Group 1 Automotive announced this week it amended and restructured its $235 million, five-year revolving mortgage facility. Executives explained the amended facility is a $42.6-million, five-year, variable-rate, term loan, financing specific dealership properties with Bank of America N.A. and Comerica Bank. They said the facility may be expanded to $75.0 million in total availability. In […] [Read More]

A pair of domestic brands enjoyed their second straight year commanding the top two spots for consumer research traffic on NADAguides.com in 2010, and the overall top 10 list didn’t change too much from a year ago. However, it appears the gap between brands has tightened up, according to the site’s president and chief executive officer. [Read More]

With consumers paying more at the pump coupled with an uptick in incentive spending, there was an unusual — albeit slight — decline in transaction prices during December, according to TrueCar.com. Specifically, December’s average new-vehicle transaction price reached $29,358, according to the company’s estimate. This marks a 0.9-percent year-over-year decline and a 0.3-percent sequential drop. [Read More]

Edmunds.com offered a rundown Tuesday of not only how automakers handed out incentives for December, but also what the 2010 average was for the top six OEMs. Looking first just at December numbers, site analysts found manufacturers averaged $2,528 in incentives per vehicle sold. That amount was $64, or 2.6 percent higher, than the previous […] [Read More]

Kelley Blue Book recently announced the new vehicles that generated the most consumer traffic via Kbb.com in 2010, in addition to revealing the brands that commanded the most market interest for the year. Topping the list of most-researched rides is the Honda Accord, with the Honda Civic coming in second. As far as the brand that generated the strongest proportion […] [Read More]

In a look back at some of 2010’s most revealing industry trends, Edmunds.com attributed rising used-vehicle prices to high demand caused by the “substitution effect.” Site analysts outlined this condition as a reaction to the economic downturn. They said shoppers who had traditionally been new-vehicle buyers ultimately bought used units. Based on December 2010 data, […] [Read More]

MVTRAC received a significant capital injection before 2010 expired by selecting its new long-term financial partner. The license plate recognition technology provider decided to go with Village Bank & Trust, which officials said has provided $6 million in preliminary funding. MVTRAC leadership believes Village Bank & Trust adds invaluable resources and brings a wealth of […] [Read More]

The immediate past president of American Recovery Association rolled out a new full-service facilitation and management company just before the close of 2010. Jim Hall explained his plans for All Technology Recovery is to be an operation to serve collateral recovery professionals and financial institutions. He pointed out All Technology Recovery was formed in collaboration […] [Read More]

Amid the auto industry’s severe challenges, financing struggles and the bankruptcies of two major players, the leasing market took its lumps in 2009 with many companies scaling back or pulling out of the market altogether. But 2010 was a different story.   As of the end of the third quarter, leasing was up across the board, […] [Read More]

Competition between Ally Financial and Chrysler Financial for dealer relationships and market share could heat up in the near future. The former GMAC is expected to push out an initial public offering sooner than initially anticipated by the government and Chrysler Financial just recently received renewed capital in the form of its new parent TD […] [Read More]