Group 1 Automotive announced several key company changes on Thursday, including the acquisition of a dealer group in the U.K., the divestment of three of its current dealerships, and three internal promotions. The group has acquired the Spire Automotive Group, which includes 12 dealerships that operate primarily in the north and northwest London area. The […] [Read More]

Citing a defect information report provided by Takata, Honda North America announced this week that it is recalling roughly 2.23 million Takata PSDI-5 driver-side front airbag inflators in both Honda and Acura vehicles. One key takeaway from their announcement: the inflators will be replaced with parts manufactured by an alternative supplier, with repairs anticipated to […] [Read More]

In a development that prompted one Kelley Blue Book analyst to say, “people are in danger,” the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in documents released on Thursday that Continental Automotive Systems is recalling potentially up to 5 million air bag control units. NHTSA officials indicated the affected units manufactured between Jan. 1, 2006 and […] [Read More]

Penske Automotive Group announced Wednesday it has donated $913,000 to the organization Paralyzed Veterans of America. As a corporate partner of the Veteran’s organization, the funds were raised through Penske’s “Service Matters” campaign, which gives customers the option to make a donation when they’ve had their vehicles serviced at a Penske Automotive Group Dealership. All […] [Read More]

After a fifth straight record year, the certified pre-owned car market began 2016 with a modest dip, as January sales fell 2.1 percent on a year-over-year basis. But keep this in mind: January 2015 was the best January ever for CPO sales. And this past month was the second-best, according to Autodata Corp.  There were 190,951 […] [Read More]

Toyota, Lexus and Mazda have all recently released information regarding airbag-related recalls, while Mazda has also issued a separate recall related to an issue with the fuel filler pipes in its recent CX-5 vehicles. Let’s break them down by recall size. Toyota/Lexus recall 320,000 Land Cruiser, 4Runner, Tundra, Sequoia, LX and GX vehicles Toyota announced […] [Read More]

As of mid-day Tuesday, a few automakers had reported certified pre-owned sales from the first month of the year. The results thus far have been mixed. Mercedes-Benz’s CPO program, for one, had its strongest January ever. Its 9,934 certified sales for the month were up 5.1 percent from last year. MINI also had its best January […] [Read More]

Takata Corp. said on Tuesday the company received the findings of an independent review by its Quality Assurance Panel chaired by former Secretary of Transportation Samuel Skinner. Takata plans to act on all of the panel’s 15 recommendations to improve the design and manufacturing procedures of its airbags used in millions of vehicles. The report […] [Read More]

After making its first DCH acquisition in late January, Lithia announced the second in line with the purchase of a Massachusetts Toyota store. Lithia Motors has bought Ira Toyota/Scion of Milford, Mass., and the store will be renamed DCH Toyota/Scion of Milford. The company said it expects the store will bring with it $65 million […] [Read More]

Although the industry is still in deep debate regarding the direct distribution model — and despite Gov. Rick Snyder signing legislation in 2014 that bans the automaker's direct-to-consumer sales model — it was reported Friday that Tesla Motors Inc. has applied for licenses to sell and service its EV vehicles in Michigan. A report from […] [Read More]