At a time when consumers find it convenient to connect through messaging, Contact At Once! has released a new web-based messaging management application that can help dealership agents and live advisers more efficiently manage online conversations with car shoppers.  Dealers can now provide consumers with pricing details and other vehicle information via live assistance supported by the recently launched digital […] [Read More]

Embellishing “stips” to enhance the figures sent to finance company underwriting departments landed a quartet of dealerships in trouble with a top federal regulator. This week, the Federal Trade Commission charged a group of four dealers operating in Arizona and New Mexico, near the border of the Navajo Nation, with a range of illegal activities, […] [Read More]

Late last month, KAR Auction Services became the first auto remarketer to join the MobilityOpen Blockchain Initiative, also known as MOBI. We caught up KAR chief operating officer/chief strategy officer Don Gottwald on site at the Automotive Intelligence Summit to learn more. The full discussion can be found below. Download and subscribe to the Auto Remarketing Podcast on iTunes or […] [Read More]

RVI Analytics, which is part of RVI Group, has partnered with Automotive Intelligence Council member Maryann Keller & Associates to roll out a new used-car price analytical subscription portal for the U.S. and Canada. The subscription product is developed around the RVI Used Vehicle Price Index. RVI Analytics has upgraded the analyses and reports provided […] [Read More]

Mercedes-Benz Canada announced Wednesday that Mercedes-Benz USA’s Andrew Noye will come aboard as the company’s new vice president of sales, effective Oct. 1. In addition to overseeing corporate sales and remarketing, Noye will also head the company's new car and pre-owned divisions and report to Mercedes-Benz Canada president and chief executive officer Brian Fulton in […] [Read More]

Mitsubishi dealerships from Halifax to Victoria now have enhanced options for their F&I departments with upcoming special training so managers can get the most out of the products. This week, Mitsubishi Motors Canada announced the launch of an improved Diamond Care Loan Protection product. Featuring two plans and an all-new experience, Diamond Care Loan Protection […] [Read More]

As down payments and the amount financed for new- and used-vehicle deliveries at franchised dealerships stay on a steady pace, Edmunds noticed the impact of the Federal Reserve pushing interest rates higher are starting to leave a mark on APRs. Analysts noticed the annual percentage rate (APR) on financed new vehicles averaged 5.74 percent in […] [Read More]

In the late 1990s, an idea sprung from an independent dealership on a dirt lot in Vermont and a team of five individuals. The brainchild of founder Mark Bonfigli and his team, Dealer.com began as a car dealership website builder. But Dealer.com is not the same as it was 20 years ago and neither, for that […] [Read More]

Sonic Automotive’s EchoPark stand-alone, used-vehicle stores were “profitable as a group” in June, Sonic executive vice president of operations, Jeff Dyke, said during the company’s second quarter earnings call on July 27. Dyke said EchoPark’s seven stores made more than $1 million in June and were tracking to exceed that amount in July. The company […] [Read More]

OK, writing this column in retirement is much more difficult than it would be if I were still employed.  Content, content, content.  As many of you know, all of my earlier articles focused on data that I had access to through my work at NADA and Manheim.  I wasn’t purposely promoting the brand (or the […] [Read More]