How important is treating your customer right? According to a pair of recently released studies, it might mean the difference between a sale and a walk-away. AutoTrader.com says in its analysis released today that the “dealership experience” at a store — especially “customer handling” — is integral in shaping where car shoppers ultimately buy. In […] [Read More]

Did that showroom visitor begin his car search on your website? A new sales attribution report aims to let dealers know. Announced late last week is a new agreement between Polk (recently acquired by IHS) and HookLogic that offers full attribution on dealers’ marketing spend. Customers of HookLogic’s AutoHook Suite of Solutions will now receive […] [Read More]

CNW’s Art Spinella says January isn’t the best month to try and decipher how the used-car market will “shake out,” so sales numbers this month might not indicate the environment for the rest of the year. That said, Spinella outlined slight declines across the board in the company’s latest Retail Automotive Summary. Franchised dealers are […] [Read More]

Cross-Sell Reports, a division of Dominion Dealer Solutions, has launched Cross-Sell Interactive, which is an advanced, fully interactive version of its market reports. The company said CSI builds on Cross-Sell’s existing Market Analysis, Statewide Dealer and Lienholder Summary, and MarketingINTEL reporting solutions. CSI features customizable charts and graphs, and through these tools users can customize […] [Read More]

Forrest McConnell III, president of McConnell Honda and Acura in Montgomery, Ala., officially takes the reins of the National Automobile Dealers Assocation as its 2014 chairman at the NADA Convention & Expo this weekend. In anticipation of his new role, McConnell shared some of his objectives as NADA chairman with Auto Remarketing earlier this month, […] [Read More]

It has been four straight years of record growth for Mazda’s certified pre-owned program, which said it has increased its sales 260 percent since 2010. And with this pace of growth outpacing the overall industry’s rate of improvement, Mazda’s CPO market share has jumped 1.2 percent in the same time frame. It was 2010, of […] [Read More]

The American International Automobile Dealers Association gave members three ways to complete the organization’s annual survey along with the chance to win an iPad Air. AIADA is giving away two tablets to members who complete the survey, which leadership described along with its appeal for dealer participation. “At AIADA, our members play a key role […] [Read More]

Group 1 Automotive announced it has expanded its dealership count in Southern California. The auto retailer has acquired Heller Ford and Heller Hyundai in Southern California.  The dealerships, which will operate as Ford of Escondido and Hyundai of Escondido, are expected to generate $135 million in estimated annual revenues, the company shared. "Beginning 2014 with […] [Read More]

Thanks to a deal between the two companies announced this morning, dealers can now choose to include Experian Automotive’s AutoCheck vehicle history reports with their used-car listings on Cars.com. “Vehicle history reports build consumer confidence by validating the quality and condition of a dealership’s inventory, and they give dealers a competitive advantage to get potential […] [Read More]

Baby, Betsy, Bessie, Black Beauty, Betty. What do all these words have in common? According to a new report from DMEautomotive, these are the top vehicle names out there. In fact, one in four vehicle nicknames begins with the letter “B”. And who is most likely to assign nicknames to their new rides? According to […] [Read More]