Earlier this week, J.D. Power appointed Jim Houston as senior director of its auto finance practice. In this role, Houston will deploy his significant auto finance business experience to help guide the industry through what J.D. Power contends could potentially be a volatile period of new-vehicle sales and declining used-vehicle values. Houston comes to J.D. […] [Read More]

Within the week that Brian Geitner was picked as the incoming president of Cox Automotive’s Media Solutions Group, the current president of NextGear Capital also gained a leadership role for the American Financial Services Association. AFSA announced the election of three new members to its board of directors, selections that included Geitner as well as […] [Read More]

Manheim has named Denis Nazarenkov to general manager of Manheim San Diego. Nazarenkov, who has been with Manheim for a decade, most recently led people strategies for several Cox Automotive brands including DealShield, Ready Logistics, and Manheim Retail Solutions and Inspections. “The general manager role is a natural fit for Denis because of his exceptional […] [Read More]

Recent developments in the subprime auto finance market indicate that better days are ahead for the buy-here, pay-here industry. The last 24 months have seen fierce competition for deep subprime customers from credit unions, finance companies and franchised dealers. Much of this competition has been fueled by billions of dollars from auto bond securitizations packaged […] [Read More]

You have painstakingly constructed a talented sales team that truly understands how to demonstrate the value and benefits of your product — they really know how to sell cars. You have invested in your team's technology, training and continuing development to make certain you are positioned and poised for success in diverse economic climates. With […] [Read More]

While Fitch Ratings said U.S. auto lease ABS residual performance is still producing gains overall through mid-summer despite rising used-vehicle supplies, this week’s update from Swapalease.com about lease approvals wasn’t so positive. In fact, Swapalease.com reported that the 58.3 percent approval rate for vehicle lease credit applicants in July represented the lowest single-month tally so […] [Read More]

Several automakers have reported their latest certified pre-owned sales results to Auto Remarketing Canada, and one of the highlights of the bunch was Audi Canada, which had its strongest July to date. It sold 597 certified cars last month, a 3-percent gain over July 2015.  Through seven months, Audi has sold 3,921 CPO vehicles, a 6-percent hike. Next […] [Read More]

The Justice Department reached a settlement this week with a finance company that repossessed vehicles in violation of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) — a discovery the DOJ made during an investigation of Santander Consumer USA for similar infractions that generated a $10.5 million settlement. DOJ officials announced that HSBC Finance Corp., as successor to […] [Read More]

For dealerships and finance companies with significant customer bases hailing from Ontario and British Columbia, TransUnion shared some good news this week pertaining to the frequency with which these contract holders are staying current. Ontario and British Columbia consumers are exhibiting robust credit activity through the first half of 2016, according to TransUnion’s latest Canada […] [Read More]

As the direct-to-consumer and peer-to-peer side of online car-buying moves into high gear, so too does the dealer segment of e-commerce. And count Asbury Automotive Group, one of the nation’s largest and publicly traded dealer groups, among those. Asbury has been offering 100-percent online car-buying at select stores through an e-commerce solution from San Francisco-based […] [Read More]