CHARLESTON, S.C. — American Auto Auction Group recently announced a new partnership to aid its quest to acquire independent auctions throughout the country. The group's newest agreement is with Baird Capital Partners, the U.S.-based private equity group within Baird Private Equity that manages more than $2 billion in assets. "As a 20-year industry veteran, I am […] [Read More]

CHICAGO — Cars.com officials cited ongoing negative publicity surrounding Toyota recalls as the primary reason the automaker's units are dropping in popularity on the Web site. In fact, the site found that the Toyota Camry — which once owned its largest share of consumer contacts to dealers among midsize sedans during the height of Cash for Clunkers — […] [Read More]

GAINESVILLE, Ga. — Overall, dealers seemed to be easing their bidding aggression in the auction lanes last week as Black Book spotted fewer bidders on each vehicle. Ricky Beggs, managing editor of Black Book, indicated that situation resulted in more stable market values and significantly fewer necessary adjustments. In fact, Beggs said editors adjusted less than 2,650 vehicles […] [Read More]

SAN FRANCISCO — State Treasurer Bill Lockyer brought together a panel of fellow California leaders last week in San Francisco for a public hearing to investigate the potential impact of Toyota's plans to shut down its New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. vehicle plant in Freemont, Calif. The panel collected information and heard testimony from a variety […] [Read More]

OAK BROOK, Ill. — The perception of not being able to source hot vehicles for the right money is understandable but wrong. The reason that it's understandable is that we never knew how good we had it. When the market delivered 17 million new cars, dealers stood on their lots and people threw trade-ins at them. […] [Read More]

DEARBORN, Mich. — In some positive news for the automaker to start the year, Ford said it is seeing blossoming interest for its new Mustang, as the number of orders for the 2011 model of the sports car is three times higher than the amount of requests for 2010 Mustang a year ago. Specifically, the automaker said that […] [Read More]

PIKESVILLE, Md. — MileOne Automotive recently learned that two of its Baltimore-area Chrysler dealers received the highest award available from the automaker for customer service. Earning 2009 Five Star Certification from Chrysler were Heritage Chrysler Dodge Jeep Parkville and Heritage Chrysler Dodge Jeep Owings Mills. Company executives highlighted the benchmarks a dealership must attain to earn […] [Read More]

SANTA MONICA, Calif. — Edmunds.com analysts expect sales efforts in conjunction with Presidents' Day should push new-vehicle sales figures for February to a much stronger level than those recorded during the same month last year. But the site's apprehension stems from questioning the importance that one particular weekend could have on the entire month's sales performance. [Read More]

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The American International Automobile Dealers Association has organized the chance to mingle with lawmakers from Capitol Hill as part of its upcoming International Auto Industry Summit. The two-day event will be conducted on May 19 and 20 at the St. Regis Hotel in Washington, D.C. AIADA highlighted that along with the chance to […] [Read More]

MONTREAL, Quebec — Of the Big 3 automakers, the one that appears to be in the "best shape" is Ford, while General Motors is still dealing with a few quality issues and Chrysler remains in a "holding pattern," according to the Automobile Protection Association, a Canadian nonprofit association. In its Annual Review of the Auto Industry released […] [Read More]