RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA, Calif. (July 3, 2006) — Finance Express, which operates an auto finance platform for independent dealers, announced it has hired Shannon Acton for the newly created position of vice president of direct lending. She will be responsible for the dealer finance application program, as well as manage key strategic direct lending and […] [Read More]

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The Automotive Dealership Institute announced it has joined forces with Dealership for Life, which is a nationwide dealership customer loyalty and retention program. ADI offers a variety of courses covering the gamut of a dealer’s operations, while DFL offers processes and services designed to drive sales, customer retention, employee retention and more. […] [Read More]

BANTON ROUGE, La. (June 29, 2006) — AppOne announced it has developed a Dealer Bootcamp to teach how independent dealers can use the company's platform to connect to lenders. The Dealer Bootcamp, which was created as part of the national rollout of AppOne's platform, is scheduled for Thursdays and runs through the company's Web site […] [Read More]

BENTONVILLE, Ark. (June 28, 2006) — America's Car-Mart recently announced the opening of its newest dealership in Muscle Shoals, Ala. "This will be our second dealership to open in the state of Alabama," said T.J. 'Skip' Falgout III, chairman and chief executive officer. "We currently have two additional sites in Alabama, in Cullman and Athens, […] [Read More]

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (June 26, 2006) — U.S. Bank announced it has named Tom Pritchard president of its dealer commercial services division. Before his promotion, he served as national market manager for the bank's dealer commercial services unit. Company executives said Pritchard is a 26-year veteran of banking, with experience primarily in dealer finance. In his […] [Read More]

ORLANDO, Fla. (June 23, 2006) — MenuVantage recently announced it has enhanced its Web-based menu selling system to allow dealers to fine-tune each F&I product presentation for the specific payment needs of each customer. The new product rollback feature is designed to offer F&I managers "goal seeking" capabilities, which automates the entire payment calculation process […] [Read More]

RICHMOND, Va. (June 20, 2006) — CarMax announced Monday that its total first-quarter sales grew 19 percent to $1.89 billion from $1.58 billion in the same period of fiscal 2006. Moreover, comparable-store used unit sales increased 6 percent, according to company executives. Executives attributed the improvement to an overall curbing in wholesale prices, which had […] [Read More]

TORONTO (June 19, 2006) — GMAC recently took first place in dealer satisfaction in retail leasing and floor planning, while BMW Financial Services grabbed the top rank in retail credit for the second consecutive year, according to J.D. Power and Associates 2006 Canadian Dealer Financing Satisfaction Study. To compile the study, J.D. Power executives looked […] [Read More]

HANOVER, Md. (June 16, 2006) — More than 300 attendees, sponsors and exhibitors recently turned out for the National Automotive Finance Association’s 10th Annual Non-Prime Auto Finance Conference in Fort Worth, Texas. In his opening remarks, NAF Association Chairman John Scordo, of Centrix Financial, highlighted the fact that the non-prime market has grown to a […] [Read More]

FORT WORTH, Texas (June 16, 2006) — AmeriCredit Corp. recently announced the recipients of its Auction of Excellence program for the first quarter. Winners include: Midwest: ADESA’s Des Moines Auto Auction in Grimes, Iowa Northeast: Harrisburg Auto Auction in Mechanicsburg, Pa. Southeast: Manheim’s Greater Tampa Bay Auto Auction in Tampa, Fla. Southwest: Lubbock Auto Auction […] [Read More]