The Sparkling City Auto Auctions have announced that both of its auction locations will be renamed on Monday.
They are currently the Sparkling City Auto Auction of Corpus Christi and the Sparkling City Auto Auction of San Antonio, respectively. They will be renamed to the Corpus Christi Auto Auction and the San Antonio Auto Auction.
“When we purchased the auction in Corpus Christi 16 years ago, we changed the name from Coastal Bend Auto Auction to Sparkling City Auto Auction, a title that was easily recognizable in that area,” said Wade Walker, the owner of the auctions. “Since opening our auction in San Antonio in 2010 with the same name, we have encountered some confusion on the part of customers who wondered what ‘Sparkling City’ had to do with San Antonio.
“After some thought we decided we needed to connect our auctions better with their locations in order to be more easily recognized, both locally and nationally.”
Both names and logo changes for both locations have been in the process of being overhauled for several months and have been approved by the National Auto Auction Association. To make sure long-time customers recognize that the auction has retained the same ownership, both auction logos include a tagline that identifies each as members of the “W Walker Auction Group,” which the Corpus Christi location has been operating under since 2000.
“We are grateful for our success here in Corpus Christi and San Antonio, and acknowledge the support of the many customers who regularly visit us at both our locations,” Walker said. “Although the two locations will have separate and distinct names going forward, the name changes will not alter the quality of operations or services that our customers have come to expect from us on a weekly basis.”
In other auction news, ServNet has recently announced its new scholarship program aimed at helping its employees and their families to pursue higher education.
The ServNet Scholarship program assists full-time ServNet auction employees, their children, stepchildren and grandchildren who plan on attending college or vocational school programs.
Up to six awards will be given in increments of three $2,500 awards and three $1,500 awards. These awards will be given annually for full-time study at accredited institutions.
“We’ve really drafted on the NAAA’s Warren Young Scholarship Program which has been providing assistance to families of NAAA member auction employees since 2004,” said Doug Doll, ServNet member and managing partner of KCI Auto Auction.
“We’re pleased to broaden our support for training and education by offering scholarships each year to sons and daughters of employees of ServNet auctions across the country,” Doll continued.
The deadline for this year’s scholarship awards is March 31. Additional information and application forms can be found on the ServNet Auctions website.
Manheim North America announced Wednesday the appointment of a new senior vice president of client experience.
Taking on the role effective March 1 is Doug Keim, who will be responsible for developing and executing initiatives designed to improve dealer and commercial client satisfaction and profitability.
Keim will report to Janet Barnard, Manheim North America’s president.
“One of Manheim’s key strategies is to deliver the best customer experience by making it easier to do business with us,” Barnard said. “We’ve made great progress and I’m confident that Doug will accelerate our efforts, ensuring dealers feel connected, empowered and heard.”
The new SVP formerly served Cox Automotive, Manheim’s parent company, as the vice president of strategic growth for the media group as well as maintaining management and growth its Trade-In Marketplace and Haystak Digital Marketing.
Prior to working for Cox, Keim served in several executive management and leadership positions with CHEP International, Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation, and Georgia-Pacific.
His educational background includes receiving a Master of Arts in counseling from Colorado Christian University and a Bachelor of Arts in behavioral science from Messiah College. Keim has also completed several executive education programs from various institutions, including from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and the European Centre for Executive Development.
As part of what the company described as its ongoing commitment to position top talent to drive business growth for its clients, Manheim appointed Kevin Chartier as vice president of commercial sales on Monday.
In his new role, Manheim indicated Chartier will focus on the overall growth and development of Manheim’s commercial business, including managing sales efforts and fostering strategic relationships with commercial clients.
“Kevin’s thought leadership and deep expertise in the automotive remarketing arena, coupled with his keen ability to assess industry trends and market dynamics, make him the ideal choice for this important role,” said Tim McKinley, senior vice president of sales at Manheim.
“I am confident that Kevin will continue to evolve our sales strategies to further help our commercial clients thrive in today’s marketplace,” McKinley continued.
Reporting to McKinley, Manheim explained Chartier will lead a team of experienced account executives responsible for maintaining and driving new revenue and market share growth for all Manheim commercial clients while ensuring exceptional client service.
Chartier joins Manheim from Nissan where he served most recently as remarketing director. In his time with Nissan, Chartier held various sales and marketing roles, including a position on the Infiniti launch team, Infiniti division C&I manager and a role leading remarketing strategy.
