J.D. Power and Associates, along with SmartEnergy IP — a research and consulting organization designed to communicate the benefits of the Smart Grid  — revealed Wednesday the speaker lineup for their Smart EV Executive Leadership Forum to be held  Nov. 7th in Washington, D.C., at the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill. [Read More]

On the heels of declaring it is no longer up for sale, Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group announced Wednesday that its subsidiary Rental Car Finance Corp. completed the private placement of $400 million of Series 2011-2 asset backed medium-term notes.  [Read More]

CARY, N.C. — Some of the repossession and recovery industries' top executives will offer their insights and best practices for the industry during the brand-new, half-day Re3 Conference, which will take place Nov. 16 in Las Vegas. The Re3 Conference will include presentations from and discussions with: —Kevin Camping, owner, Camping Companies —Michael Eusebio, owner, […] [Read More]

CINCINNATI — Security National Automotive Acceptance Corp. announced this week it closed on the sale of the company and its TriStar insurance affiliates to a group of private investors. The existing senior management team, headed by president and chief executive officer Brian McDonald will continue to lead the company under its new ownership. In other […] [Read More]

FORT WORTH, Texas — General Motors Financial revealed Wednesday the pricing of a $900 million offering of automobile receivables-backed securities. The weighted average coupon on the notes to be paid by GM Financial is 2.9 percent. Moreover, the 2011-5 transaction will have initial credit enhancement of 7.75 percent, consisting of a 2.00 percent cash deposit […] [Read More]

CHICAGO — Buy-here, pay-here dealership chain CarHop revealed Wednesday that Chicago-area car shoppers will have another dealership to choose from. The company opened its fourth Chicago-area store yesterday, located at 6039 North Western Avenue; an area which the company asserts sees a high level of commuting activity. The company hopes the store will give locals […] [Read More]

As domestics increased their share of consumer interest and sales during the third quarter — while imports saw consumer interest fall — one particular Big 3 brand moved ahead of a Detroit rival to top the brand share rankings on NADAguides.com. Reaching the No. 1 spot on the site during the period was Chevrolet, which […] [Read More]

In a period that saw the dealership group’s same-store used- and new-vehicle sales climb double-digits, Lithia Motors enjoyed nearly a 70-percent spike in income from continuing operations during the third quarter, the retailer reported Wednesday. Specifically, Lithia posted income from continuing operations of $16.3 million, up from $9.6 million a year ago. Quarterly revenues from […] [Read More]

A study that came out today from Gfk Automotive revealed that dealers and OEMs might have a hard time fostering brand loyalty among the younger generations. The Gfk Automotive Intentions and Purchases Study — which monitors consumer demand for vehicles — showed that car buyers from the X and Y generations may be more concerned […] [Read More]

Asbury Automotive Group established another record used-to-new sales ratio during the third quarter, when the group saw its used-vehicle retail revenues shoot up 19 percent, including 14 percent from same-store results. Asbury reported adjusted income of $14.3 million Wednesday, or 44 cents per diluted share. In the same quarter a year earlier, the company’s adjusted […] [Read More]