As the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau prepares its annual report to Congress, the agency wanted specifics of what compliance matters other federal regulators are involved with regarding non-bank entities, which can include franchised and independent dealerships. The Federal Trade Commission, which has jurisdiction over dealers, shared what it had with the CFPB last week. But […] [Read More]

Nearly half of the markets represented among the Top 10 for the highest monthly auto loan payment for a new model in April are located in the same state, according to Edmunds.com. And popular vehicles sold in those areas appear to be pickups. "It's no secret that April was a good month for full sized […] [Read More]

In the last chapter of our “How to sell to Gen X and Y” series, we explored the phenomenon of the “initial consideration set”— the 3.8 cars (on average) that consumers include in their initial research as probable purchases. While you can’t control whether or not one of your vehicle makes/models ends up in the […] [Read More]

With dealers having only so much money they can dedicate toward advertising, Paul Potratz offered three recommendations for dealers of any size that can help to sharpen their promotional message and return on their investment. The chief operating officer and founder of Potratz Partners Advertising outlined these suggestions in an online video titled, “3 Simple […] [Read More]

LeasePlan USA  recently gave back to its community through a bus donation to a children’s shelter, a gesture that now allows the shelter to meet state guidelines concerning transportation of children. The bus was donated to the Atlanta Children’s Shelter, a cause that provides child development and support services for homeless families who are looking […] [Read More]

Most of the metrics included in the latest RDN Monthly Analytics Update indicated downward movement in April. Analysts said April recovery volumes dropped 2 percentage points versus the March level. However, the April reading came in 7 percentage points higher than the year-earlier mark. RDN noticed more declining patterns in terms of recovery orders. April […] [Read More]

One of Paul Potratz’s recent episodes of his weekly online video commentaries about dealership advertising started out sounding like a standup comedian’s joke, referencing a doctor and a lawyer. All kidding aside, the chief operating officer and founder of Potratz Partners Advertising emphasized how dealers should approach the difference between seeing consumers as clients, rather […] [Read More]

In addition to announcing an update to its forecasting model, ALG said Monday that  while it is projecting a modest decline in residual values,its latest forecast still bests “historical norms.” The latest ALG Industry Report is calling for a 0.5-perecentage-point drop in 36-month residual values; however, this “compares favorably” to the 0.9-percentage-point decline projected from […] [Read More]

Strategic Vision has announced its list of best-quality vehicles for 2013, in the 18th annual Total Quality Index. Named best overall corporation in Total Quality for the eighth consecutive year was Volkswagen Group of America. That company’s luxury brand, Audi, tied with Lexus for best individual brand. Ford Motor Co. ranked second, followed by a […] [Read More]

In light of what analysts believe to be younger, less-brand-loyal consumers, Jumpstart Automotive Group discovered the Big Three scored big with online shoppers during the first quarter. Jumpstart’s quarterly report highlighted the vehicle segments, makes, and models that captured the largest share of online auto shoppers during Q1, assessing traffic figures from the company’s 12 […] [Read More]