Cox Automotive announced Friday it has appointed Joe George senior vice president of Manheim Vehicle Solutions, replacing Shane O’Dell, who recently was named president of Cox Automotive Financial Services. George will move into the position on Oct. 17 and report to Janet Barnard, president of Cox Automotive Inventory Solutions. “Joe is a proven leader with […] [Read More]

Whether looking from the dealer perspective of used-vehicle prices for units running down the lanes or movements in depreciation that finance companies might consider, neither Manheim nor Black Book spotted dramatic shifts when analyzing their respective September data. First, Manheim determined wholesale used-vehicle prices (on a mix-, mileage-, and seasonally adjusted basis) remained unchanged between August […] [Read More]

The way dealers used to work with car shoppers often made the latter feel prodded and herded like cattle, says DealerSocket chief executive officer Jonathan Ord. Speaking at his company’s User Summit in Texas (and using regionally apt metaphors), Ord recommended dealers let consumers steer the purchase method decision-making, whether that’s online, in-store or a […] [Read More]

Dealership software provider MAXDigital recently announced Patrick McMullen, previously the senior vice president of customer success, will now be the company’s senior vice president of strategy and innovation. MAXDigital explained McMullen will be traveling the country to deliver the company’s “Stop the Drop” message, which is geared to help dealers maintain gross profits and transform […] [Read More]

Lithia Motors completed its third dealership acquisition in less than a month by securing Audi Auto Gallery in Woodland Hills, Calif. The dealer group indicated on Thursday that the store will be relocated to Calabasas, Calif. and named Audi Calabasas, adding an additional $120 million in estimated annual revenues. In the middle of September, Lithia expanded its […] [Read More]

This week, CU Direct appointed former AutoNation and TrueCar executive Ron Frey to serve as the company's chief strategy officer for automotive solutions. Frey begins his new position this month. Frey has spent 30 years serving the automotive and credit union industry, bringing innovative business and technological advancements to the industry. In his position with […] [Read More]

Especially in subprime auto financing, delivering documents such as adverse action notices often is a regular part of doing business for finance companies. To help with that mandated activity, CEDAR Document Technologies (CEDAR) — an online auto finance mobile loan servicing and multichannel document delivery provider — rolled out of a new service for finance […] [Read More]

Buy-here, pay-here operators who need recommendations on improving deal jacket compliance, securing more money from customers’ tax refunds and details of a significant accounting change — and who want all of this information for a discounted price — need to take action before the end of the week. The National Alliance of Buy-Here, Pay-Here Dealers […] [Read More]

In August, Amazon made two big footprints in the auto space that stirred talk and turned heads.   First was teaming up with Hyundai Motor America for a program that let car shoppers in certain Southern California areas set up test drives of the 2017 Hyundai Elantra through its Amazon Prime Now service. Later in […] [Read More]

Levy Grunwald didn’t know what to expect when he tried Honcker, a new app that lets people lease vehicles online. What he knew was that his last lease had expired, and between work and life, he just didn’t have time to visit a dealership. Still, could he trust the newly launched Honcker? “I develop apps […] [Read More]