The used-car market is thriving, and smart dealers are focusing their communication and sales efforts on women who make up 53 percent of all used-car sales and influence a much higher percentage of all purchases. Women today are exercising more control over their personal finances and the contractual dealings they enter into. It’s no secret […] [Read More]

Are you still paying your sales team on gross? If you are, you are not alone. This approach still is used by many dealerships across the nation. When these pay plans were developed consumers had little knowledge of how our business worked, and it was tough to really shop all the competition. Do you remember […] [Read More]

Breaking down the 38 percent of consumers who intend to purchase or lease a vehicle within the next three months, data from Phoenix Marketing International’s latest Automotive Brand and Advertising Audit took eight car-shopping attributes and diagrammed the prevalency of each within this contingent. The firm found that more than 60 percent of those intenders […] [Read More]

As vehicle product quality continues to improve across the board, dealers must look to other areas of their stores to differentiate themselves from competitors. In J.D. Power and Associates' May Automotive Analyst note, for Canada  Virginia Connell cites a “remarkable shift in the automotive market that squarely hands the advantage to consumers.” [Read More]

As economic recovery continues on a strong path in the U.S., findings from the 2013 Harris Poll EquiTrend study show that consumers’ perceptions of automotive brands continue to improve. In fact, the study — which assesed 30 brands this year — found that both the luxury and full-line auto categories improved, perhaps a sign of […] [Read More]

Former new-car dealer Tarik Daoud says education offers freedom — that’s why he takes part in the National Automobile Dealers Charitable Foundation’s Ambassadors program, and points the way for other dealers to do the same. “I’ve always maintained that education leads to freedom,” said Daoud, 77, who serves as a trustee on the board of […] [Read More]

Blackline GPS recently reached an agreement with MVTRAC for the distribution of Blackline’s Dart covert and asset tracking system into the recovery industry. Well-positioned within the auto finance, government and law enforcement market, officials highlighted MVTRAC’s Intelligent Data Network can process real-time data from public and privates sources to automatically identify delinquent collateral, including vehicles, […] [Read More]

Dealers are used to seeing an uptick in auction prices come spring, but this year, prices stayed relatively flat. Why? Kelley Blue Book’s Alec Gutierrez said this flatness can be attributed to “mild fuel prices and increased supply.” In fact, wholesale values increased only 2 percent in the first quarter, said Gutierrez, who is the […] [Read More]

Gas and wholesale pre-owned prices are falling as car buying season gets underway — a winning combination for dealers. And as the weather continues to warm as we approach summer, Kelly Blue Book’s manager of market intelligence and market analyst Arthur Henry said its “a good time to be a car enthusiast.” In fact, on […] [Read More]

When company leadership highlighted its first-quarter performance last week, Ally Financial discussed its objectives for continuing to work with Chrysler franchised dealers even though its exclusive agreement with the automaker expired on Tuesday. Ally Financial president Bill Muir acknowledged one of the biggest changes will be that the company no longer will arrange subvented leases […] [Read More]