The Federal Trade Commission penalized a pair of dealership groups for violations of a previous consent order regarding advertising the cost of buying or leasing a vehicle. Part of the consent orders established in March 2012 indicated FTC officials could inspect any advertising material distributed by Billion Auto — a chain of 20 family-owned dealerships […] [Read More]

Mercedes-Benz Canada has chosen its class of 2015 Star Dealers. Ten dealerships across the country were recognized with the designation this year, which highlights stores' accomplishments in the area of new and pre-owned sales, service and parts, as well as customer satisfaction.  Ontario was the dominant province this year, with five of the awards doled […] [Read More]

Another day, another finance company acknowledges it has received a subpoena from the U.S. Department of Justice. Credit Acceptance Corp. posted a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission late on Friday stating the company that specializes in subprime auto financing received a civil investigative subpoena from the Justice Department pursuant to the Financial Institutions […] [Read More]

Edmunds.com chief executive officer Avi Steinlauf — whose company’s own Price Promise tool also aims to foster online-to-showroom efficiency — says he commends AutoNation for introducing a car-shopping tool like SmartChoice Express and “moving the process online.” “I give them a lot of credit for moving the process online. At the get-go, they’re only going to […] [Read More]

Cars.com released some interesting data Friday revealing the most-searched-for new vehicles on its website. Unsurprisingly, the overwhelming champion, on a state-by-state basis for the third quarter of 2014, is the Ford F-150. The truck was the most-searched vehicle in 30 of the 50 United States. Around the coastlines and major metropolitan areas, another Ford stands […] [Read More]

As one Kelley Blue Book analyst still questioned how the entire Takata faulty airbag saga will culminate, Chrysler Group joined American Honda in expanding an ongoing regional recall to replace front passenger-side air-bag inflators. Chrysler’s newest campaign covers estimated 208,783 older-model vehicles originally purchased or ever registered in seven U.S. states and five territories. Affected […] [Read More]

Last month brought with it higher prices in the lanes, and even though overall used supply is expected to expand in the coming months, seasonal tightening was perhaps the culprit for the rate spikes in November. According to NADA Used Car Guide, auction prices for vehicles up to 8 years in age fell by 1.3 […] [Read More]

Dealers Auto Auction of the Southwest has launched a new auction program to complement its 360 Customer Service, Mexico Ready and Transparent Transactions Programs in conjunction with Carfax. With Buy Now 360, DAASW is now selling units in between sales. In other words, the tool was previously only available while sales were actually running, and now […] [Read More]

Regulatory investigations of auto finance companies are piling up as now reportedly the New York Department of Financial Services is joining the fray. An online report citing an anonymous source indicated New York state’s financial services regulator subpoenaed the captive arms of Ford, Honda, Nissan and Volkswagen as well as Santander and TD Bank. A […] [Read More]

F&I trainer Rebecca Chernek of Chernek Consulting is rolling out a completely revamped training website aimed at giving dealership financing staff the tools needed to close this year strong and to get 2015 off to a better start. Consulting Virtual Pro is an online training program available whenever dealer staff might need it.  Leveraging her […] [Read More]