The son of a millwright, Michigan native Eric Swanson’s family background in the car business is strong. Following the footsteps of his father and both of his grandfathers, Swanson now heads up the certified pre-owned program for Chrysler. As part of an Auto Remarketing Special Profile Series, Swanson shared more about his days growing up […] [Read More]

Bishop Fleet Optimization — a company specializing in GPS vehicle audits to help companies right-size their fleets — has hired former SmartAuction and FLD executive Grace Appleton to be the company’s vice president of business development for North America. Appleton has worked in the auto business for more than 20 years, including positions where she […] [Read More]

Counting a healthy used-car market as one of the factors helping its success in 2011, Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group notched its most profitable full-year and fourth-quarter ever. Commenting on the latest yearly and quarterly earnings report released Tuesday, Dollar Thrifty chairman, president and chief executive officer Scott Thompson said: “We are pleased to announce that […] [Read More]

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Huntington Bancshares acknowledged its balance sheet showed its auto loan balance slid from $6.2 billion to $5.6 billion as 2011 closed. However, executives were quick to point out that Huntington continued to see strong levels of originations throughout the fourth quarter. The bank said the 9-percent quarter-over-quarter decline in fourth-quarter average vehicle […] [Read More]

HANOVER, Md. — The National Vehicle Leasing Association will be holding its annual conference this spring at the Renaissance Worthington Hotel in Fort Worth, Texas. One of the highlights of the event is a day-long track designed for the lease-here, pay-here segment of the industry. “Buy-here, pay-here dealers are finding leasing an essential alternative to […] [Read More]

SAN ANTONIO — USAA, which facilitates vehicle loans and other services for military personnel and families, announced this week that Stuart Parker will become the company's chief financial officer effective immediately. The move comes following the resignation of current CFO Kristi Matus, who will serve as special assistant to the chief executive officer until her […] [Read More]

ATLANTA — While also predicting repossessions should trend upward again, Manheim chief economist Tom Webb explained why lenders didn't sustain as much of a loss when a loan contract went south during the past two years. Webb stated that "in those cases in which repossessions did occur in 2010 and 2011, lenders experienced a significant […] [Read More]

In a pre-NADA convention survey of dealers nationally, more than two thirds indicated that they are concerned about the Internet pressuring their Gross Profits. Are you one of them? According to the survey, 67 percent of dealers are concerned about the Internet putting pressure on their gross profits. Many in the industry feel that the explosion […] [Read More]

Kelley Blue Book is now offering motorcycle vehicle history reports on its website thanks to a deal it has struck with Cyclechex, the company announced today. Reports from Cyclechex offer historical title information on bikes from model-years as far as back as 1981, including details like the last recorded odometer reading, disclosed damage, number or […] [Read More]

When a shopper buys a new-vehicle these days, the person will typically keep the car close to six years, according to Polk, which said vehicle ownership periods have never been this high. In examining vehicle registration data for the third quarter of 2011, Polk found that consumers are now holding on to vehicles they purchased as new […] [Read More]