A person who has served as a catalyst for the growth of FordDirect — a joint venture between the automaker and its franchise dealers — has been elevated to be the company’s chief executive officer. On Monday, FordDirect revealed its new CEO is Stacey Coopes, who previously served as executive vice president of marketing and […] [Read More]

Pushed by supply dynamics and surging fuel costs, small-car trade-in values are likely to skyrocket next month, according to NADA Used Car Guide. Specifically, NADA Used Car Guide senior analyst Jonathan Banks is predicting a 30-percent year-over-year hike in trade-in values for used small cars in June. [Read More]

Along with reiterating no electronic problems or software errors could have resulted in unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles, the automaker’s North American Quality Advisory Panel also made a series of recommendations. In a public report released Monday, Toyota’s independent panel of experts suggests that the OEM loosen its tightly controlled global structure. The panel also […] [Read More]

On Monday CarMax officially opened the doors to its first auto superstore in Lexington, Kentucky. The Lexington store is more than 13,900 square-feet, stocks anywhere from 250 to 350 used vehicles and employs more than 50 associates. "We are excited about the opening of the Lexington store as we continue to resume our company growth […] [Read More]

Though Toyota and Honda still lead the way when it comes to working relations with suppliers, the Big 3 has narrowed the gap between its Japanese peers, according to a recent study from Planning Perspectives. The company’s 2011 North American OEM-Tier One Supplier Working Relations Study examined the six U.S. and Japanese automakers by surveying suppliers about […] [Read More]

The National Independent Automobile Dealers Association and GigglePop.com recently launched NIADA Mobile, an iPhone and Android-based wireless application to assist members with their mobile used-vehicle management needs while working on the lot at the auction or at industry events. NIADA Mobile is designed to provide association members with used-vehicle appraisal tools from Black Book, NADA […] [Read More]

Kelley Blue Book announced Monday that the company will be offering dealers and other service industry companies a free 30-day trial of its new valuation product, Quick Values. KBB’s new product is a solution which delivers new- and used-car values to banks, governmental agencies, auto dealers and insurance companies. Quick Values is a simple, faster, […] [Read More]

IRVINE, Calif. — By cutting operating expenses, top company leaders say Consumer Portfolio Services is executing its "comeback strategy," as it also shaved down first-quarter pretax and net losses when compared year-over-year. The company shared earlier this week that its first-quarter revenues came in at $32.4 million, a decrease of approximately $12.2 million, or 27.3 […] [Read More]

LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y. — DealerTrack recently announced it has launched its Online Registration System in Illinois, raising the amount of states where dealerships can use the electronic registration and titling solution to 13. With DealerTrack's OLRS, the company said Illinois dealers, lease and rental companies, financial institutions and retail merchants can deliver electronic registration and […] [Read More]

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Huntington has moved up one position to become the third most active U.S. Small Business Administration loan provider in the country for the first six months of its fiscal year, according to company officials.  Huntington also remains the most active SBA lender cumulatively, both in the number of loans made and overall dollar […] [Read More]