Al Katz has been with Mercedes-Benz USA for 18 years and served in various managerial roles throughout his nearly two decades with the company. And on Jan. 1, he became the new general manager of pre-owned, remarketing & fleet operations for Mercedes.   That includes the popular certified pre-owned segment, and in an emailed Q&A, […] [Read More]

Given the gains in available inventory — particularly the flood of off-lease units hitting the market — used-car sales are likely to continue rising, says David Lim, vice president and equity analyst at Wells Fargo Securities. In other words, supply begets sales opportunity. And that opportunity is particularly evident, he said, in the standalone used-car […] [Read More]

Orchestrators of the second annual Diversity Volume Leadership Awards (DVL Awards) ceremony highlighted what they said is the tremendous impact that minority vehicle buyers have on the economy and brought awareness to what consider to be the lack of diversity that still remains present in the automotive industry. National Association of Minority Automobile Dealers (NAMAD) Damon […] [Read More]

Takata Corp. and the U.S. Department of Justice have reached a settlement on the issues regarding Takata’s airbag inflator validation testing and reporting. Takata will shell out $1 billion in criminal penalties, according to DOJ, and three Takata executives have been charged with wire fraud and conspiracy.  “Automotive suppliers who sell products that are supposed […] [Read More]

On Thursday, NCM Associates and The Rawls Group, a provider of long-term strategic and succession planning, announced the launch of the NCM-Rawls Dealer Executive Program, their new leadership development educational program for current and future dealers. “Rapid changes in our industry, such as autonomous cars, ride-sharing companies and the electrification of vehicles, mean we need to […] [Read More]

Penske Automotive Group said Wednesday that its purchase of CarSense announced in December has officially closed. CarSense, a standalone used-car retailer whose no-haggle model focuses on late-model units. It has five stores throughout the Pittsburgh and Philadelphia metro areas, including southern New Jersey. “We are pleased to welcome the CarSense team to Penske Automotive Group, […] [Read More]

As part of its annual giving program, Sheehy Auto Stores announced on Wednesday that it donated $161,000 to 23 charities in Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Richmond, Va. Each of the company’s dealerships partnered with various non-profit organizations located in the communities they serve. "Our employees and family of dealerships do much throughout the year in donating […] [Read More]

On Monday, Dent Wizard International announced Ryan Briggs will fill the company’s newly-created position of vice president of customer development. In this new role, Briggs is responsible for expanding Dent Wizard’s relationships with the top 150 dealer groups as well as services and programs with non-traditional resellers. “Ryan has a proven track record for follow-through […] [Read More]

Autotrader has come out with its top picks for certified pre-owned deals in January. "Shoppers who want to start 2017 off with a smart vehicle purchase can easily do so by choosing any of these CPO offers in January," said Autotrader executive editor Brian Moody. "CPO is a popular category for car buyers on a […] [Read More]

A little more than a month after announcing plans to acquire a standalone used-car store chain in the Northeastern U.S., Penske Automotive Group has done the same in the U.K. Penske announced Friday that it has signed an agreement to buy CarShop, a chain of five standalone used-car retail stores in the U.K.  This follows […] [Read More]