Chartier later took on an executive position for lease and banking solutions at RSA/Fiserv before returning to Nissan in 2006 to lead the development of international sales finance companies.
Chartier holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration with double majors in marketing and finance & investment banking from the University of Wisconsin. Additionally, he has completed a series of executive training programs from the University of Chicago and University of Virginia.
A big part of the job at Auto Remarketing and of most any news organization is to keep tabs on public relations newswires. It’s a good way to learn about new companies, learn what businesses are up to and perhaps even get a bit of analysis.
One bit of PR information we see quite often is from companies sharing the news that they have made a list of great places to work in their respective cities, industries, etc.
You probably see the same thing in your local newspaper or on the newsstand at the grocery store. And you will soon see it in Auto Remarketing, with our “Best Auto Auctions to Work For” program.
So, why are these programs so popular, and how do they benefit participants?
I spoke with Peter Burke, who is the president of the Best Companies Group that Auto Remarketing has partnered with to manage the “Best Auto Auctions to Work For” study.
This isn’t their first rodeo — you may have seen similar studies that BCG has done in your area.
Burke shared some insight into how organizations participating in his company’s surveys have benefitted both from an internal/ human resources perspective and from an external perspective.
He said that organizations that choose to participate typically will do so for one of two reasons.
First, he said, companies that participate and end up earning the recognition tend to see a big impact when it comes to general marketing, recruiting and promoting their branding as an employer. That can lead to applications climbing and turnover dropping.
Second, it’s a chance to better understand the viewpoint of your employees and see how you stack up against your peers. To be clear, this Auto Remarketing-specific project is 100-percent free to participate, employees remain anonymous and there are no rankings.
Auctions that participate in the study will be provided a high-level digest of information gleaned by BCG. However, as an added-benefit, participants will have the unique opportunity to purchase the full “BCG Employee Feedback Report” from the Best Companies Group that outlines metrics like key confidential feedback and benchmarking data.
For individual auction locations to participate, the general manager/leader of that auction needs to opt in at this website,www.bestautoauctionstoworkfor.com, by April 22.
Registration is now open.
Auto Remarketing will be running its semiannual Spotlight on Commercial Consignors in our March 15 print publication, but with some important changes to how the listings are being compiled.
If you are a commercial consignor and would like your company included in this FREE listing, you must provide all of the following to Auto Remarketing by Feb. 26 — even if you have previously provided it to us for prior editions:
- Name of company
- Address
- Telephone number
- Remarketing leader or contact person
- Headshot of that person
- Quote from that person on the importance of NAAA
- Company logo
- Number of vehicles you expect to remarket in 2016
This information should be sent to Auto Remarketing Staff Writer Josh Hyatt at [email protected] by Feb. 26.
The Spotlight on Commercial Consignors is a FREE opportunity to share information about your company’s remarketing operation with auctions and dealers. It's a great chance to get in front of these folks and earn some well-deserved recognition.
However, if Auto Remarketing does not receive this information by Feb. 26, we cannot guarantee that your company will be included in the Spotlight on Commercial Consignor listing.
It’s that time of year again – Auto Remarketing is now officially accepting nominations for the Women in Remarketing Class of 2016.
Don't miss the opportunity to honor the exceptional women of the remarketing industry, who drive businesses such as auctions, consignors, dealerships, captive finance companies and more.
Do you work with a female colleague that deserves to be recognized? Or do you know any leading ladies in the industry?
Last year’s class, as seen above, was chock-full of some of the top leaders in the remarketing industry. And just like the last few years of this program, we need your help to make sure we continue to recognize the women that help drive the nation’s remarketing business.
The April 15 print and digital editions of Auto Remarketing will contain a special section designed to honor those women that will be chosen for its 2016 Women in Remarketing Class. The 2016 Women in Remarketing Class will also be honored at this year’s Used Car Week Conferences this fall.
The deadline for nominations is Friday, March 4, and we want to make sure to honor the deserving women throughout the industry.
So, do you know of someone who deserves to be on the 2016 list?
Here’s what you can do:
No matter what area of the remarketing business the female nominee comes from, she must have a history of going above and beyond the call of duty, whether through innovation, mentoring new professionals, philanthropy, education or more.
