The Costco Auto Program is described as a member-focused auto-buying service that offers prearranged pricing on new and select pre-owned vehicles, RVs, motorcycles and powersports products. The program offers discounts on auto parts, service and accessories for U.S. Costco members. Affinity Auto Program has operated the program since its inception in 1989. According to numbers […] [Read More]

Carvana founder and chief executive officer Ernie Garcia said in a Thursday news release that the company had a “huge week in California.” On the previous Tuesday, the company announced its launch in three new California markets: Stockton, Modest  and Vallejo. Two days later, on Thursday the 4th, Carvana said it launched in three additional California markets, […] [Read More]

Each year, Training magazine publishes a Training Top 125 list, assessing companies’ work in areas such as how closely training and development efforts are linked to business goals and objectives. For its 2019 list, the magazine recognized Sonic Automotive, placing it sixth out of 125 organizations. Sonic Automotive has now placed in the awards program’s […] [Read More]

In 2017, Carvana opened in its first California market, which the used vehicle e-commerce platform’s founder and chief executive officer Ernie Garcia called, “a significant milestone in our coast-to-coast growth.” On Tuesday, Carvana announced the launching of three new California markets: Stockton, Modesto and Vallejo. “To now bring the new way to buy a car to […] [Read More]

Penske Automotive Group had its best year in its history in 2018, said chairman Roger Penske, speaking with financial analysts in February to report the company’s fourth-quarter and full-year 2018 performance results. He noted that 2018 revenue from operations was up 6.5 percent to $22.8 billion, and fourth-quarter 2018 performance was driven by used-car and […] [Read More]

Lithia Motors and Shift are getting into big data. The dealership group and e-commerce retailer said Wednesday they have started a national data-sharing partnership, the latest “milestone” in their work together that began in 2018. They are collaborating to mine lifecycle data sets from U.S. auto transactions. The thinking is, leveraging Lithia’s transactional data with […] [Read More]

Spencer Scott has joined automotive marketplace CarGurus as senior vice president of advertising and digital marketing solutions. Scott will oversee the company’s global advertising business and will also lead global strategy efforts for the company’s digital marketing products for dealerships. Scott previously led Publisher’s Clearing House’s revenue and media business, and before that he was […] [Read More]

The HGreg Group, which owns three Nissan dealerships in Canada, opened HGreg Nissan Delray Beach on March 6. The Florida location is HGreg’s first new-car dealership location in the United States.  (The group already owns several used-car stores in Florida.) In other dealership news, Jim Ellis Automotive Group in Atlanta acquired Toyota of McDonough in […] [Read More]

Used cars were always a major point of emphasis for Larry H. Miller. Miller, who founded Utah-based Larry H. Miller Dealerships in 1979, expected his business’ used-to-new vehicles sales ratio to be at 1-to-1. Miller died in 2009, but the company has continued to operate on his philosophy of the importance of used vehicles.   “The […] [Read More]

In challenging times, used-vehicle sales are there to take up the slack. At least that was the case for Group 1 Automotive in the fourth quarter and full-year 2018. When times are good for auto dealers, used-vehicle sales also often play a prominent role, and that was the case for Asbury Automotive Group, too, as […] [Read More]