American Recovery Association executive director Les McCook has proven to be quite prophetic stemming from a comment he made during the Innovations in Recovery Summit hosted by ALS Resolvion in late September. McCook said, “In the next 24 months, there will be significant changes in the industry.” Turns out, McCook’s assertion not only came to […] [Read More]

Cherokee Media Group (CMG) is a competitive outfit. It’s part of the reason why its parent company has been in operation since 1982, navigating through all of the highs and lows of the automotive business cycle fueled by priceless knowledge. CMG wants all segments of the used-car industry to thrive, too, so the company is […] [Read More]

Skip Dowd, who led the launch of AutoMart.com in 2004 before it was acquired and integrated into AutoTrader.com in 2009, has joined Xcite Automotive as chief sales officer. Dowd, whose 28 years of automotive industry experience includes roles involved with driving revenue, profitability, and performance, also previously served for eight years as executive vice president […] [Read More]

Certified wholesale vehicles sell faster and at rates 4 to 8% higher than their uncertified counterparts, according to a recent white paper from Manheim Consulting. The paper, titled, “Certification Impact on Low Grade & High Mileage Units,” also showed that certification can mean one-third fewer arbitrations. According to the white paper, the benefits and returns of […] [Read More]

The newest accolade to be handed out during Used Car Week is going to an operation that’s been a publicly traded company for 25 years. But one of the reasons Copart has been successful for that span is being able to develop technologies that serve all segments of its customer base. For that reason, Copart […] [Read More]

Get Spiffy, Inc. has purchased competitor Your Location Lubrication, a move that, along with Spiffy’s organic expansion, broadens its Fleet Management as a Service offering to 20 markets. With the purchase, Spiffy — which offers on-demand car care and FMaaS services — adds the high-volume oil change system, technicians and fleet of YLL The acquisition […] [Read More]

Cover Genius announced a major injection of funds on Thursday. The global insurtech firm whose insurance distribution platform provides protection for the customers of some of the world’s largest online companies has raised $10 million in a Series B funding round. Cover Genius said the funds will support the company’s investment in talent and its […] [Read More]

The Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index did something in October that Cox Automotive analysts determined the wholesale market metric had not done in 33 months. For the first time since January 2017, the index posted a year-over-year decline. Manheim determined wholesale used vehicle prices (on a mix-, mileage- and seasonally adjusted basis) increased 0.29% month-over-month in […] [Read More]

The new president and chief executive officer for Mercedes-Benz Financial Services Canada Corp., James Ryan, will head up the Canadian divisions of Mercedes-Benz Financial Services and Daimler Truck Financial. He will lead a team of 165 employees.. Ryan succeeds Stefan Karrenbauer, who in August was appointed managing director of MBFS Turkey. Reporting directly to Peter […] [Read More]

As digital wholesale platforms continue growing in Canada, Cox Automotive Canada has launched a new Canadian dealer-to-dealer digital auction platform that it says can use Manheim’s brand and physical auction services to deliver a competitive advantage to all dealers and franchises. The platform, called MUVIT, offers thousands of vehicles from coast-to-coast, according to the company, […] [Read More]