AI Visibility · National Scoreboard

MINI National Report

MINI dealers across America's top 25 metros

National report · Top 25 US metro areas
AI
VISIBILITY
Find Buy Service
Prepared September 2026Prepared by CarGenius
Overview

Executive summary

MINI has a small dealer network: in 8 of America's 25 biggest metro areas, one MINI dealer serves the whole metro. In the other 17, dealers compete for AI's recommendation, and AI already has a favorite in each. This report names all 17, and shows how often AI names the one dealer in the other 8. In 9 of those 17 metros the AI leader is not the metro's biggest store by review count, and the leaders' average Google rating (4.6★) is no better than the field's (4.7★). Store size and Google ratings do not decide who AI recommends. What the winners share is presence on the short list of sources AI reads in nearly every market. And with 11 of those 17 metros still a contested race, the leader in most metros can still change.

Measured with identical non-branded Find / Buy / Service questions asked city by city across each metro, with every city's results weighted by its real search demand - so every metro and every dealer is measured the same way. The full method is at the end of this report.

  • 17 metro AI leaders named
  • 8 metros with one MINI dealer
  • 53% of metros with more than one dealer: the biggest store is not the AI leader
  • 65% of metros with more than one dealer are a contested race

The National 25 - who AI recommends, metro by metro

The dealer AI assistants recommend most in each of the nation's 25 biggest metros. Share of voice: of every time AI named a MINI dealer in the metro, how often it named this one. AI visibility: how often AI names the dealer at all. Named first: how often it is the very first dealer named.

  1. New York - MINI of Manhattan (based in New York, NY) leads with 31% share of voice, named in 94% of answers, named first 66% of the time. Google 4.4★, Yelp 2.9★.
  2. Los Angeles - MINI of Universal City (based in North Hollywood, CA) leads with 27% share of voice, named in 95% of answers, named first 52% of the time. Google 4.7★, Yelp 3.8★.
  3. Chicago - Bill Jacobs MINI (based in Naperville, IL) leads with 35% share of voice, named in 96% of answers, named first 31% of the time. Google 4.7★, Yelp 3.3★.
  4. Dallas-Fort Worth - MINI of Dallas (based in Dallas, TX) leads with 41% share of voice, named in 90% of answers, named first 48% of the time. Google 4.4★, Yelp 3.7★.
  5. Houston - Momentum MINI (based in Houston, TX) leads with 36% share of voice, named in 97% of answers, named first 75% of the time. Google 4.7★, Yelp 3.2★.
  6. Atlanta - Global Imports MINI (based in Chamblee, GA) leads with 52% share of voice, named in 99% of answers, named first 84% of the time. Google 4.5★, Yelp 3.0★.
  7. Washington DC - MINI of Alexandria (based in Alexandria, VA) leads with 39% share of voice, named in 87% of answers, named first 54% of the time. Google 4.3★, Yelp 3.2★.
  8. Miami - Braman MINI of Miami (based in Miami, FL) leads with 38% share of voice, named in 87% of answers, named first 47% of the time. Google 4.8★, Yelp 3.1★.
  9. Philadelphia - MINI of the Main Line (based in Bala Cynwyd, PA) leads with 40% share of voice, named in 87% of answers, named first 78% of the time. Google 4.6★, Yelp 2.8★.
  10. Phoenix - MINI of Tempe (based in Tempe, AZ) leads with 51% share of voice, named in 97% of answers, named first 20% of the time. Google 4.6★, Yelp 3.9★.
  11. Boston - Herb Chambers MINI of Boston (based in Boston, MA) leads with 40% share of voice, named in 93% of answers, named first 81% of the time. Google 4.8★, Yelp 3.5★.
  12. Riverside - MINI of Ontario (based in Ontario, CA) leads with 40% share of voice, named in 70% of answers, named first 69% of the time. Google 4.6★, Yelp 3.6★.
  13. San Francisco Bay Area - MINI of Marin (based in Corte Madera, CA) leads with 29% share of voice, named in 72% of answers, named first 20% of the time. Google 4.9★, Yelp 4.4★.
  14. Detroit - Motor City MINI (based in Southfield, MI) is the only MINI dealer in the metro's measured footprint, named in 98% of answers. Google 4.4★, Yelp 3.2★.
  15. Seattle - Seattle MINI (based in Seattle, WA) is the only MINI dealer in the metro's measured footprint, named in 97% of answers. Google 4.7★, Yelp 3.7★.
  16. Minneapolis-St. Paul - Motorwerks MINI (based in Golden Valley, MN) is the only MINI dealer in the metro's measured footprint, named in 99% of answers. Google 4.7★, Yelp 2.7★.
  17. Tampa - Ferman MINI of Tampa Bay (based in Palm Harbor, FL) leads with 51% share of voice, named in 93% of answers, named first 51% of the time. Google 4.7★, Yelp 3.2★.
  18. San Diego - MINI of San Diego (based in San Diego, CA) leads with 54% share of voice, named in 96% of answers, named first 90% of the time. Google 4.8★, Yelp 4.4★.
  19. Denver - Schomp MINI (based in Highlands Ranch, CO) leads with 57% share of voice, named in 96% of answers, named first 91% of the time. Google 4.6★, Yelp 3.3★.
  20. Orlando - Orlando MINI (based in Orlando, FL) is the only MINI dealer in the metro's measured footprint, named in 97% of answers. Google 4.7★, Yelp 3.5★.
  21. Charlotte - Hendrick MINI (part of the Hendrick group) (based in Charlotte, NC) is the only MINI dealer in the metro's measured footprint, named in 98% of answers. Google 4.8★, Yelp 4.3★.
  22. Baltimore - MINI of Towson (based in Towson, MD) leads with 56% share of voice, named in 92% of answers, named first 90% of the time. Google 4.8★, Yelp 2.8★.
  23. St. Louis - MINI of St Louis (based in Maplewood, MO) is the only MINI dealer in the metro's measured footprint, named in 98% of answers. Google 4.8★, Yelp 3.2★.
  24. San Antonio - Principle MINI of San Antonio (based in San Antonio, TX) is the only MINI dealer in the metro's measured footprint, named in 98% of answers. Google 4.6★, Yelp 2.7★.
  25. Austin - MINI of Austin (based in Austin, TX) is the only MINI dealer in the metro's measured footprint, named in 100% of answers. Google 4.6★, Yelp 3.8★.

