The recent Thanksgiving weekend was largely a success for dealers, and it appears the shopping mall craze of Black Friday didn’t deter much traffic away from automotive websites, according to Dataium. In fact, the websites of two luxury brands — BMW and Cadillac — actually attracted more shoppers on Black Friday than they normally would […] [Read More]

Fleet solutions company Merchants Leasing revealed Tuesday it has hired a new vice president of sales and marketing. Bringing more than 25 years of experience in the fleet and equipment leasing industry to the company, Tom Coffey has been serving in his new position since this past October. As VP of sales and marketing, Coffey’s role is […] [Read More]

LeaseTrader.com revealed Tuesday that 2011 model year leases have broken its record for largest amount of same-year leases to hit the site. This high lease turnover rate can help speed up the automotive sales cycle, also potentially creating more inventory turnover at the dealership level. BMW, Mercedes, Toyota and Cadillac are the top four brands with the […] [Read More]

Automotive Resources International revealed Tuesday that it has opened up a sixth call center in North America, this time adding a location in Houston. ARI’s five other North American call centers are located in Maple Shade, N.J.; Grapevine, Texas; Mississauga, Ontario; Montreal and Mexico City. The opening of the Houston facility comes at a time when […] [Read More]

As one model made the cut for the 21st consecutive year, Car and Driver unveiled its 10Best list for 2012, recognizing what the publication believes are the best vehicles costing below $80,000. Consisting of seven foreign models and three domestic offerings, half of which cost less than $40,000, officials highlighted the BMW 3-Series/M3 Tuesday as […] [Read More]

OneCommand recently announced it’s staff is once again participating in the Salvation Army’s Adopt-a-Family program. Acting as a sponsor of this program for the eighth year in a row, the company hopes “not only to meet, but to exceed the requests made by their designated families in need,” officials noted. Highlighting how the holiday program works, […] [Read More]

In a country still reeling from March’s earthquake and tsunami that killed more than 18,000 people, caused more than $300 billion in damage and sent the global auto industry stumbling, a 14-vehicle crash in Japan on Sunday that law enforcement called a “gathering of narcissists” left damages exceeding $1 million. Though the crash involved no […] [Read More]

AutoNation watched in November new-vehicle sales figure soar 21 percent higher year-over-year as the dealer group reported Monday that it moved 18,692 units last month. Breaking down that total by its operating segments, AutoNation indicated its performance settled as follows: —5,922 for domestic, up 29 percent versus last November. —8,751 for import, up 10 percent […] [Read More]

An estimated 300,000 consumers that put new-car purchases on hold over the summer may be on their way back to the lots, according to Edmunds.com.  And approximately one-third of those very same consumers have already returned to the market, the company noted — causing what it calls a “mini-bubble” of new-car sales that the industry […] [Read More]

Along with his monthly take on the specialty market, Black Book’s Ricky Beggs wondered what last week’s average daily adjustment level meant since it was the highest amount in 13 weeks. Black Book’s editors adjusted 2,437 vehicles daily a week ago, prompting Beggs to ask a question during his weekly online video series, “Beggs on […] [Read More]