To describe the plight of the minivan, TrueCar’s Eric Lyman invoked the late, great king of one-liners. “To say that minivans have been the ‘Rodney Dangerfield’ segment of the auto market for many years, in terms of not getting the respect they deserve, is an understatement,” he said in a news release accompanying his company’s […] [Read More]

What do you do when customers arrive at the showroom and want out of a vehicle lease? Maybe they lost their job and won’t be able to afford the monthly payments. Maybe their current vehicle doesn’t comfortably accommodate their new long-legged love interest while another model currently in inventory might. Maybe they simply no longer need the vehicle. Or perhaps […] [Read More]

Auto Data Direct on Tuesday launched DropClaim.com, a secure, paperless compliance tool for California tow operators and businesses taking possession of towed vehicles, which could include units in the repossession process. The company explained that in January, new state requirements became effective as a result of passage of California Assembly Bill 1222. The new law […] [Read More]

It’s not just the supply boost that slowed wholesale vehicle values in May.   Some of the decline, says ADESA chief economist Tom Kontos, was driven by flat used-car retail sales and a dip in certified pre-owned sales (albeit year-to-date CPO sales are still up and at a record pace). “This limited the demand side support for wholesale values, which […] [Read More]

Of the more than 150 independent dealerships included in Equifax’s latest edition of the National Independent Automobile Dealers Association Business Confidence Survey, a total of 34 percent indicated an anticipation of adding personnel within the next year, even though the expectations for sales growth during the third quarter and beyond softened. How independent and buy-here, […] [Read More]

It was a clean sweep for Lexus in the NADA Dealer Attitude Survey. In the winter version of the semiannual survey that gauges franchised dealer sentiment of franchise value, Lexus earned the No. 1 spot in all three categories:   Overall ranking Consideration of dealer input on product, product quality concerns and advertising Dealer response to […] [Read More]

The National Automobile Dealers Association has launched a new educational and training program geared toward dealership leadership and management personnel. Students in the NADA Academy Plus program will receive six weeks of instruction over a 12-month period, with each week focusing on a different aspect of a dealership’s business. Those include financial management, parts, service, pre-owned […] [Read More]

On Tuesday, SouthWest Dealer Services — an independent full-service provider of F&I products and services to dealers — announced that SWDS Holdings’ board of directors appointed Vernon Leake as chief executive officer. Leake succeeds Eric Hamann, who will now serve as president of SouthWest Dealer Services. “Vernon and I have worked together for several years. […] [Read More]

White Clarke Group acknowledged that it seemed like just a few months ago that experts thought auto finance companies would inevitably lose their businesses to technology-savvy new players entering the market as disruptors. The company predicted these new entrants would focus hard on customer needs, understand where the weaknesses are in existing sales models, and […] [Read More]

In addition to announcing that dealers can now register for its sales online, CarMax Auctions recently shared plans to add five locations in fiscal-year 2017, including one this summer that will be its first in the San Francisco Bay area.   The five new locations include: Pleasanton, Calif.  (Set to begin this summer) El Paso, […] [Read More]