The saga continues in the battle between two rental-car rivals to acquire Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group. In the latest turn of events, Avis Budget Group announced Thursday the cash portion of its offer to buy Dollar Thrifty has now been boosted by more than $5 a share. The company said it could sweeten the pot even […] [Read More]

ADESA Analytical Services believes both consumers and dealers may be “pushing back” on what they view as high used-vehicle prices at the retail and wholesale level. Why? ADESA’s Tom Kontos attributed the likelihood to trends he shared in previous monthly reports, too. “New-vehicle sales may be benefiting from high used-vehicle prices — both from substitution […] [Read More]

Along with some website modifications, the Hertz Rent2Buy program expanded to incorporate four more states late last week, bringing the total number of locations to 22 states nationwide. States that now offer Hertz Rent2Buy are Minnesota, Nevada, Oklahoma and Oregon. The program already was in operation in Alabama, Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, […] [Read More]

The Auto Remarketing Canada conference is returning to Toronto this spring after calling Montreal home for the last two events, organizers announced this morning, revealing the official dates and location for the 2011 conference. Auto Remarketing Canada 2011 will be held from April 12 to April 14 at the Hyatt Regency Toronto. CarProof is once […] [Read More]

Hertz is planning to roll out a private offering of senior notes totaling $300 million, the proceeds of which may be put toward the acquisition of Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, it was revealed Thursday. The notes will be due in 2018. Officials said the offering will not be subject to the Securities Act of 1933’s […] [Read More]

Wherever Black Book managing editor Ricky Beggs turned, attendees at last week's National Auto Auction Association conference wanted to know the same thing. They kept probing Beggs about how the market is doing and what the industry could expect for the rest of the year. For people not in New York at the conference, Beggs […] [Read More]

TORONTO, Ontario — General Motors of Canada and a group of 21 rejected dealers who were suing the company have reached a settlement, a GM Canada spokesperson confirmed to Auto Remarketing Canada this week. Jason Easton, corporate communications manager for GM Canada, confirmed "that a conditional settlement has been reached … " in this particular suit — Stoneleigh Motors Limited […] [Read More]

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. — Average wholesale prices in Canada softened a bit during July, according to OPENLANE's Canadian Market Index, which came in at 103 for the month, compared with 105 in June. In addition to the 2-percentage-point month-over-month decline in auction prices, July was 3 percentage points weaker on a year-over-year basis. "Canadian prices decreased in […] [Read More]

RED DEER, Alberta — In a strong kick-off to the 2011 fiscal year, RIFCO pulled in almost 35 percent more net income during the first quarter than it did for all of fiscal 2010. And, company management is expecting they should hit full-year profits for the fifth straight time. Specifically, the company took in net income of $416,370 for the […] [Read More]

DETROIT — Are many dealers turning to Twitter to drum up sales and service activity? Turns out, the social media website that limits messages to 140 characters has been welcomed by dealers in varying degrees, according to AOL Autos.  In fact, AOL Autos correspondent Gary Hoffman recently looked at how dealers harnessed Twitter during one 24-hour period […] [Read More]