Ally Financial took the first step toward an initial public offering Thursday by filing a registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. This comes after several years of challenges for the company. The former General Motors captive saw its majority ownership stake sold off in 2006 as the automaker strove to improve its […] [Read More]

CarMax established a myriad of financial performance records during its 2011 fiscal year as the company reported net sales and operating revenues, comparable-store used unit sales and total used unit sales all climbed by double digits. Executives shared Thursday that their fourth-quarter net sales and operating revenues increased 23 percent to $2.25 billion from $1.83 […] [Read More]

NADA Used Car Guide is seeing the price of smaller, fuel-efficient cars spike as the market reacts to the Japan disaster. And as such, the company said NADA values for April will reflect this increase. And if Japan cannot restore power soon, NADA Used Car Guide is predicting that these higher prices at auction on the […] [Read More]

Polk’s analysis of 2010 loyalty rates found Ford ended the year with a 63.1 percent owner loyalty rate, the highest among vehicle manufacturers. Ford improved its loyalty rate by 3.9 percentage points over the 2009 level and overtook General Motors for the leading position.  Analysts discovered GM and Toyota rounded out the top three manufacturers […] [Read More]

The first quarter has been a busy one for uShip, which saw a company-record $7.6 million in vehicle and motorcycle shipping transacted on its site. That amount marked an increase of 24 percent over the fourth quarter of last year — which was uShip’s previous high — and 33 percent above 2010’s first quarter. Officials […] [Read More]

In an update on Thursday, Honda announced that it is now anticipating that production disruptions in the U.S. and Canada will go beyond April 15. The automaker said it is doing everything it can to keep its plants operating without extensive interruptions. “The vast majority of Honda’s parts and materials are sourced here in North America. […] [Read More]

Chevrolet is enjoying total sales numbers for Cruze that are more than more than triple those of the Cobalt, the unit the new 2011 model replaced in the brand’s lineup. The automaker declared Thursday that the Cruze is on track to exceed 50,000 total sales during the first quarter. Chevrolet also calculated retail sales are […] [Read More]

FordDirect claims its lead volume for both the new and used vehicles has climbed by more than 20 percent year over year while the remainder of the industry has stayed flat. How can company leadership make such an assertion? Executive vice president of marketing Stacey Coopes says it stems from slightly changing the value proposition […] [Read More]

Could Chrysler’s initial public offering be delayed? At least one report coming out of Fiat’s annual shareholders meeting has top executive Sergio Marchionne saying as much. During the shareholders meeting, he apparently told reporters that the IPO would be dependent upon the cash needs of Chrysler and the United Auto Workers health care trust. The […] [Read More]

While not an exact predictor of used- or new-vehicle sales, the Business Roundtable’s first quarter CEO Economic Outlook Survey released Wednesday shared some uplifting sentiments that could eventually lead to more buyers at dealer showrooms. The survey that gathers opinions of chief executive officers of America’s leading companies indicates these business leaders anticipate higher sales […] [Read More]