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]

Experian Automotive’s latest State of the Automotive Finance Market report indicated the 60-day delinquency rate ticked up 7 basis points year-over-year during the third quarter, landing at 0.74 percent. Each of the four categories of providers Experian notes in its report experienced a slight uptick in 60-day delinquencies. The segment that experienced the highest rise […] [Read More]

Six different companies with a significant auto industry presence were named among the 2016 Best Workplaces for Diversity, according to global research and consulting firm Great Place to Work and Fortune. The half-dozen companies included in the rankings based on employees' assessments of workplace fairness, opportunities for training, and access to senior leadership among other […] [Read More]

Dealership GMs wishing to run World Series-style reconditioning centers can borrow a few winning lessons from Joe Maddon, most recently of 2016 Chicago Cubs World Series championship fame. During an interview at Tropicana Field when Madden managed the Tampa Bay Rays, Men’s Journal writer Pat Jordan noted how the future Chicago Cub’s World Series skipper […] [Read More]

You can count the decision by Roger Penske and his team at Penske Automotive Group to acquire standalone used-car retailer CarSense as a wise one, says Autotrader senior analyst Michelle Krebs. “It’s a really smart move, of course,” Krebs said during a phone interview Friday. “Roger doesn’t make any dumb moves.” Penske Automotive announced Thursday […] [Read More]