RICHMOND, Va. — On Tuesday, CarMax unveiled the grand prize winner in its "Tweet Yourself to a New Ride" contest it conducted on popular social networking site Twitter. Winning $25,000 to put toward a used-vehicle purchase from CarMax was Stephanie Beck, who hails from Pensacola, Fla. To participate in the contest — which lasted eight weeks — consumers simply visited […] [Read More]

DETROIT — Starting on Friday, Chevrolet executives plan to launch three social-media applications at South by Southwest, a well-known interactive music and film conference and festival in Austin, Texas. They hope the strategy serves as a way to introduce more than 185,000 attendees to vehicles like the Camaro, Volt and Cruze. Brand executives also believe the […] [Read More]

WEST CHESTER, Pa. — HomeNet recently revealed a new enhancement to its Video Online Marketing suite. Dealers now can take their live video ads for their vehicle inventory and create hundreds of still images. Company officials contend that the depth of still images can be used throughout a dealer's Web site or online classifieds. When dealers […] [Read More]

MONTVALE, N.J. — Even in the midst of wintry weather and recalls, the year-over-year CPO decline subsided a bit in February and certified sales actually climbed more than 4 percent from the previous month. Specifically, there were 114,655 CPO sold during February, according to Autodata Corp., marking a 9.9- percent dip from the prior-year period. However, […] [Read More]

GAINESVILLE, Ga. — Used-vehicle value retention is usually strong at the beginning of the year, but February showed better-than-expected trends and March appears to be quite healthy, as well, according to the latest report from Black Book's Ricky Beggs. "Traditional patterns within the used market normally show values with the best retention during the first few […] [Read More]

PITTSBURGH — Dealers can learn what vehicles women might want as well as better ways to serve their female customer base thanks to a new partnership between MotorMouths.com and Women-Drivers.com. Women-Drivers.com explained that its Web site is a destination for consumer ratings where women can rate their dealership experience and find tips and insights. Site executives cited research that […] [Read More]

TITUSVILLE, Pa. — Salvage Direct revealed on Monday that the Avis Budget Group is its newest seller partner. Auction officials indicated that now Avis Budget Group can use Salvage Direct's online auction platform SalvageDirect.com to sell its vehicles to buyers worldwide. "This new partnership will benefit our worldwide buyers with more high-quality, rental inventory," highlighted Dan […] [Read More]

DETROIT — To align itself with the market, Saab Cars North America said late last week that it is trimming down the MSRP on all of its 2010 model-year 9-3 units, which are the first 2010 models the automaker built for the U.S. market. The models are slated to begin arriving in stores in April. This […] [Read More]

SPOKANE, Wash. — DAA Northwest on Monday unveiled a new auto racing sponsorship meant to promote weekly sales as well as up-and-coming competitive drivers from the region. In conjunction with Sherwin-Williams and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Greg Biffle, the auction announced the formation of the DAA Northwest Spec Motor Series presented by Sherwin Williams. The […] [Read More]

WESTCHESTER, Ill. — Insurance Auto Auctions has added a Mandarin Chinese option to its Web site, meaning the company now provides six language interface options. The others are English, French, Polish, Russian and Spanish. IAA estimates that almost one-third (30 percent) of its vehicles are purchased by foreign buyers and noted that more than 12 percent of customers select […] [Read More]