Sonic Automotive’s immediate focus is to expand and enhance its EchoPark standalone, used-car operation and to integrate its recent acquisition, RFJ Auto Partners and its subsidiaries, into its business, said Sonic chief executive officer David Smith. “We’re going to be disciplined on further acquisitions, but that’s not to say if a deal comes together we […] [Read More]

Penske Automotive’s growth trajectory remains on track, though the company has had to change how it finds new employees and used vehicles, said chief executive officer Roger Penske during the company’s Feb. 9 earnings conference call detailing the company’s financial results for the quarter and year ending Dec. 31. “We had a terrific year,” Penske said. […] [Read More]

Buoyed by robust sales at its AutoNation USA used vehicle stores, its parts and service business, and its consumer finance services unit, AutoNation reported record financial results for its fourth quarter and entire year ending Dec. 31. AutoNation is also “aggressively looking” at adding a captive finance company, said chief executive officer Mike Manley during […] [Read More]

Dealer groups have kicked off the week of NADA Show 2022 much like they’ve spent the past year-and-a-half: with a flurry of buy-sell moves. Starting with the publicly traded variety, Group 1 Automotive announced Monday it has purchased Charles Maund Toyota in Austin, Texas, a store expected to bring in annual revenues of $435 million. […] [Read More]

More than 100 dealerships have another reason for celebration. On Monday, Edmunds announced the winners of the 2022 Edmunds Five Star Dealer Awards. This year’s awards honor 94 dealers nationwide for outstanding customer satisfaction ratings, with an additional 18 earning the prestigious Edmunds Five Star Premier Dealer designation. To qualify for a Five Star Dealer […] [Read More]

AutoNation named two new chief operating officers on Thursday: one for its used-car standalone store, auto auction and collision center businesses; and another for its franchise business. COO and president Jim Bender was set to leave the company Friday, as previously announced. Appointed as COO of the non-franchised business is Dave Koehler, currently the Eastern […] [Read More]

We begin this dealer group M&A roundup in the Southwest, where Phoenix-based Earnhardt Auto Centers has sold two Las Vegas stores — Earnhardt Buick GMC and Earnhardt Mazda — to Jerry Seiner Dealerships, a group based in Utah. This was announced Thursday by Kerrigan Advisors, which represented the Earnhardt group in the transaction. “The sale […] [Read More]

General Motors and Ford claimed top honors again as part of the 26th annual Automotive Loyalty Awards orchestrated by IHS Markit. However, for the first time, Honda earned the accolade closely associated with franchised dealerships. IHS Markit recognized GM for its leadership as top manufacturer for automotive loyalty in the U.S. in 2021. This is […] [Read More]

Here’s some good news for BMW dealerships looking for more personnel to man their service bays. Universal Technical Institute (UTI) has launched the first session of its new BMW FastTrack technician training programs at its Orlando, Fla., campus, the second location to begin offering the 12-week advanced training program. A collaboration between the German automaker […] [Read More]

It’s likely been experienced by you first-hand or by one of your dealership colleagues or managers. It’s the test drive that turned wild; almost into something from Hollywood. Well, perhaps now we can have a chuckle about the incident and make a comparison to some of the most famous movie segments that involved vehicles traveling […] [Read More]