To nominate an executive, please email staff writer Josh Hyatt at [email protected] with the following information:
1) Nominees full name, position, and full contact information, including a phone number and email address.
2) A brief summary as to why you think this nominee should be selected. What makes her stand out? Please note that your summary may be quoted.
Auto Remarketing will be contacting the final class of honorees for a brief interview and will be requesting a professional headshot, as well.
We will include a brief profile on each honoree, along with her professional headshot, in our April 15 edition.
Special advertising will also be available for this Women in Remarketing issue. For more information or to purchase space, please contact publisher Bill Zadeits at [email protected].
Now in its eighth year of recognizing these top auto professionals, Auto Remarketing would also like to call attention to the prior honorees, which include:
2015 Women in Remarketing
Stephanie Baker, General Manager, Dealers Auto Auction of Murfreesboro
Amy Bouck, Senior Director of Lease-End Servicing and Remarketing, Hyundai Capital America
Gail Berger, Vice President of Auto Remarketing, Sirius XM
Kimberly Farley, Senior Vice President of Workforce Solutions, Equifax
Lori Grone, Vice President of Field Operations, Costco Auto Program
Lesley Lovallo, Vice President of Corporate Development, Larry H. Miller Automotive Operations
Linda McNeely, Director of Fleet Operations, Auction Broadcasting Co.
Barbara Mousigian, Vice President of Product, Cars.com
Cheryl Munce, Chief Executive Consultant, Alteso
Michelle Nichols-Neff, Vice President & Partner, BSC America
Michele Noblitt, Executive Vice President & General Manager, Dealers Auto Auction of the Rockies
Kelly Olson, Manager of Dealership Online Services, Ally Financial
Stacey Petras, Assistant Vice President of Asset Remarketing, Operations Support, GM Financial
Becca Polak, Executive Vice President, General Counsel & Board Secretary, KAR Auction Services
Pauline Pons, Co-Founder & Vice President, TPC Management Company
Jana Rauschenberg, Fleet Lease Sales Manager, West Michigan Auto Auction
Mandy Savage, General Manager, Manheim Detroit
Janet Smail, Project & Transportation Manager for Fleet Services, Flexco
Lori Wittman, Vice President & General Manager, VinSolutions
2014 Women in Remarketing
Ann Cammarata, DataScan Field Services LLC
Angie Chattin, CarMax Auto Finance
Cindy Cockerham, Copart Inc.
Tammie Gray, Ally Financial
Mary Haller, Auction Broadcasting Co. LLC
Catherine Iger, AutoTrader.com
Sherry Keltner, Mercedes-Benz Financial Services USA
Joy Wilder Lybeer, Equifax
Charlotte Pyle, Mountain State Auto Auction, Capital City Auto Auction, Pyle Equipment Auctions, and Joe. R Pyle Complete Auction & Realty Service
Nancy Rabenold, Xcira Corp.
Jennifer Ryan, Dominion Dealer Solutions
Diane Scharafin, Carfax
Carol Sewell, ADESA
Mary Lou Sutton, Manheim Credit & Collections
Sheila Tedesco, Lobel Financial
Bridget Townsend, Dealertrack Technologies
2013 Women in Remarketing:
Cheryl DeVries O’Brien, Kalamazoo Auto Auction
Lisa Filippi-Alvarez, American Honda Motor Co.
Anne Fleming, Women-Drivers.com
Valerie Fuller, FordDirect
Isabelle Helms, Autotrader
Rebecca Hewitt, World Omni Financial Corp.
Alison Ouchi, Ally Financial
Julie Picard, Manheim
Jenell Ross, Bob Ross Auto Group and AIADA
Sue Saris, NAAA
Lisa Scott, ADESA Canada and OPENLANE
Patty Stanley, Carolina Auto Auction and Indiana Auto Auction and ServNet
Laura Taylor, Charleston Auto Auction
2012 Women in Remarketing:
Wendy Carter, Autotrader
Courtney Cole, Hare Chevrolet
Lori Coniglio, Wheels Inc.
