CHICAGO — Officials from the Chicago Automobile Trade Association highlighted some of the new features of its Web site, DriveChicago.com, which recently was revamped by Automotive Internet Media. CATA mentioned that DriveChicago.com features expanded content and tools that can help guide consumers through the vehicle shopping experience. Officials pointed out the redesign incorporates new colors and […] [Read More]

PARSIPPANY, N.J. — Avis Budget Group shared details about its fourth-quarter and full-year financial figures and is projecting lower fleet costs and a healthy used-vehicle market in 2010. Group executives indicated that full-year revenue totaled $5.1 billion and a pretax loss of $77 million, including $20 million of restructuring charges and $33 million of non-cash impairment charges. Excluding […] [Read More]

ATLANTA — Manheim recently rolled out a new wholesale vehicle program that lets dealers and commercial consignors sell units on the Web without having to transport them to Manheim's physical locations. The company developed Manheim Direct after considering input from consignors who were trying to improve their efficiency and leverage Manheim's selling power. The benefits for sellers […] [Read More]

IRVINE, Calif. — Along with rolling out other product enhancements and sharing a dealer survey about the importance of the Internet, Autobytel has launched a new program aimed at eliminating duplicate leads. Executives claim its Quality Advantage Program is the first in the industry to have a policy titled, "Incremental Sales Only." They stress that along […] [Read More]

HOUSTON — Group 1 Automotive said it got back to "growth mode" in the final quarter of 2009, as the company reported a significant upswing in adjusted net income from continuing operations. Specifically, the company's adjusted net income from continuing operations was $10.3 million in the fourth quarter, versus the adjusted $500,000 in the year-ago period. […] [Read More]

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. — J.D. Power and Associates recently shared some details stemming from their Franchise Assessment which summarizes all the information they collect from consumers, PIN and its forecasting group. Brands such as Chevrolet, Ford, Hyundai and Lexus all received ratings that fell into J.D. Power's "excellent" category. Meanwhile brands such as Chrysler and Infiniti struggled […] [Read More]

FAIRFIELD, Calif. — Copart announced earlier this week that it has been chosen to be the exclusive national provider of vehicle sales and auction services for Allstate. "We chose Copart because of its proven track record in meeting the needs of our customers and assisting us in realizing our strategic objectives," shared Bill Daly, Allstate's assistant […] [Read More]

LONDON — Analysts from automotive research firm Frost & Sullivan projected Toyota's repair costs for ongoing recalls could reach $1.5 billion compounding yet-to-be determined market share losses. Vigneshwaran Chandran, Frost & Sullivan's program manager of its business strategy and innovation group, went on to pinpoint what element of the Toyota turmoil could be most costly. "One […] [Read More]

CARY, N.C. — The last of three Cherokee Automotive Group Analytics' surveys will conclude at the end of February. The surveys gather much-needed research data and trends for the remarketing, prime and subprime industries. The findings are compiled into a report and provided at no cost to survey participants. CAGA's first two reports covered both remarketing […] [Read More]

HANOVER, Md. — The National Automotive Finance Association revealed plans for a Webinar featuring Melinda Zabritski, director of automotive credit for Experian Automotive. The Webinar titled, "A Special Review of the Below-Prime Automotive Finance Market," is scheduled for Feb. 23 beginning at 2 p.m. Some of the highlights Zabritski plans to share are: —Overall automotive finance […] [Read More]