TULSA, Okla. — Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group revealed on Wednesday that it has extended its vehicle supply agreement with Ford. Executives said the extension is for an additional year until August 2013. Dollar Thrifty also noted the agreement can be extended further with joint approval. "We are very pleased with our first-year results under our Ford […] [Read More]

NEW YORK and TORRANCE, Calif. — Toyota revealed several added services for the thousands of customers in New York who are affected by the automaker's recent recalls. On Wednesday, the automaker reported that these services will come without additional cost to the dealer or vehicle owner. Toyota stressed on Wednesday that the special offerings will be tailored […] [Read More]

CHARLESTON, S.C. — The recently launched American Auto Auction Group announced the management teams for Charleston Auto Auction in Charleston, S.C., and Rea Brothers' Mid-South Auto Auction in Pearl, Miss., which are the group's flagship facilities. Promoted to the role of general manager at Charleston AA is Laura Taylor, while Bill McCready moves up to assistant general […] [Read More]

DETROIT — The General Motors sale of Hummer to Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machines Co. cannot be completed, meaning that the automaker will wind down its Hummer business, it announced Wednesday afternoon. "One year ago, General Motors announced that we were going to divest Hummer, as part of focusing our efforts on Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and […] [Read More]

ORLANDO, Fla. — Coming on the heels of a mention by Capital One Auto Finance, Manheim Central Florida Auto Auction accepted another honor recently as the operation was named the 2009 Auction of the Year by Regional Acceptance Corp. It's the first time Manheim Central Florida has received this award from Regional Acceptance. The auction beat […] [Read More]

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. — The challenges that dealers have experienced in their service business due to extremely weak vehicles sales in 2008 and 2009 are likely to stick around for a while. J.D. Power and Associates projects that dealer service volume will continue falling for "several years," eventually hitting a trough in 2013, according to its […] [Read More]

SANTA MONICA, Calif. — Recalls and chilly weather slowed down the auto sales recovery this month, but given the current climate, TrueCar.com called February's projected growth "encouraging." Specifically, TrueCar expects U.S. light-vehicle sales (including fleet) will reach 752,688 units by the end of the month. This would mark an improvement of more than 9 percent from […] [Read More]

NEW YORK — This week, DBRS revealed ratings associated with Chrysler Financial and Ford Credit. According to DBRS, the assigned provisional ratings to the following classes issued by Chrysler Financial Lease Trust Series 2010-A are: —Series 2010-A Notes, Class A-1 rated R-1 (high). —Series 2010-A Notes, Class A-2 rated AAA. —Series 2010-A Notes, Class B rated […] [Read More]

SAN FRANCISCO — Wachovia Dealer Services is changing its name to Wells Fargo Dealer Services on March 20, a company spokesperson told SubPrime Auto Finance News on Wednesday. "New name, same great relationship with our dealers. Our dealers can continue to count on the same localized, personalized service they've come to expect from our team," said […] [Read More]

LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y. — DealerTrack executives remained upbeat about their company's financial standing despite some year-over-year softening in revenue and income. When discussing fourth quarter data, DealerTrack indicated that revenue to close 2009 came in at $53.2 million as compared to $54.7 million for the fourth quarter of 2008. However, executives pointed out that the GAAP […] [Read More]