Stacey Coopes, FordDirect
Stephanie Gingras, Dealers Auto Auction of the SouthWest
Mary Jane Hogan, American Recovery Association
Susie Heins, Manheim
Allison Lind, Mercedes-Benz USA
Michelle Mallon, ADESA
Claudia Plascencia, Repo Remarketing
Andrea Riley, Ally Financial
Keely Smith, AutoIMS
Amy Weisenburger, DataScan Field Services LLC
2011 Women in Remarketing:
Lilicia Bailey, Manheim
Jennifer Costabile, General Motors
Jody DeVere, AskPatty.com
Kristie Griffin, Milwaukee Auto Auction
Deborah Malinowski, Santander Consumer USA
Cynthia Mitchell, BSC America
Gina Paolino, Affinity Auto Program
Rachel Richards, Sonic Automotive
Jennifer Schade, ARI
Ronna Webb, ADESA
2010 Women in Remarketing Class:
Sue Boehlke, Manheim
Jeannie Chiaromonte, Bank of America
Megan Haley, Fiserv
Alexis Jacobs, Columbus Fair Auto Auction
Mary Ann Pipes, CitiFinancial
Debbie Vaughn, ADESA
Angela Williams, Rawls Auto Auction
2009 Women of Remarketing Class:
Carolyn Crafts, Cars.com
Renee Dusek-Higgins, Davis-Moore Auto Group
Joan Horst, BMW
Jennifer Johnson, Jennifer’s Auto Sales
Melanie Kovach, AutoMart & AutoExtra.com
Carol McDavid, GMAC
Jane Morgan, ADESA
Berta Phelps, Manheim corporate
Shirlie Slack, Fredericksburg Auto Auction
Karen Tanner-Smith, CitiFinancial
Allison Weller, Chrysler Financial
Lynn Wolver, Chase Bank
Staff writer Josh Hyatt can be reached at [email protected], or by phone at (919) 674-6020 ext. 152.
There are over 47 million vehicles in the United States that have at least one unrepaired safety recall. That’s according to a recent analysis from Carfax, who pointed out that these 47 million vehicles are being driven, bought and sold, or sitting on a lot somewhere in our country, either because there’s not a fix available or because they're waiting on one or whoever owns the vehicle simply hasn’t taken the time to take it in.
To put that number in perspective, the current U.S. population is just short of 323 million (and has netted roughly 20 new Americans in the time it took to write this article) according to the United States Census Bureau.
Carfax says that 47 million number is more than a 1 million net increase in unrepaired recalled vehicles compared to last year. And every state in the union has at least 100,000 of them within its borders.
"Our data shows there's still much hard work to be done in addressing recalls," Carfax communications director Larry Gamache said in a news release. "Many people still are unnecessarily risking their lives by not staying informed or taking action when their vehicle is under a recall. It's one of the many reasons family-oriented vehicles, including one in four minivans, are the most-highly impacted. Carfax continues to work closely with the auto manufacturers so we can alert people in the U.S. and Canada that their vehicles have a potentially dangerous defect that needs to be fixed."
In a recent interview with Auto Remarketing about a separate recall-related matter, Karl Brauer, Kelley Blue Book’s senior director of automotive industry insights, discussed the changing environment of automotive recalls — which historically have carried a “fairly low priority.”
“Consumers, by the way, are just as much of a problem as the government or the dealers, because they have a horrible record of taking the vehicles in when they’ve gotten their notice,” Brauer said. “I don’t know what it is today, but in the past if you got anything over 50 percent of all vehicles involved in a recall to actually be processed and have it addressed, that was considered relatively good. And anything over 66 to 70 percent was like a home run… I just don’t think the patience now exists for that attitude.”
Citing data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Carfax points out that more than 51 million recalls were issued in 2015, more than any year prior.
"Millions more vehicles will likely be recalled this year, adding to the ones already with outstanding airbag recalls, ignition switch recalls, electrical system recalls and more,” Gamache said. “Resources like myCarfax that continuously monitor your car and send alerts to your mobile device are helping people everywhere find and fix more recalls.”
Insurance Auto Auctions announced the arrival of its turnkey customer self-service tool aimed at enhancing the total loss claims experience for IAA Title Services customers.
Named MyVehicleClaim.com, the site allows insurance companies to provide vehicle owners with the means to track the progress of their total loss claim.
Owners can receive communications and track their information throughout the entire total loss claims process, including real-time status updates, messaging features, document downloads and multiple-claim management.
IAA hopes the tool will improve customer satisfaction and retention on the front end while reducing the amount of administrative work on the back end.
