Edmunds.com is expanding its “Hack Days” program to invite auto industry professionals in to share their ideas on improving the car-buying experience for dealers, consumers and automakers. Edmunds.com has set the date for this two-day “Hackathon” as Nov. 29–30. It will be at the company’s Santa Monica, Calif., headquarters. Industry insiders and other innovative thinkers […] [Read More]

Salesforce.com has announced the addition of its new chief automotive officer, appointing a longtime leader from Nissan and Renault. Joining salesforce.com as executive vice president and chief automotive officer is Patrick Pelata, who will be responsible for leading the company’s strategy for delivering social and mobile cloud technologies to the automotive industry. Pelata has 28 […] [Read More]

How will Facebook help me with sales? Does social networking really make a difference when it comes to customer/dealer relationships? How can I best engage customers through posts? As many dealers continue to ask similar questions amid Facebook gaining more and more popularity among vehicle shoppers, digital solutions company Jumpstart Automotive Group aims to address […] [Read More]

Online marketplace eBay Motors this week announced upgrades to its certified pre-owned platform that the company says are designed to provide OEMs and dealers with a more robust online sales channel, to complement brick-and-mortar dealerships. The revamped CPO platform includes redesigned showroom and brand pages, eBay Motors said, as well as enhanced listing templates and […] [Read More]

CarWoo and DealerTrack revealed Wednesday that they are partnering to deliver payment calculation and credit application capabilities directly to CarWoo users. DealerTrack’s PaymentDriver and FinanceDriver tools will now be directly integrated into the site’s marketplace and its new Dealer Premium offering, officials noted. [Read More]

Reynolds and Reynolds has announced the availability of integration between the Reynolds ERA and POWER dealership management systems and the Provider Exchange Network, or PEN, which it calls a “digital pipeline” connecting F&I product providers with the dealer management systems or other dealer point-of-sale systems. Available as of this month, Reynolds said integration with PEN […] [Read More]

Pat Simmons remembers what the eve of an auction sale looked like five or six years ago. Back then, he said, you could see dealers combing the lot the night before a sale, scoping out the inventory, getting a peek at what the next day’s event would bring. “They’d be poking their heads in cars, […] [Read More]

From the lot to the lanes, a new AutoManager app is designed to save dealers time and help them make wise purchasing choices, the company says. AutoManager has announced the release of AutoManager.Mobile, a free mobile app for Android devices. Using a smartphone or tablet, the app allows dealers to scan a vehicle identification number, […] [Read More]

Dealer Services Corp. of Indiana rolled out a new mobile version of its website aimed at making it easier for store managers to connect to products and services. Officials this week explained the new mobile version of DiscoverDSC.com is accessible from any smartphone. The launch is part of the company’s continuing efforts to bring information […] [Read More]

Dealership CRM DealerSocket announced Tuesday it has integrated with RouteOne, so now customer and vehicle information can be pushed from DealerSocket to the RouteOne credit application network. DealerSocket highlighted that it has similar third-party relationships with several companies, including DealerTrack, vAuto, Kelly Blue Book, ADP and Reynolds and Reynolds. “DealerSocket is excited to integrate with […] [Read More]