With vehicle technology advancing at a rapid pace — growing more complex with every year — the role of product specialist in dealerships is becoming more important and playing a larger role in the sales process. This assertion was highlighted in the 28th annual J.D. Power 2014 U.S. Sales Satisfaction Index Study results, which were […] [Read More]

Experian Automotive released an analysis this week of the most prevalent areas of the country for leases and certified pre-owned sales. Unsurprisingly, the areas with the highest rates of leases compared to overall new-vehicle registrations were larger metropolitan areas. Top 5 Metropolitan Areas, New-Vehicle Lease Penetration (Experian) Detroit – 67.9 percent New York – 49.8 […] [Read More]

A recent report from Requisite Press showed that used cars are still most often the fiscally responsible way to go for the majority of American families. According to the October 2014 Auto Buyer’s Affordability Index (ABAI), which is currently at 54.1, a "prudent, median-income household" can only afford 54.1 percent of the new-car average price. […] [Read More]

Both Nissan and Honda have recently reported recalls related to passenger airbag issues — adding to the recent influx of such statements in light of the Takata airbag advisory. In other words, the number of vehicles recalled because of faulty Takata airbags is growing — and expected to continue to expand as we head toward […] [Read More]

There has been a lot of talk, as new automotive sales continue to increase, about what the overall sales number will be for this year. TrueCar forecasts total sales for the year will reach 16.4 million units — the best since 2007 — and could possibly reach toward 17 million units in 2015 if economic […] [Read More]

With CPO sales booming in 2014 and the potential for certified sales to double in coming years, IntelliChoice announced the winners today of its annual Certified Pre-Owned Car Awards. The company announced the top certified brands at the CPO Forum in Las Vegas this morning. Repeat winner, Volvo Certified Pre-Owned, was once again recognized as […] [Read More]

Tesla Motors management has been busy as of late, launching a leasing program, confirming reports of a future CPO program for the Model S, and making multiple announcements regarding new vehicles and upcoming models. That business, though, didn’t translate to a successful third quarter monetarily.   The company reported last week it took a bit […] [Read More]

There’s been a lot of chatter recently in regards to the growing number of lease returns and its impact on used-car prices. It is true that there are a great deal of leases returning – an expected figure near 2.1 million vehicles for 2014 before the year is over, according to Manheim data. There is […] [Read More]

Last Tuesday, voters unleashed their frustrations on the ballot boxes, driving Republicans to midterm victories nationwide and giving them control of both houses of Congress for the first time in eight years. For Republicans, Wednesday was one long victory lap, and who can blame them? There hasn’t been a lot to celebrate in national politics, […] [Read More]

Here’s something from the 2014 AutoTrader.com Certified Pre-Owned Study that might surprise you about what CPO shoppers are really after. In the portion of the study dealing with owners of certified cars, AutoTrader discovered that all of the intricate details of a given manufacturer’s CPO program were not as pertinent to the consumer as the […] [Read More]