A pair of top Sonic Automotive executives reiterated the potential of its chain of dedicated pre-owned stores — EchoPark — not just because of the project’s capability of retailing used vehicles for a strong margin and building long-standing customer bonds. Furthermore, the top Sonic brass is pushing resources into EchoPark because requirements from automakers about […] [Read More]

Cars.com has brought aboard a new senior vice president of technology to oversee company data engineering, platform engineering and mobile applications. Chosen for the position is Fred Lee, who most recently served as chief technology officer at Gamut.com, the company announced Tuesday. In addition to developing Gamut’s enterprise resource planning, order fulfillment and CRM, Lee […] [Read More]

Dealers who use XLerate Group to acquire their inventory now have more financing flexibility. XLerate Group announced on Tuesday that dealer floorplan company XLFunding is now available at all of its auction locations. XLFunding is a full-service flooring company with flexible tiers, local title services and a simple credit line process for dealers. As part […] [Read More]

As an online survey conducted by Equifax showed more insight into how consumer might be haggling at the dealership over vehicle price and other contract terms, the costs those buyers are absorbing continues to climb, especially for new vehicles. In April, interest rates on new-vehicle financing remained at elevated levels not seen since before the […] [Read More]

Along with rolling out a new tool to help dealers find those “cherries” for their inventories, Black Book also released its Used Vehicle Retention Index for April showing that it remained unchanged from the previous month. Editors indicated the index stayed at 112.0, while the reading has softened by 1.0 percent over the past 12 […] [Read More]

JM Family Enterprises will have a new chief executive officer on July 1. Replacing Colin Brown, who was appointed CEO in 2003 by company founder Jim Moran, will be Brent Burns, who is JM’s current president and chief operating officer. Brown will remain board chairman and provide guidance to Burns in the new post. Burns has […] [Read More]

Why do consumers sometimes leave dealership lots without buying a vehicle? Why do some customers just show up unexpectedly and buy a car?  Drew Harden, the manager of research and insights at CARPROOF, is our guest this week and answers those questions and more.  During this show recorded at the Auto Remarketing Canada Conference, Harden also discusses the rebranding […] [Read More]

Roger Penske was answering a question specific to the retailer’s operations in the U.K., but the sentiment, perhaps, is universal when it comes to the standalone used-car stores at Penske Automotive Group. Responding to that inquiry during the Q&A portion of the company’s quarterly conference call, Penske said that used-car standalone stores “really give us […] [Read More]

With the event three months out, planning is in the works for the International Automotive Remarketers Alliance Summer Roundtable at the J.W. Marriott in Marco Island, Fla. This year's roundtable is set to run from Aug. 21 to Aug. 23. Registration for the event will open on Tuesday, and early registration fees will be available until July 23, IARA […] [Read More]

Lithia Motors leadership discussed people in significant detail during its first-quarter conference call with the investment community. Lithia is keeping close tabs both on individuals who employed by the dealer group as well as its customer base that is exhibiting changing behavior. Lithia president and chief executive officer Bryan DeBoer intrigued Wall Street watchers during […] [Read More]