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Episodes
Just a Couple of Car Guys Helping Bring Some Get Up & Go to Professionals Related to the Automotive Industry. We Aim to Educate, Motivate, and Inspire our Audience as We Brew Up the Best Blend of Solutions to Current Challenges, In-between Cry Laughing!
Episodes

Aug 5, 2026
Aug 5, 2026
27 min
Coffee Guy Coffee Podcast & Dealer Pay Live “Mid-Year Reset” with Julie Douglas
Welcome to the Car Guy Coffee Podcast. Kickstart your day the right way and join us as we tap into the brightest minds and most passionate voices across the automotive world to bring you the education, motivation, and inspiration you need to thrive. From the showroom floor to the service lane, prepare to Upshift and Uplift your perspective.
In this episode of The Car Guy Coffee Podcast, Lou Ramirez and Fred Lennartz welcome back Julie Douglas on location in Siesta Key to talk about the mid-year reset for dealerships. Julie explains how DealerPay consolidates dealership payments and point-of-sale to improve reconciliation, customer checkout, and profitability, sharing that it saved her two hours a day. The conversation focuses on evaluating vendor relationships as trusted partnerships, reducing operational friction, and challenging providers to keep innovating. They discuss using AI primarily for automation and auditing, emphasizing that AI is only as good as correct data and responsible application.
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Jul 29, 2026
Jul 29, 2026
25 min
Coffee Guy Coffee Podcast presents “Coffee and a Conversation with Perry Watson IV & 46th NAMAD 26”
Welcome to the Car Guy Coffee Podcast. Kickstart your day the right way and join us as we tap into the brightest minds and most passionate voices across the automotive world to bring you the education, motivation, and inspiration you need to thrive. From the showroom floor to the service lane, prepare to Upshift and Uplift your perspective.
In this episode of The Car Guy Coffee Podcast, Lou Ramirez and Fred Lennartz welcome back Perry Watson IV, president of the National Association of Minority Automotive Dealers (NAMAD), to share updates and excitement for NAMAD’s upcoming 46th anniversary membership meeting at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach Hotel. Watson highlights NAMAD’s focus on collaboration and inclusive economics, noting that minority consumers purchased 33% of new vehicles in 2023 and emphasizing the importance of reaching emerging markets. The group previews key conference elements including town hall discussions on FTC pricing changes and China’s impact, the Dealer Ownership Academy and Next Gen programs, major sponsors and seminars, awards, and featured guests.
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Jul 22, 2026
Jul 22, 2026
40 min
Coffee Guy Coffee Podcast presents Coffee & CarClicks feat. Lori Berkson & Mike McDonnell
Welcome to the Car Guy Coffee Podcast with a New Series “Coffee & CarClicks”. Kickstart your day the right way and join us as we tap into the brightest minds and most passionate voices across the automotive world to bring you the education, motivation, and inspiration you need to thrive. From the showroom floor to the service lane, prepare to Upshift and Uplift your perspective.
In this episode of Coffee & CarClicks, hosts Lou Ramirez and Fred Lennartz welcome Lori Berkson Lead Sales Exec and Mike McDonnell CEO of CarClicks Marketing to discuss how dealers can better market inventory using real, near real-time in-market shopper data. Mike shares his 40-year automotive tech background (ADP/CDK, Sales Edge CRM, and Max Digital) and explains how CarClicks launched in 2012 and refined by 2018, uses billions of device-level clickstream records processed frequently to target shoppers across the open web (news, sports, weather) with specific dealer vehicles.
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Jul 15, 2026
Jul 15, 2026
43 min
Car Guy Coffee Podcast Presents #5Liner feat. April Raines
Welcome to The #5Liner, the show dedicated to the individual journeys that power the automotive industry. It's not about the company; it's about the individual, their career, mindset, and personal story. In each episode, we sit down with a high-quality selection of Car Guys and Car Gals to get beyond the title and into the hard earned wisdom they've gained. Join us as we uncover the wins, challenges, and #5Liner takeaways that have shaped today’s top talent.
In this episode of The Car Guy Coffee Podcast, hosts Lou Ramirez and Fred Lennartz welcome April Raines of Digital Rain for a conversation at the midyear mark, focusing on making adjustments to finish the year strong. April shares her why—turning ideas into real-world results—plus how she entered automotive through early powersports and car sales before moving into digital retail, agency work, and problem-solving for dealers. She highlights the educational value of the NCM Fix Op Summit, previews her Women in Automotive “Power Moves” session on networking and follow-up, and credits key mentors who challenged her to become a true partner to dealerships.
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Jul 8, 2026
Jul 8, 2026
39 min
Car Guy Coffee Podcast Presents #5Liner feat. Steve Greenfield
Welcome to The #5Liner, the show dedicated to the individual journeys that power the automotive industry. It's not about the company; it's about the individual, their career, mindset, and personal story. In each episode, we sit down with a high-quality selection of Car Guys and Car Gals to get beyond the title and into the hard earned wisdom they've gained. Join us as we uncover the wins, challenges, and #5Liner takeaways that have shaped today’s top talent.
