SPOKANE, Wash. — DAA Northwest on Monday unveiled a new auto racing sponsorship meant to promote weekly sales as well as up-and-coming competitive drivers from the region. In conjunction with Sherwin-Williams and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Greg Biffle, the auction announced the formation of the DAA Northwest Spec Motor Series presented by Sherwin Williams. The […] [Read More]

WESTCHESTER, Ill. — Insurance Auto Auctions has added a Mandarin Chinese option to its Web site, meaning the company now provides six language interface options. The others are English, French, Polish, Russian and Spanish. IAA estimates that almost one-third (30 percent) of its vehicles are purchased by foreign buyers and noted that more than 12 percent of customers select […] [Read More]

FORT WORTH, Texas — Digital Recognition Network recently entered into a partnership with newly created DRN Financial in order to offer affordable financing terms to repossession-related companies that wish to acquire its license plate recognition technology. Officials believe that the new financing offered by DRN Financial can allow professional recovery agents to finance the cameras on a […] [Read More]

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The American Bankruptcy Institute recently shared data from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts that confirmed a sharp rise in total bankruptcy filings last year. The 2009 bankruptcy total jumped 32 percent over the figure recorded for 2008. ABI indicated that bankruptcy filings came in at 1,473,675 for the 12-month period ending […] [Read More]

NEW YORK — Fitch Ratings recently reported that seasonal weakness pushed up U.S. prime auto loan asset-backed securities' losses slightly higher in January, compared to prior months. However, the company did share some good news. Despite high unemployment and pressure on loss frequency, January losses were more than 20 percent lower on an annual basis for […] [Read More]

WASHINGTON, D.C. — After remaining low for much of 2009, the average interest rate on new-car loans at auto finance companies crept up to 3.94 percent in January of this year, according to the Federal Reserve. This is the highest level this figure has stood at since the first quarter of 2009 when the percentage came […] [Read More]

ATLANTA — In my last article for Repo & Recovery, I referenced a recent survey we conducted that examined business practices, issues and preferences of repossession agencies. If you are like most agencies, keeping costs down and finding new work continue to be your top challenges. According to some of the leading industry economists, finding new […] [Read More]

SHORT HILLS, N.J. — Adjility Automotive recently rolled out a new software solution that it believes integrates several platforms such as Google Maps, GPS technologies and skip-tracing modules together into a single tool. Company executives contend that RecoPro can increase efficiencies and margins for both recovery agents and their clients by streamlining processes and communication. Among […] [Read More]

DETROIT — The rebirth of hundreds of soon-to-be-eliminated General Motors dealers took an enormous step forward late last week when the automaker announced it would send more than 600 Letters of Intent for dealership reinstatement. GM did not give a specific number of letters it intends to send, but other media reports had the figure ranging from 601 […] [Read More]

CARY, N.C. — S&A Cherokee, the publishers of Auto Remarketing and SubPrime Auto Finance News, announced today that Ellen Hughes-Cromwick, Ford's chief economist, will serve as the keynote speaker for the Automotive Economic Forecast & Financial Forum. Hughes-Cromwick's role with Ford is to oversee the corporate economics and strategic issues group at the automaker. She has […] [Read More]