LITTLETON, Colo. — PassTime USA announced it has launched an Elite product with the help of its partner, Wavecom. The updated program uses a global system for mobile communications technology to offer wireless and GPS-based functions for its dealer and lender clients, officials explained. According to executives, dealers or lenders who install the Elite solution can […] [Read More]

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Late payments for most consumer loans rose in the third quarter of 2006, according to the American Bankers Association's Consumer Credit Delinquency Bulletin. In the auto industry, direct auto loan delinquencies increased to 1.87 from 1.72 percent and indirect auto loan delinquencies went up slightly to 2.35 percent from 2.14 percent. ABA's quarterly […] [Read More]

YORBA LINDA, Calif. — Flex Fund Financial Services LLC recently introduced Flexible Trade-Ins to finance dealers' trade-in vehicle transactions that involve outstanding loan balances, according to officials.  Dealers have the opportunity to use the new program to immediately pay-off loan balances for trade-in units, the company reported.  "Flexible Trade-Ins allows our dealers to conserve precious cash […] [Read More]

ATLANTA — Taking advantage of the recent President's Day, Manheim Automotive Financial Services rolled out a new marketing initiative throughout the company's auctions that features larger-than-life replicas of past presidents. MAFS officials said this is the first national advertising campaign the company has launched in six years. Dealers and wholesale representatives should not be surprised if […] [Read More]

RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA, Calif. — Finance Express reported that it responded to DealerTrack's lawsuits by filing counterclaims, which are pending in the court system.   The legal battle concerns the property rights over computer-implemented credit application routing systems and methods of managing credit applications.  Finance Express said it is vigorously defending itself against DealerTrack's allegations.  "We […] [Read More]

CARY, N.C. — Remarketing executives from the nation's top banks and financial institutions are among some of the industry leaders to sign on to actively take part in the upcoming iRemarketing 2.0: The Next Generation of Remarketing Technology Conference.    The executives include Layne Weber, of CitiFinancial; Steve Piccinati, of Bank of America; and Jody Hall, of […] [Read More]

MATTHEWS, N.C. — While many dealers may be more familiar with the national companies that support the subprime industry, the smaller, regional companies can be just as fruitful when it comes to getting that credit-challenged customer behind the wheel. Here's an overview of a few of the smaller, regional special finance companies in the industry: Ace […] [Read More]

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Westlake Financial Services recently named Bruce Newmark as president. He succeeds James Vagim, who has served as Westlake's president since 1998. Prior to this new role, Newmark served as the company's chief operating officer, overseeing all aspects of marketing, expansion and external production of indirect subprime automotive loans through a nationwide non-affiliated […] [Read More]

LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y. — Shortly after being awarded a U.S. patent related to its online credit application processing product, DealerTrack used the patent to file an additional patent infringement action against RouteOne and Finance Express in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. Officials said this lawsuit is to add the newly issued […] [Read More]

Dear Industry Friends: We hope you're enjoying SubPrime Auto Finance News and our weekly e-newsletter, SubPrime News Update, as much as we enjoy producing them. As we approach the half-year mark, we want to thank everyone in the industry for the strong support we've received. We would also like to share with you a few […] [Read More]