Due in part to continuing low demand, especially in Europe — one of its biggest markets — Volvo is halting production for a week this month, the OEM revealed Monday. The company said in a statement it will halt production from Oct. 29 to Nov. 2 at its Torslanda plant in western Sweden, reducing output […] [Read More]

Organizers of Used Car Week have announced that the $200 early registration discount for the week-long series of conferences has been extended through the end of the day on Wednesday. The previous deadline for the early-bird rate at Used Car Week — which consists of three conferences and is set for Nov. 12–16 at The […] [Read More]

The American Bankers Association cautioned that cybercriminals are increasingly targeting small businesses such as dealerships, to transfer funds from accounts and steal private information, a fraud referred to as "corporate account takeover." The association contends that criminals can use spoofed emails, malicious software and online social networks to obtain login credentials to businesses' accounts, which […] [Read More]

A used-vehicle manager at a Midwest Honda dealership shared the following message in an email with vAuto consultant Tommy Gibbs and asked for help to address a problem with reconditioning. The manager wrote, “It kills me that all other facets of our business have evolved, especially with the integration of vAuto into our used-car operations. […] [Read More]

Due to higher-than-expected registration numbers for the Used Car Week conferences, and projected record-breaking attendance, The Phoenician resort has sold out of rooms for the entire week of the conferences. However, conference organizers have established an alternate hotel option nearby for those who still need to make room reservations, and have negotiated an even lower […] [Read More]

One of the primary findings from a case study based on data collaboration between Autobytel and Polk indicated that dealers and automakers should place even more emphasis on their certified pre-owned and used programs when following up on online consumer leads. Why? Autobytel and Polk found that nearly 46 percent of consumers who planned to […] [Read More]

Transportation coatings company PPG Industries this week released its annual automotive color popularity and trend data and found a repeat winner. Still ranking as globe’s most popular color choice for cars is white. That being said, based on 2012 automotive build data PPG forecasts that the overall use of color is on the rise. According […] [Read More]

Bryan Leaitch, the manager of certified pre-owned at Mazda Canada, has spotted one particular trend in company’s relatively new program that has helped spur dealer engagement. “We have noticed that the gross profit per unit for our CPO units versus non-CPO units has increased steadily since our program launch, which has resulted in increased active […] [Read More]

While the San Francisco region has experienced a “robust” used-car environment recently, the other two Federal Reserve Districts reporting used-vehicle trends in the latest Beige Book analysis fared differently. In the latest reporting period, dealers in the New York and Cleveland districts have seen “flat” used-vehicle sales, according to the Federal Reserve. [Read More]

One Japanese brand, after battling numerous recalls and natural disasters the past few years, still remains a favorite among its loyal fans. It was revealed Wednesday that Toyota Motor Sales,USA ranked highest in corporate loyalty for the second quarter of 2012, according to the Experian Automotive Loyalty and Market Trend analysis. Experian said the OEM […] [Read More]