ATLANTA — Manheim needed only one word to summarize what 2012 was like for buy-here, pay-here dealers. In what economist Tom Webb likely will expand upon during the 15th annual National Conference conducted by the National Alliance of Buy-Here, Pay-Here Dealers, Manheim described last year's environment as "challenging" for this store segment. Despite that descriptor, […] [Read More]

NEW YORK — Fitch Ratings discovered this week that both prime and subprime U.S. auto ABS losses have risen in recent months. However, analysts think the trend is likely a "speed bump" that's fleeting as the sectors enter a seasonally strong period. In the subprime segment, Fitch indicated 60-plus-day delinquencies rose 3 percent month-over-month to […] [Read More]

LOS ANGELES — Marubeni Corp., which owns a 20 percent stake in Westlake Financial Services and has two seats on the company board, announced the promotion of an executive to general manager of Marubeni Automotive Department-I among other changes. Relocating from Westlake's Los Angeles headquarters to Japan for this new role is Atsushi Suzuki, who […] [Read More]

AUSTIN, Texas — In developments that likely will affect many repossession agencies, lenders' recovery departments and repo units coming down the lanes, the American Recovery Association and National Finance Adjusters merged into one trade association this week. Officials explained the new trade association will move forward under the name of the American Recovery Association. As […] [Read More]

Lending company NextGear Capital Inc. — created through the merger of Manheim Automotive Financial Services and Dealer Services Corp. — announced today its expansion of operations into Canada. In addition to enhancing service levels for dealers, the floor plan company plans on expanding its field sales and service operations throughout Canada, officials shared. The company […] [Read More]

Ford Motor Company of Canada Ltd.  has officially announced the award winners for the 2012 Auction Quality Program. Winners were selected based on measurements of the auction’s performance in two categories: Overall Auction Quality and Reconditioning Excellence. [Read More]

Wholesale prices are still on the slow climb upward, says NADA Used Car Guide. NADA expects that used-vehicle prices will continue to climb by 0.2 percent, or $25, this week, similar to the prior two weeks' wholesale price movement. Across segments, expected changes are nearly all positive, with prices for only luxury cars anticipated to […] [Read More]

Granted, the recent retail used-car results of the big dealer groups are fruitful. But don't look past the wholesale impact of softer used-vehicle margins. Consider what Manheim's Tom Webb had to say in a blog post this week. With their fourth-quarter results pooled together, the seven publicly traded dealership groups saw their same-store used-vehicle retail […] [Read More]

Black Book announced Wednesday that it is now providing monthly valuation and pricing updates for all specialty market vehicles. This includes old cars and special markets like collectible, exotic and highline cars; as well as motorcycles and powersports, recreational vehicles and medium/heavy-duty trucks. The company explained that even though many of these markets might follow […] [Read More]

It was a busy year in the F&I office at Sonic Automotive dealerships, as the retailer increased revenue in the finance, insurance and other category by nearly 20 percent in 2012. Sonic closed the year by pushing up F&I revenue 18.4 percent year-over-year in the fourth quarter, pulling in $64.69 million. For the year, it […] [Read More]