The share commanded by leases among all new-vehicle finance originations in the first quarter remained relatively steady against prior-year comparisons, according to Experian Automotive, which found that the lease penetration rate again exceeded 24 percent. More specifically, in the Q1 2012 State of the Automotive Finance Market report, Experian said that new lease share of […] [Read More]

Cars.com revealed Wednesday it has chosen an exclusive provider of vehicle shipping services. The online transportation marketplace tapped for the role is uShip.com. Now, when shoppers visit Cars.com, they can receive an instant shipping quote from the site’s partner. Moreover, officials noted, site visitors will have access to “customer-reviewed auto transport companies that competitively bid […] [Read More]

About a week after announcing its expanded footprint, Copart revealed its third-quarter financial statement Wednesday, highlighting gains in revenue, operating income and net income. For the quarter that ended April 30 — the third quarter of its 2012 fiscal year — Copart calculated its revenue, operating income and net income came in at $244.1 million, […] [Read More]

Another state’s database has been added to Auto Data Direct’s system that offers real-time motor vehicle records. Broadening the access to dealers and other parties, the company revealed this week that with the addition of Minnesota’s motor vehicle records, it now offers real-time access to 26 state databases for qualified companies.   Dealers can access the […] [Read More]

As NADA Used Car Guide reports that used-car prices are expected to slide in June for the first time this year, dealers may potentially be seeing an influx of trade-ins in the coming months. In a Tuesday report, Forbes’ Jim Gorzelany cautioned buyers it may be time to “update your holdings,” or trade-in a vehicle […] [Read More]

Black Book’s Ricky Beggs noticed some rather historic wholesale pricing downturns last week, which likely mean some relief for dealers trying to secure used vehicles in a time of hot sales. Black Book reported Tuesday that wholesale values for car segments, in particular, dropped $35 on average last week, marking the largest drop “since the […] [Read More]

ADESA announced Tuesday the hiring of a former BMW Group Financial Services leader to fill the position of executive sales director. In a move that was effective immediately, Matthew Abshire has been named as executive sales director and will report directly to Jason Ferreri, ADESA senior vice president of commercial sales. Abshire comes to ADESA […] [Read More]

Independent auto dealers have new insurance options for both the used-car and auto rental/loaner operations. GMI Insurance announced on Tuesday the launch of a new program that focuses on the following: —Small- to medium-size, non-franchised auto dealers —Incidental new-vehicle  franchise operations —Incidental sales of trucks, RVs, boats and motorcycles. With this program, GMI said it […] [Read More]

Dealers in Massachusetts will soon be able to utilize auto finance company Westlake Financial Services, giving  the lender a footprint in every U.S. state. The company revealed Tuesday it will begin loan originations in Massachusetts starting this coming Friday.  Commenting on the news, Westlake president Ian Anderson noted, “With entry into Massachusetts, we are now […] [Read More]

CarMax recently announced that its community enrichment program, The CarMax Foundation, has awarded $300,000 in grants to Richmond, Va.-area nonprofit organizations. As CarMax lends a hand to help causes around its hometown, the nonprofits benefiting from these grants range from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Richmond to the Special Olympics Virginia. The grants […] [Read More]