The significant damage Hurricane Harvey left in Texas gave Group 1 Automotive the opportunity to watch new and used vehicles roll over the curb at daily sales rates during the last three weeks of September that “were the highest we have ever seen,” says president and chief executive officer Earl Hesterberg. During the dealer group’s third-quarter […] [Read More]

Compared to recent years, used-vehicle values were unusually strong in the third quarter thanks to Hurricane Harvey, and that should continue to some degree over the last few months of 2017, says Kelley Book Book.  As should demand for replacement vehicles, particularly the pre-owned variety.  One- to 3-year-old vehicles at the end of Q3 were retaining 56 percent […] [Read More]

CDK Global announced last week it has purchased partner program participant and full-service enterprise reporting company Dashboard Dealership Enterprises (DDE). DDE has provided its business analytic reporting suite, Executive Eye, to some of the largest dealership groups in the U.S. and increased its customer base to 600 dealership locations within the last 15 years, according to CDK. As […] [Read More]

Some finance companies might see success as the more originations, the better. That’s not quite the case at Consumer Portfolio Services as a strategy chairman and chief executive officer Brad Bradley thought would be successful during the worst part of the Great Recession nearly 10 years ago is turning out to be the case. During […] [Read More]

The way that consumers research, find, and engage with dealership has changed significantly in recent years. In the past, dealers would buy newspaper and radio ads, put up a billboard, get listed in the Yellow Pages, and wait for customers to call or show up to their dealership. Now, the process is much more detached. […] [Read More]

Call tracking and marketing analytics company Car Wars recently launched a new artificial intelligence (AI) service designed to help dealers connect more callers after first introducing the automotive industry to its CRISP methodology three years ago. “Phone calls are precious, yet every inbound call is handled in a similar inefficient way. The calls hit the […] [Read More]

While contending with the ramifications of Hurricane Harvey, Group 1 Automotive watched its used-vehicle retail sales soften by 3.3 percent year-over-year during the third quarter. According to its financial report released on Thursday, Group 1 stores in the U.S. turned 26,304 used vehicles during Q3. That’s down from the 27,201 used vehicles that the company’s […] [Read More]

Barrett-Jackson recently raised $1 million for Las Vegas first responders during its 10th annual Las Vegas Auction at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. The five charity vehicles featured in the sale included a rare 2007 Ford Shelby GT500 Super Snake owned by Barrett-Jackson president Steve Davis, which sold for $1 million, according to Barrett-Jackson. “As […] [Read More]

Copart recently expanded two locations in Memphis, Tenn., and Reno, Nev. The two expansions follow Copart's growth of its New Orleans location last month. "This year, we've announced an unprecedented number of land expansions. With existing locations and operations around the nation, these expansions allow us to continue to efficiently meet the total loss demands of our […] [Read More]

Credit Acceptance and Consumer Portfolio Services each pushed out securitizations recently, and the combined total offered by the auto finance companies that specialize in subprime paper reached nearly $550 million. The larger of the two developments was from Credit Acceptance, which on Thursday announced the completion of a $350.0 million asset-backed non-recourse secured financing.  Pursuant […] [Read More]