During an early August conference call with the media, Kelley Blue Book senior analyst Alec Gutierrez said that leasing was accounting for a little more than 25 percent of all new-vehicle retail sales year-to-date, calling it a “key driver” behind the new-car market’s strength. That level beats 2013 lease penetration figures that averaged between 22 […] [Read More]

TrueCar Inc. announced recently the best month of the year for consumers to purchase a new vehicle. Despite the common belief that December is the best month to purchase new, the best month, based on average prices over the last five years, is August, with an average total new-vehicle price of $29,296, $169 lower than […] [Read More]

If you’re looking to get a dealer riled up, just ask him about his marketing plan. Here’s a quick sample of what I hear every day: “The more I put into marketing, the less I get back.” “Don’t tell me to invest more in marketing. Not until I see some kind of return.” “No one’s […] [Read More]

Re3 Conference co-presenting sponsor Primeritus Financial Services announced the dates for its second annual agent partner event. The forwarding company will hold the event at its new corporate office location in Nashville, Tenn., on Sept. 11 and  Sept. 12. Primeritus highlighted that more than 100 agent partners attended this event a year ago. “We are […] [Read More]

One of the returning presenting sponsors of this year’s Re3 Conference — Digital Recognition Network — continued its ongoing clash with the American Civil Liberties Union over the use of license plate recognition technology by explaining what the company believes is the group’s inconsistent positions on freedom of speech. DRN highlighted that the ACLU clearly […] [Read More]

The Rainbow PUSH Coalition, the civil rights organization headed by the Reverend Jesse L. Jackson Sr., announced this week the organization’s annual automotive conference will be held in Detroit in October. The 15th Annual Rainbow PUSH Global Automotive Summit will take place on Oct. 13 at the MGM Grand Detroit Hotel, featuring “over 500 automotive executives, […] [Read More]

The potential risk to used-car values from increases in off-lease volume and lease penetration rates is something that Alec Gutierrez is keeping a close watch on. The KBB senior analyst doesn’t see much of a dust-up yet, but there could be potential for gradual “downward pressure” on used values a couple years down the road. However, […] [Read More]

As members of Generation Y age, join the work force, have families — and, of course, purchase vehicles — many are turning to the used-car lot. In fact, these younger buyers are purchasing used cars much more often than older generations, such as Generation X and the Baby Boomers. That’s according to data from J.D. Power’s […] [Read More]

Ricky Beggs and Jared Kalfus travel throughout the U.S. as part of their job duties at Black Book, meeting with executives from auctions, automakers and finance companies. During recent business trips, both Beggs and Kalfus noticed unusual circumstances when it came time to secure a rental car. The Black Book executives said the long lines […] [Read More]

Ford Credit’s lease return volume this year has already eclipsed the 100,000-unit mark, with the second-quarter tally showing a substantial year-over-increase. That’s according to statistics from Ford Motor Co.’s Q2 fixed income conference call that Manheim chief economist Tom Webb posted to his blog late last week. The data sets put Ford Credit’s quarterly lease […] [Read More]