Edmunds.com has made the first acquisition in company history, announcing this morning it has purchased a mobile startup known as CarCodeSM that lets dealers and car shoppers conduct one-on-one text messaging with each other. Edmunds plans to launch this technology across its dealership network, providing CarCode for free to both dealers and consumers. “Car shoppers […] [Read More]

As part of a strategic partnership between the two companies, CDK Global announced that its clients will have exclusive access to  the NewCar IQ new-car pricing and inventory management tool from Pearl Technology Holdings. CDK said in its announcement of the product’s launch that it can help dealers “understand, apply and syndicate manufacturer incentives to […] [Read More]

Cox Automotive announced this week the integration of two of its dealer management tools. With this integration, data from VinSolutions CRM can be accessed via the vAuto Provision suite, helping dealers make better inventory management decisions while using Provision. Randy Kobat, the vice president and general manager of vAuto, believes the integration will be mutually […] [Read More]

String Automotive announced today the addition of several members to its Dealership Positioning System, the company’s dealership intelligence platform. The new members include Moore and Scarry Advertising, Pinnacle Advertising & Marketing Group, and Omni Advertising. String’s DPS assists members of its partner program to link up to better serve dealers by providing immediate feedback on […] [Read More]

Nearly three-fifths of car buyers turn to their mobile devices to read up on you and your fellow dealers, be it a review or a search for your store. That’s according to the 2014 Automotive Social Media Trends Study released by Digital Air Strike at the J.D Power Marketing Roundtable on Wednesday. “The overall trend […] [Read More]

Twitter: It ain’t just for hashtagging your favorite pumpkin-spice whatever or Grumpy Cat pictures.  That’s right, perhaps one of the most important uses of Twitter this fall, at least for folks in the used-car business, is the #DealerChat from your friends at Used Car Week. After a successful debut #DealerChat hosted by Equifax last week, […] [Read More]

Propelled by the merger with CAR-Research XRM earlier this year that brought 20 years of call center experience, AutoLoop introduced Engage — a solution geared to gather customers and increase sales and service profitability for dealers. Among the five capabilities AutoLoop highlighted this week, officials explained the Engage call center solution can deliver dealers the […] [Read More]

Dealertrack Technologies announced this week that its customer relationship management tool’s interface has received certification from Reynolds and Reynolds. The system, Dealertrack CRM, received certification from the Reynolds Certified Interface Program, which applies to the ERA dealership management system. Robert Granados, senior vice president and general manager, inventory and CRM Solutions at Dealertrack, believes the […] [Read More]

Digital marketing company Search Optics has launched a new mobile-optimized website platform built to enhance mobile search engine optimization and conversions for dealerships. The new Blueprint Platform is designed to ensure customer websites are viewable across every device and screen size. “The Blueprint Platform was built from the ground up for the mobile Internet and […] [Read More]

In an effort to aid dealers’ service departments, Cox Automotive — the parent of Manheim, AutoTrader.com, vAuto and Kelley Blue Book, among others — recently joined other companies in purchasing a minority stake in AutoMD.com, previously a wholly owned subsidiary of U.S. Auto Parts Network. Joining Cox Automotive in this development were Federal-Mogul Motorparts, a division of […] [Read More]