John Eriksen has been named general manager of Manheim Baltimore-Washington, bringing experience in both the sales and operations sides of Manehim.
Most recently, he served as assistant general manager of Manheim Orlando, where he held various leadership roles since joining the organization in 2007.
His new role represents a return to the region, as he previously worked as general sales manager for Manheim’s Mid-Atlantic region.
"John’s backgrond and well-rounded perspective will be a valuable asset to our team,” said Matt Trapp, Manheim regional vice president, Northeast. “His intimate knowledge of our clients, and overall leadership qualities, marries well with our priorities and goals as an organization.”
“During the time I worked in the Mid-Atlantic region, I gained a great perspective of the diversity of our clients and the tremendous potential Manheim has to help dealer business grow in this area,” said Eriksen. "It is good to return to the Baltimore area and call it home once again.”
Eriksen received an associate degree from Santa Fe College and is working toward his bachelor’s degree in business administration.
Dogs: they’re an endearing bunch, aren’t they?
Especially when they have the chance to jump in the car.
An Autotrader survey released Friday — National Dog Day, by the way — found that dogs may be your wingman one minute, and have a mind of their own the next.
(About a quarter of dog owners have used Fido to flirt while in the car; Dogs are also significantly more likely to be an uninvited guest on the driver’s lap than a welcome one, Autotrader found.)
But they’re nonetheless steady road-trip companions for many folks: more than half of dog owners bring their pup along for a ride at least once a week and two-fifths have gone on 100-mile-plus journeys with the dog.
And here’s the kicker for dealers: four-fifths of dog owners are more likely to buy from pet-friendly stores that, for example, allow dogs on test drives, hand out dog toys/treats or support animal causes, Autotrader said.
The company found that most (87 percent) have not brought the dog along for the test-drive, but nearly half would think about it.
The dog may figure into the vehicle purchase decision, itself. Autotrader said that a quarter of dog owners bought from a different vehicle segment than their current ride because of their pet.
Not to mention, two-thirds say at least consider the dog during the car-buying process.
And when dog owners go to buy, they look for easy-clean fabrics, all-weather floor mats and pet-friendly seat belts or restraints.
Autotrader also named five ideal vehicles for dog lovers, those being the
- 2017 Chrysler Pacifica
- 2016 Nissan Pathfinder
- 2016 Toyota 4Runner
- 2016 Volkswagen Tiguan
- 2017 Volvo XC90
ADESA announced on Monday that ADESA Northwest has been named the U.S. Bank 2015 Auction of the Year, Marine/RV Segment.
ADESA Northwest was known as Brasher’s Northwest Auto Auction at the time of the award.
The auction has received this honor every year since U.S. Bank began awarding it in 2010 as a way to recognize its top specialty auctions.
Criteria to determine the winning auction include conversion rates, NADA retentions, and operational benchmarks such as days to transport and days to condition report.
“I would like to thank Jason Herman and the U.S. Bank team for their continued partnership and support, which have enabled us to achieve this award six years in a row,” said Mark Melton, general manager of ADESA Northwest.
“Jodi Rowland and the fleet lease team, our reconditioning team, the sales department and other teams at the auction have played instrumental roles in reaching and exceeding these benchmarks.”
Melton and Rowland, fleet lease manager, accepted the award on behalf of the ADESA Northwest staff earlier this month in Cincinnati. The trophy was presented by U.S. Bank representatives Herman, senior vice president, director of asset remarketing, and Mike Ryan, assistant vice president, auction sales and performance manager.
Southeastern Auto Auction celebrated 20 years in Savannah, Ga., with an anniversary sale on Wednesday.
The event offered a record consignment featuring a variety of vehicles from new car dealers, independent dealers and institutional accounts, both in the lines and online.
Dealers enjoyed a BBQ lunch and a chance to win a variety of prizes as well as $10,000 cash. In addition, money raised from a 50/50 drawing was donated to Shriners Hospital for Children.
“It was another recording breaking day for both number of vehicles consigned and sold,” said Bill McCready, auction vice president. “To achieve this on the 20th anniversary of the auction is a great achievement.
“Our amazing team went above and beyond to make sure it was a success. For an auction to be in business this long you need to have great employees and great customers. I would like to thank the hard working Southeastern Auto Auction team for all they do and also our amazing dealers.”
