly, I used Autotrader aps but very few rare on computer to check inventory / availability on new car (Chevy Bolt EV, Volt) or used one (Spark EV) and that is all because I know what I'm looking for ...

[draghon]

I'll echo most of the popular sentiments:

I enjoy the comparisons, used car reviews, day by day reviews, oddball car highlights and the new car reviews in that order. I very rarely watch any of the videos, but the pictures and articles are quite good.

I mostly use the autotrader app on my phone and like that you can search for new and used cars at the same time and easily compare prices between any models you my be cross shopping.

[JacobBlack]

Overall I'd have to say it' seems there are fewer articles and they seem to be less in depth since the AT takeover.
I recall seeing 1-2  (sometimes more) new articles posted most mornings in the old days

Missed this earlier.
Our current test drive cadence is 1-2-1-2-1 - which is less than the two-a-day we used to do. But we also do one feature article a day too - as well as our multiple news stories per day.
But also, you used to see all our articles in one spot, and currently for a variety of reasons feature articles and reviews are split out.
We're changing that in the new year, so you will soon see all our articles in one, unified page.

I hadn't been linking to our feature articles here (except for Find of the Week) because most of them are aimed at the broader public and I honestly thought you guys wouldn't like them. Should I start linking more of those here too?

[rrocket]

I want more automotive product reviews. Not just regurgitated company press release BS.

Actually testing it on cars. See if it's the real deal and something worth owning. I'd even be interested in somehow helping out, since I love aftermarket stuff and modding.

Heck, if you think the Autotrader brand is as powerful as you do, you might even be able to do advertising deals with some companies with "Auto Trader Recommended" seal being put on some of these products.

[JacobBlack]

I want more automotive product reviews.

More product reviews is a good one. It's on our radar, will keep in mind you're offer to help out.

[Fobroader]

I want more automotive product reviews. Not just regurgitated company press release BS.

Actually testing it on cars. See if it's the real deal and something worth owning. I'd even be interested in somehow helping out, since I love aftermarket stuff and modding.

Heck, if you think the Autotrader brand is as powerful as you do, you might even be able to do advertising deals with some companies with "Auto Trader Recommended" seal being put on some of these products.

YES!!! All of this....plus maybe an in house project car

[JacobBlack]

YES!!! All of this....plus maybe an in house project car

YES! I want this! I want this so bad....
I even know the car.
#budget #notlikely #dreaming

[Fobroader]

YES!!! All of this....plus maybe an in house project car

YES! I want this! I want this so bad....
I even know the car.
#budget #notlikely #dreaming

Tell those corporate tightwads to loosen ye olde purse strings. 

[mlin32]

YES!!! All of this....plus maybe an in house project car

YES! I want this! I want this so bad....
I even know the car.
#budget #notlikely #dreaming

Maybe do something to a Fiat 500 Abarth for a race series ? 

[Fobroader]

YES!!! All of this....plus maybe an in house project car

YES! I want this! I want this so bad....
I even know the car.
#budget #notlikely #dreaming

Maybe do something to a Fiat 500 Abarth for a race series ? 

You can't tell him to buy a car thats perpetually broken and I think come from the factory broken.

[Noto]

But don't forget, you guys are a pretty special 

Kinda makes me feel like...



Don't feed our egos, Jacob! 

[Gurgie]

Someone needs to go a review on rrocket's LS, that would be a cool final drive piece, or whatever you guys used to call it. There's enough guys on here with some interesting metal that I'm sure they'd love to share. Geez, I've gotta buddy in Toronto that's got a 76 Bronco & a 77 260z that you guys could write about... and that's off the top of my head 

[Railton]

YES!!! All of this....plus maybe an in house project car

YES! I want this! I want this so bad....
I even know the car.
#budget #notlikely #dreaming

You should hand that off to Arthur or Firm - you've got your hands full with everything else including motorcycles and such.\
Railton

[Railton]

Jacob - do you have a goal in mind? 
If so - is it to try to broaden appeal to those who are looking for general type of info (like the Test Drive articles), or something more targeted to 'enthusiast' interest (like the Final Drive stuff or profiles of people with interesting cars idea)

I like the people/car profile idea, but don't think that would attract much traffic (?) 

Is there a specific audience you're trying to attract?

Did you get a response to your questions here Brian?
Rialton

[JacobBlack]

YES!!! All of this....plus maybe an in house project car

YES! I want this! I want this so bad....
I even know the car.
#budget #notlikely #dreaming

You should hand that off to Arthur or Firm - you've got your hands full with everything else including motorcycles and such.\
Railton

LOL. No.

[JacobBlack]

Jacob - do you have a goal in mind? 
If so - is it to try to broaden appeal to those who are looking for general type of info (like the Test Drive articles), or something more targeted to 'enthusiast' interest (like the Final Drive stuff or profiles of people with interesting cars idea)

I like the people/car profile idea, but don't think that would attract much traffic (?) 

Is there a specific audience you're trying to attract?

Do you mean with this thread? No, this thread is just a check-in. We spend a lot more time than you might expect thinking about how our forum responds to our content and whether or not you're being served. You're very much the enthusiast arm, so we want to make sure we're covering enough of the stuff actual car people care about.

Outside this thread, our goals are very broad, we're not a niche site, we're a one-stop shop for everyone from EV evangelists to hot rodders and everything in between. If a story is compelling, it's one we would do. Over 6 million Canadians use autoTRADER.ca each month. We want to give them all something to come for.

[Railton]

YES!!! All of this....plus maybe an in house project car

YES! I want this! I want this so bad....
I even know the car.
#budget #notlikely #dreaming

You should hand that off to Arthur or Firm - you've got your hands full with everything else including motorcycles and such.\
Railton

LOL. No.

Well, I could see that coming. LOL
But, if the interest didn't happen on its own and come from within it's hardly right for you to grab it just because someone else is footing the bill.
Railton