Toyota Motor Corp. is apparently warning U.S. dealers that inventories could come up short this summer due to production interruptions in North America and Japan. In a memo to dealers, Bob Carter, Toyota’s general manager, said the automaker is seeing significant production interruptions and has yet to create a May production schedule, according to a […] [Read More]

Along with sharing some company performance metrics from the first quarter, OPENLANE pinpointed how much its March Market Index dropped. OPENLANE determined the U.S. Market Index settled at 106, down 3 percentage points from the previous month and 2 percentage points from the same month in 2010. Prompting that overall decline were three of the […] [Read More]

Dealer.com announced Monday that it has named a chief product officer. Taking on this position is Kevin Root. Root will leave his position as senior vice president of product strategy with DriverSide, a Dealer.com partner that provides websites for car owners and customer attraction and retention programs, to join Dealer.com’s executive team. Prior to working […] [Read More]

In an effort to reach the Hispanic community better, Consumer Reports is offering its annual auto issue — the most popular issue of the magazine — in Spanish for the first time. Officials highlighted the issue contains information on the 2011 Top Picks, Automaker Report Cards, Best New Car Values, Used Car Reliability and more […] [Read More]

ClassicCars.com recently launched what it believes is an industry-first vehicle certification program specifically targeted to the classic and collector vehicle market.  Under the program, site officials explained vehicles for sale undergo a comprehensive 50-point inspection by an independent ASE-certified technician, at one of more than 5,000 locations nationwide. Vehicles in sound mechanical condition earn ClassicCars.com Certified […] [Read More]

BETHLEHEM, Pa. — SubPrime Auto Finance News recently confirmed that Wells Fargo Auto Finance is shuttering its auto loan collections operation at Bethehem, Pa., Lehigh Shopping Center in May, which will result in 193 layoffs. The company's reasoning for the closure is quite simply that Wells Fargo has seen improvements in customers paying off their auto […] [Read More]

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Huntington announced this morning that thanks to the state's improving economic recovery, the company is significantly expanding its Michigan auto dealer financing business and will add key personnel to support this move. "With Michigan's continuing economic recovery, we expect the state to remain a robust market for us," explained Richard Porrello, director of […] [Read More]

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Reserve halted its reporting on averages for new-vehicle loans by finance companies. Officials indicated the statistical foundation for this series of updates has "deteriorated" in the past few months. "Therefore, publication of these series is temporarily being suspended," the Fed stated last week. "The statistical foundation is in the process […] [Read More]

CLEARWATER, Fla. — Nicholas Financial recently opened two new branch offices, one in St. Louis and the other in Villa Park, Ill., a Chicago suburb. Company executives highlighted the new offices are Nicholas Financial's first entries in both major metropolitan areas and continues planned expansion of their branch network. Nicholas Financial now has 56 offices […] [Read More]

Over the past decade, there has been a significant shift toward migrating the wholesale vehicle remarketing process online. There are many reasons for this growth. The online channel offers numerous benefits for the remarketing process, such as reduced expense and time to sale, less need to transport vehicles, travel cost savings to and from the […] [Read More]