Bubble size = monthly brand and model searches across the metro's measured cities. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Where the nation shops

Monthly brand and model searches across each metro's measured cities - the demand AI answers compete for:

  • New York - 21,850 searches per month
  • Los Angeles - 10,970 searches per month
  • Houston - 7,470 searches per month
  • Dallas-Fort Worth - 6,800 searches per month
  • Chicago - 6,070 searches per month
  • San Francisco Bay Area - 6,010 searches per month
  • Miami - 5,400 searches per month
  • Atlanta - 4,620 searches per month
  • Seattle - 3,960 searches per month
  • Phoenix - 3,820 searches per month
  • San Diego - 3,780 searches per month
  • Philadelphia - 3,560 searches per month
  • Orlando - 3,520 searches per month
  • Austin - 3,490 searches per month
  • Denver - 3,390 searches per month
  • Washington DC - 3,010 searches per month
  • Boston - 2,830 searches per month
  • Charlotte - 2,830 searches per month
  • San Antonio - 2,760 searches per month
  • Minneapolis-St. Paul - 2,740 searches per month
  • Tampa - 2,620 searches per month
  • Baltimore - 2,490 searches per month
  • Riverside - 2,220 searches per month
  • Detroit - 1,910 searches per month
  • St. Louis - 1,550 searches per month

What AI reads, nationally

The websites AI cited most when answering shopper questions across the 25 measured metros, as a share of all citations:

  • dealerrater.com - 10.6% of citations
  • carfax.com - 6.1% of citations
  • cars.com - 6.0% of citations
  • miniusa.com - 5.3% of citations
  • autotrader.com - 4.2% of citations
  • yelp.com - 3.4% of citations
  • cargurus.com - 3.0% of citations
  • kbb.com - 3.0% of citations
  • caredge.com - 1.3% of citations
  • edmunds.com - 1.1% of citations
  • miniuniversalcity.com - 1.0% of citations
  • reddit.com - 1.0% of citations
  • birdeye.com - 1.0% of citations
  • capitalone.com - 0.8% of citations
  • facebook.com - 0.6% of citations

National insights

Yelp is a weak spot for some leaders. 5 of the 25 dealers in the table above with a Yelp listing carry a rating below 3 stars. Yelp is a major review source for AI answers, so the gap matters.

DealerRater ratings vary far more than Google ratings. The dealers in the table above are tied on Google, but on DealerRater - a review site AI reads in nearly every measured metro - their ratings run from 3.9★ to 5.0★. The widest gap: MINI of the Main Line in Philadelphia holds 3.9★ on DealerRater against 4.6★ on Google.

