ANDERSON, Ind. — Bright Automotive announced Thursday that it has hired an industry veteran with more than 28 years of automotive experience, including executive roles at Tesla, Chrysler and Mercedes-Benz, as its chief operating officer. Taking on this position is Mike Donoughe. He will manage the company's day-to-day operations and lead the development of the IDEA, […] [Read More]

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — AuctionACCESS recently added four new participating locations including Lynnway Auto Auction, in Boston, Mass.; ABC Birmingham, in Moody, Ala.; ABC St. Louis, in Centerville, Ill.; and ABC Bowling Green, in Bowling Green, Ky.  "It's fantastic to have four new participating AuctionACCESS locations," said Chuck Redden, president and chief executive officer of AutoTec. "The […] [Read More]

SAN FRANCISCO — Jumpstart Automotive Group recently announced it has added PluginCars.com to its portfolio of automotive website publishers.   PluginCars.com becomes the 13th exclusive publisher in a group that currently consists of Vehix.com, Consumer Guide Automotive, JD Power Autos, Shopping.com Autos, Car and Driver, Road & Track, Cycle World, CarSoup.com, U.S.News Autos, HybridCars, CarGurus and TrueCar.   […] [Read More]

CARMEL, Ind. — Dealer Services Corp. of Indiana this week announced a new customer service center and said this new facility is geared to offer stronger service for the company's dealer base and auction partners. DSC's chief executive officer indicated, "the concept is simple." Brian Geitner explained "our 15,000-square-foot customer service center houses two distinct teams — a dealer […] [Read More]

SANTA MONICA, Calif. — In the pickup truck market — which is believed by some to reflect the shape of the nation's economy — there appears to be some good signs for automakers, according to Edmunds.com. The site noted that the large truck segment commanded its largest share of the U.S. new-vehicle market at 12.4 percent in nine […] [Read More]

PALO ALTO, Calif. — Nissan North America will soon offer a new Dealer Business System to help its dealers with added functionality and better organizational flow thanks to a multi-year applications services agreement with HP Enterprise Services revealed Wednesday. The DBS will include new features and upgraded functionality, as well as what officials call a "state-of-the-art" platform built with […] [Read More]

CHICAGO — Cars.com is hosting a free online seminar Friday designed to teach dealers strategies for using certified pre-owned programs, vehicle history reports and customer reviews/testimonials to their advantage when it comes to fostering trust with in-market shoppers. The "Trust Makes the Sale" Webinar starts at noon (EST) and will be moderated by Kathy Kimmel, dealer […] [Read More]

TROLLHATTAN, Sweden — Saab Automobile is looking for additional markets to introduce the newly launched 9-5 sedan as well as the soon-to-be-arriving 9-4X crossover and 9-5 wagon.  This is why the automaker on Wednesday announced it needs importers to supply dealers in Mexico, Argentina and Brazil. Saab sees the role including the importation and distribution of Saab vehicles and parts as well […] [Read More]

CHARLESTON, S.C. — Selig Technologies is the latest company to roll out a hand-held tool meant to help dealers and auction company management access vehicle information quickly. Executives touted VIN Viper as a mobile device with a built-in VIN scanner that's capable of instantly returning real-time data from a host of proprietary sources. Providers that Selig […] [Read More]

COSTA MESA, Calif. — NADAguides.com continued its back-and-forth swing between domestic and foreign nameplates when picking its latest Car of the Month. After choosing a domestic model in July, site officials went with a foreign unit for August, tapping the 2011 Infiniti M56. They believe this vehicle steps into the M series lineup with "style," replacing […] [Read More]