Discussing the drop in May new-vehicle results on Tuesday, Ellen Hughes-Cromwick, chief economist at Ford, revealed that consumer demand remains as strong as it’s been in recent years; however, dealers are struggling with new-model inventory shortages, as well as high gas prices impacting consumer preferences. “Most of the weakness in sales in May was associated […] [Read More]

To help dealers meet the needs of customers in an increasingly transparent used-vehicle market, the American International Automobile Dealers Association is teaming up with NADA Used Car Guide to offer a free Webinar later this month that focuses on the appraisal process, which can be a key element in transparency and customer satisfaction. After all, […] [Read More]

Derived from analysis of first-quarter online shopper activity at automaker websites, iPerceptions learned visitors who said they plan to purchase a new vehicle during the next six months rose from 49.5 percent in the fourth quarter of last year to 51.7 percent in first quarter of this year. iPerceptions’ automotive industry report released this week […] [Read More]

For many decades the desire to consistently own a new vehicle has been an American dream. In fact, many years ago, vehicles were built with a limited ownership time almost in mind. Some models would begin to break down after a few years. But in today’s age, used vehicles are taking on even more prominence as quality climbs and consumers look […] [Read More]

Less than a month after Hertz Global Holdings rolled out a bid to buy up all of Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group’s outstanding stock, DTAG is advising its shareholders to hold off on selling for the time being. Dollar Thrifty announced Monday that its board of directors has unanimously recommended DTAG shareholders not to tender their […] [Read More]

Recovery Industry Services Co. recently formed a partnership with MBSi Capital Corp., makers of the Re-Pros Repossession Software Suite and the iRepo Solution, to provide a key code solution. Officials explained Re-Pros or iRepo users will see a button within their assignments that allows them to request the key code from within the software. “Upon […] [Read More]

As its president delays retirement, Ally Financial shuffled its top management structure late last week as four executives received new appointments effective immediately. Among those appointments is the newly created position of senior executive vice president of finance and corporate planning, which is being filled by Jeffrey Brown, formerly Ally’s corporate treasurer. In addition to […] [Read More]

It’s official. The U.S. Treasury has agreed to end its ownership share in Chrysler, inking a deal late last week for Fiat to buy its remaining 6 percent interest in the Detroit automaker for $500 million. While this certainly is a landmark for the automaker, what kind of impact will it have in the long […] [Read More]

NADAguides recently named its Car of the Month for June and receiving the monthly honors was the 2011 Mini Countryman. Officials said the desicion was based on the vehicle’s European styling, ample space, sportiness and fuel efficiency. Besides impressing NADAguides analysts with comfort and style, Mini’s compact crossover also gained headway when its safety features […] [Read More]

Canadian auto borrower debt for the first quarter jumped more than 12 percent year-over-year, but TransUnion indicated in its quarterly analysis one mitigating factor that is offsetting this moderate increase. Furthermore, auto delinquency rate was down, which is also good news. [Read More]