DealerRater has overhauled its dealer platform, the company said in a news release Wednesday. New to the review site is a customizable dashboard for dealers to view and track reviews, additional reporting capabilities, automated performance updates and a new mobile interface. Dealers can also build custom reports that track their reviews and reviews on their […] [Read More]

Elcometer has rolled out a new auto paint meter known as Elcometer 311, the company announced this week. Among the key features shared by Elcometer include automatic switching between steel and aluminum panels, the ability to conduct 60 readings per minute, water-resistant design with built-in temperature compensation and more. “The truth is, you simply cannot […] [Read More]

The latest move by the Department of Justice showed how crucial DealerSocket is to the Cox Automotive acquisition of Dealertrack Technologies being finalized. In order to prevent Cox Automotive from holding an estimated 86 percent market share of that service segment, DOJ officials announced late on Tuesday that it will require Cox Automotive to divest […] [Read More]

The Ken Garff Auto Group has added CarStory Market Reports to the websites of its nearly 50 dealerships. These reports embed research directly into the dealership VDP, with the aim of keeping consumers engaged on the site. Chad Bockius, a recipient in the inaugural Remarketing and Used Car 40 Under 40 and a speaker during the CPO Forum at Used […] [Read More]

With Dealer Car Search’s new “website texting” feature for its website customers, the company aims to improve the line of online communication between customers and the dealership. That’s according to Rick Wilson, the chief executive officer at Dealer Car Search, whose website texting solution links interested customers online directly to a salesperson in the office […] [Read More]

If you’re a franchised dealer, there are four times more independent repair facilities competing for the same customers’ attentions when their vehicle needs service. That’s according to Xtime’s president Neal East, who says his company’s Marketing 7 solution can help target “lost souls,” or customers who have visited the service department but have not returned […] [Read More]

Late on Thursday, Cox Automotive and Dealertrack Technologies issued a one-sentence update on the planned acquisition first announced back on June 12. The companies have extended the tender offer four times and now say the transaction is expected to close in October. Regulatory hurdles and securing a majority of shareholder approval have been some of […] [Read More]

On the heels of Auction Edge making a major acquisition announcement, KAR Auction Services indicated on Thursday that subsidiary Openlane agreed to build a private label website for Auction Edge, utilizing Openlane’s proprietary technology platform. The companies highlighted the private label website created for Auction Edge will be known as the EDGE Marketplace, which has […] [Read More]

CarStory announced on Tuesday that Dealer Car Search has made the Inline CarStory Market Reports available to its dealer-customer subscribers. According to CarStory, the reports embed important vehicle research directly into a vehicle’s detail page, aiming to keep customers engaged on a dealership’s website. The information in CarStory’s market reports include insights generated from real-time […] [Read More]

When Cox Automotive first announced it was going to acquire Dealertrack Technologies, officials believed the deal would be finalized during the third quarter. The companies will just make that timeframe if the deadline for the fourth extension of the tender offer is met. The companies said on Wednesday that the offer previously set to expire […] [Read More]