How odd has this spring been? Well, an entire weekend of Major League Baseball action was postponed because of significant snow in Minnesota, and it has been cars not trucks that are leading overall wholesale market price changes. So the answer is — pretty weird.  This week’s Black Book Market Insights report reiterated how certain […] [Read More]

While at least in some places of the country the weather is improving, over at Swapalease.com, site officials are noticing an enhancement to lease-transfer approvals, too. According to an update shared on Tuesday, Swapalease.com reported vehicle lease credit applicants registered a 67.3 percent approval rate in March, a rise from the February rate of 65.2 […] [Read More]

At least one bankruptcy expert sees a potential connection to what the Federal Reserve does with interest rates as impacting filings and reversing what happened during the first quarter. The American Bankruptcy Institute reported that total U.S. bankruptcy filings fell 4 percent during Q1. According to data provided by Epiq Systems, bankruptcy filings totaled 187,331 […] [Read More]

Auto finance defaults improved a bit on a sequential comparison but deteriorated slightly on a year-over-year basis in March, according to the latest S&P/Experian Consumer Credit Default Indices. On Tuesday, S&P Dow Jones Indices and Experian released their data through March, and analysts indicated the auto default rate fell 4 basis points from last month to […] [Read More]

Moblie car buyers can now access ActivEngage's ActivOne live chat solution via LotLinxAMP vehicle display pages. ActivEngage is the latest certified chat partner to join the LotLinx Mobile-Optimized AMP Program, the company announced Monday. This news follows ActivEngage's December integration with 700Credit to offer users the ability to pull credit inside chat conversations. "We're excited to offer dealers an integration […] [Read More]

Before dealer principals and store managers brush aside the issue by stating something like, “I’m a car guy, not an accountant,” NADA Academy instructor Eric Dreisbach shared eight potential pitfalls of a financial practice many dealerships might use — work-in-process (WIP) accounting. In a blog post setting up his foundational concerns, Dreisbach explained that officially […] [Read More]

You could say cars really “took off” when they went over the block at a “soaring” special event Manheim recently hosted. Emphasizing that it is easy for dealers to buy and sell inventory anytime and anywhere, Manheim San Diego recently partnered with Toyota / Lexus Financial Services to conduct the “Heroes of History” Event Sale […] [Read More]

Kia Motors America boasts reaching a record number of certified pre-owned sales last month.    The brand announced Monday that it achieved its best-ever monthly sales number in March — a total of 7,698 CPO vehicles. "Kia's certified pre-owned program proves to be popular with consumers looking for world-class vehicles," Kia Motors America vice president of […] [Read More]

Group 1 Automotive announced Monday that the company has gained new Toyota sales territory in São Paulo, Brazil and will also relocate one of its top Honda dealerships in the area. Group 1 built its newly opened T-Drive Toyota Alphaville dealership after purchasing selected assets of the Toyota Alpha Trevo Automoveis store in the western São Paulo […] [Read More]

Reinforcing why the company now has 15 years of honors from the Better Business Bureau (BBB), GWC Warranty detailed another way dealers can explain the benefits of vehicle service contracts (VSC) so their customers can leverage the full value. GWC Warranty — provider of used-vehicle service contracts sold through dealers — acknowledged in a recent […] [Read More]