The auction got its start in 1987 when Wayne DeLoach, Tommy Childs and Danny Williams purchased a small auction in Statesboro, Ga., which they relocated to Savannah in 1996.
Southeastern Auto Auction, at 1712 Dean Forest Road, holds a dealer-only sale at 10 a.m. Wednesdays and a public sale at 7 p.m. Thursdays.
National Auto Auction Association president Mike Browning found both celebratory and somber moments during National Auto Auction Week, which was wrapping up Friday.
A highlight from the weeklong event was the announcement of the four regional winners of NAAA’s first-ever Auto Auction of the Year Award, which honors excellence in community service.
The winners were:
• Eastern Chapter: ADESA Winnipeg
•Midwest Chapter: West Michigan Auto Auction
• Southern Chapter: Louisiana 1st Choice Auto Auction
• Western Chapter: Kansas City Independent Auto Auction
“On behalf of all our members, I would like to congratulate these auctions, and all the nominees and, really, all of our member auctions, whose staffs give so much every day to help others,” Browning said.
Each of the four winners received $5,000, to be donated at the discretion of the auction. The auction chosen as the National Auto Auction of the Year will receive an additional $10,000 to be donated as the auction sees fit. The auction chosen as the National Auto Auction of the Year will receive an additional $10,000, be featured in an NAAA On The Block magazine cover story and appear on the cover of the NAAA 2017 Member Directory.
“I am overcome with pride when I see the list of community activities our member auctions have participated in over the past several years,” Browning said before highlighting some of the auctions’ charitable endeavors, including:
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ADESA Winnipeg raised nearly $3 million in in the past year for a dozen worthy causes.
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A female staffer who befriended a dealer customer at West Michigan Auto Auction donated a kidney to the man.
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Over the past 14 years, Louisiana’s 1st Choice Auto Auction has donated more than $400,000 for community service activities.
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Kansas City Independent Auto Auction has raised $441,000 for three community service organizations in the past four years.
“These activities, of course, grab the headlines,” Browning said. “However, there are many more examples of our member auctions helping others — donating items to schools and hospitals, creating Thanksgiving and Christmas baskets for members of the community, hosting blood drives, and so much more!
“It gives me great pleasure to see that our association members are making philanthropy and giving back core values in their businesses," he continued.
“I have seen firsthand what the people at these auctions do for others,” added NAAA chief executive officer Frank Hackett. “I am very pleased that this new award will draw attention to their charitable efforts, and I am humbled to play a small role in seeing that an additional $30,000 will go to helping these organizations.”
Paying homage to Louisiana flood victims
Browning took a moment to offer thoughts and prayers to the leadership and staff of Oak View Auto Auction in Baton Rouge as well as to all of the people of the region, which has been devastated by recent flooding.
“The 1,000-year flood there has devastated the region, including the NAAA member auction owned by Eric Boyd,” Browning said. “As always, your friends at NAAA headquarters and across the country are ready, willing and able to assist in whatever ways possible.”
The National Weather Service Office in New Orleans reported that more than 10 of its recording stations in southern Louisiana counted at least 10 inches of rain during a 48-hour span this past weekend, with one area approaching 22 inches. The torrential downpours happened not far from where Hurricane Katrina deluged the Gulf Coast 11 years ago this month.
With a total of 20 parishes having been declared major disasters by federal officials, hundreds of vehicles likely are impacted by floodwaters. But whether it’s this latest natural disaster in the Bayou or what might be approaching your dealership, National Auto Auction Association president Mike Browning pointed out the protocol and technology now in place to keep flood-damaged units from being “washed” and landing in your inventory.
“In the wake of disasters like Hurricane Katrina and more recently Hurricane Sandy, salvage laws have been put into effect to give consumers a way to know whether or not a vehicle has suffered flood damage at some point in its history,” said Browning, who also is the general manager of Manheim San Antonio.
“Additionally, NAAA has adopted policies requiring that titles are correctly branded to indicate a vehicle’s flood history,” Browning continued when reached through Manheim’s public relations department this week.
