NADAguides recently named its Car of the Month for June and receiving the monthly honors was the 2011 Mini Countryman. Officials said the desicion was based on the vehicle’s European styling, ample space, sportiness and fuel efficiency. Besides impressing NADAguides analysts with comfort and style, Mini’s compact crossover also gained headway when its safety features […] [Read More]

Taking note of consumer’s on-the-go lifestyles, Ford and FordDirect — a joint venture between the automaker and its dealers — last week announced the launch of iPad and smartphone optimized versions of the Ford and Lincoln Build and Price online customer shopping tool. [Read More]

Canadian auto borrower debt for the first quarter jumped more than 12 percent year-over-year, but TransUnion indicated in its quarterly analysis one mitigating factor that is offsetting this moderate increase. Furthermore, auto delinquency rate was down, which is also good news. [Read More]

Although Canada’s new-vehicle sales dropped almost 4 percent in May — resulting in a rather soft annual sales pace — several automakers enjoyed record months. Import brands bore the brunt of the decline, falling 6.1 percent year-over-year in May, according to a sales chart provided by DesRosiers Automotive Consultants. [Read More]

Quorum Information Technologies, based out of Calgary, Alberta, has bulked up the Dealer Resource Center website that it rolled out earlier this year. The company has expanded the functionality of this customer-focused site per its efforts to allow dealers to better utilize the XSELLERATOR dealership and customer management system product. Officials believe that if dealers […] [Read More]

A top executive with Insurance Auto Auctions has added the role of company president to his duties. Insurance Auto Auctions said Thursday that chief financial officer John Kett will now also serve as president, while keeping his CFO duties. Chief executive officer Tom O’Brien, who had been serving as both president and CEO, will remain […] [Read More]

As a domestic nameplate enjoyed its best May in three years, foreign brands slid down somewhat as overall new-vehicle sales softened a bit. Based on tallies from AutoData Corp. cited in a report from the American International Automobile Dealers Association, May sales actually finished down 3.7 percent from the same month last year. The sales […] [Read More]

On Thursday, ServNet announced that another auction has joined its network of independent auto auctions. Brasher’s San Jose Auto Auction, which opened in Silicon Valley in the summer of 2010, was approved for membership by both ServNet and the National Auto Auction Association. The weekly auction includes consignments from new- and used-car dealers, rental companies, […] [Read More]

An investment analyst asked Copart chief executive officer Jay Adair Thursday whether the company’s vast amount of ongoing technology and infrastructure changes should be viewed as ways to improve efficiencies or secure market-share gains. Adair didn’t hesitate to say the reason was to boost both. In a conference call to discuss the company’s third-quarter performance […] [Read More]

AutoNation’s new-vehicle unit sales for May saw a significant decrease year-over-year due in part to a sharp decline in import sales. The automotive retailer announced Thursday that its new-vehicle unit sales totaled 16,347 vehicles during the 24 selling days of May, marking a 15-percent decrease as compared to May 2010. Contributing to the decline in […] [Read More]