When America's Car-Mart closed its fiscal year back at the end of April, the buy-here, pay-here dealership chain initially expected to expand its footprint in Missouri. Instead, Car-Mart broadened its presence elsewhere in the Southeast this week with its seventh dealership in Georgia. The newest location is in Albany, Ga., lifting Car-Mart’s store count to […] [Read More]

Penske Automotive Group announced Wednesday it just concluded the best quarter and six months in company history. Second-quarter revenue was up 12.3 percent to $4.9 billion, while year-to-date revenue soared by 11.8 percent to come in at $9.4 billion. The company explained this revenue spike was driven by a 7.1-percent increase in retail auto sales, including […] [Read More]

Vehicle shopping website Carpages.ca announced this afternoon it has partnered with Carfax Canada in an effort to create a better online shopping experience for used cars. Now, buyers on the site will be privy to complementary Carfax Vehicle History Reports from subscribing dealers included with their inventory on Carpages.ca — the only car-shopping website in Canada […] [Read More]

Equifax deputy chief economist Dennis Carlson used imagery of the plumbing that might be in your home to describe the industry surpassing $1 trillion in outstanding auto loan balances in June. The credit bureau’s data showed total outstanding balances on vehicle installment contracts and leases increased 10.5 percent year-over-year to come in at $1.021 trillion […] [Read More]

Vero Products — a provider of in vehicle after-market solutions and services and a division of CU Direct — acquired Fidelis PPM this week to form a new company focused on pre-paid maintenance (PPM). As a result of the acquisition, officials highlighted that Vero and Fidelis PPM formed DRIV Technologies to provide the dealers with […] [Read More]

According to a national survey commissioned by Carvana, consumers still are uninformed about the total costs associated with the interest rate connected to their vehicle installment contract. Carvana — a completely online vehicle retailer backed by DriveTime and launched two years ago — found that 71 percent of consumers who have ever taken out an […] [Read More]

As new-car sales aren’t experiencing the usual summer slump, lease approvals are on the way up as well as we approach August. According to lease marketplace Swapalease.com, lease credit approvals experienced a “healthy rebound” from June levels this month. Lease approvals are up 3.5 percent from June to an overall approval rate of 72 percent, […] [Read More]

Barrett-Jackson highlighted what the company called an exciting docket of custom vehicles is coming together for its next event, the third annual Hot August Nights Auction, which will be held Aug. 6-8 at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center in Reno, Nev. Among the most anticipated consignments is a collection of Fords including the 1936 Ford Custom […] [Read More]

In findings that should catch the attention of used-vehicle departments, too, a monthly analysis developed jointly by J.D. Power and DealerRater showed a majority of new-vehicle buyers in the United States indicate that it should take no more than two hours to complete a vehicle purchase from the time they walk into the dealer showroom. […] [Read More]

Calling the integration of DCH Auto “ahead of expectations,” Lithia Motors modified its earnings guidance and hinted at where the dealer group might expand next because of the successes of bringing those other 27 stores into its portfolio. Lithia chief executive officer Bryan DeBoer acknowledged that the company originally expected to realize synergies from the […] [Read More]