MOBILE, Ala. — As the song says, "a little help from my friends …" it has been said that a skip-tracer is only as good as his contacts, and I firmly believe that is 100 percent true. Several years ago, I was watching a movie about the first group of FBI profilers and how they worked […] [Read More]

DALLAS — Fortum Corp., a provider of license-plate recognition technology to the repossession and recovery industry, has just rolled out a program that includes a free camera system for approved agents. Company executives explained that along with the two-camera LPR system, agents also can become part of Fortum Recovery's national forwarding network. They indicated this status […] [Read More]

FRANKLIN, Tenn. — The ServNet Auction Group recently hosted its first Meet the Owners event of 2010, kicking off this year's series of meetings with a gathering in Dallas earlier this month. As some may know, the Meet the Owners meetings are designed to strengthen the relationships that the owners of ServNet's 22 independent auctions have […] [Read More]

CARMEL, Ind. — Though April's wholesale prices were up more than 7 percent from year-ago figures, the month-over-month gains slowed down due to the appeal of retail used prices against new-vehicle prices starting to wane, according to ADESA's Tom Kontos. "Wholesale used-vehicle price growth appeared to moderate in April, as retail used-vehicle prices are reaching levels […] [Read More]

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Chrysler Group saw the ruling turn in its favor in yet another dealer arbitration case, this time notching a victory against a store in Texas. Manuel Dodge in Richardson, Texas, was one of the hordes of dealers filing for arbitration after it was rejected by the automaker. After arbitration was held May […] [Read More]

BINGHAM FARMS, Mich. — The sixth annual Vincentric Best Value in America awards were unveiled late last week, and leading the way were Ford and Honda, each of which took home six segment awards. Vincentric announced 35 vehicle category award winners Friday, and plans to reveal the four Advanced Fuel Technology awards (for compact, midsize, crossover, […] [Read More]

STUTTGART, Germany — Citing a series of reasons late last week, the supervisory board of Daimler AG revealed its decision to apply for discontinuation of share listing on the New York Stock Exchange. Daimler executives also indicated that their letter will serve as notice for discontinuing the listing of 8.50 percent notes due Jan. 18, 2031 of […] [Read More]

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — Men and women think, speak and process information very differently.  It would be rather unique to go thru each day and not experience a perplexing interaction with the opposite gender with regards to communicating, especially in the retail business world.    So I guess it is safe to say that the secret is out […] [Read More]

SANTA MONICA, Calif. — With Memorial Day coming in two weeks, analysts from TrueCar.com believe the projected average discount could rival the highest at any point in the year. According to the site's TrueTrends Report for May that aggregates this data, the average discount off of a new vehicle is projected to be at least […] [Read More]

DETROIT — Already contending it's the fastest-growing brand in the country, the brain trust for General Motors' Buick division recently gathered with industry partners to shape future strategy for design, engineering, marketing and advertising. The results of the gathering are what executives believe are keys to pushing Buick to potential buyers, which include sculpted designs, luxurious […] [Read More]