May might have been a great month for used-vehicle sales, but CNW Research president Art Spinella doesn’t expect the same for June. He’s forecasting a 1.5-percent year-over-year downturn. “The used industry had a stellar May, but June is looking to take some of the gains back,” Spinella said. “Based on the first 19 days of […] [Read More]

Initial quality is on the rise in the auto business, according to J.D. Power and Associates, which said Wednesday that it was 2009 the last time this much progress was made. But one thing remained the same. Once again leading the pack among auto brands is Lexus, which earned the No. 1 position in J.D. […] [Read More]

As the organization handed out other honors and scholarships, ADESA president and chief executive officer Tom Caruso recently became the newest member of the National Independent Automobile Dealers Association’s Ring of Honor. A veteran of more than 30 years in the automotive industry, Caruso is the 22nd industry leader to be inducted into the Ring […] [Read More]

Black Book has selected a new director of automotive licensing, tapping an industry veteran with deep roots in the automotive world. Black Book on Wednesday announced that Jared Kalfus has joined the company in this director role, in which he is responsible for leading Black Book’s efforts to increase data licensing revenue to OEMs, dealers […] [Read More]

In what could be considered encouraging signs on a number of fronts, J.D. Power and Associates discovered that May leasing levels moved higher both month-over-month and year-over-year. According to J.D. Power’s May Industry Health Review, May’s lease penetration settled at 20.9 percent, up 1.5 percent from the previous month and 9.4 percent from the same […] [Read More]

Dealers selling new and late-model used midsize cars may have a new selling point at their disposal when talking with moms and dads who visit their lots. Edmunds.com editors are recommending the midsize car as the most ideal vehicle segment for teenagers. And after evaluations of every model in the segment, Edmunds has released a […] [Read More]

As part of its renewable energy goals, Manheim announced new solar projects at two of its auctions. On Tuesday, the company reported on the completion of photovoltaic solar installations at both Manheim Baltimore-Washington and Manheim Nashville, projects meant to produce clean energy and reduce carbon emissions. This brings the company’s total number of completed solar […] [Read More]

A zombie is a person whose behavior or responses are wooden, automated, lacking will or creativity. The definition of a zombie skip-tracer is the person in your office who logs on to their favorite data source and clicks just to click, robotically starting with the Holy Grail search of the Social Security Number. It seems […] [Read More]

Dataium has discovered that its May Automotive Shopper Intensity Index produced the first decline since January, partly due to consumers staying in market longer than previous months and extending the buying cycle from between 30 and 45 days to 60 days. In fact, Dataium contends last month’s  seasonally adjusted annualized rate for new-vehicle sales may […] [Read More]

The National Independent Automobile Dealers Association has announced its 2012 National Quality Dealer of the Year. Receiving this honor at NIADA’s 66th Annual Convention and Expo in Las Vegas was Michael D’Andrea. The co-owner of Miracle Motor Mart in Columbus, Ohio and former Ohio State linebacker was one of 21 dealers nominated for the award, […] [Read More]