SANTA MONICA, Calif. — Recalls and chilly weather slowed down the auto sales recovery this month, but given the current climate, TrueCar.com called February's projected growth "encouraging." Specifically, TrueCar expects U.S. light-vehicle sales (including fleet) will reach 752,688 units by the end of the month. This would mark an improvement of more than 9 percent from […] [Read More]

NEW YORK — This week, DBRS revealed ratings associated with Chrysler Financial and Ford Credit. According to DBRS, the assigned provisional ratings to the following classes issued by Chrysler Financial Lease Trust Series 2010-A are: —Series 2010-A Notes, Class A-1 rated R-1 (high). —Series 2010-A Notes, Class A-2 rated AAA. —Series 2010-A Notes, Class B rated […] [Read More]

SAN FRANCISCO — Wachovia Dealer Services is changing its name to Wells Fargo Dealer Services on March 20, a company spokesperson told SubPrime Auto Finance News on Wednesday. "New name, same great relationship with our dealers. Our dealers can continue to count on the same localized, personalized service they've come to expect from our team," said […] [Read More]

LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y. — DealerTrack executives remained upbeat about their company's financial standing despite some year-over-year softening in revenue and income. When discussing fourth quarter data, DealerTrack indicated that revenue to close 2009 came in at $53.2 million as compared to $54.7 million for the fourth quarter of 2008. However, executives pointed out that the GAAP […] [Read More]

WASHINGTON, D.C. — As GMAC's chief executive officer and chief financial officer get ready to testify before a Congressional Oversight Panel today, the executives said in prepared remarks that if GMAC had not received access to government funds that many GM and Chrysler dealers would not have survived due to lack of wholesale lines and retail […] [Read More]

FREDERICK, Md. — Dan Kennedy, national sales manager for General Motors Remarketing offered an update to the National Auto Auction Association today on the status of 2009 and 2010 Pontiac Vibes impacted by the Toyota recall. The models covered by the recall have been under a "no sale" hold until they are repaired. And according to […] [Read More]

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In remarks prepared for his appearance before the House Oversight Committee, Akio Toyoda, president of Toyota Motor Corp., said he fears the automaker has grown too quickly and that this has impacted quality. "Toyota has, for the past few years, been expanding its business rapidly. Quite frankly, I fear the pace at which […] [Read More]

COSTA MESA, Calif. — NADAguides.com released its Best Car Buys for 2010 earlier this week, recognizing models across eight vehicle categories that meet the specific criteria that shoppers consider to be the most important. In their annual in-depth study, the site's Market/Data Analysts sought to find the vehicle attributes on which consumers place the most emphasis when shopping […] [Read More]

PORTLAND, Ore. — Chrome Systems announced on Wednesday that it is now providing an enhanced vehicle comparison tool for the BMW USA Web site. Executives from the DealerTrack subsidiary explained that BMW's Web site now can enable visitors to highlight the features, specifications and advantages of the manufacturer's vehicles in side-by-side comparisons. The enhancements also can […] [Read More]

ATLANTA — Officials from AutoTrader.com recently learned that Feb. 15 marked a new all-time record day for site traffic. They indicated that 986,052 unique visitors reviewed dealer listings and other information that day. Site executives attributed the record traffic count to three reasons — a resurging market, a jump in new-vehicle shopping activity and strong marketing. AutoTrader.com […] [Read More]