Kelley Blue Book revealed the winners of its 2012 Brand Image Awards on Wednesday, and highlighting the list of honorees was a quartet of repeat winners. Honda took the Best Value Brand category for the second straight year, and Cadillac earned its second straight honor as Best Comfort Brand. Meanwhile, Mercedes-Benz celebrated its fifth straight […] [Read More]

Rising gas prices and loosening of credit are both contributing to a consumer shift towards smaller vehicles, J.D. Power and Associates reports. And while sales rates continued to rise during this past month, the company contends that not only are the types of vehicles being purchased changing, but also the types of buyers and the average […] [Read More]

The latest tech gadget or social media trend might not be the only status aspiration of Millennials — the generation of young Americans ages 11 to 30 years old. Research conducted by Chevrolet and MTV Scratch found nearly 70 percent of Millennials consider the purchase of their first vehicle to be a key marker on […] [Read More]

The last time Volkswagen of America had this good of a first quarter, Richard Nixon was president and "The Godfather" was being given the Academy Award for Best Picture. The company’s 94,373 new-vehicle sales in the first three months of 2012 marked its strongest first-quarter since 1973, and VW capped the quarter with both its […] [Read More]

NADAguides.com announced its Featured Vehicle of the Month on Tuesday, giving this month’s honors to the 2012 Infiniti FX50. The site praised the Japanese luxury model for its vast comfort, technology and aesthetic options, while also touching on its “very competitive” performance attributes and price. NADAguides also gave kudos for the redesigned exterior. The FX50, […] [Read More]

If consumers aren’t using their income tax refund to make a vehicle purchase, an eBay Motors survey showed that cash might still result in dealership revenue. The eBay Motors survey indicated more than one-third of vehicle owners will spend a portion of their tax refunds on something related to a car, truck or motorcycle, and […] [Read More]

Nearly 30 years after we began building the Honda Accord in America, the news that Honda will build the fuel-efficient Honda Fit in our new plant in Mexico is an important addition to the existing portfolio of passenger cars and light trucks we already produce in North America. [Read More]

In an effort to deal with an issue brought to the forefront recently with the organization of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, DealerTrack revealed today a program that aims to help dealers “more effectively demonstrate their compliance with state and federal regulations.” Audit Protect is now included in the company’s sales and F&I compliance solution. [Read More]

Pushed by a significant uptick in its sales for Big 3 brands, AutoNation improved both its March and first-quarter new-vehicle sales by double-digits, the company said Tuesday. AutoNation closed the first quarter by moving 25,489 new vehicles in March. This marked a 15-percent year-over-year uptick. Sharing the results broken down by its three operating segments, […] [Read More]

With an economic rebound still tenuous, recovery efforts by finance companies, credit unions and buy-here, pay-here dealers remain a critical part of doing business nowadays. As the industry ventures deeper in 2012, sister publication SubPrime Auto Finance News reached out to several recovery executives to gather their thoughts on how recoveries are evolving. To set […] [Read More]