Jeff Martin gave what he called an “honest pitch” for operators to get involved with the National Independent Automobile Dealers Association when it hosts its 12th annual National Policy Conference on Sept. 28-29 in Washington, D.C. “This isn’t a conference built around trade show floors or vendor booths. It’s built around access — direct, face-to-face […] [Read More]

Edmunds brought more interesting data to support the title of latest quarterly used-car report that highlighted how challenging it can be to get deals done with consumers who are not flush with cash or available credit. With the appropriate title, “The Vanishing Affordable Used Car,” Edmunds highlighted that the “most striking shift in the used […] [Read More]

AutoCanada has made “meaningful progress” on divesting its U.S. dealerships and has entered a definitive agreement on its remaining nine dealerships south of the border (which comprise two individual storefronts). The retailer said in its latest earnings release that it, “expects additional proceeds from related land dispositions, previously identified as held for sale, of up […] [Read More]

The Federal Trade Commission recently announced it will not pursue claims based on disparate-impact or “unfair discrimination” theories. In this episode of the Auto Remarketing Podcast, Hudson Cook partners Erica Kramer and Rob Tilley offered some historical perspectives and a big-picture views about what the regulator’s decision means for dealerships and finance companies. Listen to […] [Read More]

Recovering and stabilizing. Gradually. The Canadian used-car market has taken its punches, but inventory levels are improving and while affordability remains a concern, prices are normalizing. And the declines in used-car sales are slowing. That’s according to Carfax Canada’s midyear Used Vehicle Market Insights report released last week. There were 277,361 used-car transactions in June, […] [Read More]

When making travel or dinner plans with a group, a “smaller, less complex” itinerary may help to avoid hiccups. Perhaps the same goes for finding reliable vehicles, too. Carfax said Monday it has developed rankings of the most reliable vehicle types based on billions of records throughout the U.S., millions of vehicles and nearly 200,000 […] [Read More]

Today, wholesale buying and selling is driven by more than gut feeling and experience. Fred Stark, CarMax’s regional vice president of auction services, said today’s decisions are driven instead by data. “There is still a savviness needed in this industry, but a lot of it is more geared toward algorithms and just more data-driven all […] [Read More]

What it means to be an auction is changing. Some of these shifts have happened over the years, while others seem to have occurred overnight. Consider the current environment: Digital used-car retailer Carvana now owns ADESA's U.S. auctions and has launched inspection and reconditioning centers. ACV started as a digital platform but is now a […] [Read More]

The monthly report has been the dealership cadence for decades. Pied Piper Management Co. wants to bring the information tempo into the present with the launch of Sales Lead Handling Effectiveness (LHE) and Service Scheduling Effectiveness (SSE). They’re subscription programs that use technology to make continuous monitoring and proactive alerts practical and affordable, measuring customer […] [Read More]

Amid significant criticism from consumer advocates, both the American Financial Services Association and the National Independent Automobile Dealers Association welcomed last week’s move by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to cease publication of unverified complaint narratives and visualizations. Through a news release, CFPB said it has “long acknowledged” that publication in the consumer complaint database […] [Read More]