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]

Group 1 Automotive on Monday announced the appointment of Daryl Kenningham to the new position of president of U.S. operations effective May 1. Currently, Kenningham serves as Group 1’s regional vice president of the dealer group’s Western region. In his new role, the company said Kenningham will be responsible for all of Group 1’s U.S. […] [Read More]

Autodata Corp. determined the industry in March turned the second-highest amount of certified pre-owned vehicles ever. According to information shared with Auto Remarketing, dealers retailed 243,277 CPO units in March, off by just 0.3 percent year over year when the all-time sales record was established. That’s when the industry delivered 243,944 certified models. The March […] [Read More]

The website of the multi-platform brand ran by TIME’s content and creative collective The Foundry — TheDrive.com — has added a new research and shopping page named SHOP, which instantly gives users access to the latest new and used-car data and connects prospective buyers with nearby dealers. Currently, the new digital innovation integrated across The Drive’s […] [Read More]

Following a public comment period, the Federal Trade Commission said this past Friday that it has approved final consent orders with CarMax, Asbury Automotive Group and West-Herr Automotive Group, settling charges that they touted how “rigorously” they inspect their used vehicle, “yet failed to adequately disclose that some of the cars were subject to unrepaired […] [Read More]