The National Automobile Dealers Association is again trying to leverage the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to obtain sensitive Consumer Financial Protection Bureau material that made its way to the media. This week, NADA asked the CFPB to release internal documents that the association says are acknowledging that the agency intended to regulate the auto […] [Read More]

This week as a part of the American Financial Services Association’s 99th annual meeting in Boston, the organization honored three members with its highest accolade, the Distinguished Service Award (DSA). Receiving the honors were Stevan Schmelzer, Jim Sheeran and Glen Twede. Schmelzer serves as the president and chief executive officer of Personal Finance Co. Schmelzer […] [Read More]

On Thursday afternoon, in the Philadelphia-area town of Mount Laurel, N.J.  — where ARI is headquartered — it was 73 degrees, according to The Weather Channel’s website, with temperatures expected to hit 80 on Friday before dipping down into the 60s and below over the weekend. None of that compares to what Bob Graham has […] [Read More]

F&I product company Sym-Tech announced a partnership that will add significant insurance services and “financial backing” to the company. Sym-Tech Dealer Services recently announced that AmTrust Financial Services Inc. — through its subsidiary AMT Warranty — has partnered with Sym-Tech through a minority investment in the company. “We are very pleased that AMT Warranty chose […] [Read More]

About four-and-a-half months ago, Cox Automotive announced a new position dedicated specifically to head up its Canadian operations, hiring former Kia executive Maria Soklis for the role. When Soklis was named president of Cox Automotive Canada on May 19, Joe George — senior vice president of Cox Automotive Strategy — said in a news release the […] [Read More]

For operators who still have questions about credit reporting of customer payments and more, Equifax, in collaboration with the National Independent Automobile Dealers Association and the National Alliance of Buy-Here, Pay-Here Dealers, is hosting a free webinar in support of the continued launch of the Equifax BHPH tradeline reporting program. The initiative allows dealers who […] [Read More]

Mazda Motor Corp. is calling for the stop sale and stop delivery for certain Mazda3 models. The company is launching a Safety and Emission Recall Campaign for certain 2015-2016 Mazda3 vehicles — built from May 21 through Aug. 23 of this year — impacting approximately 5,349 vehicles in Canada. And approximately 14,270 vehicles in the […] [Read More]

Cox Automotive has made another executive-level move, this time appointing Brian Geitner as president of financial services and NextGear Capital. Geitner, who was already president of NextGear, receives these expanded duties as Patrick Brennan, who had been group vice president of finance services, became Cox Automotive’s senior vice president of operations and chief integration officer […] [Read More]

This week, customer relationship management solution OneCommand finalized the certified integration of its HigherGear CRM with Guest Concept’s 1st Pencil, a dealership sales presentation software provider. Executives explained that 1st Pencil and HigherGear CRM have historically been used autonomously by dealers across the country. They indicated this new integration is designed to provide enrolled dealers […] [Read More]

On Wednesday, the Twitter feed of the South Carolina Emergency Management Division was filled with retweets, photos and other messages informing Palmetto State residents of deceptively deep waters behind road barricades, curfews, water distribution centers and ways to help victims of the flooding that has devastated the Carolinas in recent days. No doubt the devastation […] [Read More]