After articulating various points about what he’s so upbeat about the dealer group’s used-vehicle department current and future performance, Lithia Motor president and chief executive officer Bryan DeBoer staunchly defended how the company is fending off what the investment community is seeing as would-be challengers that operate solely online. During Lithia's latest conference call, when […] [Read More]

Fueled in part by its used-vehicle department performance, Lithia Motors reported the highest first quarter revenue and earnings per share in company history. To get to those achievements, Lithia said on Wednesday that its used-vehicle retail same store sales increased 6 percent as the dealer group turned a total of 30,783 units during Q1, representing […] [Read More]

On Wednesday, Carvana announced its expansion into St. Louis, the company’s first market in the state of Missouri. The online platform for buying used-cars now has a total of 24 markets overall and currently offers free delivery services to more than 3 million residents who live within the St. Louis local delivery area. “We’re so pleased […] [Read More]

Autotrader’s list of the top certified pre-owned deals available this April names luxury brands only; the car shopping site’s picks for the month suggests that it is an ideal time for those interested in a CPO luxury vehicle to shop. "Saving money is key for car shoppers and buying a CPO vehicle ensures you're not burdening yourself with […] [Read More]

Penske Automotive Group said Monday afternoon it has bought Schumacher European, LTD., a Mercedes-Benz and Sprinter store in Phoenix that is next to Penske’s existing 15-franchise Scottsdale 101 Auto Collection.  This purchase represents the retailer’s ninth Mercedes store in the U.S. and is projected to bring in about $250 million in annual revenues, the company said.  "Schumacher […] [Read More]

Car and Driver is now giving auto dealers the opportunity to place their inventory listings in front of an estimated 12 million-plus monthly online visitors through its website’s new inventory listings product that matches its online content and vehicle search capabilities with a dealer’s inventory. “This product marks the beginning of Car and Driver’s evolution […] [Read More]

Three fundamental reasons why auto dealerships find converting leads into buyers an obstacle are: inadequate explanation of the pricing and value proposition, lack of timely follow-up and not using leads' preferred follow-up communication methods, according to recent study results released by AutoLoop. "To increase lead conversion rates, the studies' results shine a spotlight on three […] [Read More]

The American International Automobile Dealers Association (AIADA), along with Cox Automotive, will host a free AutoTalk webinar on April 18 to discuss best practices for hiring and retaining dealership employees. The upcoming talk will feature Nicole Ashe, Cox Automotive’s vice president of talent, diversity, and culture. AIADA said Ashe would expound on the following list of topics. […] [Read More]

CarMax closed its fiscal year by reporting on Thursday that its total unit sales climbed 13.4 percent during the fourth quarter and 8.3 percent for the 12-month span. According to its latest financial statement, CarMax retailed 176,017 units in Q4 and 671,294 units during the fiscal year that concluded on Feb. 28. Within the wholesale […] [Read More]

Four automakers posted new all-time highs for monthly certified pre-owned sales in March; a month where Autodata Corp. determined the industry turned the second-highest amount of CPO units ever. And perhaps the industry will need other OEMs to join that performance level in order to keep up with the volume of off-lease vehicles hitting the […] [Read More]