Where one dealer serves the metro, AI almost always names it. In the 8 metros with one MINI dealer, AI names that dealer in 98% of answers on average - from 97% in Orlando to 100% in Austin. In the 17 metros with more than one dealer, the leader is named in 91%.

What To Do

Strengthen your profiles on the sites AI reads most. dealerrater.com, cars.com, autotrader.com are among the ten most-cited sources in at least 80% of the metros we measured. Strengthen those first: keep your Google Business Profile complete and actively managed, claim your DealerRater page and respond to its reviews, and take part in the local discussions where shoppers ask about dealers. Then add the review sites AI cites in your own market (the source table above shows the national picture).

Build real pages for the nearby markets you want to win. In 5 of the 8 one-dealer metros, AI names the dealer at least 5 points less often in an outlying city than across the metro (82% in Olympia and 82% in Rock Hill, against 97% and 98% overall). You cannot move the store, but you can make your relevance to each nearby market visible. Give every city you serve its own page with real substance: the inventory you deliver there, the drive time from that city, the services those customers use, and reviews from real customers who live there. Thin copies of one page do not help; give AI real local content to cite.

Publish content only your dealership can offer. Leaders and the field are tied on Google ratings (4.6★ to 4.7★), so generic claims about quality do not separate anyone. Give the sites AI reads specific, factual material to cite: your actual inventory, real customer reviews, and the services your store offers - and keep it current.

Know where you stand. Every metro here was measured with the same non-branded questions real shoppers ask, and 11 of the 17 metros with more than one dealer are a contested race. You cannot aim any of the steps above without knowing your own position: which questions you win, which you lose, and to whom. That is what a dealer-level measurement shows.

Claim and work your Yelp listing. 5 of the 25 leading dealers we could rate score below 3.0 on Yelp, while those same dealers average 4.6★ on Google. AI assistants read both. Claim the listing, reply to the reviews already there, keep your hours and services current, and ask satisfied customers to post where shoppers are already looking.

Regional footprint

Who leads each sub-market, and where

The dealer AI names most in each sub-market. Each sub-market is measured at its anchor city - shown with its population - chosen to represent that part of the region; the anchors together span the metro's major population centers. On the map, each anchor's bubble is sized by its monthly shopper search demand, so larger circles are the markets with more search activity.

National footprint

The 25 metros, coast to coast

Each bubble is one of America's 25 biggest metro areas, sized by monthly shopper search demand in its anchor city and numbered by metro rank. The table that follows names the dealer AI recommends most in each.

Market demand

Where the nation shops

Monthly brand and model searches in each metro's anchor city - the demand AI answers compete for. Search demand weights and sizes the markets in this report; it is not a sales figure.

Market demand

What the region is searching for

How many shoppers near the region search for each model every month. This is the demand AI answers compete for, and it sets how much each city counts toward the scores. Search demand weights the cities in this report; it is not a sales figure.

Metro leaderboard

The National 25 - who AI recommends, metro by metro

The dealer AI assistants recommend most in each of the nation's 25 biggest metros, measured with identical non-branded Find / Buy / Service questions in each metro's anchor city.

