After spending the third quarter in second place behind Toyota, Ford once again leads the list of most-considered auto brands, according to the latest Kelley Blue Book Market Intelligence Brand Watch study. Ford had held that spot for three straight quarters, beginning with the final quarter of 2009. Toyota regained its prior No. 1 ranking […] [Read More]

Similar to the act of a certain late-night comedic talk show host, TrueCar.com has unveiled a pair of Top 10 lists this week. The first list included the site’s Top Winning Cars for 2011 while the other highlighted its Top 10 fuel-efficient vehicles. Looking first at the list of Winning Cars, TrueCar.com described this compilation […] [Read More]

Vehix recently performed tests of four small SUVs/crossovers across various city, highway and mountain driving environments, and found that the top overall model in this class is the 2011 Honda CR-V. The three other small SUVs/crossers in Vehix’s “2011 Small SUV Comparison Test” were the 2011 Chevrolet Equinox, 2011 Toyota RAV4 and the 2011 Hyundai […] [Read More]

After generating significant positive response from the inaugural workshop in February, NCM said Wednesday that it will be the sponsor of three additional Jeff Cowan’s Pro Talk Service Advisor Workshop events this year. The first event — which took place Feb. 23 through Feb. 24 in Kansas City — was designed to show dealers how […] [Read More]

Brand Keys — a brand and customer loyalty and engagement consultancy out of New York — recently released its 2011 Customer Loyalty Engagement Index, which honored companies in 79 categories, including automakers. The index once again awarded the top automotive ranking to Hyundai, which celebrated its second straight year of winning in the category. “The […] [Read More]

Shopper analysis by AutoTrader.com and Kelley Blue Book showed consumers don’t appear to be taking climbing fuel prices lightly. As the average price of gas approaches $3.50 per gallon nationwide, the majority of vehicle shoppers at both AutoTrader.com and Kelley Blue Book’s Kbb.com are seriously considering fuel prices during the process. AutoTrader.com found on its […] [Read More]

Hertz Global Holdings announced plans Monday for wholly owned subsidiary Hertz Corp. to offer $300 million aggregate principal amount of 6.75 percent Senior Notes due 2019. The private offering is exempt from the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, subject to market and other conditions, the company noted. Officials explained that […] [Read More]

Repossession agencies and other debt collectors could be affected by a proposed rule working its way through the Federal Communications Commission. Federal regulators are prepared to tighten the use of prerecorded, automatically dialed “robocalls” to contact contract holders through their cell phones. Collection organizations are concerned because more consumers appear to be abandoning land lines to […] [Read More]

Repo Remarketing recently ramped up its vehicle valuation system for managing credit union sales inventory. The company explained its system now has auction sales guide information from NADA Used Car Guide. Repo Remarketing chief executive officer Lance Gartner thinks reviewing of each unit’s condition and mileage and comparing them to current competitive market reports of […] [Read More]

The outlook for dealers throughout the country appears to be bright, according to the Federal Reserve, which said in its latest Beige Book report that the bulk of its 12 Federal Districts enjoyed year-over-year sales increase in the most recent reporting period. Within the respective districts, the Fed reported several pieces of good news for […] [Read More]