Dealer.com announced today that it has chosen a new vice president of marketing that brings more than 15 years of experience in the communications field to the company. Tapped for the position is Eliza Kelly, who will be responsible for marketing strategy, corporate communications and solutions marketing programs “to support the company’s significant investment in research and […] [Read More]

In pitching what it finds to be the 2011 Top 10 Back-to-School Cars, Kelley Blue Book threw in a little bit of a change-up. This year, Kbb.com selected five used cars and five new cars, ranking each category separately. To compile the lists, editors recommended new and used rides that allow high school and college […] [Read More]

Vehicle service contract provider AUL Corp. recently celebrated the company’s 1 millionth deal by giving this customer a break and refunding the amount paid for coverage on a 2008 Buick Enclave.  AUL president and chief executive officer Luis Nieves personally presented the check to the customer during a ceremony held at the dealership that sold […] [Read More]

Top dealers from throughout the country have confirmed that they will be attending and participating at the 2011 Certified Pre-Owned Forum, a part of Used Car Week and presented by AutoTrader.com, which will be held Nov. 14-15 in Las Vegas. Featured dealers at the event include: —Brian Benstock, Paragon Honda/Paragon Acura —Chris Little, Hendrick Automotive Group […] [Read More]

Spurred by high demand and shrinking supply, asking prices for certified pre-owned vehicles surged in July, according to AutoTrader.com, which saw a year-over-year price bump in 17 of the site’s 20 most popular CPO models during July. What’s more, 13 of those increases were greater than $1,000. The CPO price hike was particularly evident at […] [Read More]

The sustained decline in wholesale prices dealers have been eager to see might have finally come. Last week, Black Book watched all 24 vehicle segments it tracks — 10 cars and 14 trucks — all drop. Managing editor Ricky Beggs indicated it has been more than three months since all declined in the same week. […] [Read More]

Though the July Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index made its steepest decline thus far this year, the reading still represented a 5.9-percent increase from its year-ago level. Manheim determined this week that between June and July, wholesale used-vehicle prices (on a mix-, mileage-, and seasonally adjusted basis) fell 1.3 percent, leaving July’s index reading at […] [Read More]

According to Edmunds.com chief economist, consumers and dealers need not worry about the recent stock market turmoil negatively affecting the new-car shopping process. Noting a few issues that are particularly important to new-car buyers, Lacy Plache concluded that despite the recent stock market downturn and downgrading of U.S. credit rating, car loans will still be available, […] [Read More]

Sonic Automotive is now utilizing a new mobile reporting application that can help its corporate executives and regional teams effectively gauge the performance of the group’s dealerships. The app is available on the iPhone and iPad and offers details on dealership sales and operating performance through a scorecard that is provided for each store. Sonic […] [Read More]

Dataium revealed Tuesday that it has launched new offices in Detroit and Charlotte, N.C., while also sharing that in July — which marked the company’s two-year anniversary — the firm notched record growth. More specifically, Dataium — an aggregator of auto shopper behavior — said its cloud intelligence data platform showed 10,000-percent year-over-year growth. The […] [Read More]