Hello Auto Group has grown its Southern California presence with two new dealerships: John Hine Mazda Temecula and John Hine Subaru Temecula. The acquisition was finalized on Oct. 4. The John Hine franchise has been a respected name in California for more than 60 years, while Hello Auto Group is a relative newcomer to the comunity. However, the dealer […] [Read More]

General Motors chose  a former Nordstrom and Walt Disney executive as its chief digital officer, a move that will be effective on Oct. 16. Edward Kummer, in his new role at GM, will be responsible for building and delivering a holistic digital business guided by GM's growth strategy, leading a newly formed Digital Business team, and accelerating […] [Read More]

And now your dealership M&A coverage continues with a Texas two-step.  The Dallas-Fort Worth area, to be specific. First up, Houston-based Group 1 Automotive announced Monday it has purchased two dealerships in the DFW market: Classic Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram of Denton and Classic Mazda of Denton.  The retailer anticipates these dealerships will generate annualized […] [Read More]

Charlotte, N.C.-based Sonic Automotive is pushing growth of its pre-owned only branch — EchoPark Automotive — with the opening of a new delivery center, this time in New Orleans. This delivery center opening — the first in the state of Louisiana and the 31st for EchoPark — is a reflection of the dealer group's continued effort to […] [Read More]

The wave of M&A activity has been one of the biggest storylines in the auto industry this year, particularly among dealers and dealer groups, and that continues as October gets underway. Starting with some news involving CarMax, the retailer has finished divesting its new-car dealership franchises with the sale of CarMax Kenosha Toyota to the Rydell […] [Read More]

Sonic Automotive announced on Monday it has named a chief marketing officer and a chief revenue officer for its EchoPark Automotive standalone used-car store program. Dino Bernacchi is EchoPark's first CMO and will lead the Sonic pre-owned stores'  marketing as nationwide expansion continues. Most recently, Bernacchi served as the senior vice president of marketing for the Cleveland Browns NFL franchise. And […] [Read More]

AutoNation, whose charitable donations have all gone towards fighting cancer since 2013, will host October "Drive Pink" events at DRV PNK Stadium with InterMiami CF and 2021 Indy 500 Winner Hélio Castroneves.  Since launching its Drive Pink initiative in 2015, the dealer group has raised and donated more than $28 million to create awareness and support critical […] [Read More]

Earlier this month, CarLotz made its first foray into Alabama with a move into Mobile. This week, the consignment-to-retail used-vehicle marketplace announced it will open a hub in Huntsville. The hub — to be located at 6561 University Drive — will provide CarLotz’s guests in Huntsville and its surrounding markets with easy access to its unique buying and […] [Read More]

Consumers in the Boise, Idaho area reho were curious about the Carvana towers and/or hard-to-miss delivery trucks now have the option to check out the used auto retailer for themseves. Carvana announced Wednesday that it has launched in Boise, its 308th urban market.  Customers can secure as-soon-as-next-day-delivery, or they can sell their current vehicle to Carvana, […] [Read More]

FordDirect, which is a joint venture between the automaker and its franchised dealers, has partnered with compliance tech company ComplyAuto to help address  the complex regulatory compliance issues dealerships face. And ComplyAuto is no stranger to the privacy, security and other regulatory compliance concerns of auto retail stores. In fact, the company — a compliance and […] [Read More]