Sonic Automotive and EchoPark Automotive chief executive officer David Smith says the company’s EchoPark business is experiencing rapid nationwide growth, and he described that as “a great testament to our model and the value of exceeding customer expectations.” The company announced the latest example of that growth on Dec. 16 with the grand opening of […] [Read More]

EBlock and EDealer said its chief executive officer and founder Ryan O’Connor will now serve in the role of chief innovation officer, and the companies have promoted their chief operating officer and president Jason McClenahan to chief executive officer. The companies said they are making the moves “to expand the companies’ footprint while continuing to […] [Read More]

Avis Budget Group on Monday said its board of directors has appointed president of the Americas division Joe Ferraro as interim chief executive officer. Ferraro’s appointment was effective Wednesday and takes place in the wake of former president and chief executive officer Larry De Shon departing at the end of last year. The company also […] [Read More]

PointPredictive says machine learning in its Auto Fraud Manager with Auto Fraud Alert Reporting mines historical data from applications across the industry “to pinpoint where fraud is happening.” PointPredictive launched Auto Fraud Manager with Auto Fraud Alert Reporting to help address what it says is a $6 billion-dollar annual problem of misrepresentation and fraud that […] [Read More]

Late this summer, Transport Canada announced it was utilizing Amazon’s Alexa for a safety-based service that engages the Amazon tool in a new way — making sure consumers stay up to date on the latest vehicle recalls that impact their regular day-to-day use vehicles. Simon Rivet, senior adviser for media relations in the communications group […] [Read More]

In the wake of the U.S. House of Representatives passing the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, this past December, AI company LevaData revisited some of the findings of its survey from last January showing that 78% of automotive executives foresee a positive long-term impact of the agreement. As the saying goes, however, no pain, no […] [Read More]

The vehicle affordability factor: Think of it in terms of a great big elephant. KAR Global chief economist Tom Kontos says that in purchasing a vehicle, people can consider various moving parts, such as lowering their monthly payment or putting more money down, “to try to make that elephant … something you can consume.” “I […] [Read More]

New-car prices are at all-time highs. Auto industry digital marketplace Cars.com expects that to continue. We are in an affordability crisis, the company says. Because of that, Cars.com expects more consumers to consider leasing, and the company predicts continued growth for certified pre-owned car sales. That is one of the “Top 5 Trends That Will […] [Read More]

ACV Auctions said Tuesday it has purchased vehicle accident inspection provider TrueFrame, a move that adds retail inspections to ACV’s offerings. TrueFrame is the provider of the True360 vehicle inspections, which aim to provide dealers and consumers more context when they’re buying used vehicles. These reports publish on CARFAX and AutoCheck vehicle history reports and […] [Read More]

A sponsored concert featuring Canadian rock band Platinum Blonde and a live broadcast event at the 2019 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic Viewing Party in Saskatchewan in October are among recent events SiriusXM has sponsored as part of its “more hands-on approach” to support its dealers. As part of that approach, the company says it […] [Read More]