In our very first “CPO Stars and Certified Trends” issue — set to be released next week — we will announce the first recipient of the CPO Dealer of the Year Award, which honors a top Canadian dealer who stands out in the certified market. But that isn’t the only industry leader that will be honored at […] [Read More]

At last week’s NADA Convention & Expo, Cars.com revealed a new tool to help franchised dealerships make their service departments stand out from the pack. The site has launched RepairPal Certified, which was developed in partnership with RepairPal. The certification badge is designed to verify trusted service departments for consumers shopping around, and shows consumers […] [Read More]

KAR Auction Services announced Wednesday that Rich Levene has been promoted to vice president of enterprise optimization for the company. Formerly the director of the same KAR segment, Levene is responsible for “identifying and implementing opportunities to maximize resources and widen synergies across all of KAR’s business units, as well as leading the enterprise optimization […] [Read More]

The actual new-car shopping process, says Steve Greenfield, is not necessarily the pain-point for most consumers. What causes the sting, rather, is what happens at the end of that process: “the adversarial negotiation with a car dealer,” he said The implications of this pain point was one of the foundations Greenfield — a former Manheim […] [Read More]

Even though some automotive analysts worry that millennials simply don’t drive as much as previous generations and put much less emphasis on vehicle purchases, recent studies suggest otherwise. First off, TrueCar projects millennial-generation shoppers will purchase 4.24 million cars and light trucks in 2015, equating to a whopping $135 billion in total revenue. Backing up […] [Read More]

Black, white, or somewhere in-between — according to Swapalease.com, roughly 8 out of 10 of the vehicles in its car lease marketplace fall into that category. The colors, including various grays and silvers, have proliferated in recent years, far outpacing the blues, reds and other colors that used to fill a far larger portion of […] [Read More]

Dealers now have an improved way of connecting with potential buyers in their market, as NADAguides has enhanced its Car Deals, Incentives and Rebates online research tool. The solution now can provide consumers with a clear understanding of local car deals and identifying the deepest discounts available that very day in their neighborhood and surrounding areas. The […] [Read More]

For dealers and finance companies with business interests in the Midwest, Huntington Bank’s third annual Midwest Economic Index is offering an encouraging forecast for possible deliveries and originations. The index showed 16 percent of consumers in the region definitely will purchase a vehicle in 2015. Huntington indicated the response represents a 10-percent increase over definite […] [Read More]

While claiming that a “majority” of the nation’s top auto finance companies already leverage its employment verification service, Equifax unveiled its newest technology platform during the recent National Automobile Dealers Association Convention. Equifax highlighted AutoConnect can enable partners to deliver credit, marketing, risk and verification solutions seamlessly to their clients. “AutoConnect will help partners pursue […] [Read More]

Spurred in part by demand for training to meet evolving regulatory demands, the National Automotive Finance Association is giving company executives and managers who might have missed the opening in-person training module of its Certified Consumer Credit Compliance Professional Program conducted earlier this month another chance to begin the journey. Interested professionals who want to […] [Read More]