In a quest to help returning military service personnel locate civilian jobs, the Chicago Automobile Trade Association has introduced a new initiative to provide automotive sales training and employment opportunities. The initiative, dubbed Operation Troop Train, is a partnership between the CATA and the Illinois Department of Employment Security, which is helping to identify 40 […] [Read More]

Coming in a quarter when its earnings rose 2.6 percent, Sonic Automotive announced this morning that the group’s dealerships set a new company record for used-vehicle sales volume during the month of March. Sonic said its stores retailed nearly 9,400 used models in March, pushing its quarterly total to 26,469 vehicles. That figure is up […] [Read More]

When it comes to younger generations, are cars going the way of the dinosaur? Not quite — but there are some very interesting trends in driving/car purchases, technology use, city living and the correlation between them all. Let’s start this story by traveling back to the days of the carhop and the drive-in movie theater, […] [Read More]

Following last week’s fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas, the General Motors Foundation has announced a $100,000 grant to the American Red Cross to aid emergency relief efforts. The funds will help provide shelter and meals for affected families, and aid the Red Cross in preparing for and responding to disasters in the Lone Star […] [Read More]

The new-vehicle selling rate remains strong this month, driven by consumers looking to replace aging rides, according to a monthly sales forecast developed by J.D. Power and Associates' Power Information Network and LMC Automotive. But what does this mean for the used market? To find out, Auto Remarketing chatted with Deirdre Borrego, vice president and […] [Read More]

In discussing the retailer’s first-quarter performance during a conference call last week, AutoNation chairman and chief executive officer Mike Jackson continued to be “frank” about how the company’s used-vehicle operation has performed. Listeners were reminded of quarterly calls in 2012, when management stressed the need for used-vehicle improvement. Fresh off the first quarter of 2013, […] [Read More]

American Honda said last week it will recall more than 180,000 units because of an issue with the brake shift interlock system. The campaign covers approximately 128,000 Honda CR-V vehicles and 59,000 Honda Odyssey vehicles from the 2012–2013 model years and 17,500 Acura RDX vehicles from the 2013 model year in the U.S. The recall […] [Read More]

Dealers in the cities named by Cars.com as having the “greenest car shoppers” might want to consider ramping up their more fuel-efficient options. Late last week, the site compiled a list of U.S. cities with the most environmentally-conscious car shoppers. From San Diego to Washington D.C., the list goes coast-to-coast. That said, the study indicated […] [Read More]

Joe Eikenberg Sr., a former president of the National Independent Automobile Dealers Association and a past president of U-Save Auto Rental of America, died this week, it was reported.  Details on funeral arrangements were unavailable. Eikenberg, 86, was a national leader in the independent used-vehicle industry in the 1980s and 1990s.  He was named the […] [Read More]

The solid first-quarter gains in same-store used unit sales reported by AutoNation on Thursday and similar results shared by CarMax last week could be a harbinger of additional positive news on the used-car side from other retailers in coming weeks, says Manheim’s Tom Webb. CarMax reported a 6-percent uptick in comparable store used unit sales […] [Read More]