SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Unusual weather failed to dampen last week's 39th annual Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction. Officials tabulated the sales figures and determined they came in at more than $68 million. That figure represents an 11-percent hike from the 2009 sale total. The company was especially pleased with the sale results considering the circumstances that surrounded this […] [Read More]

DALLAS — Executives from eLead plan to roll out a new price structure for their CRM and marketing solution. They indicated the structure will be a bundle of solutions packaged together. It's aimed at improving dealership performance and strategic relationships within every department. Because of this new plan, eLead contends that dealers can lower costs and […] [Read More]

FORT WORTH, Texas — On Wednesday, AmeriCredit's president and chief executive officer announced that the company has "substantially completed the rebuild of our originations structure." This included reopening one regional credit center and increasing staffing for sales, underwriting and funding areas. Dan Berce, AmeriCredit's CEO, also said AmeriCredit's number of producing dealers has grown to 6,700 […] [Read More]

CARY, N.C. — Nominations are now open for the second annual listing of the top 75 subprime companies in the March/April edition of SubPrime Auto Finance News. But please move quickly, as nominations will close end-of-day Tuesday, Feb. 2. "We are looking for companies that stand out from the pack in making a difference in the […] [Read More]

MINNEAPOLIS — Wolters Kluwer Financial Services announced Wednesday that it has named a senior attorney for its indirect lending business unit, which provides compliance tools and services to marine, RV and dealerships, and the lenders that serve them. Serving in this capacity is Chip Zyvoloski. As senior attorney, Zyvoloski researches and monitors relevant legislation and regulations […] [Read More]

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Huntington Bancshares Finance & Dealer Services Group was the announced today that it is the No. 1 lender in Ohio for the fourth quarter of 2009. Huntington's share of loans for financing the sales of new and used cars and trucks through franchised dealers more than doubled from the fourth quarter of 2008, […] [Read More]

TORRANCE, Calif. — Following last week's safety recall for sticking accelerator pedals, Toyota has told its U.S. and Canadian dealer bodies to stop selling the eight vehicles that were involved for the time being, and is planning to temporarily halt production on these units in North America, as well.  On Thursday, Toyota originally announced it was recalling roughly […] [Read More]

PASADENA, Calif. — Rusnak Pasadena Porsche, a part of the Rusnak Auto Group, recently learned its certified pre-owned sales volume was the highest in North America last year. Rusnak officials attributed the success to "paying attention to minor details across all aspects of operations." General Manager Mark Umutyan expanded on that theme. "We went into 2009 […] [Read More]

WEST CHESTER, Pa. — HomeNet Automotive has formed a partnership with DecisionLinks — a provider of predictive lead-management solutions — that is designed to help dealers adjust their inventory to meet market demand, improve sales conversion, gain stronger leads and meet potential customers' needs more effectively. Officials said the TeaLeades program from DecisionLinks is easily integrated into HomeNet's Inventory […] [Read More]

SANTA MONICA, Calif. — Based on transaction data, current customer and dealer incentives as well as federal tax credits, TrueCar revealed what it believes are the best deals for 2009 and 2010 hybrid vehicles. Taking top spot for the current model year was the 2010 Ford Escape, which surpassed seven other domestic vehicles that TrueCar listed […] [Read More]