Inventory Finance company NextGear Capital, the result of the recent merger Manheim Automotive Financial Services and Dealer Services Corp., revealed late Thursday it has chosen a vice president of industry relations. Tapped for the position is Todd Croom, who previously held the position of VP of finance at Manheim. The company shared Croom will be […] [Read More]

Canadian debt levels continued to creep up in the last quarter of 2012. In fact, TransUnion's quarterly analysis of Canadian credit trends found that the average consumer's total debt (excluding mortgage) increased nearly 6 percent from $25,960 at the end of 2011 to $27,485 in Q4 2012. “The year-over-year increase was the largest of its […] [Read More]

As was reportedly coming, Chrysler Group and Santander Consumer USA joined forces Wednesday for an agreement to provide a full spectrum of auto financing services to Chrysler and Fiat customers and dealers under the name Chrysler Capital. In a move that will end a three-year, post-bankruptcy association with Ally Financial, Chrysler Capital will be launched […] [Read More]

What SUVs and crossovers should dealers keep a particularly good eye on when closing up for the day?  The National Insurance Crime Bureau released a new report Tuesday that examines thefts of SUVs and CUVs stolen between Jan. 1, 2008, and June 30, 2012, which shows 19,961 SUVs/CUVs were reported stolen during the period. The […] [Read More]

Citing the growing need among dealers and auto finance companies to obtain affordable options for portfolio management and collateral protection, ITURAN recently unveiled a new, streamlined version of its popular Controlit technology. The new version of Controlit Core is designed to offer an even better value than its predecessor without compromising on quality. The new […] [Read More]

This morning, Kelley Blue Book highlighted the 2013 model-year vehicles and brands (in both luxury and non-luxury categories) with the lowest projected ownership costs. The top awards based on KBB’s 5-Year Cost to Own data for new models for the initial five-year ownership period went to Mazda and Lexus. Analysts indicated Mazda is the top […] [Read More]

A new residual-based financing program from the creators of the CarMark Certified Pre-Owned program, called CarMark Auto Finance, is hitting its stride just in time for dealers to take advantage of the opportunity during the profitable first months of the new year, according to company officials. [Read More]

As the 2013 NADA Conference & Expo approaches, companies continue to highlight their top offerings for dealers before the big event. NADA exhibitor PartProtection launched Monday an extended service coverage on original equipment parts sold through a dealership's parts department, through Parts eStores, and on OE parts installed in a dealership's service department.  [Read More]

During Thursday’s conference call with investors, AutoNation’s management didn’t dispute the notion that its used-vehicle performance relative to the overall industry was stronger in the first half of 2012 than it was in the second. The company also didn’t shy away from acknowledging what appears to be a “shift from used to new.” But it […] [Read More]

CAFE standards and fuel efficiency have been water cooler topics for dealerships and OEMs, alike, as gas prices flew over $4 last year and manufacturers look into ways to increase MPG. But what about the dealership itself? Could dealers improve their bottom lines by increasing their stores’ energy efficiency? In an effort to help dealers […] [Read More]