HANOVER, Md. — The National Automotive Finance Association revealed plans for a Webinar featuring Melinda Zabritski, director of automotive credit for Experian Automotive. The Webinar titled, "A Special Review of the Below-Prime Automotive Finance Market," is scheduled for Feb. 23 beginning at 2 p.m. Some of the highlights Zabritski plans to share are: —Overall automotive finance […] [Read More]

COLUMBIA, Md. — Credit Management Solutions and Black Book revealed an agreement to provide CMSI eXchange with what executives described as an affordable, monthly valuation and analytics service for auto portfolios. Officials went on to highlight that the timely and accurate valuation information via CMSI eXchange is geared to benefit consumer lending, collections and portfolio managers. […] [Read More]

NEW YORK — This morning, Zoombak announced the coming launch of Locate Assist, which by utilizing cell tower data gives dealers another way of tracking units under the company's GPS Recovery Finance Track Buy-Here, Pay-Here product. Basically, if a Zoombak device is unable to lock onto a high accuracy GPS signal, the device will still send […] [Read More]

HOUSTON — As I reviewed the year-end results of buy-here, pay-here operators throughout the nation, I noticed that 2009 produced some diverse results. Although my analysis (preparatory to compiling the industry benchmarks) is still in progress, here are some preliminary observations: 1. Some operators had lower sales in 2009 compared with 2008 but made more bottom-line […] [Read More]

TOKYO — Speaking out in response to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's probe into three of his company's recalls and the situation in general, Akio Toyoda alluded to the fact that the quality issues came from Toyota's rapid growth in manufacturing and marketing. In fact, in a press conference today the Toyota Motor Corp. president announced he is […] [Read More]

SCHAUMBURG, Ill. — Ford's strengthening retail position received another boost Wednesday when Experian Automotive released its customer brand loyalty analysis for the third quarter of 2009. Of the top five vehicles highlighted, Ford had four units in this contingent with a brand loyalty percentage of 56 percent or higher. The four vehicles in this cluster included […] [Read More]

TULSA, Okla. — Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group said Wednesday it achieved record fourth-quarter profit to close 2009, as the company celebrated its fourth straight quarter of making strides in its financial performance compared to the prior-year period.  Specifically, Dollar Thrifty's net income during the fourth quarter was $11.5 million, up from a net loss of $72.2 million the […] [Read More]

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Chrysler executives cheered for an Arkansas dealer who recently received the coveted Time Dealer of the Year Award. The 2010 winner is Scott Wood, owner of Scott Wood Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge in Batesville, Ark. Wood has been in the retail industry his entire career. He recounted that it began "with a broom, […] [Read More]

SEATTLE — Cobalt recently unveiled the first of several enhancements to its dealership Web site platform that are designed to help dealers and automakers take advantage of social media's rising prominence and use it to promote brand enthusiasm and engage dealers with their respective communities. Officials explained that this upgrade offers dealers a pragmatic approach to connect with […] [Read More]

DETROIT — GM Certified Used Vehicles announced Tuesday that it has expanded its CPO lineup to include Saturn. Certified Saturn units from model years 2005 through 2010 can now be bought at the 3,400 Buick, Chevrolet and GMC GM Certified Used Vehicles dealers throughout the U.S., and these vehicles will include the 12-month/12,000-mile (whichever comes first) bumper-to-bumper warranty from […] [Read More]