Data from the Hearst families of companies — including Jumpstart Automotive and Black Book — showed how consumers continue to shift their interest toward used vehicles as new models become more expensive. However, Cox Automotive’s collection of experts reiterated that automakers certainly are not decelerating their efforts to keep new metal turning, using incentives and […] [Read More]

After four straight record months in the Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index, used-car prices began to ease in November. Wholesale used prices fell 1.32 percent from October, according to analysis included with Manheim’s latest release of its index. The resulting reading of Manheim’s index was 139.0. While that’s up 3.3 percent year-over-year, the dip from […] [Read More]

Perhaps reflecting a process as difficult as getting vehicle financing finalized for a customer with too little monthly income and too much debt burden and negative equity, the nearly six-month, politically divided slog to confirm Kathy Kraninger as the next director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau reached a highly partisan finale on Thursday. The […] [Read More]

The senior vice president of operations at Primeritus Financial Services now is the forwarding company’s first chief operating officer. The company announced on Friday that Chris McGinness has been appointed as COO effective immediately. As chief operating officer, Primeritus highlighted that McGinness’ responsibilities will be expanded to include all of the company’s operating businesses.  McGinness will […] [Read More]

TrueCar has purchased Boston-based DealerScience in a move that gives the company’s dealer customers a path to digital retail. DealerScience, a digital retail software tool provider, will be a subsidiary of TrueCar and maintain its leadership team and Boston headquarters. Dealer customers can look forward to “improvements that enable them to expedite vehicle desking, calculate accurate […] [Read More]

A new company called DealerStrip has added its twist to online used-car sourcing. Similar to Chicago-based Swap Motors and others, DealerStrip is a consumer-to-dealer auction channel. Aaron Fruge, DealerStrip executive vice president, said the company is a listing service where consumers can post vehicles for sale for no charge, inventory for which only subscribing dealers can […] [Read More]

TrueCar had plans to launch a national marketing campaign for its TrueCar Trade product in early 2019. That all changed. After receiving positive feedback in the test markets for the campaign (Seattle, Phoenix and Chicago), TrueCar decided to launch the national campaign in November. Last month, Auto Remarketing caught up with TrueCar chief executive Chip […] [Read More]

OpenRoad Auto Group is now in the vehicle subscription game. Late last month, the British Columbia dealer group launched PORTFOLIO by OpenRoad, an all-inclusive luxury car subscription program that includes multiple brands. OpenRoad partnered with Clutch Technologies, a U.S. software platform owned by Cox Automotive that facilitates vehicles subscriptions. Launching initially with high-end luxury cars, the […] [Read More]

Not since the credit pinch triggered by the Great Recession have subprime originations been this low, giving finance companies a clear indication where in the cycle the industry currently sits. With the uptick in average credit scores for vehicle financing across the board, Experian indicated the percentage of subprime contract originations reached its lowest level […] [Read More]

While certain commercial filings spiked, the American Bankruptcy Institute reported that consumer cases ticked lower in November. According to data provided by Epiq Systems, total U.S. bankruptcy filings in November generated a 2-percent decrease year-over-year with the figure coming in at 58,887 cases. The November 2017 total was 60,327. Consumer bankruptcies also decreased in November […] [Read More]