In an effort to help dealers better promote their inventory on Cars.com, the site revealed this week an enhanced version of its online advertising package.  Also, the introduction of BaseDrive coincides with the “first wave” of expansions on the site “designed to better align the new-car shopping experience on Cars.com with the needs of today’s […] [Read More]

Thirty Chrysler dealerships from across 19 states have been recognized for demonstrating environmental responsibility in their daily operations, from use of solar panels to recycling rainwater. The group of dealers is the first to be recognized under the new Dealer Environmentally Conscious Operations Program, or ECO, launched last year by the Chrysler Group Network Development […] [Read More]

General Motors is bringing in an executive from Volkswagen of America to be the successor to Susan Docherty as vice president of sales, marketing and aftersales for GM International Operations. Named to the position Tuesday was Mark Barnes, who most recently served as vice president of customer experience at Volkswagen of America. GM had previously […] [Read More]

The Russ Darrow Group has a new president and chief operating officer, the company announced Monday. Appointed to the post is Mike Darrow, currently executive vice president. “Under Mike’s leadership as president, our employees and customers are assured of the stability, direction and transition of our company into the future,” stated Russ Darrow, chairman and […] [Read More]

In a continued effort to push the importance of both dealers and consumers fixing vehicles included in recalls, Carfax designated today as Carfax Open Recall Day. The campaign follows last month’s release of a Carfax study that found more than 2.7 million used vehicles for sale online in 2011 with safety recalls that were never […] [Read More]

Of the nearly 200 stores Honda Financial Services and Acura Financial Services recently honored as its 2011 Council of Excellence award winners, only six dealerships have received this accolade for 10 years in a row. That group includes four Honda stores and a pair of Acura rooftops: —Dobbs Honda on Covington Pike, Memphis, Tenn. —Honda […] [Read More]

As a result of an alleged attempt to scam $1.5 million out of a credit union, one used-car dealer received a prison sentence on Monday.  Jady Brooks was sentenced in federal court to serve seven years in prison after “running a sophisticated scheme to defraud a credit union,” reported Tim McGlone of The Virginian-Pilot. But […] [Read More]

A fuse issue is prompting Chrysler Group to conduct a voluntary safety recall of 2011 and 2012 Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300 sedans. The automaker indicated the recall covers approximately 119,072 vehicles in the U.S. as well as another 8,274 units in Canada. Chrysler explained a plastic insert surrounding a fuse may be subject to […] [Read More]

There is now another program on the market available to dealer groups searching for ways to manage their inventory. RedBumber released Monday a complete mobile suite of inventory analytic and management tools for dealer groups, which includes enterprise reporting, group trading, group appraisal optimization, group buying tools and mobile group tools, the company shared. [Read More]

When the new-car market has gotten tough, Hendrick Automotive Group dealers have pushed harder on the used-car side of their operations. And that, director of variable operations Chris Little says, has helped the dealership group realize approximately a 10-percent gain in used-vehicle sales year-to-date. With used sales soaring in recent years amid a challenging new-car […] [Read More]