Group 1 Automotive announced this week it has completed a $1.35-billion five-year revolving syndicated credit facility with 21 financial institutions. The company said this new facility expires in June 2016 and can be expanded to $1.6 billion total availability. Executives highlighted the revolving facility will provide $1.1 billion for inventory floor plan financing. They added […] [Read More]

As the automaker continues to search for ways to secure more medium to long-term funding, on Thursday Saab celebrated the approval of a few recent agreements and announced it plans to restart production in early August. Just yesterday, the automaker gained final approval from the Swedish Government, the Swedish National Debt Office and the European […] [Read More]

Infiniti released new television spots Thursday reinforcing what the company believes: the brand is the opposite of “the status quo.” Officials highlighted the series of ads — the first of which includes a 60-second “brand anthem” — are geared to emphasize Infiniti’s designs, engines and technologies.  Infiniti contends it’s also “challenging the status quo” by […] [Read More]

Coinciding with vehicle quality scores reaching an all-time high, the National Automobile Dealers Association discovered through its latest Dealer Attitude Survey that franchise stores’ satisfaction with their respective automakers increased this year. Furthermore, the latest survey results that included input from more than 15,360 franchise stores showed Hyundai finished in the top overall spot for […] [Read More]

TrueCar.com wanted to get a better understanding of the youngest demographic of vehicle buyers — consumers ages 18 to 27 — better known as Generation Y. What brand vehicles should dealers stock so they can reel in these young purchasers? Of the top 10 that site analysts listed, not one was a domestic badge. According […] [Read More]

The Pre-Owned Automobile Dealers Alliance recently released a white paper that describes the pros and cons of various non-manufacturer certification programs and helps guide dealers in choosing a certification program for their non-brand, or other makes and models, vehicles. The white paper, “Certified Profit Potential: Increase Your Profits with an OMM Certification Program,” can be […] [Read More]

The production fallout from the Japanese earthquake kept import automakers’ June new-vehicle sales static on a year-over-year basis, but these brands were able to improve double digits from May, according to the American International Automobile Dealers Association. What’s more, AIADA suggested that typical levels for production and sales for import brands should soon be upon […] [Read More]

General Motors is rolling out a special offer on 2010, 2011 and 2012 Chevrolet, Buick, GMC or Cadillac vehicles for consumers in Oregon and Washington. The automaker is now offering insurance for a year included in the delivery of the vehicle. Purchases made from July 5 to Sept. 6 will receive a one-year insurance policy […] [Read More]

Black Book Online announced Wednesday that it is now providing its Activator Complete lead-generating module for Asbury Automotive Group, which will include the product on 52 of its dealerships’ websites. Activator Complete collects the following information from shoppers on a dealer’s website: the make/model in which the shopper is interested, the trade-in value of the […] [Read More]

Kain Automotive revealed this week it will be holding a two-day workshop designed to share digital marketing and social media tools, tactics and tips to help dealers move more units off their lots. The internet sales training and digital marketing company aims to offer dealers a way to build a “favorable online reputation,” it noted. […] [Read More]