KAR Global has reached a deal to purchase BacklotCars, an online dealer-to-dealer wholesale platform, for $425 million. KAR announced the definitive agreement Tuesday morning, and the purchase is subject to certain regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. Assuming those conditions are met, KAR expects the deal to close by the end of the year. […] [Read More]

In what the company’s chief executive called a “critical part” of a strategy to expand its standalone used-car store program, Sonic Automotive announced Tuesday that it has opened a second EchoPark Automotive store in Houston. This is Sonic’s 11th EchoPark retail hub, its fifth in Texas and is part of the retailer’s plan to grow […] [Read More]

Only two months remain until the Nov. 3 election. Autotrader and Kelley Blue Book say they are committed to educating consumers on making sure their voice is heard by casting their votes. On Wednesday, visitors to the Autotrader and Kelley Blue Book websites began seeing resources for registering to vote, along with information on how […] [Read More]

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ronald McDonald House has been forced to suspend or modify many of its scheduled fundraising efforts, says David Wickwar, sales associate at AutoNation Toyota Corpus Christi. “When we learned about the needs at Ronald McDonald House to help fund programs that keep families together when children are undergoing serious medical […] [Read More]

Prior to COVID-19 changing the landscape of live events and travel, I was fortunate enough to have a Goldilocks-like rotation of auto industry events to cover as a journalist and/or help run as a member of the Cherokee Media Group team. There were enough industry events to keep things interesting, while at the same time, […] [Read More]

Auction sales hit a bit of snag in the final full week of August, due in part to the impact of Hurricane Laura. According to the latest Used Market Update from J.D. Power, there were 73,000 auction sales of vehicles up to 8 years in age for the week ending Sunday (Aug. 30). That is […] [Read More]

A firm highlighted among the Special Finance 175 — McGlinchey Stafford — recently announced that 19 attorneys and eight of its practice areas have been recognized in the 2020 edition of Chambers USA – America’s Leading Lawyers for Business. Each McGlinchey practice area maintained its 2019 ranking, and the firm added two “band-ranked” attorneys in […] [Read More]

Westlake Financial is deepening its presence in vehicle leasing, expanding upon that market segment it entered via an acquisition three years ago. This week, Westlake rolled out its own lease program with franchised dealers in California and Arizona while looking to move into more markets throughout the rest of 2020. The company said franchised dealers […] [Read More]

The interaction with dealerships and finance companies is likely intense as ever, especially considering how much happens online nowadays because of the coronavirus pandemic. How have dealership needs of finance companies adjusted? How have what finance companies need from dealers changed? Dealertrack lender solutions strategist Andy Mayers addressed those topics and more during this episode […] [Read More]

Though with gains not as strong as those from earlier in the month, August closed on a high note for the used-car operations of franchised dealers, as their pre-owned the last full week of the month beat pre-virus forecasts by 1%. That’s according to the latest Auto Industry Impact Report from J.D. Power, which showed […] [Read More]