Autobytel president and chief executive officer Jeffrey Coats didn’t exaggerate when he called 2011 a “milestone year” for the sales lead provider. Autobytel posted its first profitable year since 2004 when it finished with net income for 2011 of $416,000 or 1 cent per diluted share. To reinforce Coats’ declaration, Autobytel pointed out that in […] [Read More]

Cars.com revealed Monday it has promoted one of its own to the position of chief technology officer. In this role, Kayne Grau — former director of development for the company — will “oversee the execution of the company’s business mission through development and deployment of applicable technologies, establish the company’s technical vision and lead the […] [Read More]

Based on the findings of the Temkin Group customer experience research and consulting firm, one particular Big 3 brand’s dealer body may have reason to celebrate. The firm analyzed the dealers of 10 auto brands and found that the nameplate with the strongest customer experience score throughout its dealerships was Chevrolet, which pulled in a […] [Read More]

Southern Auto Auction is commemorating its 65th anniversary with a slew of promotions this spring that get started later this month. The first of these celebrations is a special General Motors factory auction on March 28 where SAA will remarket the automaker’s 14 millionth vehicle. “It is an honor for SAA to remarket the 14 […] [Read More]

The website launched by AuctionACCESS parent company AutoTec to weed out curbstoning now has a new tool that can help people alert authorities when this illegal practice happens. Added to StopCurbstoning.com are interactive maps of the U.S. and Canada designed for users to easily report curbstoning instances. Of course, in Canada, the practice is know […] [Read More]

The Auction Broadcasting Co. announced late last week it has brought in remarketing industry veteran Butch Royall to serve in a position where he will work to set up government sales at various ABC auctions. Royall’s background includes leadership roles at auctions, as well as with remarketers. He served in management for companies like GE […] [Read More]

Executives whose previous career stops included time with ADESA, Manheim, OPENLANE and Renovo Services joined forces to purchase and run a forwarding and remarketing company. Late last week, wholesale veterans Cam Hitchcock, Chuck Tapp and Phil Hanks partnered with a New York-based private equity firm to acquire the assets of ASR Nationwide, rebranding it into […] [Read More]

AutoNation posted a 17-percent year-over-year jump in February new-vehicle sales as the group’s franchised stores turned 19,994 units. Breaking down that sales total for AutoNation’s operating segments, the figures were: —6,179 vehicles for domestic, up 18 percent versus February 2011. —10,601 for import, up 16 percent versus February 2011. —3,214 for premium luxury, up 20 […] [Read More]

I often find dealers focus on digital marketing to drive traffic to their websites, spending a lot of money trying different things, not knowing what is and isn’t working. However, in many cases, the focus on website traffic causes dealers to miss the more important metric, and that is their site’s conversion rate. [Read More]

Even with the prospect of rising gas prices looming before dealers, the U.S. auto industry seems to be on the rise, posting a double-digit overall sales increase this past month. The American International Automobile Dealers Association attributed the 15.7-percent sales increase to “pent-up demand in the auto market, a strengthening economy and new products from […] [Read More]