For dealers feeling the pinch of tight used-vehicle supply over the past few years, Joe Derkos had an encouraging message Monday afternoon during the opening day keynote address at Used Car Week. “Relief is right around the corner,” said Derkos, J.D Power’s director of consulting and analytics. “In fact, we’re probably already there.” [Read More]

For the state that has been wracked by two sweeping storms in the past 14 months — first Hurricane Irene in 2011 and the more recent Superstorm Sandy — many dealers are still struggling to get back on their feet; assessing damage from October’s storm and working through insurance claims at a quick clip. Mark […] [Read More]

Cars.com revealed late Monday that Kia Motor Co. and Scion have both partnered with the site to promote their certified pre‐owned vehicles. As part of the program, both Kia and Scion will sponsor certified branding and the listing of all certified inventory on Cars.com at no cost to dealers, accompanied by information for consumers explaining […] [Read More]

Black Book determined average prices for cars dropped by $75 last week, representing the largest weekly decline in the past seven weeks. Four car segments declined even more than the average, raising the attention of managing editor Ricky Beggs. The largest individual car segment declines were all from the higher-level, more luxury-oriented type models, including […] [Read More]

While data from Equifax showed the total amount of debt consumers absorbed in the third quarter dipped year-over-year, borrowing to make a vehicle purchase gained steam during the time span. Equifax indicated that across the country, auto bank and auto finance debt rose 7.1 percent during the third quarter compared with the same year ago. […] [Read More]

Review site DealerRater celebrated its first decade in the business on Monday. And the company is also celebrating growth that has made them one of the largest third-party review website dedicated solely to automotive dealerships. The company was founded in Waltham, Mass., by its current president Chip Grueter.   [Read More]

A week after venturing into South America for the first time, Copart extended its global growth pattern on Monday by acquiring an operation in Germany. Officials said Copart acquired WOM Wreck Online Marketing Aktiengesellschaft located in Ettlingen, Germany, a leading European salvage vehicle auction platform primarily serving the insurance markets in Germany. Copart indicated the […] [Read More]

Both Ferrari and Ford are doing their part to provide aid to those affected by Hurricane Sandy. While Ferrari is auctioning off one of its highline units to support storm relief, Mississippi Ford dealers are sending supplies to help Staten Island, N.Y., communities damaged by the superstorm. [Read More]

With the deadline approaching at the end of the week to consummate the previously announced cash tender offer to purchase all outstanding shares of common stock of Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, Hertz Global Holdings reportedly is making moves to gain federal approval. A Bloomberg report on Monday indicated Hertz agreed to sell more airport locations, […] [Read More]

Used Car Week officially begins today, getting the series of conferences rolling with the CPO Forum. Kicking off the action at 2 p.m. today are back-to-back series of concurrent workshops, which will dive into topics like online reputation, CPO price premiums, used-vehicle stocking strategies, maximizing auto shopper click data, third-party CPO programs, online trade acquisition […] [Read More]