Snow and ice have cast a big swath across the U.S. this winter. This inclement weather has served in part to keep truck and SUV prices high at auction, along with low prices at the pump. With an average of 1,864 vehicle prices adjusted per day last week in the lanes, Black Book’s Ricky Beggs […] [Read More]

Louisiana’s 1st Choice Auto Auction will celebrate what’s arguably the state’s biggest holiday with its second annual Rockin’ Mardi Gras Party and Sale next week. The two-day event, which will take place Monday and Tuesday, will include all the sights, music and food of Mardi Gras plus a 1,000-unit sale. It’s expected that buyers and […] [Read More]

The U.S. franchised dealership count remained fairly steady last year and throughput, or new-vehicle sales per store, hit a record high — two trends that Urban Science says the market could repeat for 2014. The firm released its 2013 Automotive Franchise Activity Report on Monday and was predicting a fourth straight year of stability in […] [Read More]

For a feature in the latest print edition of Auto Remarketing, Don Luke of Bill Luke Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram Fiat was asked how his dealership makes certified pre-owned vehicles and the CPO department stand out. It boils down to strong training, branding and educating the customer properly, he said. “We spend a lot of […] [Read More]

On the used-car side of its business, Penske Automotive Group has taken a “retail first” philosophy and that — along with support from PenskeCars.com as well as off-lease and loaner volumes — has helped generate some of the pre-owned success within the dealer group’s retail operations. When asked last week by an analyst during the […] [Read More]

There were more than 200 acquisitions made by U.S. dealerships in 2013, and the leading franchises in these purchases were Chrysler and Jeep brands. That’s according to “The 2014 Dealership Acquisition Report” from The Banks Report. Overall, U.S. dealers bought 202 dealerships last year, 180 of which were in the U.S. The remaining 22 were […] [Read More]

This January, a luxury SUV knocked a luxury coupe off its post as scarcest certified pre-owned vehicle in the nation. This past month, the CPO Cadillac Escalade EXT took the top spot on the national scarcity list, pushing the certified Porsche Cayman down to No. 2. This is according to the latest installment of vehicle […] [Read More]

Gross profits per used unit were down, but Penske Automotive Group retailed close to 15 percent more used vehicles last year, capping 2013 with a 17.8-percent increase in used sales for the fourth quarter.   This was part of a record-breaking overall year for Penske, whose leadership called it the “most successful” the retailer has […] [Read More]

Honda took the top three spots on Kelley Blue Book’s list of 25 most-researched vehicles on KBB.com during January, but it was Toyota leading the way with five of its models cracking the rankings. Ford was next in line with four, while Honda and Jeep were each represented by three vehicles in the top 25. […] [Read More]

Rendering of the AutoTrader.com Team Penske No. 22 Ford Fusion that will be driven by NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Joey Logano at the July 13 race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. (PRNewsFoto/AutoTrader.com). SOURCE: AutoTrader.com The AutoTrader Group is adding a few “Days of Thunder” and “Talladega Nights” to its calendar. Two of the group’s companies […] [Read More]