WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Senate approved the financial reform bill late Thursday without the Brownback amendment coming up for a vote. However, the dealer protection provision is expected to be addressed in a House and Senate conference committee that is designed to work out the differences between the two chambers. This means it's not too late […] [Read More]

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Toyota officials revealed Thursday the next step in the work of their independent North American Quality Advisory Panel. The group that's been charged with strengthening safety and quality assurance practices is set to meet with Toyota president Akio Toyoda and other top executives next week in Japan. The automaker explained that the panel led […] [Read More]

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The American International Automobile Dealers Association honored a Texas dealer this week with its Impact Grassroots Advocacy Award. The honor given during its fourth annual International Auto Industry Summit went to Paul Atkinson, the dealer and general manager of Atkinson Toyota Scion in Bryan, Texas, and Atkinson Toyota in Madisonville, Texas. AIADA explained […] [Read More]

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback is planning to stand with leadership of the American International Automobile Dealers Association, the National Association of Minority Automobile Dealers, and the National Automobile Dealers Association this afternoon at the Capitol for a press conference. The Kansas Republican is uniting with the dealership associations to reinforce their stance against […] [Read More]

ROCHESTER, Mich. — When looking at the factors that ultimately lead consumers to buy a vehicle, the biggest positive influence on a car buyer's decision is the dealership visit, according to a recent study from Foresight Research. In fact, more than half of vehicle purchasers indicated that their experience at the dealership was "highly influential in […] [Read More]

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Department of the Treasury revealed late Monday that it has received a repayment from Chrysler Holding. The amount is a settlement of one of the loans for a fraction of what federal officials extended last year. The sum of $1.9 billion is only a portion of what Treasury officials doled out to […] [Read More]

DES PLAINES, Ill. — Wheels Inc. announced a new member to its board of directors earlier this week. Appointed to serve as a board member was Greg Besio, who is the executive vice president and chief administrative officer at Aon Inc. His duties at Aon include heading up such global shared service functions as: corporate strategy, procurement, real […] [Read More]

DETROIT — General Motors said it returned to profitability in the first quarter, reporting net income of $900 million and operating income of $1.2 billion on total revenues of $31.5 billion. The automaker recorded adjusted EBIT of $1.7 billion. GM said this was determined following adjustments it made for the favorable impact of selling the Saab brand. GM […] [Read More]

SANTA MONICA, Calif. — Edmunds.com expects Memorial Day to be a busy time for dealerships. Site analysts described potential sales traffic during the holiday weekend as "especially strong this year." Edmunds.com indicated that new-vehicle sales have been relatively weak so far this month. The site even suggested that May SAAR may drop slightly from April's 11.2 […] [Read More]

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Chrysler Group saw the ruling turn in its favor in yet another dealer arbitration case, this time notching a victory against a store in Texas. Manuel Dodge in Richardson, Texas, was one of the hordes of dealers filing for arbitration after it was rejected by the automaker. After arbitration was held May […] [Read More]