General Motors said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday that the automaker received notice of an investigation by the Federal Trade Commission concerning certified pre-owned vehicle advertising. The notice — which came on June 3 according to the OEM’s document — stems from where dealers certified vehicles that allegedly still […] [Read More]

On Wednesday, Ally Financial announced that it will renew its exclusive sponsorship of the TIME Dealer of the Year program through 2021. Ally and TIME also officially opened the nomination period for the 2016 TIME Dealer of the Year program, encouraging nominations at last week’s annual Automotive Trade Association Executives (ATAE) Summer Conference in Dearborn, […] [Read More]

As used-vehicle retail same-store sales increased 16 percent year-over-year during the second quarter, Lithia Motors reported on Wednesday that gross profit on those retailed used units softened by 7.3 percent. Nonetheless, Lithia generated adjusted net income of $49.4 million in Q2; the highest quarterly net income in company history and a 40-percent increase over the […] [Read More]

Sonic Automotive management reiterated the four steps it wants to maintain that’s associated with One Sonic-One Experience, the company’s stand-alone pre-owned model. The strategy has been gradually rolled out since last summer, and the dealer group anticipates that it will be in place at about 40 of its 127 stores by the end of the […] [Read More]

AutoNation hosted its second quarterly conference call of the year on Wednesday, outlining its gains in several metrics. The dealer group’s retail used-vehicle unit sales increased by 9 percent overall in the second quarter, jumping from 52,656 units in Q2 2014 to 57,370 units in Q2 2015. Judging the same metric for the first half […] [Read More]

J.D. Power announced the results of its 2015 U.S. Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) study this week, the rankings of which show the growing usage of safety technologies in new vehicles make them more attractive to shoppers and vehicle owners. The APEAL study, which allows owns to evaluate their vehicles across 77 categories, combines […] [Read More]

After reporting a 15-percent increase in used retail revenue, Asbury Automotive execs delved deeper into the topics of used margins and pre-owned inventory, and also gave an update on the dealer group’s standalone used-car outlet program, Q Auto. Although Asbury dealers were bringing in revenue of $21,238 per used vehicle retailed, up 9 percent from […] [Read More]

As part of the NADA University Online Webinar Series, the National Automobile Dealers Association announced recently it will be hosting a webinar on Wednesday to help dealers learn how to enhance the customer experience during the online retail process. The webinar, entitled “Why Online Retailing Will Keep You in Control,” will be presented by Mike […] [Read More]

Asbury Automotive Group released its second-quarter results Tuesday morning, reflecting a significant increase in used-vehicle retail revenues. Total revenues were up 12 percent to $1.7 billion while gross profit increased by 9 percent, boosted in part by a 15-percent spike in used vehicle retail revenue. "Our current quarter results demonstrate, once again, the strength and […] [Read More]

Say your dealership has new salespeople who are still learning the unique attributes about certified pre-owned vehicles that can make them so appealing to the “ups” who arrive at the showroom or through the business development center. An advice column Autotrader compiled for shoppers on its site also could serve as a great checklist so […] [Read More]