Less than three weeks after announcing it was leading a $140 million round of funding in online auto marketplace Shift, Lithia Motors made another tech-related move on Tuesday. The retailer is giving customers a new way to get in touch with its dealerships. That is, through Apple Business Chat, which lets consumers connect directly with […] [Read More]

Certified used-vehicle sales are poised to set another all-time record in 2018, predict analysts, manufacturers and dealers. A healthy influx of off-lease vehicles and a better grasp on the value of certification among dealers and consumers are keeping demand for CPO vehicles strong.  Helping things along is that light trucks make up a bigger portion […] [Read More]

F&I Express now will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Cox Automotive after this announcement became public. Brian Reed, chief executive officer and co-founder of F&I Express, joined Nick for this episode of the Auto Remarketing Podcast to discuss how the acquisition came together and what it means for dealers and service providers. The […] [Read More]

Perhaps the first autumn leaves are starting to fall on your lot. And according to Black Book, so are car prices. The latest Black Book Market Insights Report highlighted that car segment depreciation has accelerated during the past two weeks, with sporty cars, midsize cars and full-size cars seeing some of the largest weekly depreciation […] [Read More]

Keeping track of loaners and their usage might be more manageable now that Dealerware and CDK Global are working together. Fleet management platform Dealerware announced on Tuesday that it has become a participant in the CDK Global Partner Program, a partnership designed to allow service departments to gain critical efficiencies that increase fleet utilization, customer […] [Read More]

Two of the largest repossession organizations are set to become one group. According to an announcement sent to SubPrime Auto Finance News on Tuesday morning, the American Recovery Association (ARA) and Time Finance Adjusters (TFA) are joining together. The statement indicated the new association is expected to launch in January. TFA president Nicki Merthe believes […] [Read More]

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and at least part of Canada’s automotive industry are happy. On Monday, Trudeau welcomed an agreement-in-principle between Canada, the United States, and Mexico on a modernized trade agreement — the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) — that the prime minister believes will create good, well‑paying, middle class jobs, strengthen economic ties, and […] [Read More]

American International Automobile Dealers Association president and chief executive officer Cody Lusk likely summarized reaction to questions perhaps being answered with Monday’s trade announcement originating at the White House. “Uncertainty is the enemy of business, large and small,” said Lusk, who welcomed the news that the United States, Canada and Mexico have all agreed to […] [Read More]

LotLinx recently hired former Cox Automotive strategist and noted marketing analytics expert and author Thomas Gage as its new chief strategy officer. In this role, LotLinx explained that Gage will apply quantitative data gathered by LotLinx’s artificial intelligence technology to dealerships’ sales objectives to identify the best approach to their advertising campaigns and marketing spend. […] [Read More]

Cruises are not my favorite form of vacation, but when it involves a partial family reunion (with some of the aged members finding this the most comfortable mode of travel), I’m all in. So out to sea we went for a week.    Being cheap (and wanting to run an experiment of a sort), I […] [Read More]