#MetroDealer cityAI leaderShare of voiceAI visibilityNamed firstGoogleYelp
1New YorkNew York, NYMINI of Manhattan
31%
94%66%4.4★2.9★
2Los AngelesNorth Hollywood, CAMINI of Universal City
27%
95%52%4.7★3.8★
3ChicagoNaperville, ILBill Jacobs MINI
35%
96%31%4.7★3.3★
4Dallas-Fort WorthDallas, TXMINI of Dallas
41%
90%48%4.4★3.7★
5HoustonHouston, TXMomentum MINI
36%
97%75%4.7★3.2★
6AtlantaChamblee, GAGlobal Imports MINI
52%
99%84%4.5★3.0★
7Washington DCAlexandria, VAMINI of Alexandria
39%
87%54%4.3★3.2★
8MiamiMiami, FLBraman MINI of Miami
38%
87%47%4.8★3.1★
9PhiladelphiaBala Cynwyd, PAMINI of the Main Line
40%
87%78%4.6★2.8★
10PhoenixTempe, AZMINI of Tempe
51%
97%20%4.6★3.9★
11BostonBoston, MAHerb Chambers MINI of Boston
40%
93%81%4.8★3.5★
12RiversideOntario, CAMINI of Ontario
40%
70%69%4.6★3.6★
13San Francisco Bay AreaCorte Madera, CAMINI of Marin
29%
72%20%4.9★4.4★
14DetroitSouthfield, MIMotor City MINIOnly dealer98%-4.4★3.2★
15SeattleSeattle, WASeattle MINIOnly dealer97%-4.7★3.7★
16Minneapolis-St. PaulGolden Valley, MNMotorwerks MINIOnly dealer99%-4.7★2.7★
17TampaPalm Harbor, FLFerman MINI of Tampa Bay
51%
93%51%4.7★3.2★
18San DiegoSan Diego, CAMINI of San Diego
54%
96%90%4.8★4.4★
19DenverHighlands Ranch, COSchomp MINI
57%
96%91%4.6★3.3★
20OrlandoOrlando, FLOrlando MINIOnly dealer97%-4.7★3.5★
21CharlotteCharlotte, NCHendrick MINI · HendrickOnly dealer98%-4.8★4.3★
22BaltimoreTowson, MDMINI of Towson
56%
92%90%4.8★2.8★
23St. LouisMaplewood, MOMINI of St LouisOnly dealer98%-4.8★3.2★
24San AntonioSan Antonio, TXPrinciple MINI of San AntonioOnly dealer98%-4.6★2.7★
25AustinAustin, TXMINI of AustinOnly dealer100%-4.6★3.8★
Only dealer: the metro's measured footprint holds one MINI dealer, so share of voice and named-first do not apply there.

How to read this. Share of voice: of every time AI named a dealer in this metro, how often it named this one. AI visibility: how often AI names the dealer at all. Named first: how often it is the very first dealer named - kept separate from visibility, as always. Bars are scaled to a 50% share.

Regional leaderboard

The regional leaderboard

Who AI recommends most across the region. Share of voice is the headline: out of every time AI named a dealer, how often it named this one. AI visibility is how often AI names the dealer at all, and named first is how often it is the very first dealer named - a dealer can be named often yet rarely first, so we keep these separate. Cities with more shopper demand count for more.

Winning patterns

The winners are not who you'd expect

The two things dealers invest in as reputation - store size and Google rating - do not separate the AI leaders from the field. Most metros are led by a store that is not the biggest in its market, winning under its own local name.

Where AI's winners rank by store size. Every metro's dealers, ranked by Google review count; the groups below show where each metro's AI leader falls in that size order.

Dealer scorecard

Dealer ranking scorecard

Read each grade cell as two numbers: a bold 0-100 grade, and in grey the share of voice it comes from. The grade is relative - the region's strongest dealer scores 100 and every other dealer is measured against it. Find, Buy and Service are graded on their own and count equally toward the Weighted overall. "Weighted" means busier cities count for more: each city's result is scaled by its monthly search demand before the cities are combined, so how a dealer does where the shoppers are matters most.

AI sources

Top Sources

The websites AI cited most when answering shopper questions across the region - each shown as its share of all the citations AI made. Getting listed and well-reviewed on the sources that rank highest here is how a dealer gets into AI answers.

AI sources

What AI reads, nationally

Store size and ratings do not decide who AI recommends. The clearest national pattern is what AI reads: the same few sources appear in metro after metro. Each website is shown as its share of all the citations AI made across the 25 measured metros. Getting listed and well-reviewed on the sources that rank highest here is how a dealer gets into AI answers.

Market opportunity

Most metros are still up for grabs

The small number next to each metro is the leader's share of voice divided by the runner-up's - 1.0x means the leader and runner-up are tied.

Contested - the runner-up is within striking distance Held - the leader is comfortably ahead Bubble size = market size (monthly searches)

Leader's share of voice

Of every time AI named a dealer in that metro, the percentage that went to the metro's #1 dealer.

Runner-up's share of voice

The same measure for the #2 dealer. The closer the two shares, the closer the race; a leader can never sit below the dashed line, only above it.

Share of voice = a dealer's AI mentions ÷ all dealers' AI mentions in its metro
Striking distance = the runner-up holds at least the leader's share ÷ 1.2
Market opportunity

Share of Voice vs Share of Demand

This chart plots each dealer's Share of Voice (up) against its Share of Demand (across). The dashed line is break-even, where the two are equal. Below it, a dealer's Share of Demand is larger than its Share of Voice - the clearest gaps to close. Bubbles are sized by Google review count.

