Though the economy continues to improve — perhaps pushing many who would otherwise delay their car purchases into showrooms for vehicle replacements — the percentage of older vehicles on the road continues to grow. In fact, according to Experian Automotive data released Wednesday, the percentage of vehicles on the road predating the 2001 model year […] [Read More]

While auto financing has recovered to the point where originations and portfolio sizes are at record levels, the 2014 Makovsky Wall Street Reputation Study showed many financial services companies continue to struggle with reputational and customer services issues stemming from the financial crisis six years ago. Study orchestrators found that 81 percent of communications, investor […] [Read More]

After setting new historic lows in March and April, the auto loan rate associated with the S&P/Experian Consumer Credit Default Indices increased marginally in May. S&P Dow Jones Indices and Experian determined the auto loan default rate ticked up just 1 basis point to 0.93 percent. Meanwhile, the national composite rate — a comprehensive measure […] [Read More]

General Motors chief executive officer Mary Barra is coming back to Capitol Hill on Wednesday to face more questions from a U.S. House Committee. This time, Barra won’t have to face lawmakers by herself. She will also have the investigator charged with finding out why the automaker fumbled the recall of vehicles with faulty ignition […] [Read More]

The Nissan brand recently completed its best-ever month for certified pre-owned sales — and the program may not have even reached its peak yet. According to Autodata Corp., there were 12,713 Nissan brand certified sales in May, which is nearly a 24-percent year-over-year increase. The CPO leadership for the automaker believes there is “potential to […] [Read More]

Camping World and Good Sam chairman and chief executive officer Marcus Lemonis plans to open more AutoMatch USA SuperCenters later this year. Lemonis intends to bring AutoMatch USA, a pre-owned dealership that specializes in foreign and domestic pre-owned vehicle of all makes and models, to Bakersfield, Calif., and Avondale, Ariz., by fall and then to […] [Read More]

Veteran managers and store principals might remember what happened in the late 1990s when automakers tried strategies to move away from the traditional franchised dealer model with experiments such as the Ford Retail Network and GM Retail Holdings. A new report by auto industry consultant Maryann Keller not only recapped the shortcomings of those approaches, […] [Read More]

Most recent college graduates these days have less room for spending than in years past due to rising higher education costs and significant student loans. And Millennials are playing it thrifty these days when it comes to vehicle purchases, says a recent Cars.com blog post found on its DealerADvantage site. According to the blog post, […] [Read More]

A little more than a decade ago, the move that Bourne’s Auto Center made from a smaller location to its current facility on Belmont Street in South Easton, Mass., also came with a shift in strategy. The independent dealership decided to go with no-haggle, fixed pricing. This strategy change and several other factors have helped […] [Read More]

The list of 25 most-researched vehicles at KBB.com in May didn’t see much change from April, but one segment in particular seemed to lead the movement that did occur. Kelley Blue Book analysts pointed out that most of change in the list of popular used models was concentrated among SUVs. The Jeep Wrangler was up […] [Read More]