Toyota Motor Sales, USA announced that it is conducting a safety recall of model-year 2006 to 2012 RAV4 and 2012 to 2014 RAV4 EV vehicles for a potential seatbelt issue. Affecting approximately 1,124,000 vehicles in the U.S., the involved vehicles are equipped with lap-shoulder seatbelts in both second-row outboard seats that can potentially separate during […] [Read More]

General Motors confirmed today that it will recall approximately 200,000 Saab and Saturn vehicles that contain Takata PSDI-5 driver front airbag inflators. Covering roughly 180,000 units in the United States and 20,000 in Canada, the recall includes Saab 9-3 vehicles from model years 2003 to 2011, Saab 9-5 vehicles from model years 2010 and 2011, […] [Read More]

Asbury Automotive Group will be closing the Q auto store in Jacksonville, Fla., at the end of February, a company spokesperson confirmed on Tuesday to Auto Remarketing. The shutdown is due to the store's performance not being as strong as projected. Employees of the store, who will be interviewed for jobs at other Asbury dealerships, were […] [Read More]

Group 1 Automotive president and chief executive officer Earl Hesterberg described a predicament franchised dealerships might be facing as more new trucks and SUVs leave their showrooms. Part of the fallout from those popular new models turning is what’s coming back as a trade — perhaps a sedan that’s not as popular as those trucks […] [Read More]

The nation’s franchised dealership network continued what has been a “new normal pattern of stability” following the auto downturn at the end of the 2000s. Urban Science released its 2015 year-end Automotive Franchise Activity Report on Monday, finding that the 18,087 franchised dealership rooftops at the end of the year beat prior-year figures by 0.7 percent. There were […] [Read More]

If you’re embracing technology as a dealer, you’re likely already swimming in a sea of acronyms. You’ve got your CRM. Your DMS. You’ve got things covered from SEO all the way to F&I. But perhaps a lesser known acronym, VRM, or vehicle relationship management, seems to have a bit more vague definition depending on whom […] [Read More]

Gas prices are low, and shoppers in 2015 turned more and more to SUVs and trucks for their next vehicle purchases. Consequently, the electric-vehicle market hasn’t made the headway in terms of market share that many were expecting. That said, the tides could be turning — and let’s face it, gas prices will most likely […] [Read More]

Penske Automotive Group released its fourth-quarter and full-year financial results on Thursday, claiming 2015 as the most profitable year in company history. This was powered, in part, by an 8.98-percent year-over-year increase in total global used-vehicle sales, which reached 198,459 units. This contributed to the group’s increase in total automotive retail units of 11.9 percent compared to 2014. Excluding foreign […] [Read More]

The good news for Group 1 Automotive’s used-vehicle department: The dealer group turned 12.1 percent more used models in 2015 than its stores did a year earlier. The not-so-good news for Group 1's used performance: Margins on those retail sales softened by 6.3 percent year-over-year. Company officials shared their fourth-quarter and full-year financial report on […] [Read More]

DealerRater highlighted the winners of its annual Dealer of the Year Award program on Wednesday. The dealer review website recognized recipients for distinction in outstanding customer service based upon consumer reviews of dealership experiences shared on DealerRater.com and DealerRater.ca. The highest scoring dealership in the United States was Galpin Honda in Mission Hills, Calif., earning […] [Read More]