Rick Kurtz, senior vice president and chief distribution officer for Protective Asset Protection, spent a few minutes with Cherokee Media Group on Thursday after the company entered into an agreement to acquire Portfolio Holding and its subsidiaries from Abry Partners. Kurtz shared that he had just chatted with Portfolio leadership about how the latest acquisition […] [Read More]

Used-car retailer Carvana reported very strong third-quarter results, driven in part by growing economies of scale, said executives on the earnings call. Though the stock price plunged after the call on concerns about subprime loan performance, Carvana's chief financial officer said its loan performance was strong. “We're getting better as we get bigger, aided by […] [Read More]

The primary result of this week’s meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) was the Federal Reserve reducing the federal funds rate below 4% for the first time since 2022. The reduction of the target rate to 3.75% to 4.00% arrives as Cox Automotive reports the average rates for new- and used-car financing originated […] [Read More]

Many in the auto industry believe that lower-priced vehicles, or what Lithia calls “Value Auto” vehicles, are driven off of “low-quality credit.” However, “it’s the exact inverse of what you think,” said Bryan DeBoer, president and CEO of Lithia Motors and Driveway. Buyers only finance lower-priced vehicles about half of the time, he said. A […] [Read More]

With the end of federal tax credits on Sept. 30, sales of electric vehicles are taking a hit after a record third quarter, industry observers say, but there still are some “encouraging” signs for the EV market. There were 438,487 new EVs sold in Q3, which beat second-quarter figures by 40.7% and prior-year figures by […] [Read More]

AutoNation reported a relatively strong used-car performance in the third quarter as its focus on optimizing used acquisition showed results. But its inventory holding strategy did expose AutoNation to margin depreciation, AutoNation CEO Mike Manley said during the third quarter earnings call. He expects that to continue in the fourth quarter. “I think we have […] [Read More]

For the second time in a little more than a month, Credit Acceptance filed a form 8-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission to respond to “select inquiries” that the subprime auto finance companies has received through Monday. The one on Sept. 15 focused on the percentage of Credit Acceptance’s portfolio and new originations that […] [Read More]

Jimmy Douglas, who is the founder of Plug, an online wholesale auction for electric vehicles only, believes the used EV market presents both challenges and opportunities for dealers. Larger numbers of off-lease EVs are returning to the market starting this year, depressing used EV prices and residual values, he said. And on top of that, […] [Read More]

Cities are partnering with the auto industry and autonomous/remote-controlled car technology providers to help solve transportation problems for residents, said panelists representing some of those municipalities and companies at the MOVE America conference here Sept. 23-24. MOVE America is a mobility and tech event that offers a platform for auto and technology companies, tech-savvy individuals, […] [Read More]

Ken Tape understands the value of a certified pre-owned program to a dealership. The general manager of Windsor Chrysler in Windsor, Ontario, knows CPO can draw customers and reassure them about the value of a used vehicle, as well as increasing profit and customer retention and loyalty. There’s just one problem. Tape is a Chrysler […] [Read More]