ONTARIO — The Used Car Dealers Association of Ontario recently reminded its members that it has been more than a year since the new white dealer plates with red lettering were introduced and that the old plates should be phased out by February 2007. According to association officials, the old yellow plate should only be […] [Read More]

BENTONVILLE, Ark., and HOUSTON — America's Car-Mart recently announced the opening of its newest location in Cullman, Ala., while Group 1 Automotive said it has acquired Performance Nissan, located near Los Angeles in Duarte, Calif. Car-Mart's executives said the newest location represents the fourth dealership opening since the company's current fiscal year began May 1. […] [Read More]

HANOVER, Md. — The nonprime auto finance industry is gaining momentum, according to the 23 companies that participated in the National Automotive Finance Association's annual Nonprime Automotive Financing Survey. Overall, the study reported a cumulative increase in loan originations of 11 percent in dollars and 9 percent in accounts. The NAF identified a few key […] [Read More]

FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. — RouteOne announced Thursday that its eContracting solution, jointly developed by DaimlerChrysler Financial Services, Ford Motor Credit Co., GMAC and Toyota Financial Services, has been deployed for pilot to a limited number of select Toyota and Lexus dealerships. According to company executives, RouteOne's eContracting capability will enable the creation, execution, storage and […] [Read More]

GARDEN CITY, N.Y. — Shortly after the merger of Bank One and Chase in 2004, Chase realized there was a strong growth potential in the subprime auto lending market and soon focused on expanding these services for dealers. Since then, Chase Auto Finance has opened 10 new regional prime/nonprime business centers and said it's planning […] [Read More]

HOUSTON — Auto Financial Group, an online provider of residual-based financing products for credit unions, announced it has signed a deal with Credit Union Services. Under the deal, AFG is responsible for marketing CUSI's vehicle lease solution to other credit unions, in addition to handling remarketing, disposition of lease vehicles as maturity and providing residual […] [Read More]

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — Chrysler Financial is in the process of rolling out eContract to its dealers and said it has already booked more than 1,000 eContracts, with more than 100 Chrysler Group dealers in 11 states using the program. Through eContract, Chrysler Financial offers dealers the ability to offer both retail and lease originations […] [Read More]

LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y. — DealerTrack Holdings recently said it appointed six executives to new roles in order to enhance DealerTrack's customer focus, innovation and scalability. As part of these changes, Raj Sundaram, current president of ALG, will become senior vice president and head of dealer solutions for DealerTrack. As head of dealer solutions, Sundaram will […] [Read More]

SAN FRANCISCO — Wells Fargo Financial recently announced it's expanding the range of consumer credit ratings it finances through the launch of Full Spectrum Pricing in its auto finance division. Company executives said this new offering is designed to offer dealers a wider range of financial services for their customers. The successful early 2006 merger […] [Read More]

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. — Dealers who are happy with their financial providers will send more business to those providers in the future, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2006 Dealer Financing Satisfaction Study. However, the study also found that dealer satisfaction takes more than just low interest rates and balanced risk. Convenience — including […] [Read More]