ATLANTA — Equifax contends that automotive lenders can now receive unprecedented levels of marketing intelligence to more effectively prescreen and target prospective consumers for pre-approved offers with its newest tool rolled out this week — True In-Market Propensity (TIP) Scores. The company called its TIP Scores an "industry-first tool" that can accurately identify borrowers. Equifax […] [Read More]

SANTA MONICA, Calif. — Edmunds.com said this week that dealer financing is back to pre-recession levels after bottoming out in 2009. Analysts contend a key driver of this resurgence is the revival of the subprime market, which accounted for a quarter of all new auto loans in the second quarter of 2012, up from a […] [Read More]

Prices in the Canadian wholesale market were sluggish last month, with monthly used-car value indices from both ADESA Canada and RVI Group declining. Starting with the ADESA Canada Used Vehicle Price Index report's data — powered by ALG — officials found that the index fell “substantially” on a month-over-month basis when seasonally adjusted, noting that […] [Read More]

As a survey by another firm showed what factor takes top priority when Canadians are shopping for vehicles, data from autoTrader.ca showed the top 10 models potential buyers considered during the third quarter — primarily units from Ford and Honda. Whether it was a workman-like pickup truck, a reliable import or an über-cool exotic, autoTrader.ca […] [Read More]

HGrégoire has announced the opening of yet another franchise to serve the Lower Saint Lawrence area. HGrégoire Canada's Car Superstore of Rimouski — which opened Monday — has set up shop at 140, Montée Industrielle et Commerciale in Rimouski, the company said, and represents an investment of more than $2 million and the creation of […] [Read More]

As gas prices have begun a slow downward trickle, all wholesale segment prices are expected to soften this week, except for the large pickup segment, according to NADA Used Car Guide. This segment is expected to see a slight rise of 0.3 percent, or $50. And this shift comes right after the Energy Information Administration […] [Read More]

Mobile car shopping is evolving, as more consumers who before would drive around the dealership lots and search the Internet for a new ride are now turning to their mobile phones and tablets. And according to a recent study conducted by Nielson on behalf of Cars.com, a higher proportion of used and certified pre-owned shoppers […] [Read More]

DealerRater this week announced the launch of its mobile optimized website, to better serve approximately 6,000 automotive consumers they say visit the site each day from a mobile device. The new site is a “win-win” for both consumers and DealerRater certified dealers, the company said, with key features including ZIP-code-driven geo-location services that can help […] [Read More]

Women-Drivers.com asked female car shoppers what they look for during the car-buying experience — particularly when it comes to the salesperson — and the site found that more than three-fifths of these women emphasized trustworthiness. Next on the list of attributes cited most frequently as being important was being “respectful,” which was mentioned 48.1 percent […] [Read More]

Online Drive this week announced the launch of its new patent-pending gift card incentive process, which the company says offers dealership customers instant delivery of a selection of quality gift card incentives that can help stores boost their closing ratios. “Instant delivery means the customer gets what was promised to them immediately, when they enter […] [Read More]