At or above its opportunity Below its opportunity (a gap) Bubble size = Google review count

Share of Voice

When AI assistants recommend dealers in this region, the percentage of those recommendations that go to this dealer.

Share of Demand

This dealer's slice of the region's shoppers, based on distance: each town's shoppers count toward the stores nearest them, and busier towns count for more.

Share of voice = a dealer's AI mentions ÷ all dealers' AI mentions
Share of demand = a dealer's nearby demand ÷ all dealers' nearby demand
Regional insights

Regional Insights

These patterns stand out when the region's answers are read together. Each one is computed from the measured runs behind this report.

National insights

National insights

Beyond the headline story, these patterns stand out when all the metros are read together. Each one is computed from the measured runs - per-metro results are directional, but these cross-metro patterns rest on the full national sample.

Recommended actions

What To Do

The patterns in this report are national, but the actions they point to are local - and none of them requires being the biggest store in the market. Five places to start, each grounded in what this measurement found.

Methodology

Methodology

We asked non-dealer branded questions - where to find, buy, and service a MINI - city by city across each of America's 25 biggest metro areas, and recorded which dealerships each AI assistant named and in what order. Every MINI dealership in the metro's measured footprint is included, and dealers are never named in the questions, so every dealer is measured the same way. Each city's results are weighted by its real search demand, and every metro gets the identical question set, which is what makes the cross-metro patterns comparable. In 8 metros the measured footprint holds one MINI dealership; those metros are reported by how often AI names that dealer, and are left out of the findings that compare a leader with its rivals.

Read each metro's result as one measurement in time. AI answers vary run to run, and in a closely contested metro the top spots can trade places between measurements. The national patterns, aggregated across all the metros, are the robust layer of this report. Share of voice, visibility, and named-first are always reported separately. A dealer counts as part of a dealer group only when the group's name is in the dealership's own name, so a store a group owns but brands locally counts as local. Review counts decide which dealers we measure; they never enter the score. Metro population figures are US Census Bureau estimates; search demand is Google search volume; dealer ratings are Google Business Profile, DealerRater, and Yelp.

Next step · For your dealership

Custom Dealer Reports

This regional report shows how AI sees the whole market. A Custom Dealer Report goes deeper on one dealership: yours.

This national report shows how AI sees dealers across America's biggest metros. A Custom Dealer Report goes deeper on one dealership: yours.

Every month, CarGenius runs the questions your buyers ask across the major AI engines and reports how often AI names you versus each competitor, scores your Find, Buy, and Service visibility, verifies your marketplace presence, and ranks what to fix by effort and impact.

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Most-mentioned dealers in your market

