Asbury Automotive Group announced today its second-quarter results, revealing that both used retail revenue and pre-owned sales soared by double digits during the period. Actual used sales were up 22 percent year-over-year, coming in at 17,703 units, compared to 14,496 sold during Q2 of last year. With total revenue increasing by 16 percent to $1.3 billion […] [Read More]

Overall, 2012 was a good year for franchised car dealers. In its recent recap of last year’s dealership financials, the National Automobile Dealers Association reports that total dealership sales increased 9.2 percent compared to the prior year, driven by gains in the new- and used-vehicle departments, as well as F&I. But the relatively rosy portrait […] [Read More]

During a reporting period where car sales, in general, were on the incline for the bulk of the country, dealers in several of the Federal Reserve’s 12 districts were noting solid used-car markets. That’s according to the latest Beige Book report from the Fed, which indicated that the Cleveland, Richmond, St. Louis and San Francisco […] [Read More]

The North Carolina Automobile Dealers Association applauded Gov. Pat McCrory signing several new motor vehicle franchise law provisions into the books last week. The signed measure — Senate Bill 717 — covers many areas of the North Carolina Motor Vehicle Dealers and Manufacturers Licensing Law, including: — Ability of dealers to offer non-manufacturer ancillary products […] [Read More]

Along with a recall of about 1,600 Accords in the U.S. from the 2013 model year, Honda said last week that it will voluntarily expand a vehicle stability assist (VSA) non-compliance recall of the 2012 and 2013 Fit first announced in April. The campaign now includes an additional 48,138 units in the U.S and 8,871 […] [Read More]

NCM Associates recently concluded its third round of General Management Executive Program classes and rewarded the nine graduating dealership managers with their certificates of completion at a dinner reception in June. The graduates included: —Anthony Kadlec, Tom Kadlec Honda     —Arun Vaidyanathan, Brotherton Cadillac Buick GMC —Brad Bavlik, Toyota of Greensburg —Chris Justice, Classic Suzuki […] [Read More]

Used inventory is getting stronger for AutoNation — including supply for its “very robust” certified pre-owned business — and improvements have also been noticed in used retail sales and total used gross profits, as well. [Read More]

The leasing segment has continued in its upward trek this year, and an even more fruitful market appears to be on the horizon. A quarter of new-vehicle sales in 2013 have been leases, and at this pace, the market would “smash” the best-ever annual lease penetration rate of 22 percent set a year ago, according […] [Read More]

Ford is being forced to defend itself in a federal class action lawsuit that was filed this week seeking damages related to alleged defects in the MyFord Touch dashboard infotainment systems that are found in Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles. The suit filed in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California by the […] [Read More]

Faster appraisals on the lot or at the auction mean faster decision making for dealers looking to buy or bid. A new app announced this week by retail performance management software firm FirstLook Systems offers features the company said can help dealers make more effective appraisals.   Called the FirstLook iPhone App, it allows dealers […] [Read More]