No dealership group has been more active in acquiring new locations than Group 1. So far in 2024, the Houston-based company has added nine new dealerships in the U.S., with acquisitions in Maryland, California and South Carolina that added an expected $1 billion in annual revenues. And it has exploded in the U.K., doubling its […] [Read More]

Atlantic Canada has become a preferred destination for car thieves. According to data from Insurance Bureau of Canada, auto theft claims have shown an alarming rise in the Atlantic provinces, spiking 12.5% in the first half of 2024 — the nation’s largest increase. And that’s not a new trend, IBC said in a news release. […] [Read More]

The National Automotive Finance Association orchestrated another successful event this week. The focus again was compliance. NAF Association officials said more than 50 auto finance professionals gathered in Irving, Texas, for their Compliance Champions Workshop. They said attendees engaged in a comprehensive agenda designed to foster learning, share insights and enable open discussions. The workshop […] [Read More]

Black Book said the wholesale market is showing “typical levels of depreciation expected for this time of year,” after overall values dropped 0.45% last week. What’s intriguing analysts most, however, is what’s going on with compact cars and small pickups, perhaps the vehicles currently most appealing to your potential retail customers. “The shortage of budget-friendly, […] [Read More]

Ernestina Valdes was given a tremendous gift from a California car dealership. But it wasn’t best gift she received. Salinas Honda in Salinas, Calif., presented Valdes with a 2024 Honda Civic Sport Sedan as the winner of a raffle benefitting the American Cancer Society in conjunction with the organization’s Relay For Life of Salinas Valley. […] [Read More]

UVeye’s AI-powered automated vehicle inspection technology is a good idea. How good? Good enough for TIME magazine to select it as one of The Best Inventions of 2024, its annual list of “200 innovations changing how we live.” UVeye likens its drive-through inspection system to an “MRI for vehicles,” using deep learning and a database […] [Read More]

Auto finance usually isn’t a dangerous profession. But being a repossession agent certainly can be when delinquent contract holders respond with violence as the recovery professional is tasked with taking back the collateral for failure to stay current on monthly payments. To highlight these professionals, Loss Prevention Services has presented the Repossession Agent of the […] [Read More]

If you use Repair OnDemand’s BlueDriver vehicle diagnostic tool, you’re one in a million — quite literally. The auto repair technology provider announced this week it has sold its 1 millionth BlueDriver device in the retail space. The OBD2 diagnostic tool is designed specifically for consumers and do-it-yourself mechanics, as opposed to the commercial version […] [Read More]

Roger Penske is becoming a believer of that old saying: Less is more. With fewer used-car stores in his portfolio, the chairman and CEO of Penske Automotive Group is watching the profits from that sector grow. Indeed, while the company’s third quarter 2024 financial results showed sales of used vehicles from Penske-owned stores plummeted 12.5% […] [Read More]

Adoption of digitized contracting and documentation workflows by auto retailers and their financing partners that foster back-office efficiencies continued on an upward trend, according to analysis by Wolters Kluwer Compliance Solutions from its Q3 Auto Finance Digital Transformation Index. While Q3 adoption compared to Q2 was mostly unchanged at less than 0.5% due to the […] [Read More]