CARY, N.C. — Registration is now open for the Automotive Economic Forecast & Financial Forum, the newest automotive industry event from S&A Cherokee, publishers of the Auto Remarketing and SubPrime Auto Finance News media brands and owners of the Pre-Owned Auto Dealers Alliance. The forum will be held May 10-11 at the Chicago Marriott Downtown Magnificent […] [Read More]

DETROIT — General Motors said Wednesday afternoon that vice chairman Bob Lutz is retiring May 1. In his 47-year career, he served in senior leadership roles with BMW, Chrysler and Ford, in addition to GM. He began his auto industry career at GM at 1963, eventually making his way back to the automaker in September 2001 as […] [Read More]

GAINESVILLE, Ga. — As the second month of the year closed, wholesale auction prices continued to gain rising momentum, according to Black Book's Ricky Beggs. He indicated this past week that 63 percent of the models adjusted had increases in value. Those increases in value were for both clean and average condition values, according to Beggs, […] [Read More]

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. — The OPENLANE Certified Auction Partner program made its debut on Wednesday, and is designed to provide physical auction locations the opportunity to use OPENLANE.com to remarket units that didn't sell in the auction lanes. Meanwhile, dealers can also make units available for sale on their lot at the same time, just one of […] [Read More]

MT. VERNON, Iowa — Plaza Auto Auction recently revealed it's the only operation in Iowa to offer sales on the OVE.com platform. Dealers now can choose Plaza AA to facilitate OVE.com dealer-to-dealer transactions. Furthermore, institutional accounts can have their vehicles posted for sale seven days a week. Plaza AA has been in operation for more than […] [Read More]

NEW YORK — As part of reaching its 100th anniversary, the Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association received a special honor from New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The mayor made the proclamation that Feb. 24 is now to be recognized as Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association Day during a ceremony in the Blue Room at City Hall.  […] [Read More]

RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA, Calif. — Finance Express, a provider of Web-based financial services and technology for independent dealerships, announced recently it has added Wachovia Dealer Services to its platform. Company officials stressed that the addition is a response to hundreds of requests they received from independent dealers. They also contend that Wachovia Dealer Services provides a […] [Read More]

FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. — Thanks to a new offering from Mercedes-Benz Financial, its customers can now access personalized account management features using smartphones like BlackBerry, Droid and other mobile devices with Internet capability. This is an expansion of what the company already offers via mobile devices. It rolled out an application for the iPhone last fall.  […] [Read More]

ORLANDO, Fla. — Due in large part to the troubled capital markets, Experian Automotive reported that captives lost a relatively large share of outstanding loan balances in the third quarter of last year, compared with the third quarter of 2008. In fact, captives were down 5.4 percent or about $12 billion. Meanwhile, outstanding balances in the […] [Read More]

LOS ANGELES — Westlake Financial Services announced this week that it now has a new revolving securitization from Wells Fargo Preferred Capital. The facility, which will be funded through a Westlake subsidiary, Westlake Funding III, is for $100 million and will mature over three years. The new facility is in addition to Westlake's existing $240 million […] [Read More]