The Indiana Independent Automobile Dealers Association recently named its 2011 winner of the Joe Krier Quality Dealer of the Year. Garnering the accolade this year was Shaver Preferred Motors of Merrillville, Ind. The association gave the honor to Michael Shaver Sr. at its annual golf outing and awards day on Sept. 11 at Ironwood Golf […] [Read More]

Nine current models from nine different brands. That’s what makes up the latest quarterly list of Top Recommended Current Buys from NADAguides. The specific units included in the list released Wednesday were the 2011 Audi S5, 2012 BMW 6 Series, 2012 Chevrolet Colorado, 2012 Ford Mustang, 2011 GMC Terrain, 2012 Hyundai Tucson, 2011 Land Rover […] [Read More]

The CarMark Certified Pre-Owned program has added two new dealers — in Massachusetts and Indiana — to the growing list of dealerships offering CarMark vehicles. The two new locations are: —Sarris Auto Sales, an independent dealer in Watertown, Mass. —Lockhart Preferred Pre-Owned, in Fishers, Ind., the pre-owned store for Lockhart Automotive, a dealer group in […] [Read More]

AUL Corp. and Universal Lenders partnered Monday to help dealers promote The ZERO Plan to buyers as part of service contract negotiations. Executives indicated the partnership can allow dealers to provide premium financing through The ZERO Plan to their customers who purchase an AUL Vehicle Service Contract. Universal Lenders reiterated The ZERO Plan is “not […] [Read More]

A tough Canadian economy apparently didn’t dampen certified pre-owned sales too much during August. Auto Remarketing Canada learned that several automakers saw double-digit CPO gains during the month, continuing rather robust years in the certified segment. In fact, the Toyota brand — though its year-over-year gain was just shy of double-digits — had its strongest […] [Read More]

Auto Remarketing recently learned of a change in the leadership on the pre-owned side of the business at BMW of North America. The company revealed to the publication that Joan Bowen, who was the marketing manager in the pre-owned department, has moved over to head up marketing for the company’s new electric vehicle brand. Additionally, […] [Read More]

As another of the automaker’s top executives prepares to address another large industry gathering, one of Toyota’s high-level managers confirmed that Toyota’s North American production has returned to 100 percent. Steve St. Angelo indicated the OEM’s recovery is well ahead of initial expectations. The Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing executive vice president made the assessment […] [Read More]

In response to customer requests, Warranty Direct, a provider of extended service contracts for vehicles, rolled out expanded coverage this week for its major policies at no additional cost. Warranty Direct executive vice president Tara Williams elaborated about why the company made this decision. “We are increasing the coverage for our most popular contracts by […] [Read More]

The National Highway Traffic Administration revealed four separate recalls for a total of more than 520,000 vehicles, campaigns that include models from Volkswagen, Subaru and Saab. The single largest recall covers specific Saab and Subaru models originally sold or currently registered in Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Wisconsin, Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, […] [Read More]

Inventory management solutions company Dealer Specialties today revealed it will be interating Kelley Blue Book Values into its appraisal tool — MarketControl Analytics — aiming to help dealers maintain a “competitive edge.” Glen Garvin, group general manager of Dealer Specialities, noted, “Partnering with Kelley Blue Book is a key integration for MarketControl Analytics. [Read More]