Engaged dealership personnel might be engaging with potential buyers via text message more than ever nowadays. Recognizing the growing influence of text communication in dealer/buyer engagement, Fox Dealer recently announce the acquisition of Simplext Digital immediate response solution and the formation of a partnership with LetzChat, a text-and-chat platform providing real-time translation in more than […] [Read More]

Following an April launch on the fleet side, Spiffy’s first franchise group in San Jose, Calif., is now providing on-demand car care services to consumers there. The franchise’s co-owners and operators are Alina Siert, Matt Siert, Lucille Sablan and Eric Sablan. The group also owns a LeanFeast franchise. In a news release, Spiffy said a […] [Read More]

Cox Automotive Mobility plans to be part of a safety effort started by Arizona’s governor three years ago. According to a news release distributed on Tuesday, the division of Cox Automotive committed to advancing the world’s fleets to serve the next generation will be joining the Institute of Automated Mobility (IAM), a public-private consortium established […] [Read More]

In addition to announcing a partnership with SpinCar, CarGurus revealed its fifth annual Best Used Car Awards on Tuesday, recognizing later-model vehicles across 10 segments. The awards are based on a CarGurus analysis of metrics that included long-term projected value retention, driver satisfaction, user reviews, expert evaluation along with popularity and availability of the respective […] [Read More]

Two more dealership service providers became part of the CDK Global Partner Program, which provides its partners with access to a diverse CDK ecosystem through the ability to integrate with a range of CDK applications, as well as with CDK dealer and third-party websites. The two newest additions to come on board Tuesday include Arcade, […] [Read More]

Along with finalizing a commercial agreement with Inmar Intelligence, Modal, which  that provides e-commerce tools to dealers and brands, this week announced its newly appointed chief executive officer. Taking over the role is an executive who already has been with the company since last August, as chief operating officer Sameer Bhalla has been chosen to […] [Read More]

Carvana announced both its entry into Nebraska and a new milestone on Wednesday: surpassing 300 overall markets. The used-car ecommerce platform is now available in Omaha (its 300th market) and Lincoln (No. 301). “It feels like not so long ago that we launched our first market and set out to change the way people buy and […] [Read More]

AutoWeb has purchased used-vehicle acquisition platform CarZeus from founder Phil Kandera and McCombs Family Partners in a $400,000 all-cash transaction announced Monday. CarZeus, which is currently available in the San Antonio market, is designed to buy cars directly from consumers and then wholesale those vehicles. Bringing CarZeus into the AutoWeb fold can help the company […] [Read More]

When CarGurus purchased a majority stake in CarOffer this winter, one of the benefits to the deal was that it could give CarGurus dealer partners another digital avenue to source used inventory. That capability came to fruition Friday with the launch of CarGurus Instant Max Cash Offer, a CarOffer-powered platform that allows dealers to acquire […] [Read More]

In addition to some big names in automotive, the Series B financing round announced by ecommerce platform Rodo on Tuesday also includes a group tied to the star of the “Ride Along” movies. What now? Let me explain. Rodo’s $18 million Series B funding was led by Holman Enterprises and Evolution VC Partners, with participation […] [Read More]