Credit IQ founder and CARS vice president Bill Liatsis is back on the Auto Remarketing Podcast for a conversation at NADA Show 2023 with Cherokee Media Group’s Joe Overby. They discuss the fintech landscape, what’s on Credit IQ’s radar this year, how Credit IQ has worked with fellow CARS companies since acquisition and more. To […] [Read More]

I’ve been in multiple conversations with economists and data scientists at Cox Automotive, as well as members of the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank, that have focused on the apparent and surprising strength of used vehicle sales so far in 2023. Most analysts expected used vehicle sales in early 2023 would be softer than they’ve been. […] [Read More]

An analysis by five experts at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York showed consumers in their 20s and 30s represent the age groups with the most auto finance contracts 90 days or more past due. Those fourth-quarter findings are based on anonymized credit reports from Equifax. The five officials from the New York Fed […] [Read More]

AutoCanada announced an acquisition Tuesday that can help strengthen the retailer’s service and repair operations. The company has purchased DCCHail, which is a Canadian paintless dent repair company that specializes in insurance claim management and fixing vehicles damaged by hail. DCCHail has a nationwide footprint and its Calgary hail repair facility is Canada’s largest, AutoCanada […] [Read More]

In the fourth quarter of 2022, Sonic Automotive began to see improvement in new-vehicle production, and that helped the company gain higher new-vehicle retail sales volume at its franchise dealerships. That sales volume outperformed the volume change for the overall industry, quarter over quarter and year over year, said Sonic chairman and CEO David Smith. Used-vehicle performance also shined. Sonic’s diversified business model helped its used-vehicle business outperform the change in industry volume. That strong used-vehicle performance took place despite ... [Read More]

On Monday, SmartGroups: 20 Groups Reimagined finalized another major partnership to put the advantages of 20 Group membership within reach of virtually every dealer. The latest dealerships association deciding to collaborate with the firm is the Florida Independent Automobile Dealers Association (FIADA). SmartGroups’ partnership portfolio now includes seven associations representing eight states. FIADA joins Alabama […] [Read More]

ADESA chief economist Tom Kontos is getting validation about a projection he made a year ago: As new-vehicle supply improved, used-vehicle price growth would return closer to its typical one-to-one relationship with new models. That validation was part of the newest installment of the Kontos Kommentary that included ADESA US Analytical Services’ monthly analysis of […] [Read More]

Amazing when a product’s price drops notably, it correlates into a swell in consumer demand. J.D. Power spotted this phenomenon happening again with electric vehicles. Four J.D. Power experts said that if ever there were a sign that EVs are rapidly transforming from high-priced playthings into mainstream consumer goods that are highly sensitive to economic […] [Read More]

With an eye toward serving smaller credit unions that oftentimes cater to diverse and financially challenged communities, Zest AI announced last week that it has expanded its availability to its quick and equitable credit scoring software Now credit unions below $300 million in total assets or $100 million and under in consumer portfolio size can […] [Read More]

Newly released Federal Trade Commission data showed that consumers reported losing nearly $8.8 billion to fraud in 2022, an increase of more than 30% year-over-year. The FTC said consumers reported losing more money to investment scams — more than $3.8 billion — than any other category in 2022. That amount more than doubles the figure […] [Read More]