“But I’d say the biggest hurdle we’ve worked hard to overcome as an industry is properly training inspectors to identify flood damage,” he went on to say. “In short, the training simply wasn’t nearly as comprehensive back then. Now inspectors have a greater understanding of what the indicators of flood damage are, and frankly it’s relatively unheard of for them to miss it.”
That emphasis by Browning should be a welcomed sentiment to veteran used-car managers who might have had to navigate the challenges left behind by disasters such as Katrina and storms going back much further. Perhaps now, the only thing “washed” in the lanes is a vehicle that might have seen a detail shop before going over the block.
“Vehicle history reports from reliable services like AutoCheck has made the practice of title washing much more difficult and enables auctions to disclose any branded title before the bidding starts,” Browning said.
“By offering increased visibility to accurate vehicle data, a dealer’s risk of buying a vehicle with undetected problems is greatly reduced,” he went on to say.
Browning, along with other NAAA leaders as well as executives from Manheim and other wholesale players, will be converging at Used Car Week, which is set for Nov. 14-18 at the Red Rock Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. For more details about all of the NAAA and Used Car Week events in store, go to www.usedcarweek.biz.
Global online vehicle auction company Copart has announced the opening of Copart Denver Central, the company’s third location in Colorado and its second in the Denver area.
“In May, we announced the opening of and first auction at our new Colorado Springs location, then we expanded our original Denver area location, and now we are pleased to announce the opening and online auctions at our second location that will serve the Denver area,” said Jay Adair, chief executive officer. “We are excited to further accommodate our growth in the online auction space with this new location.”
Copart’s Colorado facilities are located in Brighton, Colorado Springs, and now in Denver at 6464 Downing St. Online auctions for the Denver, Brighton and Colorado Springs facilities will be at noon (CT) on Thursdays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, respectively. Copart’s online auctions take place at www.copart.com.
“Not only do we strive to provide an unmatched experience, but we are always looking to contribute to the safety and quality of life of our local communities,” said Sean Eldridge, chief operating officer. “Recently, we deployed our catastrophe response team to Colorado Springs to provide support to the areas affected by the recent hail storms.”
Copart’s catastrophe response team is made up of an elite group of personnel who are ready to respond to weather-related catastrophes on short notice. Within 48 hours after severe hail storms hit Colorado Springs, the team began helping impacted communities recover by removing damaged vehicles. The hail storms produced enough damage that insurance companies declared it a catastrophic weather event.
As a partner to local communities, Copart offers local law enforcement, fire departments and other agencies a safe training environment. Copart locations are often used by law enforcement agencies as a controlled environment to train K-9 units to track narcotics and explosive devices.
“We are excited about the additional opportunities we can provide with our new location, not only for our Denver members but also the community,” Eldridge said. “Our work with the Brighton Fire Department is a key example of the way our team is dedicated to building strong relationships within the communities we serve.”
Kansas City Independent Auto Auction (KCI Auto Auction) has earned the inaugural 2016 Western Auction of the Year Award from the National Auto Auction Association, which is celebrating National Auto Auction Week from Monday through Friday.
Kansas City, Mo.-based KCI Auto Auction is one of four auctions from each of NAAA’s membership regions to win the award, which honors excellence in community service. Each regional chapter award winner receives $5,000, to be donated to the charity or charities of the auction’s choice.
The NAAA’s National Auction of the Year Award will go to one of these four regional award winners. The auction that earns the national honor will receive an additional $10,000 to be donated at the auction’s discretion. In addition, NAAA’s On the Block magazine will feature a January 2017 cover story about the auction and its charitable efforts.
The auction will also grace the cover of the 2017 NAAA Member Directory. The National Auction of the Year winner will be announced on Nov. 17, during the Presidential Gala at the NAAA Convention/National Remarketing Conference.
NAAA Western Chapter President Russ Smith said KCI Auto Auction’s community involvement efforts are well-known throughout the region, and he said it would be an honor to announce the Western Chapter award winner during National Auto Auction Week.
“KCI Auto Auction is a business that serves as a testament to what it means to have a dedication to excellence,” said Smith, who is the general manager of Dealers Auto Auction of Idaho. “Their community service efforts are widely recognized as having far-reaching effects in the community and beyond.”
