The seven highest ratings for reliability among 28 car brands studied went to Toyota and other Japanese makes, as Consumer Reports this week released the results of its 2012 Annual Auto Reliability Survey. Meanwhile, one particular domestic brand dropped dramatically; going from being among the top 10 two years ago to coming in next-to-last in […] [Read More]

A Wall Street analyst wondered why Group 1 Automotive is aggressively acquiring more dealerships while other groups seem to be throttling back their store-growth activities. Group 1 president and chief executive officer Earl Hesterberg said the fact that the company acquired 14 stores during the first three quarters is all about generating the most return […] [Read More]

With so much industry talk about pent-up demand being a spark for vehicle sales, a dealer recently asked Manheim chief economist Tom Webb to explain why his story wasn’t enjoying the traffic and turn uptick experienced by other dealerships. In the October Auto Industry Brief from Manheim Consulting, the dealer told Webb that “I see […] [Read More]

Matt Marks, the executive director of the International Automotive Remarketers Alliance, has passed away. Marks died Sunday morning, ServNet chief executive officer Pierre Pons said in a message to ServNet’s membership on Monday. “Matt was the original director of IARA, overseeing not only the organization’s expansion, but establishing it as a credible and critical voice […] [Read More]

Donlen chief executive officer Gary Rappeport will retire at the end of the year, and stepping into the leadership spot at Donlen on Jan. 1 will be Tom Callahan, who is the currently the company's president and chief operating officer. The news was announced this morning by the Hertz Corp., which acquired Donlen last year. […] [Read More]

Supply: the topic that has been at the forefront of used-car dealers’ minds for the past few years as quality pre-owned vehicles proved scanty in the lanes. And as leasing dried up in the years after the 2008 recession, both off-lease and off-fleet vehicles — which had fed the auction lanes in the past — […] [Read More]

The auto industry’s financing spigot is steadily reopening after being choked off when the recession hit more than three years ago. As proof of strengthening funding support, CNW Research indicated that back in September there was a 13.7-percent increase year-over-year in the number of buyers who received a pre-approved loan before purchasing a used vehicle. [Read More]

Black Book predicted last week that the increase in small cars being made coupled with the disproportionate amount of consumers interested in purchasing them may lead to overproduction issues. Offering a different take, an Automobile.com survey paints an alternate picture of where demand for these models stands. It contends that the sales of compact and […] [Read More]

Last week's ceremony during the NABD East Coast Conference to enshrine the newest member of the alliance's Hall of Fame turned back the clock on the buy-here, pay-here industry to a time of handshake contracts and Southern hospitality. The National Alliance of Buy-Here, Pay-Here Dealers posthumously welcomed Martin Ingram to its Hall of Fame. Ingram […] [Read More]

Dominion Dealer Solutions has released a new equity alert tool that’s meant to further empower dealers to pull in-service customers into the buying market.   The company explained DealActivator can mine the store’s database for highly-qualified equity customers from sales and service, delivering data to the dealer daily.  Dealers can locate quality inventory at better prices, […] [Read More]