Sonic Automotive said Wednesday it has acquired the Harley-Davidson store that is the home of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. Black Hills Harley-Davidson, located Rapid City, S.D., hosts “The Rally at Exit 55” during the Sturgis event, which draws 500,000 enthusiasts each year. “We are thrilled to welcome the team from Black Hills Harley-Davidson into the […] [Read More]

Independent Dealer University recently announced fixed operations as the latest addition to its growing educational offerings. IDU has contracted with Billy Darr, a longtime auto industry veteran and acknowledged fixed ops expert, to create and teach the curriculum. The courses begin with Fixed Ops 100, an in-depth introduction to fixed ops that includes the positions/players, […] [Read More]

Another Canadian dealership group has expanded to the U.S. Ride Automotive, which includes two Kia stores in Canada, has purchased Simi Valley Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram from Robert Bayer and Mac McKinley, according to a news release from Performance Brokerage Services, which advised on the deal. Ride Automotive plans to bring in Performance Brokerage Services […] [Read More]

Foundation Automotive Corp., which operates dealerships in both the U.S. and Canada, announced last week it has acquired Crossroads Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram in Liberty, Texas. With the purchase, Foundation now has 17 stores in Texas and eight Stellantis stores in the U.S. Overall, the group includes 37 locations in Canada and the U.S. “We’re […] [Read More]

As NADA Show 2023 was about to get started in Dallas, Work Truck Solutions founder and chief vision officer Kathryn Schifferle outlined a path that stores can tap into the growing commercial vehicle space. In this episode of the Auto Remarketing Podcast, Schifferle also shared what’s piquing her interests most when it comes to commercial […] [Read More]

The retail used-car market appears to have started 2023 on a high note for dealers. In fact, analysis from Cox Automotive this week said dealers had better than anticipated used-car sales last month. Based on same-store dealership data from its Dealertrack unit, the company estimates that used sales for dealers … [Read More]

A news release from Colonnade Securities distributed on Wednesday mentioned the advising of Streamline Recon, which was acquired by SolutionWorks, a leading provider of automotive reconditioning services jointly owned by Alitus Capital Partners and Concentric Equity Partners. The announcement indicated SolutionWorks will be partnering with the Texas-based automotive reconditioning company focused on the automotive dealership […] [Read More]

About a month after its launch, Automotive Reinsurance Concepts added more resources to Independent Dealer University (IDU), a subscription-based online education platform designed to put “next-level” training easily within reach of independent retail dealerships of all sizes. Now available is Tusker Tracks, IDU’s free online publication that features content from industry experts covering all areas […] [Read More]

In this special episode of the Auto Remarketing Podcast, we feature a presentation from LotPop chief operating officer John Anderson at Used Car Week, which discusses the following topic: "Race to the Top, Not the Bottom: Strategies to Help Maintain Gross and Volume." Stay tuned for more podcasts from UCW as they become available. To […] [Read More]

This dealer group news roundup includes an enhancement to the service drive at Leith as well as the philanthropy efforts by Jim Ellis. The culmination of a more than two-yearlong construction boom at Leith Auto Park Wendell in North Carolina has ramped up the dealership’s commercial truck service business. “We’ve added service bays, techs and […] [Read More]