Highlighted by a special offer to move 2011 Ram 1500 pickup trucks, Chrysler Group rolled out a series of special financing incentives to run this month. The automaker announced qualified consumers who purchase a Ram 1500 Regular, Quad or Crew Cab pickup truck may be eligible for zero percent financing for up to 60 months and […] [Read More]

In what goes against recent months, May showed weaker interest for used hybrids in light of more moderate fuel costs, while some used luxury segments have started to attract more attention from shoppers, according to Kelley Blue Book. The company suggests that dealers would be wise to push their luxury units in coming months in […] [Read More]

In today’s wholesale market, buyers are extremely hungry for quality used vehicles, which are seeing prices rise as the supply dearth remains. Wholesale values have hit record highs recently and buyers are paying top-dollar for these hard-to-find quality used units, of which there never seems to be enough. So how can consignors in today’s auction […] [Read More]

Discussing the drop in May new-vehicle results on Tuesday, Ellen Hughes-Cromwick, chief economist at Ford, revealed that consumer demand remains as strong as it’s been in recent years; however, dealers are struggling with new-model inventory shortages, as well as high gas prices impacting consumer preferences. “Most of the weakness in sales in May was associated […] [Read More]

Another dealer-connected development coming out of a busy week in the lanes is making Black Book’s Ricky Beggs want to get to auctions even more than usual. The Black Book managing editor described in his weekly “Beggs on the Used Car Market” video report about the climbing number of “no sales” percolating at auctions nowadays. […] [Read More]

As summer rolls in with consumers seeing little reprieve from high fuel prices, Consumer Reports put together a list of the best cars for fuel economy on the market, garnering information from its recent "real-world fuel-economy" tests. To be recommended for CR’s best fuel economy list, vehicles, such as the Honda Fit and Ford Escape […] [Read More]

In the same week as its annual shareholders’ meeting, General Motors’ string of investment announcements continued Wednesday as the automaker said it will use $49 million to purchase tooling and equipment for the Bedford powertrain plant. This newest investment is geared to produce components for a recently announced eight-speed transmission and a future small engine […] [Read More]

To help dealers meet the needs of customers in an increasingly transparent used-vehicle market, the American International Automobile Dealers Association is teaming up with NADA Used Car Guide to offer a free Webinar later this month that focuses on the appraisal process, which can be a key element in transparency and customer satisfaction. After all, […] [Read More]

WASHINGTON, D.C. — May saw a considerable downfall in consumer bankruptcies both month-over-month and year-over-year, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute. Sliding by 16 percent year-over-year, data from the National Bankruptcy Research Center showed that May's overall consumer filings totaled 114,803, down from 136,142 filings recorded in May 2010. “The continued drop in bankruptcies during […] [Read More]

FORT WORTH, Texas — Soon after word spread about an upcoming dealer floor plan program, GM Financial this week revealed pricing of a $1 billion offering of automobile receivables-backed securities through lead managers Barclays Capital, RBS and Wells Fargo Securities. Officials noted co-managers are Deutsche Bank Securities, Morgan Stanley and UBS Investment Bank. GM Financial […] [Read More]