When Ricky Beggs and the rest of the team at Black Book looked to recap wholesale market activity from the past week, one element jumped out quickly. In beginning his latest installment of “Beggs on the Used Car Market,” he shared, “As the survey reports and summaries arrived at the editorial offices, there was a […] [Read More]

This is the headline from a New York Times article that discusses how brick-and-mortar retailers like J.C. Penney are re-thinking their pricing due to the increasing smarts of their Internet-powered customers. The article’s relevant for dealers because it underscores two new realities of today’s business: 1. Pricing is a means to drive traffic, not make […] [Read More]

On Monday, TrueCar unveiled a 21-member National Dealer Council — made up of dealers and auto retail experts — that, essentially, enables the company to have a better understanding of the dealer perspective. This council will advise TrueCar on addressing dealer feedback and serve as a sounding board before the company releases “major product, process and policy […] [Read More]

Dataium has rolled out a redesigned version of its VisiCogn INSITE business intelligence and data reporting tool, and this enhanced solution is now available for dealers to use. The revamped INSITE tool has been integrated into the VisiCogn Knowledge Center platform and is designed to bolster overall performance and usability for dealers, the company explained. […] [Read More]

Offerings from Toyota and Lexus constituted half of the vehicles highlighted by Cars.com when site editors picked their best “Hybrids for the Money.” In ranking each hybrid, the site’s editors looked at a vehicle’s average fuel economy and base sticker price.  “We don’t account for equipment levels, quality judgments, cost of ownership or any variances […] [Read More]

The International Automotive Remarketers Alliance recently released the findings of the vehicle history report survey that centered on improving the data correction process and standardizing history report wording. The survey was conducted by the alliance’s Standards Committee, and after results were gathered and analyzed, IARA was able to determine seven conclusions from the results. [Read More]

The car on the road today is quite the old timer. In fact, Polk reported in January that the vehicle population age hit a record high of 10.8 years last summer, after what was more than an 11-percent rise in the preceding five years. And this graying of the vehicle fleet has begun showing up […] [Read More]

Honda announced late last week it will recall approximately 554,000 model-year 2002 through 2004 CR-V and model-year 2003 Pilot vehicles in the United States to inspect and replace components of the headlight wiring system. The automaker discovered there is a potential failure with the wiring of the headlight switch that may cause the low beam […] [Read More]

TrueCar named a vice president of dealer development on Friday, and appointed to the position was Ken Potter. His responsibilities in the new role include managing field sales and inside account management teams, as well as fostering strong relationships with dealerships and representing the company at industry events. “We are excited to have Ken join […] [Read More]

When it comes to making customers happy, it’s just not just about answering the phone at a call center anymore. Just as auto advertising and car research has shifted into the social media realm, so has the customer service aspect for automakers. Ford, for one, is striving to employ social media as a means to […] [Read More]