Carvana announced on Tuesday it has extended its unique and innovative pick-up experience to more customers in Texas with the launch of its new Austin Car Vending Machine. The used-car buying platform opened its second vending machine in Houston two months ago. “We launched our free car delivery service in Austin in late 2015, and we’ve […] [Read More]

The first two publicly traded groups to share their 2016 financial statements — AutoNation and Group 1 Automotive — posted mixed results within their used-vehicle departments. Group 1 reported that its dealerships retailed 129,131 used vehicles last year, representing a 4.0-percent increase above the 2015 figure. The company also generated a 3.3-percent rise in retail […] [Read More]

On Friday, Holman Automotive announced former BMW executive, Pete Witt has joined the company as Northeast platform vice president. Witt most recently served as executive vice president of operations for BMW North of America where he worked for 17 years prior to joining Holman Automotive. In Witt’s new role, he will be responsible for the […] [Read More]

Larry H. Miller Dealerships announced it acquired Corona Nissan in Corona, Calif. on Wednesday, which marks the dealership group’s second store in the state. “We have several Nissan stores in the group that consistently perform well. Strategically, this store is a great fit with our organization,” Larry H. Miller Dealerships president Dean Fitzpatrick said in […] [Read More]

The benefits of certified pre-owned programs are as varied as those of a five-tool baseball player: in addition to the consumer peace-of-mind and brand-building perks, they can help protect residual values and soak up off-lease volume bumps. But there’s a tricky dynamic, says Anil Goyal of Black Book, who points out that there is a […] [Read More]

It was a solid start to 2017 for the certified pre-owned vehicle market. There were 192,586 CPO sales in January, which beats year-ago figures by 0.8 percent, according to Autodata Corp. Last year was the sixth straight record year for certified pre-owned sales, with dealers moving 2.64 million CPO vehicles for a 3.5-percent increase, Autodata […] [Read More]

Bill Berman has been named president of AutoNation, the retailer said in a news release. In a move that was effective Wednesday, Berman — who had been executive vice president and chief operating officer — becomes president and COO. Mike Jackson, who had held the title of president, continues at AutoNation’s chairman and chief executive […] [Read More]

In an interview here at the NADA Convention & Expo, Cars.com director of product marketing Brendan Dougherty brings up this bit of ecommerce irony. The Internet allows consumers to make purchases from places like Amazon without ever interacting with another human. However, it’s also somewhere where they can go to learn as much as possible […] [Read More]

Success in certified pre-owned can help dealers generate additional new-car sales, retain service customers and manage excess off-lease inventory, JM&A Group’s Brian Walwyn says in an interview here at the NADA Convention & Expo. And that, he said, more than makes up for the additional monetary investment dealers have to make in certifying the cars. […] [Read More]

While multiple projections have new-vehicle sales off to a somewhat sluggish start, the forecasts for used-vehicle sales in the opening month of 2017 offer much more upbeat expectations. Edmunds estimated 3.1 million used vehicles will be sold in January, which could computed into a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 38.4 million. Both of those […] [Read More]