How often AI names each dealer across this month's shopping prompts
Your Dealership
54%
Competitor A
41%
Competitor B
33%
Competitor C
27%
FIND
72/100
BUY
41/100
SERVICE
58/100
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MINI
United States
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Main Line","group":null,"sov":0.4029,"visibility":0.8749,"first_rate":0.777,"google":4.6,"dealerrater":3.9,"yelp":2.8},{"rank":10,"metro":"Phoenix","anchor":"Phoenix, AZ","home":"Tempe, AZ","near_tie":false,"leader":"MINI of Tempe","group":null,"sov":0.5086,"visibility":0.9749,"first_rate":0.1998,"google":4.6,"dealerrater":5.0,"yelp":3.9},{"rank":11,"metro":"Boston","anchor":"Boston, MA","home":"Boston, MA","near_tie":false,"leader":"Herb Chambers MINI of Boston","group":null,"sov":0.3996,"visibility":0.9347,"first_rate":0.8128,"google":4.8,"dealerrater":4.9,"yelp":3.5},{"rank":12,"metro":"Riverside","anchor":"Riverside, CA","home":"Ontario, CA","near_tie":false,"leader":"MINI of Ontario","group":null,"sov":0.4007,"visibility":0.7034,"first_rate":0.6943,"google":4.6,"dealerrater":4.9,"yelp":3.6},{"rank":13,"metro":"San Francisco Bay Area","anchor":"San Francisco, CA","home":"Corte Madera, CA","near_tie":false,"leader":"MINI of Marin","group":null,"sov":0.2922,"visibility":0.7202,"first_rate":0.1955,"google":4.9,"dealerrater":4.9,"yelp":4.4},{"rank":14,"metro":"Detroit","anchor":"Detroit, MI","home":"Southfield, MI","near_tie":false,"leader":"Motor City MINI","group":null,"sov":1.0,"visibility":0.9816,"first_rate":1.0,"google":4.4,"dealerrater":null,"yelp":3.2,"solo":true},{"rank":15,"metro":"Seattle","anchor":"Seattle, WA","home":"Seattle, WA","near_tie":false,"leader":"Seattle MINI","group":null,"sov":1.0,"visibility":0.9743,"first_rate":1.0,"google":4.7,"dealerrater":4.8,"yelp":3.7,"solo":true},{"rank":16,"metro":"Minneapolis-St. Paul","anchor":"Minneapolis, MN","home":"Golden Valley, MN","near_tie":false,"leader":"Motorwerks MINI","group":null,"sov":1.0,"visibility":0.9929,"first_rate":1.0,"google":4.7,"dealerrater":5.0,"yelp":2.7,"solo":true},{"rank":17,"metro":"Tampa","anchor":"Tampa, FL","home":"Palm Harbor, FL","near_tie":false,"leader":"Ferman MINI of Tampa Bay","group":null,"sov":0.5107,"visibility":0.9329,"first_rate":0.5103,"google":4.7,"dealerrater":4.8,"yelp":3.2},{"rank":18,"metro":"San Diego","anchor":"San Diego, CA","home":"San Diego, CA","near_tie":false,"leader":"MINI of San Diego","group":null,"sov":0.5354,"visibility":0.9608,"first_rate":0.9035,"google":4.8,"dealerrater":null,"yelp":4.4},{"rank":19,"metro":"Denver","anchor":"Denver, CO","home":"Highlands Ranch, CO","near_tie":false,"leader":"Schomp MINI","group":null,"sov":0.5736,"visibility":0.9625,"first_rate":0.9114,"google":4.6,"dealerrater":4.5,"yelp":3.3},{"rank":20,"metro":"Orlando","anchor":"Orlando, FL","home":"Orlando, FL","near_tie":false,"leader":"Orlando MINI","group":null,"sov":1.0,"visibility":0.9651,"first_rate":1.0,"google":4.7,"dealerrater":4.9,"yelp":3.5,"solo":true},{"rank":21,"metro":"Charlotte","anchor":"Charlotte, NC","home":"Charlotte, NC","near_tie":false,"leader":"Hendrick MINI","group":"Hendrick","sov":1.0,"visibility":0.9756,"first_rate":1.0,"google":4.8,"dealerrater":5.0,"yelp":4.3,"solo":true},{"rank":22,"metro":"Baltimore","anchor":"Baltimore, MD","home":"Towson, MD","near_tie":false,"leader":"MINI of Towson","group":null,"sov":0.5582,"visibility":0.9213,"first_rate":0.9,"google":4.8,"dealerrater":4.8,"yelp":2.8},{"rank":23,"metro":"St. Louis","anchor":"St. Louis, MO","home":"Maplewood, MO","near_tie":false,"leader":"MINI of St Louis","group":null,"sov":1.0,"visibility":0.9812,"first_rate":1.0,"google":4.8,"dealerrater":4.9,"yelp":3.2,"solo":true},{"rank":24,"metro":"San Antonio","anchor":"San Antonio, TX","home":"San Antonio, TX","near_tie":false,"leader":"Principle MINI of San Antonio","group":null,"sov":1.0,"visibility":0.9803,"first_rate":1.0,"google":4.6,"dealerrater":4.7,"yelp":2.7,"solo":true},{"rank":25,"metro":"Austin","anchor":"Austin, TX","home":"Austin, TX","near_tie":false,"leader":"MINI of Austin","group":null,"sov":1.0,"visibility":0.9967,"first_rate":1.0,"google":4.6,"dealerrater":4.8,"yelp":3.8,"solo":true}]
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[{"title":"Yelp is a weak spot for some leaders","html":"<strong>5 of the 25</strong> dealers in the table above with a Yelp listing carry a rating below 3 stars. Yelp is a major review source for AI answers, so the gap matters."},{"title":"DealerRater ratings vary far more than Google ratings","html":"The dealers in the table above are tied on Google, but on DealerRater - a review site AI reads in nearly every measured metro - their ratings run from <strong>3.9★ to 5.0★</strong>. The widest gap: MINI of the Main Line in Philadelphia holds 3.9★ on DealerRater against 4.6★ on Google."},{"title":"Where one dealer serves the metro, AI almost always names it","html":"In the 8 metros with one MINI dealer, AI names that dealer in <strong>98%</strong> of answers on average - from 97% in Orlando to 100% in Austin. In the 17 metros with more than one dealer, the leader is named in 91%."}]
Bubble size = monthly brand and model searches across the metro's measured cities. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
National
