The Blue Oval is changing who is overseeing its captive finance company. On Tuesday, Ford announced that Bernard Silverstone, the automaker’s group vice president and chairman and chief executive officer of Ford Motor Credit, has elected to retire effective Oct. 1, after 37 years of service. Silverstone, 60, will be succeeded by Joy Falotico, who […] [Read More]

Used-car consumers buy service contracts because they understand their value to help offset future mechanical breakdown costs. Dealerships like customers to purchase VSCs because they help increase customer use of their service department. However, if you want more confidence that these customers will indeed return to your dealership for vehicle maintenance and repair — and […] [Read More]

Nearly a fifth of adults surveyed by SalesFuel said they would be buying a new vehicle in the next year. It’s not incentives that are driving them to dealer lots. And they're not choosing one store over another because of charity involvement.  According to the company’s annual AudienceSCAN survey and accompanying whitepaper, 27.3 percent plan […] [Read More]

RVI Group’s latest Market Update report shows that used-car prices increased in July when compared to June, but were down from a year ago. Adjusting for inflation, the RVI Used Vehicle Price Index increased by 0.4 percent month-over-month in July. But the index was down 3.4 percent from last July. On a nominal basis, the […] [Read More]

Reconditioning technology provider Dent Wizard International recently promoted Gil Eaton to the position of vice president of information technology. In his new position, the company indicated Eaton will manage all functions of Dent Wizard’s IT systems.  He will report to chief financial officer Tammy Conner and work from the company’s headquarters in St. Louis. Eaton […] [Read More]

John Eriksen has been named general manager of Manheim Baltimore-Washington, bringing experience in both the sales and operations sides of Manehim. Most recently, he served as assistant general manager of Manheim Orlando, where he held various leadership roles since joining the organization in 2007. His new role represents a return to the region, as he […] [Read More]

As the American Financial Services Association scheduled an informational webinar with executive vice president Bill Himpler, organizers of the National Automotive Finance Association’s Consumer Credit Compliance Certification Program reminded potential participants about the upcoming deadline for discounted accommodations. In an effort to help finance companies and other stakeholders in the industry tackle the increasingly difficult […] [Read More]

With more than 3 million active subscribers using its GPS-based vehicle telematics and Business Intelligence solutions, Spireon recently highlighted that its SkyLink solution is enabling dealerships to streamline inventory management as well as add a new finance and insurance profit center with a unique connected-vehicle service offered to buyers. According to SNS Research, connected-vehicle services […] [Read More]

Everyone, it seems, is getting in on digital car retailing. Tech startups, publicly traded dealer groups, third-party vendors, concierge services. You can add banks to that list, too. On Thursday, Chase debuted a platform that allows its customers to shop for vehicles and set up financing on their smartphone or computer, then finalize the deal […] [Read More]

Peter Welch recently walked through what previously was a lovely neighborhood in Louisiana’s state capital. Someone recording video followed Welch, the president of the National Automobile Dealers Association, as he passed by shoulder-high piles of floodwater-soaked furniture, possessions, drywall and other debris in an effort to show the devastation and subsequent need for dealers to […] [Read More]