My morning cup of coffee, the New York Auto Analyst Group Investor Conference at the Detroit Auto Show. And why I think Earl Hesterberg (Group 1’s CEO) set the theme for the auto retail group for 2007: “leverage scale without losing the entrepreneurial spirit.”

It’s always fun to listen to the investor presentations given by the auto (and auto retail) management teams at the beginning of the year. The reason I like the presentations at the beginning of the year is because the management teams often change up the slides. It is the chance for management to take out the old slides they no longer find relevant or important, ...