Just before Christmas, CarMax released results for its third quarter of fiscal year 2013. The company, like many velocity dealers, saw positive results in used vehicles; total unit sales were up 16 percent for the quarter compared to the prior year, an increase that included a 12-percent gain in same-store sales volumes. As I reviewed […] [Read More]

Standards for Technology in Automotive Retail — an information technology organization aimed at bringing together the global retail automotive industry — began a new initiative with several manufacturers including Ford, General Motors, Nissan and Volkswagen, along with dealer system providers. The goal is to streamline and simplify the daily transfer of business information among dealers’ […] [Read More]

Three brands, in particular, stand out in the minds of luxury buyers and inspire trust, satisfaction and customer loyalty, according to a recent survey. Ranking highest in the 2013 Luxury Consumer Experience survey conducted by the New York-based Luxury Institute were Lexus, Audi and BMW. [Read More]

Effective customer follow-up can be key to sealing a deal, but it takes time to make sure every potential buyer is getting the attention they need — time most dealers may not have.  In an effort to make sure dealers take advantage of every potential lead, marketing company OneCommand revealed a new solution it contends […] [Read More]

Eighteen new graduates, who are employees of dealerships nationwide, were announced by NCM Associates this week as the second graduating class of the company’s year-long General Management Executive Program. NCM’s General Management Executive Program consists of a series of two-and-a-half day sessions conducted over 11 months, which the company says are designed to equip current […] [Read More]

NEW YORK — Investment research firm DBRS expects that lenders will begin to loosen credit standards to achieve growth strategies as the auto finance market continues to improve, competition increases and credit availability resumes. As a result, the firm contends these developments will likely put negative pressure on collateral performance, increasing pool delinquencies and losses. […] [Read More]

CINCINNATI — Swapalease.com highlighted this week that customer credit approvals based on U.S. bank data jumped 27.3 percent in 2012 compared with approval rates from the previous year. Most notably, the site pointed out that the last two months of last year saw significant credit approval rates jump with 55 percent more approvals in December […] [Read More]

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE DETROIT — On Thursday, Ally Financial's board of directors declared quarterly dividend payments for certain outstanding preferred stock. These dividends are payable on Feb. 15. The company indicated a quarterly dividend payment was declared on Ally's Fixed Rate Cumulative Mandatorily Convertible Preferred Stock, Series F-2, of approximately […] [Read More]

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE ATLANTA — Safe-Guard Products International, an F&I provider in the auto industry, announced recently it has been purchased from H.I.G. Capital by an affiliate of Goldman Sachs, in partnership with management. "Safe-Guard is excited to partner with Goldman Sachs to continue to grow its business and build […] [Read More]

Announced this week, Mercecdes-Benz Canada is honoring its top 10 performing dealers with the 2013 Star Dealer Awards. This designation was established to "recognize the achievements of the top 10 authorized Mercedes-Benz dealers in Canada, underscoring the critical role that each dealership's contributions make to the overall success of the Mercedes-Benz brand in Canada," according […] [Read More]