Lease credit approvals on Swapalease.com decelerated a tad in the final two months of the year — similar to prior years — but still finished 2015 with a “healthy” approval rate of 70 percent, the company said in an analysis released Thursday. And much like the overall auto industry, lease approvals on the site were still […] [Read More]

Businesses today, large and small, are facing what seems to be the most impatient generation of humans ever when it comes to commodity acquisition. They know what they want and they want it now. And that impetus also extends to their vehicle purchase transaction — which they want to be quick and painless. This is […] [Read More]

Two of the Big 3 automakers were recognized during the 20th Annual Automotive Loyalty Awards presented by IHS Automotive this week. General Motors was honored in the category of Overall Loyalty to Manufacturer for the 2015 model year, while Ford won the Overall Loyalty to Make category. According to IHS, the automotive loyalty awards recognize […] [Read More]

Many people enjoy the convenience of having a car at their disposal. But the traditional ownership model may not be doing it for many consumers, who, in a recent study by IBM, are showing interest in other forms of ownership and car-usage methods. In its study, titled A new relationship – people and cars, the […] [Read More]

Not every dealership group can count the Utah Jazz as a sister company. But like Karl Malone taking flight off a John Stockton bounce pass, the Larry H. Miller Dealerships organization is assisted by the cross-marketing opportunities of being under the same corporate umbrella as an NBA franchise. LHM Dealerships is, of course, part of […] [Read More]

The California Air Resources Board, commonly known as CARB, rejected Volkswagen Group of America’s submitted recall plan for its 2.0-liter diesel vehicles on Tuesday, citing insufficient details in its plan as the reasoning behind its rejection. Here’s CARB’s exact verbiage: The proposed plans contain gaps and lack sufficient detail. The descriptions of proposed repairs lack […] [Read More]

Enterprise Holdings announced its newest five-year goals for its businesses on Monday, included in its fiscal year 2015 sustainability report. Within the report, titled The Business of Sustainability, the operators of well-known companies such as Enterprise Rent-A-Car, National Car Rental and Alamo Rent A Car built on their last five years of sustainability results and […] [Read More]

Vehicle sharing programs are gaining popularity these days, and now the Blue Oval is joining the pack. Through the new Ford Motor Credit Co. leasing pilot program, families and small groups of friends and neighbors can now share a Ford vehicle, the automaker announced Monday. Ford Credit Link — which is being piloted for Ford Credit […] [Read More]

At the close of the third quarter, our nation’s seven publicly traded dealer groups collectively averaged their 25th consecutive quarter of same-store used unit sales increases. Cox Automotive’s chief economist Tom Webb, speaking during the Manheim Index Quarterly Conference Call on Friday, says a 26th is probable, but will be a challenge to achieve. “Slide 14 shows […] [Read More]

Most dealerships love getting clean trade-ins that can be quickly reconditioned and put on the front line. However, they sure do not get as excited about that “beater” someone is trying to unload. I say it’s time to reconsider that mindset. Here’s why: Ever wonder why CarMax is the largest seller of pre-owned vehicles, selling […] [Read More]