Black Book is ramping up it dealer services team with the promotion of Adam Mann. Mann, national sales director since 2013, has been named vice president of dealer services for the Black Book Activator Division. In his new role, Mann will be responsible for leading a team of U.S. sales professionals and executing business development […] [Read More]

It may be time for dealers to spend a little extra time highlighting that satellite radio subscription or push-start ignition, since according to recent research, shoppers are willing to pay more for advanced vehicle technology. In fact, according to the “2015 AutoTrader.com Car Tech Impact Study,” most than half of vehicle owners are willing to pay […] [Read More]

AutoStar Solutions announced at the end of December that its AutoStar Fusion dealer management system has completed its integration with DealerSocket’s customer relationship management software. The two-way integration allows dealers to automatically and securely share 27 distinct pieces of vehicle, sales and customer information between the systems, dramatically reducing the need for data entry via […] [Read More]

Flick Fusion is now offering an inventory video add-on to its video marketing platform. VidMagnet uses video search engine optimization techniques designed to drive more traffic from YouTube and other video websites directly to dealer sites. Here’s how it works: Typically, when a vehicle in an inventory video is bought, the video is taken down. […] [Read More]

CarLingo — an online service provider geared to help consumers with their vehicle selection, establishing fair price, valuation of their trade-in and determining a monthly payment that fits their budget — recently launched a shopping resource center with information that spans across the five distinct phases of the shopping process. The center’s information covers: 1. […] [Read More]

Reynolds and Reynolds announced another successful year for its annual Bike Build program for three of its locations in Ohio and Texas earlier this month. Company associates and their families got together on Dec. 6 to assemble nearly 300 new bicycles to use as Christmas gifts for military service family members. Ron Lamb, president of […] [Read More]

Xtime, a customer retention solution for automakers and dealer service departments, was selected as the exclusive service automation provider for Mazda North American Operations. Providing integrated service recommendations, pricing, scheduling and service lane check-in through cloud-based applications, Xtime can increase customer loyalty and improves the ownership experience. “For over a decade, Xtime has delivered a […] [Read More]

Dealership reviews will now be available on AutoTrader.com.   As part of a partnership between AutoTrader and DealerRater announced Tuesday, consumer-generated ratings and reviews of dealerships done through DealerRater will be integrated into dealer profile pages on AutoTrader.com. That starts this month, the companies said. Additionally, a shopper can click a “Rate & Review This […] [Read More]

Edmunds.com chief executive officer Avi Steinlauf — whose company’s own Price Promise tool also aims to foster online-to-showroom efficiency — says he commends AutoNation for introducing a car-shopping tool like SmartChoice Express and “moving the process online.” “I give them a lot of credit for moving the process online. At the get-go, they’re only going to […] [Read More]

Dealers Auto Auction of the Southwest has launched a new auction program to complement its 360 Customer Service, Mexico Ready and Transparent Transactions Programs in conjunction with Carfax. With Buy Now 360, DAASW is now selling units in between sales. In other words, the tool was previously only available while sales were actually running, and now […] [Read More]