DealerTrack announced late Monday that it is selling ALG to TrueCar. As part of the deal, DealerTrack will continue to have access to certain ALG intellectual property or data in its products and services, with a perpetual, royalty free license. Interestingly, management of both companies describe the transaction as a tax-free reorganization. For the sale […] [Read More]

Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group has asked its suitors — Hertz and Avis Budget Group — for their best and final acquisition offers. It appears to be an effort by the company’s president and chief executive officer to speed along a process which has lasted more than a year.  Scott Thompson tipped off the suitors of […] [Read More]

Recognizing that dealers are currently facing significant challenges in sourcing inventory in the pre-owned marketplace, both the National Remarketing Conference and the CPO Forum will be focusing on the topic, bringing together top dealers from throughout the country to discuss their strategies and best practices for finding the right cars. The CPO Forum will put the […] [Read More]

To reward loyal customers with such perks as sales and service discounts at the dealership, Mercedes-Benz USA, its financial arm, and American Express have rolled out two new co-branded credit cards that include an array of awards for the luxury automaker’s clientele. It was also announced Monday that the automaker has signed on to American […] [Read More]

License plate recognition technology provider Digital Recognition Network recently finished up a full and robust integration with iRepo, a provider of e-commerce recovery management solutions to the auto finance and recovery service industries. Officials explained the integration is meant to enable iRepo users to fully utilize DRN’s national LPR platform, making it possible to have […] [Read More]

Contrary to what some analysts are projecting, the National Automobile Dealers Association’s chief economist is thinking new-vehicles sales will close out this year strong. NADA’s Paul Taylor sent out a statement late last week on the heels of firms such as J.D. Power and Associates shaving their expectations for where the 2011 SAAR might land. […] [Read More]

As the Volkswagen Group aims to climb the global market share ladder, expanding its presence in the U.S. market is vital for the German automaker. Through the first seven months of the year, VW has done exactly that, lifting its U.S. sales by more than 20 percent from a year ago. The 20.5 percent increase […] [Read More]

In perhaps some unconventional news for General Motors, it was revealed late last week that one of its nameplates has played a part in setting a world record. In Cadillac founder Henry Leland’s hometown, 298 of these models and their proud owners from throughout the U.S. and Canada rolled down Route 2, stretching for nearly a mile in […] [Read More]

RouteOne Canada revealed recently that it has added a new lender to its online credit application management system. Joining the RouteOne Canada network is General Bank of Canada, which is based out of Edmonton. “RouteOne Canada is extremely pleased to have General Bank join our platform,” stated RouteOne Canada president Barry McMillan. “The addition of […] [Read More]

In light of July’s Automotive Shopper Intensity index — a metric said to be able to gauge how strong car sales may be in 30–45 days — it is likely that the rest of August and September will show a “flat” market, according to online shopping activity aggregator Dataium. The Dataium ASI index during July […] [Read More]