"We are proud to incorporate this capability into our Total Loss Solutions offering," said Pat Walsh, senior vice president of business development at IAA. "MyVehicleClaim.com reflects the type of full service claims management solutions that our customers have grown to expect. It delivers a customer self-service product for our clients so they don't have to build their own propriety solution."
To learn more about IAA, visit its site here.
Updates from Barret-Jackson this week show that the auction raised $3,406,000 for both local and national charitable organizations during its 45th Anniversary Auction held in Scottsdale, Ariz. at the end of January.
The auction sold 11 charity vehicles during this year’s event, bringing the company’s overall charitable auction sales to date to a little over $88 million.
Some of the vehicles of note sold during the event include the very first production 2017 Acura NSX, with VIN #001, which sold for $1.2 million, as well as one of the first 2016 Ford Focus RS vehicles which sold for $550,000. Those two vehicles were donated by Acura and Ford to benefit the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation and Camp Southern Ground as well as the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, respectively.
Several celebrities attended the charity auction event, including the Zac Brown Band, Jay Leno, NASCAR driver Brad Keselowski and professional rally driver Ken Block.
“More than 45 years ago, the first Barrett-Jackson event was held to raise money for the Scottsdale library,” said Craig Jackson, chairman and chief executive officer of Barrett-Jackson. “I’m proud that spirit of charity continues to be such a strong part of our auctions today. Every year, the generosity of our consignors, sponsors, celebrities and bidders grows stronger. This year we were especially excited to be a part of a new VIN #001 charity sale record when the Acura NSX supercar sold for $1.2 million.”
Charleston Auto Auction’s new event
In other auction news, the Charleston Auto Auction announced at the end of January that it will host its 1st Annual Shuck’n, Truck’n and More event on Tuesday.
The event will include over 400 units, made up by over 150 vehicles from Dick Smith Automotive, lease/bank units, as well as dedicated truck/SUV and late-model vehicle lanes.
The pre-sale begins at noon EST on Tuesday with a free oyster roast and low country boil along with live music by the Shem Creek Boogie Band. The first 75 dealers in attendance will receive a complimentary Charleston Auto Auction hat while everyone will have a chance at the auction’s $5,000 in cash and prize giveaways.
“We are looking forward to sharing some low country traditions and a great run of vehicles with dealers from across the southeast,” said Laura Taylor, the auction’s general manager.
Auction123 receives Reynolds certification
Auction123 Inc. recently announced that it has completed the certification process for the Reynolds Certified Interface Program for its Reynolds and Reynolds ERA dealership management system.
According to the company, this certification helps ensure safe, secure and reliable integration between the Reynolds and Reynolds ERA DMS and the Auction123 suite of inventory management and online marketing solutions.
“We are excited to be an RCI-certified vendor,” said Ray Basha, Auction123’s chief executive officer. “Our dealers depend on Auction123’s software to power their day-to-day online presence. The accuracy of the inventory data is critical to their business. With this certification, our Reynolds and Reynolds customers will have peace of mind knowing we provide safe, reliable access to their DMS data through the most secure process available.”
MyDealerOnline finalized an exclusive partnership with Bendary Car Corp. out of New York on Monday, creating a new distribution agreement that will allow MyDealerOnline to expand to multiple international automotive markets.
Under the agreement, officials explained, the partnership involving Bendary and MyDealerOnline focuses initially on the Middle Eastern and African markets with future expansion planned.
The companies indicated overseas dealers who subscribe to MyDealerOnline will receive immediate access to U.S. auction inventory, technology, resources and support.
“MyDealerOnline is a perfect fit for our long-term growth,” Bendary president Ahmed Bendary said. “Overseas dealers will gain greater access to U.S. auction inventory, $0 brokerage fees and $0 logistics markup.
“Bendary Car Corp. will provide interest-free financing up to 50 percent of the vehicle cost. Also, interest-free financing will continue until the car sells for qualified dealers,” Bendary continued. “This program will add working capital needed to make overseas dealers successful.”
The companies went on to mention the distribution partnership can provide MyDealerOnline with the opportunity to establish dealer relationships throughout the world.
“Our No. 1 goal is to help overseas dealers gain access to U.S. inventory and grow their dealerships,” said Scott Stephens, vice president of business development at MyDealerOnline.
“Export is important to the success of U.S. used-car consignors. They will now have access to thousands of additional overseas buyers,” Stephens went on to say.
For more information, register at www.mydealeronline.com/export or email to [email protected].
