ATLANTA — An online chat session using ContactAtOnce software not only helped a Utah dealer complete a sale, it pushed the company to a significant milestone. ContactAtOnce recently surpassed 2 million chat sessions powered by its live dealer chat service. The conversation actually took place just before 2009 ended on Dec. 30. "It was a happy […] [Read More]

HERNDON, Va. — Volkswagen Group of America altered its management team regarding government relations and communications. Promoted into the position of vice president, industry and government relations is Anna-Maria Schneider, an executive with more than 20 years of automotive experience. Schneider previously served as director of industry and government relations at VW. She also has been […] [Read More]

OAK BROOK, Ill. — vAuto announced recently that it has named a senior director of performance management. Appointed to the role was Larry Beasley, who was previously the Eastern and Western used-vehicle director and regional used-vehicle director for Sonic Automotive Group.  Before that, he worked as vice president of operations for Budget Car Sales. In his […] [Read More]

MIAMI — LeaseTrader.com said that the time it takes to transfer a lease through the site has almost been cut in half thanks largely to new services and efficiencies from the company. Specifically, LeaseTrader.com contends that the average lease transfer on the site currently takes 13.4 days, compared with 26.2 days last year. The company pointed to […] [Read More]

MT. LAUREL, N.J. — Automotive Resources International recently promoted two executives in its information technology department. Taking over as director of systems and programming will be Tony Candeloro, while Dan O'Callahan now will serve as director of information technology.  During the past year, ARI said that Candeloro assumed responsibility for pre- and post-sales support in the imaging systems […] [Read More]

DALLAS — Since both companies aim to serve buy-here, pay-here dealers, Vehicle Acceptance Corp. and PassTime chose to form a marketing alliance. The partnership announced earlier this week resulted in a coordinated effort to promote PassTime's starter interrupt and GPS devices in conjunction with Vehicle Acceptance's cash and service solutions. In order to be prepared adequately […] [Read More]

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The American Bankruptcy Institute pinpointed just how difficult it's been on consumers by sharing exactly how many filings occurred in 2009 and possible trends for this year. Officials revealed data from the National Bankruptcy Research Center that determined overall consumer filings totaled 1,407,788 during the 2009 calendar year. That amount represented a 32-percent […] [Read More]

WASHINGTON, D.C. — As the national economy regains its footing, the American Financial Services Association is gearing its annual conference to give dealers and financial companies specific growth strategies for the rebound. National dealership leaders and top financial company executives are expected to attend the 14th Annual Vehicle Finance Conference and Exposition at Walt Disney's Yacht […] [Read More]

BANDON, Ore. — After eight years of steady increases, CNW Research recently reported that combined new and used repossessions eased a bit during the first half of December. While slight, 5.36 percent to 5.26 percent, Art Spinella, of CNW, said this is a good sign. "That may not seem a significant decline, but after eight years […] [Read More]

ATLANTA — Several used and certified pre-owned models saw declines in shopping activity on AutoTrader.com during December, but it wasn't for lack of consumer interest. Instead, site officials attributed this drop-off in used and CPO activity to to lower inventories of these units. Analysts noted that this trend was especially evident in the asking prices for trucks and […] [Read More]