In this episode of The Car Guy Coffee Podcast, hosts Lou Ramirez and Fred Lennartz welcome Steve Greenfield, a 25-year automotive veteran and founder of Automotive Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm investing in entrepreneurs across automotive and mobility. Steve shares his “why,” emphasizing the industry’s human-centric importance and constant opportunity to solve problems, and explains how a 1999 phone call led him from Toronto into automotive through selling Manheim’s early internet tools. He discusses preparedness meeting opportunity, the impact of mentors—especially bosses and his mother—and how great leaders create growth by giving people chances before they feel ready.
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Jul 1, 2026
Jul 1, 2026
45 min
Car Guy Coffee Podcast Presents #5Liner feat. Stephanie Wedgeworth
Welcome to The #5Liner, the show dedicated to the individual journeys that power the automotive industry. It's not about the company; it's about the individual, their career, mindset, and personal story. In each episode, we sit down with a high-quality selection of Car Guys and Car Gals to get beyond the title and into the hard earned wisdom they've gained. Join us as we uncover the wins, challenges, and #5Liner takeaways that have shaped today’s top talent.
In this episode of The Car Guy Coffee Podcast, hosts Lou Ramirez and Fred Lennartz welcome Stephanie Wedgeworth for a “5-Liner” conversation about her two-decade automotive career and her impact through training and leadership. Stephanie shares how she entered the industry through Ford experiential marketing and auto shows, then pivoted to nationwide in-dealership training with Hyundai before joining the RockED startup, where she became Director of Sales Content and helps build micro-learning strategies, AI coach tools, role plays, and certification programs. She explains her “why” as helping people grow, highlights the importance of mentors and sponsors, and recounts how an early mentor rebuilt her confidence.
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Jun 24, 2026
Jun 24, 2026
34 min
Coffee Guy Coffee Podcast presents Coffee Break with Kerry Kolde
Welcome to the Car Guy Coffee Podcast. Kickstart your day the right way and join us as we tap into the brightest minds and most passionate voices across the automotive world to bring you the education, motivation, and inspiration you need to thrive. From the showroom floor to the service lane, prepare to Upshift and Uplift your perspective.
In this episode of The Car Guy Coffee Podcast, hosts Lou Ramirez and Fred Lennartz welcome Kerry Kolde, Chief Revenue Officer of Hey Greenlight, for her first podcast appearance to discuss how the company uses AI to enhance & not replace, dealership teams. Kerry shares her 20 year automotive background and explains Hey Greenlight’s LANE ecosystem, including SIGNL data intelligence that appends 50+ data points to leads and builds a customized psychological profile to help salespeople connect with shoppers.
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Jun 17, 2026
Jun 17, 2026
26 min
Coffee Guy Coffee Podcast Presents ‘Spyne’ feat. Dave Purgason
Welcome to the Car Guy Coffee Podcast. Kickstart your day the right way and join us as we tap into the brightest minds and most passionate voices across the automotive world to bring you the education, motivation, and inspiration you need to thrive. From the showroom floor to the service lane, prepare to Upshift and Uplift your perspective.
In this episode of The Car Guy Coffee Podcast, we introduce a new show called Spyne. Hosts Lou Ramirez and Fred Lennartz welcome Dave Purgason, Head of Business at Spine, about why dealership execution breaks down amid constant tasks and fragmented website tools, and how simplifying communication can reduce friction for shoppers. Dave explains Spine’s “Smart View” approach that deep-links vehicle photos with always-on AI across chat, voice, and email so customers get immediate, detailed answers (availability, options, one-owner, history, service records) without needing stock numbers or VINs, while reducing long, information-dumping voicemails.
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Jun 10, 2026
Jun 10, 2026
43 min
Car Guy Coffee Podcast Presents #5Liner feat. Kelly Strausser
Welcome to The #5Liner, the show dedicated to the individual journeys that power the automotive industry. It's not about the company; it's about the individual, their career, mindset, and personal story. In each episode, we sit down with a high-quality selection of Car Guys and Car Gals to get beyond the title and into the hard earned wisdom they've gained. Join us as we uncover the wins, challenges, and #5Liner takeaways that have shaped today’s top talent.
In this episode of The Car Guy Coffee Podcast, hosts Lou Ramirez and Fred Lennartz welcome Kelly Strausser, COO of D&M Leasing in Dallas–Fort Worth and owner of Four Stars Auto Group, who shares his 30-year automotive journey and how his “why” evolved from financial success to serving employees, customers, and communities.
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Jun 1, 2026
Jun 1, 2026
14 min
NCM Event Conversations feat. Chad Graves
In this special Series NCM Event Conversations we grabbed a few of our favorite guest to talk about their experiences and whats happening in our Industry. In this interview Lou Ramirez and Fred Lennartz speak with Chad Graves of Reunion Marketing at the NCM Associates Clients and Friends Workshop in Kansas City, discussing why the event remains valuable after moving from Lexington and highlighting the industry connections built through David Cain’s network.
NCM Fixed Ops Summit, an experience built for leaders ready to elevate performance, profitability, and the customer journey through modern systems and by utilizing AI-driven innovation.
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