NEW YORK — Fitch Ratings believes that since U.S. auto loan asset-backed securities posted steady results in December, the market is entering 2011 on firm footing. Fitch also contends delinquency and loss performance is currently within range of what it called "pre-crisis levels," the time between 2005 and 2007. "Fitch's auto ABS asset performance outlook […] [Read More]

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Reserve discovered December's average interest rate on new-car loans at auto finance companies moved lower by the largest amount in six months. After climbing higher for five consecutive months, the December average ticked down to 4.55 percent. Officials indicated the November average was 4.63 percent. The last time the Fed […] [Read More]

SAN FRANCISCO — After launching a successful prime leasing pilot in Ohio, GM Financial is looking to roll this offering out to the rest of the nation. Additionally, the company is eyeing a re-entry into the Canadian marketplace as well. Kyle Birch, executive vice president of dealer services for AmeriCredit/GM Financial, explained that while the company […] [Read More]

VIENNA, Va. — Navy Federal Credit Union announced the launch of its auto referral, which is designed to help connect vehicle shoppers with participating dealers. "The program offers members a VIP experience at participating dealerships with prearranged new- and used-vehicle pricing," officials revealed in a statement. More specifically, Tony Gallardy, vice president of consumer and credit […] [Read More]

WomenCertified recently revealed its 2011 Vision Award for the auto industry, and receiving this year’s honor was Jim Dunn, who is the vice president and general manager for JM Lexus in Margate, Fla. [Read More]

AutoTrader.com is providing a new service for dealers listing their inventory on the site that is designed to help these stores emphasize the affordability of their vehicles to shoppers, thus hopefully helping them to draw in more customers. “Promote by Payment” is a new feature on AutoTrader.com that lets dealers showcase deals on the site […] [Read More]

Hertz Corp. and AirTran Airways broadened their partnership that’s been established since 1993, this time to boost the Hertz Rent2Buy online sales program. Officials explained a new partnership element provides 16 AirTran Airways A+ Rewards credits, redeemable for a round- trip coach ticket valid to any AirTran Airways destination, to A+ Rewards members who purchase […] [Read More]

FordDirect and Ford recognized the Ford and Lincoln-Mercury Internet Dealers of the Year for 2011 at the National Automobile Dealers Association Convention earlier this week. Winning the respective 2011 awards were Galpin Ford, of North Hills, Calif., and Hines Park Lincoln, which is located in Plymouth, Mich. This marked the second straight year Hines Park […] [Read More]

The Automotive Industries Association of Canada has signed on to the Canadian Automotive Service Information Standard. The voluntary agreement aims at ensuring the automotive aftermarket has access to service information, diagnostic tools and training information from all vehicle manufacturers in Canada.   [Read More]

Results from a nearly yearlong federal study revealed Tuesday determined Toyota vehicles did not contain electronic flaws that could create unintended acceleration, delighting automaker officials but still leaving some industry analysts skeptical. Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:”Table Normal”; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:””; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt […] [Read More]