BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. — Officials from smart USA Distributor rolled out their first national lease program late last week. They are initiating the program through Daimler Financial Services. The company indicated the new lease program is available for all new smart models. It plans offer lease increments of 24, 36 and 48 months. To support the […] [Read More]

DETROIT — General Motors as well as other automakers and a large financial institution dipped into their charitable checkbooks and gave substantial funds toward relief efforts in earthquake-rocked Haiti. The GM Foundation approved an immediate contribution of $100,000. The money was directed to the American Red Cross. The automaker also provided direct online access so its […] [Read More]

BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. — Penske Automotive Group has expanded its footprint in southern California with the purchase of two dealerships in Santa Ana. Commonwealth Audi and Commonwealth are co-located at the Santa Ana Auto Mall in Orange County. Officials project that the stores will record combined annual revenue of $80 million. Officials said that Penske has […] [Read More]

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — Chrysler used the 67th Annual Golden Globe Awards on Sunday night as a platform to fashion a unique fundraiser for Haiti earthquake relief efforts. The personal vehicle of president and chief executive officer of the Chrysler brand Olivier Francois was on display at the entrance of the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Francois asked […] [Read More]

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — ALG released its second annual Canadian Residual Value Awards on Thursday, and receiving the highest billing among mainstream brands was Subaru Canada, while Infiniti was rated No. 1 among luxury brands for the second straight year. In 2009, Honda Canada was tops in the mainstream category, while Subaru was No. 4. This […] [Read More]

MENLO PARK, Calif. — A slight drop in Canada's wholesale prices during the early part of December evolved into the sharpest decline in two years, according to the latest OPENLANE Market Index Report. The December index reading finished at 111, a 15-point plunge from the figure calculated for November. The swing also surpassed the drop OPENLANE […] [Read More]

MISSISSAUGA, Ontario — Manheim Canada recently introduced a new online sales event that can offer its customers expanded opportunities to buy and sell wholesale units. M'OVE It Fridays is a weekly event in a bid-only, short-window sale format. It is held each Friday from 10 a.m. (EST) to 2 p.m., and all of the vehicles listed have […] [Read More]

INDIANAPOLIS — Following their arrests after a seven-month investigation by federal, state and local authorities, five alleged members of an auto theft ring have been indicted and could each face up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Officials have charged Tommy L. Thompson, Jr.,  of Indianapolis; Christopher Wells, of Indianapolis; Francis W. Coleman, of Laurel, Md.; Carl […] [Read More]

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Earlier this week, Sergio Marchionne, chief executive officer of Chrysler Group, announced that the automaker intends to break even this year. And by 2014, Chrysler is expected to have its operating profit increase to $5 billion. "We believe sales will reach 2.8 million total units by that date as well," he said […] [Read More]

CARY, N.C. — When it came to top topics on AutoRemarketing.com this week, our readers wanted to know which 2010 vehicles would be recommend to consumers most by a well-known online source. Another popular story at AutoRemarketing.com discussed future wholesale market trends based on AuctionNet data. The top five stories from AutoRemarketing.com this week are: 1. Edmunds.com's 2010 […] [Read More]