As gas prices increase for the first time in months this week, compact car wholesale prices have slowed their downward spiral and another segment is set to take the biggest rate cut in the lanes. According to NADA Used Car Guide, the midsize utility segment is expected to see the biggest drops over the course […] [Read More]

Brian Butts may have been destined for the auto business ever since the first words that came out of his mouth as a baby. What’s more, the lifelong “first love” of this born-and-bred Los Angeles man has four wheels. “My first love has always been cars,” said Butts, who was recently named manager of auto […] [Read More]

The teaming of two auction-related companies to offer online bidding on wholesale vehicles to not only dealers, but the general public was announced this week. On Wednesday, Coast to Coast Public Auto Auctions revealed its partnership with Proxibid, a move the companies say will allow consumers to shop for a wholesale vehicle via live and […] [Read More]

How best to deliver marketing messages to potential customers is almost always on the minds of dealers and brand managers alike. Questions including, “Which demographics should I try to reach?” and “What context should my commercial include?” are bound to come up in the office on a daily basis. With that in mind, brand strategy […] [Read More]

In what may spur some extra lot traffic for its dealers, Chrysler Group has launched its “No Payments for 90 Days” promotion as part of its annual Summer Clearance Event, which runs through the end of August. The 90-day payment deferment is good on the retail purchase of any new 2012 Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Ram […] [Read More]

Group 1 Automotive — which ranked No. 6 on Auto Remarketing’s list of The Top 125 Used-Car Dealer Groups —  announced Wednesday that its board of directors authorized a program to repurchase up to $50.0 million of the company’s common stock. The company emphasized purchases may be made from time to time, based on market […] [Read More]

Auto Remarketing learned Wednesday morning that vAuto has purchased Auction Genius and that initial product integrations between the two companies have started. Customers will be able to begin using elements of the integrated system this summer, officials noted, emphasizing that full integration and functionality will likely be ready by December. “This acquisition advances vAuto’s mission […] [Read More]

While some general sales managers might cheer stair-step incentives as compensation for moving new metal, Manheim’s Tom Webb cautioned about the predicament used-car managers might face later when it comes to the incentives’ ramifications on residual values. Webb brought up the topic because stair-step incentives have been a water-cooler topic at franchised dealerships nationwide. For […] [Read More]

During what was the second-best month in the history of the certified pre-owned market, several automakers had reason to celebrate as they recorded historically high CPO sales in June. In fact, Mini had its best-ever month for CPO sales (292 units sold), according to Autodata Corp., and Honda reports that its flagship division achieved an all-time […] [Read More]

The Greater Milwaukee Auto Auction will celebrate its eighth anniversary this week in a big way, with an expansion from four lanes to five, running 1,100 cars each week, and the installation of new epoxy floors in its lanes. Opened in 2004, GMAA is Wisconsin’s largest independent auto auction. Last fall, the auction also expanded […] [Read More]