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{"pattern_title":"The biggest store does not always win","pattern_html":"In 9 of the 17 metros with more than one dealer, the dealer AI recommends most is not the metro's biggest store by Google review count. The most extreme example: MINI of Manhattan leads New York while ranking #5 of 6 stores by review count.","fine_html":"","buckets":[{"count":8,"title":"The metro's biggest store wins","sub":"size predicted the winner","items":[{"metro":"San Diego","pos":"#1 of 2"},{"metro":"Denver","pos":"#1 of 2"},{"metro":"Baltimore","pos":"#1 of 2"},{"metro":"Dallas-Fort Worth","pos":"#1 of 3"},{"metro":"Houston","pos":"#1 of 3"},{"metro":"Philadelphia","pos":"#1 of 3"},{"metro":"Miami","pos":"#1 of 4"},{"metro":"Los Angeles","pos":"#1 of 6"}]},{"count":2,"title":"A top-half store wins","sub":"big, but not the biggest","items":[{"metro":"Chicago","pos":"#2 of 3"},{"metro":"San Francisco Bay Area","pos":"#2 of 4"}]},{"count":1,"title":"A bottom-half store wins","sub":"the winner is a smaller store","items":[{"metro":"New York","pos":"#5 of 6"}]},{"count":6,"title":"The smallest store measured wins","sub":"dead last in size - and still the AI leader","items":[{"metro":"Atlanta","pos":"#2 of 2"},{"metro":"Washington DC","pos":"#3 of 3"},{"metro":"Phoenix","pos":"#2 of 2"},{"metro":"Boston","pos":"#3 of 3"},{"metro":"Riverside","pos":"#3 of 3"},{"metro":"Tampa","pos":"#2 of 2"}]}]}
[{"value":"53%","label":"of metros with more than one dealer: the biggest store (by review count) is not the AI leader"},{"value":"53%","label":"of leaders do not hold their metro's highest Google rating"},{"value":"100%","label":"of leaders carry their own local name, not a national group brand"},{"value":"29%","label":"of leaders are based in the metro's busiest shopping city"}]
[]
{"groups":[{"key":"contested","count":11,"title":"Contested races","sub":"the runner-up is within striking distance","items":[{"metro":"Riverside","ratio":1.03},{"metro":"Phoenix","ratio":1.04},{"metro":"Miami","ratio":1.04},{"metro":"Tampa","ratio":1.04},{"metro":"Chicago","ratio":1.06},{"metro":"Atlanta","ratio":1.07},{"metro":"Houston","ratio":1.08},{"metro":"Boston","ratio":1.1},{"metro":"San Diego","ratio":1.15},{"metro":"Philadelphia","ratio":1.18},{"metro":"San Francisco Bay Area","ratio":1.19}]},{"key":"clear","count":6,"title":"Clear leads","sub":"comfortably ahead, but not out of reach","items":[{"metro":"Baltimore","ratio":1.26},{"metro":"Los Angeles","ratio":1.26},{"metro":"Washington DC","ratio":1.27},{"metro":"Dallas-Fort Worth","ratio":1.31},{"metro":"Denver","ratio":1.35},{"metro":"New York","ratio":1.44}]}],"scatter":[{"metro":"New York","full":"New York","dealer":"MINI of Manhattan","leader":0.3105,"runner":0.2153,"searches":21850,"status":"held"},{"metro":"Los Angeles","full":"Los Angeles","dealer":"MINI of Universal City","leader":0.2733,"runner":0.2162,"searches":10970,"status":"held"},{"metro":"Chicago","full":"Chicago","dealer":"Bill Jacobs MINI","leader":0.3525,"runner":0.3314,"searches":6070,"status":"open"},{"metro":"Dallas","full":"Dallas-Fort Worth","dealer":"MINI of Dallas","leader":0.407,"runner":0.3108,"searches":6800,"status":"held"},{"metro":"Houston","full":"Houston","dealer":"Momentum MINI","leader":0.3645,"runner":0.337,"searches":7470,"status":"open"},{"metro":"Atlanta","full":"Atlanta","dealer":"Global Imports MINI","leader":0.5159,"runner":0.4841,"searches":4620,"status":"open"},{"metro":"Washington DC","full":"Washington DC","dealer":"MINI of Alexandria","leader":0.3891,"runner":0.3072,"searches":3010,"status":"held"},{"metro":"Miami","full":"Miami","dealer":"Braman MINI of Miami","leader":0.3817,"runner":0.366,"searches":5400,"status":"open"},{"metro":"Philadelphia","full":"Philadelphia","dealer":"MINI of the Main Line","leader":0.4029,"runner":0.3421,"searches":3560,"status":"open"},{"metro":"Phoenix","full":"Phoenix","dealer":"MINI of Tempe","leader":0.5086,"runner":0.4914,"searches":3820,"status":"open"},{"metro":"Boston","full":"Boston","dealer":"Herb Chambers MINI of Boston","leader":0.3996,"runner":0.3647,"searches":2830,"status":"open"},{"metro":"Riverside","full":"Riverside","dealer":"MINI of Ontario","leader":0.4007,"runner":0.3874,"searches":2220,"status":"open"},{"metro":"San Francisco Bay Area","full":"San Francisco Bay Area","dealer":"MINI of Marin","leader":0.2922,"runner":0.246,"searches":6010,"status":"open"},{"metro":"Tampa","full":"Tampa","dealer":"Ferman MINI of Tampa Bay","leader":0.5107,"runner":0.4893,"searches":2620,"status":"open"},{"metro":"San Diego","full":"San Diego","dealer":"MINI of San Diego","leader":0.5354,"runner":0.4646,"searches":3780,"status":"open"},{"metro":"Denver","full":"Denver","dealer":"Schomp MINI","leader":0.5736,"runner":0.4264,"searches":3390,"status":"held"},{"metro":"Baltimore","full":"Baltimore","dealer":"MINI of Towson","leader":0.5582,"runner":0.4418,"searches":2490,"status":"held"}],"intro_html":"Today's leaderboard can still change. In 11 of the 17 metros with more than one dealer the runner-up is within striking distance of the leader, and no leader anywhere holds a dominant share. Detroit, Seattle, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Orlando, Charlotte, St. Louis, San Antonio, and Austin each have one measured rooftop, so there is no race to measure there and they are not grouped below. The groups below sort the raced metros by the size of the leader's margin.","scatter_head_html":"<strong>How close every race is.</strong> Each bubble is one metro, sized by market size. Up: the share of voice the leading dealer holds. Across: the share the runner-up holds. On the dashed line, the leader and runner-up hold equal shares. The tinted zone just above it is striking distance; the higher a bubble sits above the line, the larger the leader's margin. 7 of the 10 biggest markets shown are in the striking-distance zone."}

