Acura is hoping action sports enthusiasts will take their passion for the outdoors and blend it with Facebook for the brand’s latest campaign. Brand officials announced this week that they are launching a social marketing campaign to help promote the all-new 2011 TSX Sport Wagon. The “Compete Like a Pro” campaign, hosted on Acura’s Facebook page, aims to […] [Read More]

ATLANTA and MONTREAL — For buy-here, pay-here dealers looking for an alternative to conventional purchasing and title conversion, iMetrik Automotive Solutions thinks it might have the answer. The company recently announced a new program called Pay Share that allows dealers to acquire full-featured GPS payment devices, including starter interrupt, payment reminder and integrated backup battery for […] [Read More]

NEW YORK — Last year finished strong in regard to consumer credit defaults — especially auto loans — according to December data connected with the S&P/Experian Consumer Credit Default Indices. Produced by Standard & Poor's and Experian, the readings showed auto loans actually improved the most, dropping by 4.45 percent from 1.76 percent to 1.68 percent. Analysts […] [Read More]

EDINA, Minn. — CarHop expanded its network of buy-here, pay-here dealerships this week by bringing aboard two rooftops in Colorado. Adding to its established presence in Lakewood, the company opened locations in Aurora and Colorado Springs. The new stores bring CarHop's total to 44 in 11 Midwestern states stretching from Minnesota to Texas. Officials explained how […] [Read More]

NEW YORK — After coming in at almost $150 million in net auto loan charge-offs in the fourth quarter of 2009, Chase revealed that during the same time frame in 2010, charge-offs were $71 million. More specifically, the more recent net charge-off rate is 0.58 percent, compared with 1.30 percent in the same quarter of 2009. […] [Read More]

Auto software company eCarList revealed Wednesday that its TrueTarget Mobile application is now available to all dealers and thanks to a deal struck with Carfax, dealers with active Carfax accounts can receive this iPhone app for free. [Read More]

Exactly how strong is the chassis of a Lexus LS? To answer the question, brand officials created an elaborate scenario to be the root of a new advertising campaign that debuted this week. Lexus set the scene for what viewers will be seeing in this spot. “A lone crane slowly lifts the front end of […] [Read More]

Edmunds.com sifted through 2010 sales data to see which brand sold the most luxury units. Turns out, the brand that topped the charts for the eighth consecutive year was Lexus. But site officials discovered European competitors BMW and Mercedes-Benz closed the gap by enough last year that both brands could be poised to make a […] [Read More]

AUL Corp., which offers used-vehicle service contracts, said Wednesday that it has added an online chat portal to its assortment of Web services. Through this new portal, dealers and contract holders are able to chat directly with customer service representatives from AUL. Services already available to dealers via AUL’s Web delivery system include Web reporting, remittance, […] [Read More]

Two weeks after announcing that OnStar will soon be available as an aftermarket rearview mirror, General Motors revealed Tuesday that it has named a new president of this division to replace Christopher Preuss. Stepping into the role on Feb. 1 will be Linda Marshall, executive director of OnStar’s global business strategy and development since November. [Read More]