Just three days after Hertz Global Holdings pushed back the deadline of its latest offer to acquire Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, the proposed Hertz-Dollar Thrifty merger took a major step forward late last week. Hertz revealed that it gave federal antitrust authorities the premerger notification required by the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as […] [Read More]

Experian Automotive wanted to offer more information pertinent to dealers beyond the brand loyalty trends it tracks on a quarterly basis. So this week, Experian combined its analysis of both brand loyalty and dealer loyalty, resulting in some interesting findings. For calendar year 2010, Experian discovered dealer loyalty — buyers returning to market and purchasing […] [Read More]

Although gas prices have moderated in recent weeks, there’s no telling what may set off a fuel-price hike down the road. And recent times have shown that price movements certainly impact the auto industry. To shed some light in this area, ALG recently investigated what residual impact a $1-per-gallon increase in fuel costs would trigger […] [Read More]

Two Big 3 brands kept their respective perches as the most-researched brands during the second quarter and domestics, overall, were on top for sales and consumer interest. But European car companies appear to have a full head of steam and may be on the verge of a sales spike down the road, according to NADAguides. […] [Read More]

Many car buyers in Generation X — which is comprised of those born in the 1960s, 70s and early 80s — are now  thinking about the family’s needs when shopping, tend to live by a “work hard/play mentality” and actually have a stronger degree of purchasing power. With these attributes and more in mind, TrueCar […] [Read More]

With three models rated as total quality leaders, Volkswagen of America was named the best full-line automaker in Strategic Vision’s 2011 Total Quality Index released Tuesday. Propelling the German OEM to the top spot with a score of 881 was Strategic Vision tapping the Golf, Jetta and Tiguan as segment leaders. Analysts based their assessment […] [Read More]

The certified pre-owned market recently completed its second-best quarter on record and notched an 8-percent year-over-year increase in June, according to statistics from Autodata Corp. But it’s not just CPO sales that are increasing. Recent analysis from AutoTrader.com indicates that the prices of many certified vehicles are climbing, as well. In fact, of the 20 […] [Read More]

As the automaker revealed its sales and marketing team for the smart brand, Mercedes-Benz dealerships earned the top ranking for the third year in a row based on feedback from “mystery shoppers.” The results came Monday when the 2011 Pied Piper Prospect Satisfaction Index U.S. Auto Industry Benchmarking Study was released. Officials recounted the independent […] [Read More]

In the latest development in negotiations that have lasted more than a year, Hertz Global Holdings announced Monday that it has extended the expiration date of its exchange offer for all outstanding shares of Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group. Officials reiterated the offer is for $57.60 in cash and 0.8546 shares of Hertz common stock. They […] [Read More]

Sonic Automotive revealed revamped and extended syndicated credit facilities on Monday that allows it to tap into a pool of significantly greater funds to acquire cars, including a lift in used-vehicle inventory floor plan financing of $30 million. Breaking it down, the maturity date of the existing facilities was pushed back from August 2012 to […] [Read More]