AUL Corp. thinks so highly of chief information officer Jose Fleites that the F&I provider promoted him this week to a dual executive position. AUL president and chief executive officer Jimmy Atkinson appointed Fleites to the role of chief operating officer in addition to retaining his duties as CIO. According to a company announcement, Fleites […] [Read More]

Finance companies and other service providers involved with auto financing now have a bit more clarity about what the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau constitutes as abusive practices. Last week, the bureau issued a policy statement providing what the regulator called a “common-sense framework” on how it intends to apply the “abusiveness” standard in supervision and […] [Read More]

“Pfaff purchasing model seeks to ease buyer frustrations.” That was among the Auto Remarketing Canada headlines in September, as one of the most well-known dealer groups based in Toronto announced a brand new approach to its purchasing model. Auto Remarketing Canada checked back in with Pfaff Automotive president and chief executive Chris Pfaff in November […] [Read More]

Now that the IRS is processing tax returns, the Federal Trade Commission is ramping up its assistance and educational efforts in conjunction with Tax Identity Theft Awareness Week, which runs from Feb. 3-7. In an effort to help both consumers and small businesses like independent and buy-here, pay-here dealerships, the FTC is co-hosting a series […] [Read More]

How do dealers track walk-in traffic? Well, to many, it may be more obvious and seem more beneficial to focus on tracking click rates and website visits these days. But according to auto marketing industry veteran Miranda Pyette, that may not always be the case. Pyette’s company, Miranda Pyette Automotive, recently purchased the Australian company […] [Read More]

Earlier this month, the American Bankers Association Economic Advisory Committee projected that the Federal Reserve wouldn’t adjust interest rates. Thus far, the forecast from that collection of 15 bank economists is holding true as the Federal Open Market Committee voted unanimously to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 1.50% to 1.75%. […] [Read More]

Big news in automotive buy-sell, M&A and investment continues to dominate January headlines, as the nation’s largest used-car retailer is now investing in one of the auto industry's major research websites.   CarMax announced Wednesday it has invested $50 million in Edmunds and is obtaining a minority stake in the company, while also partnering with Edmunds.  […] [Read More]

Startup companies are the lifeblood of the growing mobility movement in the global auto industry. The ideas for moving people from Point A to Point B, with new and innovative ways of navigating cities not imagined 10-to-15 years ago, has spawned a generation of determined risk-takers. Cities like Pittsburgh; Columbus, Ohio; Montreal; Las Vegas and Madrid, where mobility […] [Read More]

Mike Hacquard of Wolfe Auto Group and the late Gordon Wolfe founded the Subaru dealership Wolfe Subaru on Boundary in 2014, and the dealership’s many awards include the 2019 DealerRater Consumer Satisfaction Award. On Jan. 22, OpenRoad Auto Group announced it acquired Wolfe Subaru on Boundary, describing the company as “a highly trusted dealership for Subaru […] [Read More]

Dealer principals and general managers likely are used to seeing the healthy pace of their mainstream new models departing the store as a leased vehicle. In fact, Experian reported 28.76% of new models left franchised stores as a leased unit during the third quarter. Well, leasing of exotic and vintage vehicles appears to be quite […] [Read More]