Strategic Vision has added a new wrinkle to its Total Value Index study, the latest results of which were released Tuesday. Blended with the new-car owner input in this latest batch of rankings — including measures like expected reliability, expected MPG, price paid and so forth — is residual value information provided by ALG. “Value will […] [Read More]

When Tesla confirmed rumors of a new certified program last week, it was evident the company had given some thought to sourcing the new program. The automaker is giving Tesla Model S owners the option to return the car after three years and recover 45 to 50 percent of its sticker price. And with the first […] [Read More]

About a month after conducting a field hearing focused on auto finance, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, along with its regulatory colleagues from the Federal Trade Commission, is turning its attention to the debt collection industry — in particular, the Latino community. CPFB and FTC officials will co-host a roundtable to examine how debt collection […] [Read More]

After falling for the third straight month in September, auction prices are expected to continue their downward trend this month. Last month, wholesale prices of vehicles up to 8 years in age fell by 3.6 percent from August, according to NADA Used Car Guide’s October Guidelines report. This decline was well above the 2.8 percent […] [Read More]

Chrysler Group is voluntarily recalling more than 180,000 SUVs globally for a problem with a component that manages restraint-system deployment — a similar issue that prompted Ford to recall more than 850,000 units last month. On Tuesday, Chrysler estimated that 184,215 vehicles are included in its campaign, including 126,772 U.S.-market vehicles. An estimated 8,106 are […] [Read More]

Digital marketing company Search Optics has launched a new mobile-optimized website platform built to enhance mobile search engine optimization and conversions for dealerships. The new Blueprint Platform is designed to ensure customer websites are viewable across every device and screen size. “The Blueprint Platform was built from the ground up for the mobile Internet and […] [Read More]

The Canada-based vehicle history reports company that entered the reconditioning market just last year is broaching more new territory. CarProof announced this morning it is entering the vehicle valuation field in full force. The company officially announced it has bought Canadian Red Book and outlined plans to launch a vehicle valuation tool that uses actual […] [Read More]

Comments thrown back and forth in the lanes last week didn’t illustrate the market the industry is used to seeing in mid-October. Instead of no sales and tough sales, the Black Book editorial staff were bringing back reports of a “steady, “good” and “solid market.” Black Book editorial director Ricky Beggs broke down last week’s […] [Read More]

If Alabama football coach Nick Saban has any extra time from running the Crimson Tide, he can check to see how his pair of luxury brand dealerships are doing. Two dealerships previously owned by Crown Automobile recently were sold to a partnership including Saban and the chief executive officer of Dream Motor Group, Joe Agresti. These […] [Read More]

Used- and new-vehicle sales are rising, and the latest survey data from the National Automobile Dealers Association and Ally Financial showed dealers continue to increase their level of giving to charitable causes. In fact, more than 70 percent of franchised dealers surveyed in September said they increased their charitable giving so far in 2014, up […] [Read More]