Strengthen your profiles on the sites AI reads most

dealerrater.com, cars.com, autotrader.com are among the ten most-cited sources in at least 80% of the metros we measured. Strengthen those first: keep your Google Business Profile complete and actively managed, claim your DealerRater page and respond to its reviews, and take part in the local discussions where shoppers ask about dealers. Then add the review sites AI cites in your own market (the source table above shows the national picture).

Build real pages for the nearby markets you want to win

In 5 of the 8 one-dealer metros, AI names the dealer at least 5 points less often in an outlying city than across the metro (82% in Olympia and 82% in Rock Hill, against 97% and 98% overall). You cannot move the store, but you can make your relevance to each nearby market visible. Give every city you serve its own page with real substance: the inventory you deliver there, the drive time from that city, the services those customers use, and reviews from real customers who live there. Thin copies of one page do not help; give AI real local content to cite.

Publish content only your dealership can offer

Leaders and the field are tied on Google ratings (4.6★ to 4.7★), so generic claims about quality do not separate anyone. Give the sites AI reads specific, factual material to cite: your actual inventory, real customer reviews, and the services your store offers - and keep it current.

Know where you stand

Every metro here was measured with the same non-branded questions real shoppers ask, and 11 of the 17 metros with more than one dealer are a contested race. You cannot aim any of the steps above without knowing your own position: which questions you win, which you lose, and to whom. That is what a dealer-level measurement shows.

Claim and work your Yelp listing

5 of the 25 leading dealers we could rate score below 3.0 on Yelp, while those same dealers average 4.6★ on Google. AI assistants read both. Claim the listing, reply to the reviews already there, keep your hours and services current, and ask satisfied customers to post where shoppers are already looking.

Edmunds, AutoTrader and KBB are cited in every measured metro, but they sit well below the dealers' own sites and local sources - Edmunds peaks at #10 (Phoenix); AutoTrader peaks at #4 (Denver); KBB peaks at #3 (Riverside).