In a sign of unity rarely seen, high-ranking executives from more than a dozen automakers joined President Obama late last week to throw support behind the administration’s target of raising the corporate average fuel economy level to almost 55 miles per gallon by 2025. Not all the automakers initially appeared thrilled about potential requirements for higher […] [Read More]

Canada’s 2011 leasing rates for mainstream brands are expected to see a double-digit year-over-year spike, with gains for luxury brands skyrocketing even higher, according to ALG. What’s more, in light of its current residual projection for Canada, the firm believes several automakers will benefit nicely from the leasing uptick, as these brands and their dealers will […] [Read More]

New-car prices in Canada were down 3.1 percent in June, and this decline was a primary driver of lower inflation rates for the month, according to Statistics Canada’s latest Consumer Price Index report. While the report did not delve into where used-car prices come into play, instead focusing on the new-vehicle segment, Michael Hatch — […] [Read More]

If the tentative second-quarter and first-half global performance report released Thursday is any indication — with year-to-date revenue up more than 20 percent and net profit up 41 percent — Hyundai’s surge appears to be rolling along. However, what may pose a “threat” to Hyundai’s snowballing momentum in the new-vehicle market are the upcoming launches […] [Read More]

The 2011 National Remarketing Conference, which will be held Nov. 16-18 in Las Vegas, has been adding new speakers to its agenda, and it was recently announced that the keynote panels for the first and second days of the conference have been finalized. [Read More]

With the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act becoming effective last week, dealers now have a few steps they must take when it comes to disclosing credit-score information in Adverse Action Notices. As such, DealerTrack has upgraded its Performance Suite so that dealers can remain compliant with the act. Basically, the act expands […] [Read More]

Revealed Tuesday, TrueCar has made it on to Red Herring’s list of Top 100 North American Companies. By making it onto the list, TrueCar has joined the likes of entrepreneurial giants the publication gave early nods to, such as Facebook, Twitter and Google. Red Herring — which covers innovation, technology, financing and entrepreneurial activity — […] [Read More]

Penske Automotive Group revealed this week that its board of directors increased its quarterly dividend 14 percent from the previous quarter. The cash dividend Penske intends to pay is 8 cents per share, up from 7 cents per share. The company noted the dividend is payable on Sept. 1 to shareholders of record on Aug. […] [Read More]

A total of 18 different nameplates topped the industry average that reached an all-time high since J.D. Power and Associates began orchestrating the U.S. Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) Study. With the industry average increasing to 781 on a 1,000-point scale, J.D. Power indicated that figure is greater than any average analysts have seen […] [Read More]

Does the Internet mean the end of solid gross profits? This is a question every retailer faces, but retailers in other industries understand their higher and lower margin products. In the auto industry, dealers traditionally haven’t thought about having high and low margin products in their pre-owned cars. Therefore, the first step towards earning high […] [Read More]