Urban Science’s 2014 mid-year Automotive Franchise Activity Report was released Thursday, revealing expectations of an all-time record-setting year for dealers by the end of 2014. The report, which estimates that the average number of sales per dealership, based on LMC Automotive’s forecast of 16.2 million vehicles sold by the end of the year, foreshadows a […] [Read More]

KeyBanc Capital Markets likes the used-department outlook not only for the publicly traded dealerships groups its analysts watch closely, but also for the majority of franchised stores — especially the ones that move certified pre-owned vehicles. According to its July Dealer Survey, KeyBanc said its industry observers continue to believe franchised dealers will outperform the […] [Read More]

In a development the National Automobile Dealers Association said will help stores, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration unveiled a new, free, online search tool both dealers and consumers can use to find out if a vehicle is directly impacted by a recall. Also becoming effective on Wednesday under new NHTSA mandate, all major light […] [Read More]

Dealerships from all over New Jersey have raised over $500,000 for The Valerie Fund. Currently 177 different dealerships have come together to collect donations for the fund, whose mission is to raise money to support the comprehensive healthcare of children with cancer and blood disorders. The campaign, titled New Jersey Auto Retailers Unite, began June […] [Read More]

American Honda Motor Co. and Carfax have extended their certified pre-owned partnership, which began 10 years ago. As such, Carfax will continue to be a vehicle history information provider for the Honda and Acura certified pre-owned vehicle programs. Carfax Vehicle History Reports have been a major element in the Honda/Acura CPO programs the past decade, the […] [Read More]

Group 1 Automotive has announced the acquisition of a Mercedes-Benz dealership in Boerne, Texas, which will operate as Mercedez-Benz of Boerne. The dealership, which also includes a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter commercial vehicle franchise, is expected to generate an estimated revenue of $135 million annually. “We are delighted to strengthen our relationship with Mercedes-Benz and further expand our […] [Read More]

Sonic Automotive revealed the name of its pre-owned vehicle retail store concept on Monday morning: EchoPark. The pre-owned program will be launching in Denver this fall. “We believe Denver is well poised and an ideal environment to launch EchoPark with Denver, Colo. trending as one of the top pre-owned car markets in the U.S.,” said […] [Read More]

Ford announced six more recalls of late-model vehicles, totaling more than 240,000 vehicles. The largest of the campaigns covers 159,395 units — the Ford Focus ST and Escape from the 2013 and 2014 model years. These North American vehicles are equipped with the 2.0-liter engine. Blue Oval officials explained that in some of the affected vehicles, […] [Read More]

Through seven months of 2014, the brand most shoppers have requested in the Costco Auto Program’s certified pre-owned offering is Toyota, according a list provided to Auto Remarketing by the company. Placing second was Honda, followed by Ford, Chevrolet and Nissan, respectively. That top five follows the same order of most-requested CPO brands for full-year […] [Read More]

A potential airbag mechanism malfunction is prompting Jaguar Land Rover North America to recall 40,551 SUVs, according to documents from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The recall covers the Land Rover LR2 from the 2010 through 2015 model years as well as the Range Rover Evoque vehicles from the 2012 and 2013 model years. […] [Read More]