Private equity money is flowing into all aspects of F&I, not just high-level technology involving originations, but also the potentially lucrative vehicle-service-contract segment. Southfield Capital recently announced an investment in APC Integrated Services Group, a provider of consumer marketing of vehicle service contracts on behalf of dealers, manufacturers and other partner channels. A news release […] [Read More]

Online auto lease concierge service Carlease has raised $3.5 million in an initial funding round led by venture capital firm Lightbank, along with a group of auto industry veterans that includes Mitch Golub, Kayne Grau and Justin Mahlik. Golub is the former president of Cars.com, while Grau (also a former Cars.com executive) and Mahlik are […] [Read More]

Oracle Data Cloud has chosen a total of nine Tier 3 auto marketing agencies to qualify for a new advanced data training program and receive an Oracle Data Cloud’s Auto Elite Data Marketer designation. The program is designed to help agencies use digital data to effectively allocate their marketing resources, the company said. Oracle’s selected […] [Read More]

TPC Management Co. announced that it has added FastLane Auto Exchange to its slate of auto auction clients. FastLane Auto Exchange is located in Mount Morris, Mich. and has been in operation for more than 40 years. TPC said it provides strategic consulting programs to more than 50 independent auto auctions and technology and transportation companies […] [Read More]

Pitchers and catchers already are on hand at spring training to get ready for the upcoming baseball season, and the auction world appears to be in spring mode, too. Editors highlighted their latest Black Book Market Insights report showed a continuation of early spring season. Many car segments remained unchanged in their depreciation levels last […] [Read More]

In addition to announcing new launches in California and Florida on Tuesday, Colorado-based peer-to-peer car sales app Blinker also introduced a new partnership with Ally to offer vehicle protection products. This expansion follows Blinker's recent move into Texas in March. The company first joined the peer-to-peer car sales space two years ago in its home state of Colorado […] [Read More]

Volkswagen’s diesel emissions scandal is in the industry’s rearview mirror, and Bob Cockerham is excited about selling repaired certified pre-owned Volkswagen turbo-diesel cars — the only VW CPO vehicles that come with a two-year, unlimited-mile warranty. Cockerham said those emissions modified cars have already proven to be attractive to diesel aficionados and will help him […] [Read More]

Ferocious. Finesse. A game that was equal parts silky and powerful. That was Dominique Wilkins on the basketball court. Practical. That’s Wilkins, the car shopper. Though he is big fan of cars — calling them likely his “biggest weakness” — Wilkins acknowledges, “I’m a little cheap, too,” when it comes to finding one.   “So […] [Read More]

Brian Landau, senior vice president and automotive business leader at TransUnion, needed just one descriptive moniker to summarize the auto finance data from the fourth quarter — a correction. The auto finance portion of TransUnion’s Q4 2017 Industry Insights Report released on Tuesday showed that while auto finance balances grew 5.5 percent between Q4 2016 […] [Read More]

Affinity Auto Program, which manages the Costco Auto Program, announced Tuesday that sales in 2017 surpassed two company records. Both total unit sales for the program overall and total unit sales during Costco's annual three-month Holiday Sales Event were record-breaking, the company said. According to calendar year data, in addition to the company’s Holiday Sales Event […] [Read More]