“We want to congratulate Kansas City Independent Auto Auction and thank those involved at the auction who consistently give unselfishly of their time, effort and money to so many wonderful community service organizations,” said NAAA president Mike Browning, who added that he is pleased to be president during the creation of this award.
Three community organizations — Camp Quality USA, Court Appoint Special Advocates (CASA) for Children and Sheffield Place — nominated the auction.
“KCI Auto Auction’s involvement has included a remarkable level of support with a combined total giving of $441,136 to the three organizations over the past four years,” their joint nominating letter stated. “This funding has provided each organization with resources to expand and strengthen client services in ways that would not have been possible. The auction and its staff members have also volunteered, conducted drives for immediate needs and adopted client families for the holidays, among other roles.”
Camp Quality is a summer camp experience and year-round support program for children with cancer and their families. CASA advocates for abused and neglected children. Sheffield Place is a treatment and supportive housing program for homeless women and their children.
NAAA chief executive officer Frank Hackett said this award is designed to not only honor the efforts of NAAA members, but to boost awareness of the many causes that auctions around the country support.
“I’m continually pleased to see the efforts our member auctions take to support their local community’s charities and service organizations,” Hackett said. “If we can play a small role in helping them help others, it’s a very good result.”
Louisiana’s 1st Choice Auto Auction (LFCAA) has earned the inaugural 2016 Southern Auction of the Year Award from the National Auto Auction Association, which is celebrating National Auto Auction Week through Friday.
Hammond, La.-based LFCAA is one of four auctions from each of NAAA’s membership regions to win the award, which offers excellence in community service. Each regional chapter award winner receives $5,000, to be donated at the auction’s discretion.
The NAAA’s National Auction of the Year Award will go to one of these four regional award winners. The auction that earns the national honor will receive an additional $10,000 to be donated to the charity or charities of its choice. In addition, NAAA’s On the Block magazine will feature a January 2017 cover story about the auction and its charitable efforts.
The auction will also be on the cover of the 2017 NAAA Member Directory. The National Auction of the Year winner will be announced Nov. 17 during the Presidential Gala at the NAAA Convention/National Remarketing Conference.
NAAA Southern Chapter president Laura Taylor said LFCAA’s community efforts are well-known, and she said it is her pleasure to announce them as the award winner during National Auto Auction Week.
“There were so many auctions in our region that do so much for the communities in which they reside, so it’s truly an honor for Louisiana’s 1st Choice Auto Auction to have been selected for this inaugural award,” said Taylor, Charleston Auto Auction general manager. “Everyone from the chapter wishes them well, and are very pleased they will represent the Southern Chapter for the first Southern Auction of the Year Award.”
“We want to congratulate Louisiana’s 1st Choice Auto Auction and thank those involved at the auction who consistently give unselfishly of their time, effort, and money to so many wonderful community service organizations,” said NAAA president Mike Browning, who added that he is pleased to be president during the creation of this award.
LFCAA’s numerous charitable efforts include Little Angels Foundation; fundraising bake sales in support for free breast cancer screenings; sharing dog food coupons for LFCAA team members; sponsoring another team for a Rotary Club charity race; collecting soda can pop tops to donate to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital; and donating Christmas gift baskets to Samaritan’s Purse.
LFCAA estimates more than $400,000 has been raised for these and many other charities and service organizations in the region over the 14 years that the auction has been in operation.
NAAA chief executive officer Frank Hackett said this award is designed to not only honor the efforts of NAAA members, but to boost awareness of the many worthy causes that auctions around the country support.
“I’m continually pleased to see the efforts our member auctions take to support their local community’s charities and service organizations,” Hackett said. “If we can play a small role in helping them help others, it’s a very good result.”
In the latest installment of the annual Power 300 issue of Auto Remarketing, we go behind the scenes with some of the leading companies in the used-car space and their top executives with a few Q&A features.
Next up in this series is Lou Loquasto, auto finance leader at Equifax.
Auto Remarketing: What’s your assessment of how much momentum leasing has generated in the past 12 to 24 months?
