The Federal Reserve confirmed Monday that automotive dealers are temporarily exempt from collecting and reporting information to the government on credit applications from women or minority-owned businesses and small businesses. This requirement falls under Regulation B (Equal Credit Opportunity) and was added as a section under the Dodd-Frank Act. [Read More]

Ford vehicle performance earned more praise as RDA Group gave the automaker its Quality Award — a discretionary honor to recognize substantial improvements in quality and customer satisfaction over time. RDA Group declared during a brief ceremony recently that Ford has “achieved unparalleled success in quality and customer satisfaction improvement.” In assessing Global Quality Research […] [Read More]

With my travels all throughout this nation, I have a unique opportunity to work with and train people from every walk of life — from the auto finance industry to the bail bondsman to the recovery agent. No matter their line of work, the most common questions I am asked are: “When should we start working […] [Read More]

With communications technology evolving rapidly and federal regulations still in flux, ACA International, the Association of Credit and Collection Professionals, created a series of recommendations on how debt collection can be handled efficiently and fairly. ACA International recently rolled out what it titled, “The Path Forward: ACA International’s Blueprint for Modernizing America’s Consumer Debt Collection […] [Read More]

In light of the supply dearth, several Japanese models are seeing significant gains in the number of consumers looking to buyout existing leases on the vehicles, according to LeaseTrader.com. The shoppers see this as an alternative method of car buying, the site indicated. What’s more, with high used values on these units, some customers will […] [Read More]

Carfinco Income Fund saw its pre-tax earnings hit an all-time high for the eighth consecutive time during the first quarter, as the company enjoyed closed to a 70-percent gain from the year-ago period. Specifically, Carfinco pulled in pre-tax earnings of $5.5 million, a 69.2-percent year-over-year increase. This pushed Carfinco’s record streak to two full years, […] [Read More]

You can’t blame it all on the economy. That’s one of the three messages that Grant Cardone hopes car dealers will take away from watching him help turnaround the business of one of their brethren in the premiere episode of the new show Turnaround King, which is set to begin at 9 p.m. EST Sunday […] [Read More]

A new Web-based presentation from NCM Associates featuring vAuto’s Dale Pollak aims to offer the secrets behind “unlocking” a dealership’s true potential. Through the complementary presentation available to NCM’s dealer clients, Pollak will demonstrate how using online advertising can potentially lower a dealer’s costs and increase used-car sales opportunities. [Read More]

Harris Interactive acknowledges consumer consideration for vehicles with alternative powertrains is on the rise. However, its latest study shows concerns regarding infrastructure, price, driving range and maintenance continue to dampen enthusiasm about these technologies. Those assertions are according to the 2011 AutoTECHCAST Study, released by Harris this week. Study orchestrators believe basic barriers continue to […] [Read More]

The tentacles of the Japanese disaster’s impact on vehicle production continues to have a far-reaching effect on the auto industry, and a prime example of this is the downswing in May leasing. Lease penetration in May dropped 1.6 percentage points month-over-month to 18.6 percent, according to the latest Industry Health Review from J.D. Power and Associates. Thomas […] [Read More]