Lithia Motors shored up its floor plan resources on Thursday as the dealer group completed a new $650 million, five-year revolving syndicated credit facility with 10 institutions..  The group noted that the facility — which will expire in April 2017 — can be expanded to $800 million in total availability. Executives highlighted that the revolving […] [Read More]

As one conference panelist so succinctly put it, Canada’s used-vehicle industry may be in for a "helluva strong market."  And it appears the interest in the country’s used-car and remarketing industries is already there. Close to 500 dealers, remarketers and other Canadian auto business leaders poured into The Fairmont Royal York in Toronto recently for […] [Read More]

For Canadian dealer Larry Wright, his buy-here, pay-here offering started, essentially, as a solution to a financing problem. Wright — president of Wright Auto Sales, Inc., which has two dealerships in four locations — needed to get a group of customers from overseas financed, but he was running into complications. “RIM was our biggest customer […] [Read More]

In some perhaps not surprising news following the spike in fuel prices this spring, clean diesel automobile sales in the U.S. increased an impressive 35 percent during the first quarter of this year, according to information released Tuesday by HybridCars.Com and Baum and Associates.  And the two companies say this climb coincides with continuing strong […] [Read More]

The National Automobile Dealers Association revealed this week it has promoted one of its own to executive director of legislative affairs. Tapped for the position is current chief legislative counsel Michael Harrington.  In his new role, Harrington is responsible for managing NADA’s legislative staff and implementing the association’s legislative agenda, officials explained. [Read More]

Skip Pros — a subsidiary of Renovo Services — picked up two honors during the recent JP Morgan Chase & Co. vendor roundtable meeting. Skip Pros was awarded the Best Skip Company Award for its third-quarter performance as well as the Most Improved Skip Company for 2011.  “JP Morgan Chase has been a dedicated partner […] [Read More]

If recovery industry executives want to sharpen their skip-tracing skills, Alex Price often is one of the first experts called. As a result, Price has taken nearly 30 years of industry experience and created the Skip-Tracers National Certification Program. “What I basically did was take tried-and-true, old-school skip-tracing techniques and melded them with today’s technology […] [Read More]

Researchers with the Union of Concerned Scientists pinpointed just how much an electric vehicle owner could save in operating costs compared to an average compact model. Study findings revealed owners of models such as the Nissan LEAF and Chevrolet Volt can save $750 to $1,200 a year compared with operating an average new compact gasoline […] [Read More]

Dataium’s latest Automotive Shopper Intensity Index showed potential buyers flocked to websites operated by Toyota dealers in March. Analysts found the brand secured the highest ASI ranking of all nameplates as vehicle searches on dealership websites rose 10 percent above the previous month. Coming in behind Toyota in Dataium’s breakdown was Ford, followed by Chevrolet. […] [Read More]

Financial services technology solutions provider Fiserv revealed its new executive vice president and chief information officer is a former Ally Financial executive. Taking on the role is Cliff Skelton replacing Maryann Goebel, who will serve as an adviser to the company until her retirement on July 1.  In this role, Fiserv indicated Skelton will be […] [Read More]