I’ve been in this journalism racket for 11 years now, nine of which has been spent covering the auto industry. But I’m not sure I have seen a year quite like this past one.  There is a certain routine to my job (and for most any journalist in the car business): sales/earnings calls happen every […] [Read More]

Spurred by spiking demand, used pickup truck prices have risen far more rapidly than what the overall industry is experiencing, says CarGurus. The price of a used pickup truck has climbed 22 percent since January 2013, according to the car-shopping site. The 1-percent hike in the overall CarGurus Used Car Price index in the same […] [Read More]

New-vehicle transaction prices are expected to reach a record level this year and only go higher in 2017, says Edmunds.com. And the trends driving this pricing peak are likely to have some impact for older vehicles. In analysis released Thursday, Edmunds said the transaction price on a new-car will hit $34,077 for the year. This […] [Read More]

The fact that the top 10 list of vehicles owners keep for at least 10 years is made up entirely of models from Japanese automakers — many of which of known for strong reliability — doesn’t necessarily surprise Phong Ly. No, the surprise to the iSeeCars.com chief executive: nine of the top 10 are either […] [Read More]

This week, the Cause of Action Institute filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to compel the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to provide records the agency used in formulating its rule to prohibit the use of mandatory binding arbitration clauses in financial services contracts. Cause of Action Institute claims […] [Read More]

Toyota and Hyundai top CarMD.com’s annual ranking of vehicles causing the fewest check-engine headaches.  The CarMD Vehicle Health Index names the 1996 to 2016 model-year makes and models with the lowest frequency of check engine light problems and average cost of repairs. CarMD names Toyota the brand least likely to need check engine repairs in its […] [Read More]

Lease penetration has reached an all-time high, and its impact goes beyond financial institutions, dealers and automakers. Exchange marketplaces like Swapalease.com have been affected by the rising popularity of leasing in recent years. Scot Hall, who is executive vice president for the Cincinnati-based lease exchange company, said demand at Swapalease will typically reflect the leasing […] [Read More]

Car values are still depreciating at a faster rate than their truck values, but the gap has narrowed significantly in the past year, according to Black Book data.  From Dec. 1, 2014 to Dec. 1, 2015, car values depreciated 16.7 percent, versus 8.4 percent depreciation for trucks — a difference of more than 8 percentage […] [Read More]

Swapalease.com reported vehicle lease credit applicants registered a 64.7-percent approval rate for November, a 3.2-percent increase from the previous month as the October reading stood at 61.5 percent. A year ago, analysts pointed out that the approvals rate was just 57.9 percent during the same month. The site acknowledged this year's approval rates have been […] [Read More]

Any time I hear the word “future,” my mind immediately goes to the “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” show’s “In the Year 2000” sketch. (And something about LaBamba chanting the sketch’s theme always cracks me up.) While I, too, am a smart-aleck with red hair, I could never be as prophetic or hilarious as Conan. […] [Read More]