Lou Loquasto: Leasing in particular, I think the story there is have you ever heard stories about people who lived through the Great Depression and how they lived the rest of their lives? About how they handled finances after that? It was almost like the trauma of that 10-year period changed the way they lived their life and looked at finances. I think that dynamic is going on for people who went through the Great Recession. I think both lenders and consumers are hyper-focused on affordability. I don’t think consumers are going to stretch the bounds of ‘Can I afford this monthly payment?’ And I’ve seen the data on what lenders and lessors are doing. They are being super vigilant about affordability. Leasing is a great way to get that next car or to upgrade to some of these new models with new technology and safety features but at the same time keep that payment super affordable.
Auto executives and consumers who lived through the Great Recession are going to stay focused on affordability. Things like leasing, longer-term loans, not making loans people can’t afford, it’s all why the Equifax data continues to show delinquencies and losses remain so low. It’s all about the focus on affordability.
One other thing about leasing, because vehicle values have been so strong on used cars — we’ve nearly hit the Manheim record again — the difference in payment will push a lot of people toward leasing. Vehicle values aren’t going to stay this way forever so I think at some point as vehicle values go lower, I think you’ll start to see the lease penetration go down a little bit.
AR: Which do finance companies consider to be riskier — leasing or traditional purchase financing — and why?
LL: Certainly apples to apples. A 750 (FICO score) lease is more risky than a 750 (FICO score) retail because with leasing you have to worry about the residual value on the vehicle and you don’t have to for retail. We do see similar default rates in similar credit score bands for lease and retail. But for lease, they’re turning in a very high percentage of those vehicles, and if you don’t get the residual value correct you will take losses. But the lessors know this, and there’s more and better vehicle value data and projections than ever before. And with companies like Equifax there’s more and better data to help you understand the likelihood of default. Lenders are using more than just the generic credit score so lenders are accounting for it. You don’t see much non-prime lease. They stay with the prime segment because they are taking on the additional residual value risk.
AR: How much more capacity do consumers have to take on growing monthly payments stemming from more expensive vehicles?
LL: That’s the whole story. Everything is affordability. The reason why our industry has been so healthy and so strong is affordability. Some of that has been lender discipline. Some of it has been consumers aren’t spending unnecessarily. They’re not running up credit card debt or home equity debt like before the recession. There’s been news recently where income is starting to increase. As monthly payments move, if income can continue to inch up and we can continue to keep loan terms where they are then I think the affordability is going to continue to be the story. It’s the story of why fix something that’s not broken. Right now, losses and delinquencies are so low, having that vigilance on affordability I think is going to keep it that way. The issue with auto lenders has been margins. It’s been such a competitive space that margins have been compressed because interest rates being charged to consumers is so low across all credit segments. There’s a feeling out there that in 2016 the competition has eased up a little bit so there have been fewer lenders just giving away interest rate just to buy the deal. I think 2016 and certainly 2017 our margins might tick up a little bit even though delinquency and losses will tick up, too.
AR: Besides compliance burdens, what other costs and factors do you see impacting the potential profit finance companies can generate in the auto space?
LL: I think one of the biggest impacts is just the cycle. No one within our industry expects things to be as good as 2011 and 2012. Another comment (I heard) is this was almost like a once-in-a-lifetime situation where the auto loans being made, not many were making auto loans, and the auto loans made during that period were so profitable. They performed so well because only the customers who were the very best were getting auto loans. The biggest risk to all of this is just expectations. People have to understand that we’re going back more toward a normal cycle that has more normal returns. You’re not going to have returns of 10 or 11 percent. That’s a once-in-a-lifetime scenario for auto finance. But you’re still going to have healthy returns. No investor has even lost a penny in the history of auto asset backed securities. To think that all of that is going to blow up at a time when delinquencies are way below historical norms, for people who look at the data like Equifax, and people who work with auto finance companies, no one is seeing it. Good times are going to continue. It’s not going to be the peak that it was in 2011, but lenders are focusing on affordability and consumers are focusing on affordability. Consumers are getting loans they need to buy cars to get to work. It’s a very happy time for our industry even though sometimes other media sources try to make it out that it’s not.
Additional pieces from this series can be found below:
4 questions with AUL's Jimmy Atkinson
Q&A with Jared Rowe
4 questions with Costo Auto Program's Lori Grone
4 questions with Tony Hughes of Moody’s Analytics
4 questions with NABD's Ken Shilson
