Bankruptcy filings continue to increase from the reduced volumes experienced during the three years of the COVID-19 pandemic. That’s the primary finding according to data provided by Epiq Bankruptcy, which said total bankruptcy filings in May spiked 23% year-over-year from 31,330 to 38,669. Epiq reported individual bankruptcy filings totaled 36,345 in May, also registering a […] [Read More]

The next opportunity for the Federal Reserve to modify interest rates arrives next Wednesday. Cox Automotive chief economist Jonathan Smoke recapped some of the most important information policymakers likely might consider when deciding whether or not to lift rates again, beginning with the labor market. “The May employment report represented a resilient labor market with […] [Read More]

Michigan-based Penske Automotive Group has expanded its Canadian footprint, announcing Monday it has acquired Transolutions Truck Centers, a Winnipeg-based retailer of medium- and heavy-duty commercial trucks and buses. Transolutions Truck Centers, or TSTC, includes three full-service dealerships and two parts and services centers throughout greater Winnipeg. It sells and services Freightliner Trucks, Western Star Trucks […] [Read More]

Last month, Toronto-based TRADE X, a B2B cross-border vehicle marketplace for trading vehicles globally, announced it had integrated PAVE’s vehicle inspection API into its platform. Through this integration, sellers on the TRADE X platform can easily capture inspection information and provide greater transparency on vehicles. Meanwhile, it gives dealers the ability to inspect prior vehicles […] [Read More]

Auto Remarketing is the first to report that DAS Technology has made its ninth acquisition, with the company announcing Tuesday that it has acquired 3 Birds, a customer data and experience platform technology company. 3 Birds is based in Chapel Hill, N.C., and provides SaaS-based marketing, analytics and consumer engagement solutions. With the addition of […] [Read More]

When it comes to making it easy for consumers to schedule service appointments by phone, some dealer groups, apparently, do it better than others. On Monday, Pied Piper released the results of  its 2023 PSI Service Telephone Effectiveness Study, which examined the 17 largest auto dealer groups for how easily consumers can call to set […] [Read More]

StoneEagle grew its operation on Monday. The orchestrator of administration systems for F&I product providers as well as metrics and menus solutions for dealers nationwide, announced the acquisition of Pencilwrench, whose technology can help technicians and service advisors write accurate, comprehensive repair event documentation. Executives highlighted the addition of Pencilwrench to StoneEagle’s suite of solutions […] [Read More]

Late last week, Acrisure, which combines people and high tech to deliver an array of products including insurance, reinsurance and  cyberservices, announced the formation of the Acrisure Protection Group. The group is designed to be a full-service finance and insurance (F&I) and property and casualty (P&C) brokerage, training, compliance and consulting specialist, and producer of […] [Read More]

Inovatec Systems made its third executive move so far this year. The company, a provider of cloud-based software solutions for finance companies in both the U.S. and Canada, announced last week it has appointed automotive lending veteran Paul Harder as its chief product officer. Inovatec highlighted Harder brings decades of experience to the company from […] [Read More]

Group 1 Automotive has expanded in its hometown. The Houston-based retailer said Thursday it acquired Beck & Masten Kia, a move that broadens Group 1’s footprint in that market to 15 brands and 18 dealerships. The store is Group 1’s first Kia dealership in Houston. Group 1 anticipates Beck & Masten Kia to generate annual […] [Read More]