Al Katz has been with Mercedes-Benz USA for 18 years and served in various managerial roles throughout his nearly two decades with the company. And on Jan. 1, he became the new general manager of pre-owned, remarketing & fleet operations for Mercedes.   That includes the popular certified pre-owned segment, and in an emailed Q&A, […] [Read More]

The auto finance default rate reported by S&P Dow Jones Indices and Experian for December fell in line at nearly the same reading as what analysts reported at the close of each of the previous two years. Data through December included in the S&P/Experian Consumer Credit Default Indices showed the auto rate at 1.03 percent, […] [Read More]

Auto/Mate Dealership Systems announced on Tuesday that it added two new feature updates to its DMS, Fixed Ops Suite. The new features are designed to increase auto dealership service departments’ efficiencies and revenue, according to Auto/Mate. VIN Scan, the company’s mobile tablet update, allows service advisors to scan VIN barcodes with a mobile tablet camera […] [Read More]

Given the gains in available inventory — particularly the flood of off-lease units hitting the market — used-car sales are likely to continue rising, says David Lim, vice president and equity analyst at Wells Fargo Securities. In other words, supply begets sales opportunity. And that opportunity is particularly evident, he said, in the standalone used-car […] [Read More]

Orchestrators of the second annual Diversity Volume Leadership Awards (DVL Awards) ceremony highlighted what they said is the tremendous impact that minority vehicle buyers have on the economy and brought awareness to what consider to be the lack of diversity that still remains present in the automotive industry. National Association of Minority Automobile Dealers (NAMAD) Damon […] [Read More]

On Monday, Helion Automotive Technologies announced the release of its new free eBook for auto dealerships, titled “Three Service Department Pain Points, Solved! How Faulty IT Infrastructures are Causing Dealerships to Lose Revenue, Lose Customers and Lose Employee Buy-In.” The eBook highlights problems service departments face when their networks don’t support new technologies that depend […] [Read More]

DriveItNow and GoMoto will lead NADA’s “Modern Dealership Experience” during its convention in New Orleans later this month. During the presentation, the companies are set to discuss the latest disruptive technological developments that can help dealers boost sales and enhance service experiences for online buyers. “Consumers want to complete more of the car buying process […] [Read More]

Donald Trump will be inaugurated as the 45th president of the United States on Friday. But industry experts have warned dealerships and finance companies not to reduce their compliance efforts despite some deregulatory rhetoric that might have been shared during his campaign. Compliance expert Randy Henrick recently said via Twitter: “Don’t count on the new […] [Read More]

F&I Express recently announced that its finance and insurance platform is now integrated with Roadster, an eCommerce solutions provider for vehicle buying and leasing. Roadster’s dealerships now can provide buyers with accurate aftermarket product quotes and educational material using F&I Express’ Express Digital Media solution. The Express Digital Media solution is designed to utilize a […] [Read More]

Captify, an advertising technology company that specializes in search intelligence, has released findings from its analysis of more than 15 billion consumer searches to determine the most popular brands and types of cars catching consumers’ attention in 2016. Ford was found to be the most searched car brand by consumers last year. After Ford, Audi […] [Read More]