AutoNation has increased both its footprint in the Northwest as well as the number of its approved vendors, with the retailer adding the dealer-direct marketplace DealersLink to that roster.  Starting with its store purchases, AutoNation announced Wednesday it has signed agreements to acquire Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Volvo stores in the Seattle-Bellevue market from Barrier Motors.   The move […] [Read More]

The acquisition of dealerships nearly doubled in the first half of 2014 compared to the same period in 2013. That’s according to The Blue Sky Report from Kerrigan Advisors, along with research gathered from The Banks Report, which highlighted the 95 completed dealership transactions in the first half of 2014, a 75-percent increase over the […] [Read More]

Like their domestic counterparts, the majority of Asian and European brands are posting stronger certified pre-owned sales numbers — including several who just posted their respective best months ever for CPO. Overall, certified sales for Asian brands were fairly static year-over-year in August (down 0.4 percent at 102,154 units), according to numbers from Autodata Corp.; […] [Read More]

Big 3 brands increased their certified pre-owned sales by nearly 20 percent in August and pushed their year-to-date sales above half-a-million units. According to Autodata Corp., domestics sold 77,918 CPO units last month, which was up 19.8 percent year-over-year. Through eight months this year, they’ve increased certified sales by 13.7 percent, moving 545,034 CPO cars. Breaking […] [Read More]

CarMax is planning to add more than 1,000 employees to their team. The company is currently recruiting for the positions in locations across the country, and indicates that most of the positions are in service operations, for roles such as detailers, experienced technicians and sales. There are also additional open positions in purchasing and the business […] [Read More]

August represented the best-ever certified pre-owned sales month in history, besting the prior record CPO sales total by more than 15,000 units. According to Autodata Corp., there were 222,675 certified pre-owned sales in August, making it the strongest month of all time for CPO sales. The previous record was set in May, when dealers moved […] [Read More]

Several brands have already reported all-time records for monthly certified pre-owned sales — and that may not be the last of it. Starting things off with Chrysler Group, the company sold 13,760 certified vehicles in August, which was its best month ever for CPO sales. Hyundai, which also posted its strongest certified sales month of all […] [Read More]

The Russ Darrow Group announced this week the acquisition of Amato Mazda in northwest Milwaukee. The inventory from Amato Mazda will be relocated to an all-new Russ Darrow Mazda Milwaukee, expanding the Russ Darrow family in the area, according to the group’s president, Mike Darrow. “With the addition of this new Mazda dealership, we will […] [Read More]

National Auto Care Corp., an administrator of vehicle service contract and ancillary programs including CarMark Certified, announced the appointment of new vice president of actuarial and product. Tapped to lead the pricing activities for NAC including new product development and the enhancement of existing products is Tim Burgess, who is an associate of the Society […] [Read More]

While the number of used cars sold in August fell from both July and year-ago levels, the total value of these cars did not, according to CNW Research. In fact, there was a 7.3-percent year-over-year rise in the total value of used-car sales in August, the firm said, pinpointing the figure at nearly $41 billion. […] [Read More]