Halloween came early to transportation company MetroGistics, as the company welcomed vampires, zombies and other two-legged creatures to its first Monster Mash fundraiser. Benefiting two charities for four-legged friends, the Monster Mash raised more than $18,000 for Stray Rescue of St. Louis and Project VIP (Very Important Pets). It was held on Oct. 20 at […] [Read More]

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said BMW of North America is recalling more than 52,000 large sedans in two separate campaigns. The larger of the two recalls is connected with the transmission control module on 45,500 units. The models included in this campaign are: —2005 BMW 745I —2005 BMW 745LI —2006-2008 BMW 750I —2006-2008 […] [Read More]

As Hurricane Sandy — or “Frankenstorm” as people have dubbed the pre-Halloween tempest that made landfall in the Northeast just yesterday — ravages the coast the industry waits for news of how it will affect car sales. News of power outages in Manhattan and serious flooding in New Jersey hits the papers, and the storm […] [Read More]

AutoNation is continuing to sharpen its strategy on how to get the most out of high-mileage vehicles, including the concept of rolling out lots that carry only premium brand models. President and chief operating officer Mike Maroone explained why, so far, AutoNation has opened just one premium value outlet, while it already has 28 non-luxury […] [Read More]

A Wall Street analyst wondered why Group 1 Automotive is aggressively acquiring more dealerships while other groups seem to be throttling back their store-growth activities. Group 1 president and chief executive officer Earl Hesterberg said the fact that the company acquired 14 stores during the first three quarters is all about generating the most return […] [Read More]

After revealing third quarter results that included double-digit increases in used sales, Lithia Motors announced late last week it has acquired a new Toyota store out West. The dealer group has bought Bitterroot Toyota, which is located in Missoula, Mont. The store will be renamed Lithia Toyota of Missoula, and will add $45 million in […] [Read More]

As Group 1 Automotive  posted record third-quarter net income as a company and watched its used-vehicle retail operations generate strong gains, too, president and chief executive officer Earl Hesterberg said he “wasn’t particularly happy” with the wholesale side of its performance. First reiterating the upbeat news, Group 1 reported record third-quarter net income of $31.3 […] [Read More]

As the October sales month winds down, used-car sales projections for the period are up. Auto Remarketing compiled the sale forecasts for October from TrueCar.com, Edmunds.com and CNW Research. While the numbers may vary, the experts agree that sales are headed in a positive direction.    TrueCar, in its October used-car sales projections, estimates that […] [Read More]

Part of a timeframe in which the company posted a record for earnings per share from continuing operations in a third quarter, AutoNation retailed more used vehicles and generated more revenue and gross profit on those models. The company reported on Thursday that its dealerships turned 3.2 percent more used vehicles during the third quarter, […] [Read More]

Joining the list of dealer groups reporting third-quarter results this week, Lithia Motors reported Wednesday that it pushed its used retail sales up more than 26 percent year-over-year, selling 13,320 used units. The company generated $230.3 million in used retail revenue, compared to $184.6 million in the same period of 2011.  Meanwhile, Lithia sold 5,173 […] [Read More]