Driven by a combination of factors, including “pent-up demand and cheap credit,” the American International Automobile Dealers Association indicated September new-vehicle sales came in the highest since 2008. Unadjusted for business days, AIADA declared that sales for all brands climbed 14.5 percent from September of last year. Furthermore, the association pointed out that Autodata Corp. […] [Read More]

Even though transaction prices softened, CNW Research discovered that September represented a solid year-over-year used-vehicle sales gain as the total represented an 8.76-percent rise. All told, CNW tabulated that the used-vehicle sales totaled 3.81 million units in September, a figure representing what both franchised and independent dealers turned during the month, as well as private-party […] [Read More]

California buy-here, pay-here dealers will have more compliance procedures to maintain when Jan. 1 arrives, since two of the three bills aimed at changing how the industry operates were signed by Gov. Jerry Brown. But the measure Brown vetoed — a policy that would have created a hard interest-rate cap — is leaving the head […] [Read More]

American Honda confirmed late last week that it has expanded a May power steering hose recall, and details about another recall by General Motors have emerged. Starting with the news from Honda, OEM officials stated the U.S. recall now includes approximately 572,000 Honda Accord models units equipped with V6 engines from model years 2003 through […] [Read More]

Mazda North American Operations has named a new vice president of marketing, to head all marketing communications for the company’s U.S. operations. Appointed to the post, and bringing more than 20 years of industry-focused marketing communications experience, is Russell Wager. Wager will oversee U.S. marketing communications including print and electronic advertising, social media, the MazdaUSA.com […] [Read More]

The National Automobile Dealers Association highlighted that Congressional legislation signed into law late last week to prevent a government shutdown includes an extension of a federal overtime exemption for service advisers through March. NADA officials recapped that since the late 1970s, the U.S. Department of Labor has held that the frontline employee-salespersons in the service […] [Read More]

While dealers play a huge role in the CPO Forum, they’re also a vital part of another Used Car Week event: the National Remarketing Conference. In the lanes, on the lot and online, dealers are the lifeblood of the remarketing industry, and one session in particular at NRC will give them the opportunity to share […] [Read More]

Buy-here, pay-here dealership chain J.D. Byrider recently announced a promotion and the addition of three new team members to support the company’s franchise growth and development. Promoted to the position of director of franchise development is Jack Humbert, who has assisted development efforts as a senior franchise consultant for the past two years. In his […] [Read More]

In announcing a renewed agreement with Experian Automotive for AutoCheck as the official vehicle history report in its certified pre-owned program, Mazda North American Operations revealed Friday that its CPO offering now includes a three-year AutoCheck Buyback Protection program. This is designed to foster greater peace-of-mind among Mazda’s CPO shoppers. Greater confidence among buyers, of […] [Read More]

Automotive retail sales were tepid in August, consistent with the sluggish U.S. economy, according to Dataium’s latest Automotive Shopper Intensity index. Released late last week, the index illustrated that auto demand was up just 3.5 percent from July. Maintaining their lead in ASI were Toyota and Hyundai, which ranked highest among all makes. Rounding out […] [Read More]