Based on findings from the Temkin Group — a customer experience research and consulting firm — the three car brands whose dealers offer the highest-rated customer experience are Toyota, Buick and Lexus, with Subaru not far behind. These findings were just part of the 2014 Temkin Experience Ratings, an annual ranking of companies based on […] [Read More]

SiriusXM recently announced it is now working with AutoManager, which has 4,600 dealers using its dealer management products, to easily enroll independent and franchised dealers to participate in the SiriusXM Pre-Owned Vehicle Program. Dealerships utilizing AutoManager’s DeskManager and WebManager products can enroll in the SiriusXM Pre-Owned Vehicle Program so they can demonstrate SiriusXM during test […] [Read More]

LeasePlan USA has announced that it has expanded its sales force, adding Mike Zalas to its client acquisition team. Zalas will serve as the vice president of sales, national accounts, where he will be responsible for "delivering high-touch service" throughout the North Central region, the company shared. Zalas brings with him more than 12 years […] [Read More]

Building upon its efforts to give consumers increased access to their FICO score and help lenders be more informative about credit scoring, FICO rolled out a new program this week called FICO Custom Credit Education. Through this solution, officials explained that lenders can license from FICO enhanced credit education tools to include in their consumer […] [Read More]

Prestige Financial Services announced today that it completed its 12th and largest rated term securitization. The company hit the mark by issuing $390 million in securities backed by $396,383,511 in automobile installment receivables. In a transaction led jointly by J.P. Morgan Securities and Wells Fargo Securities, Prestige indicated notes were purchased by qualified institutional buyers […] [Read More]

A former senior vice president of Nicholas Financial is looking to duplicate the same success he enjoyed previously now that he is overseeing a North Carolina-based operation fueled by a merchant banking firm. Douglas Marohn now is chief executive officer at Metrolina Credit Co., which recently acquired locations in Charlotte and Concord, N.C., to go […] [Read More]

Wholesale prices are still on the upward swing as March comes to a close and we near the end of tax season, according to AuctionNet data provided to Auto Remarketing. Meanwhile, pre-owned retail prices observed on Cars.com seem to have been on a different track. According to Cars.com data, overall used prices on the site […] [Read More]

At the end of 2013 after reviewing Experian Automotive data, I wrote that losses for special finance companies in the subprime auto finance industry were trending upward sharply. I attributed these higher losses to overly aggressive underwriting “silly loans” caused by putting “too much vehicle in the hands of too little customer.” This practice continued […] [Read More]

Did you make the pics? Photos from the 2014 Auto Remarketing Canada conference have hit the Web. The 2014 ARC Conference wrapped up at the Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto last week with over 600 attendees, including dealers, automaker executives, auction leaders and more. The conference’s full-to-capacity Expo Hall featured names such as TRADER Corp., […] [Read More]

Buy-here, payhere dealership software provider AutoStar Solutions recently acquired 50 percent interest in SecureClose, a designer of innovative compliance technology. Together, the two companies are finalizing plans to provide a new tool that automates the contract closing process for dealers.AutoStar Solutions president and chief executive officer Allen Dobbins highlighted this new technology comes at a […] [Read More]