Along with authorizing a share repurchase on Thursday, Lithia Motors’ board of directors appointed a new member who officially came into the fold this week. Joining the dealer group’s leadership team is David Robino, who will serve as an independent director. Robino began his management career with Maytag and at Pepsi-Cola and worked as senior […] [Read More]

Toyota Motor Sales USA announced Wednesday it is expanding two of its previous recalls involving Takata-sourced front-passenger airbag inflators. The recall expansion adds model years of certain vehicles that were already previously recalled and will include all remaining dual-stage front-passenger airbag inflators of a particular type as a precautionary measure. According to Toyota, the expanded […] [Read More]

After a modestly slow start to the year, certified pre-owned vehicle sales rebounded last month with the best February on record, according to Autodata Corp. There were 211,482 CPO sales for the month, which beat year-ago figures by 7.1 percent and January numbers by 10.8 percent, Autodata said.   Each of those months had the same […] [Read More]

Sheehy Auto Stores are gearing up to celebrate the company’s 50th anniversary. And the dealer group focused in the mid-Atlantic region will be recognizing its golden milestone over the course of 2016. The company was founded back in 1966 by Vince Sheehy Sr. with the opening of Sheehy Ford, a small dealership in the Washington, […] [Read More]

In commentary paired with the company’s 2015 Used Vehicle Market Report, Edmunds.com director of industry analysis Jessica Caldwell said the certified pre-owned and late-model used-car markets are currently in “a Golden Age.” In addition to hitting another record year in 2015 and reaching 55-percent sales growth over the last five years, CPO has also become an […] [Read More]

In a previous article I provided tips on how dealerships can prepare to receive vehicle shipments, and emphasized the importance of doing a thorough inspection at both the origin pickup location and destination (receiving) location. In that article, I pointed out the distinction between normal wear and tear versus major damage. It’s difficult to define […] [Read More]

Asbury Automotive Group announced Friday it has broke ground on a new Nissan dealership in Georgia. The new store is located in Cumming, Ga. which the dealer group said is a “high-growth” Atlanta suburb. The store is scheduled to open late this year at 1301 Buford Highway. The facility will feature a 45,000-square-foot building, 20 service […] [Read More]

This past October marked the first anniversary of Lithia Motor’s purchase of DCH Auto Group. And if the company’s fourth-quarter and full-year 2015 results are any indictor, the combination is working out well for Lithia. In fact, Lithia boosted same-store used sales in Q4, which included the DCH stores, by 12 percent. The dealer group also […] [Read More]

Like any dealership that turns used vehicles, Sonic Automotive is keeping close tabs on what might be one of the most important metrics — gross profit per unit. Sonic closed the year with a 3.1-percent dip in gross profit per used vehicle retailed, as the figure landed at $1,384. The slight annual dip didn’t alarm […] [Read More]

Carfax announced Wednesday that it has broadened its role in General Motors’ certified pre-owned program. With the expanded role, every certified Chevrolet, Buick and GMC vehicle will include a Carfax vehicle history report that consumers will receive for free from the selling dealer. Also, Carfax Used Car Listings will include all CPO Chevy, Buick and […] [Read More]