For years, blockchain has been discussed in automotive circles as a future technology — interesting, promising, but often framed as experimental or speculative. That framing is increasingly outdated. Blockchain is already operating in the automotive industry today. Not in consumer-facing applications or flashy pilot programs, but quietly inside some of the industry’s most friction-heavy workflows: […] [Read More]

Jose Galvan spent nearly 24 years at Market Scan Information Systems, including time as chief data officer for the company, which provides automotive pricing and incentive intelligence and was acquired by S&P Global Mobility nearly three years ago. This week, Galvan fully emerged back in the industry with his own operation — GAKO Technologies — […] [Read More]

Lender Compliance Technologies (LCT) highlighted a major operational achievement on Wednesday. The provider of compliance solutions for managing F&I product refunds announced it has now successfully processed more than 1 million voluntary protection product (VPP) cancellations through its cloud-based platform, Refund Control. As regulatory expectations on the state level increase and loan portfolios grow more […] [Read More]

F&I Sentinel made it a double. The provider of tech-enabled solutions for F&I products announced simultaneous strategic integrations on Wednesday with two digital contract platforms — RouteOne and Cox Automotive’s Dealertrack. F&I Sentinel said Dealertrack and RouteOne are helping to signal “a major shift in the industry” by choosing to integrate F&I Sentinel’s managed originations […] [Read More]

When it comes to residual values, there’s a new king — two of them, actually. After four consecutive years on top, Honda and Lexus have ceded their crowns to Toyota and Tesla, which were named as best performers in the J.D. Power 2026 U.S. ALG Residual Value Awards. Toyota claimed the mass market title with […] [Read More]

To be frank, it’s a tidy, convenient way for a moderator to wrap up a panel discussion: in the closing 2-3 minutes, give each panelist an opportunity for a parting shot. A key takeaway for the audience, something to watch for in the coming year. It’s also an open-ended way to yield some of the […] [Read More]

A luxury dealership in California is right in the wheelhouse of the Fletcher Jones Automotive Group. So when longtime owner Del Montell put Santa Monica BMW up for sale, Fletcher Jones was all too happy to make the purchase. The Newport Beach, Calif.-based dealership group has acquired the Santa Monica store, according to Haig Partners, […] [Read More]

BizzyCar is going beyond recalls. The recall management platform has launched Service Engine, an artificial intelligence-driven outbound service department system designed to automatically identify service opportunities and book appointments without the intervention of the dealer. In a news release, BizzyCar said the Service Engine can help dealerships fill service lanes, increase customer-pay revenue and operate […] [Read More]

Dealership acquisitions and ownership changes seem to surface multiple times per week nowadays. How those deals come to fruition was the focus of a Used Car Week 2025 panel discussion led by Cherokee Media Group’s Joe Overby. Sharing their insights about dealership M&A and more were four experts —  Gabe Robleto of Kerrigan Advisors, Brian […] [Read More]

Used Car Week 2025 featured a panel focused on the state of auto finance. Led by Jennifer Martin of the NAF Association, Christopher Mitcham of Santander Consumer USA, Mary Leigh Phillips of Bridgecrest Acceptance and Amy Brooks of Chase Auto shared dialogue about affordability and other elements influencing how lenders can navigate the current landscape. […] [Read More]