Carwiser, which says it offers the only national online marketplace where dealers compete to purchase used vehicles from consumer sellers, now has an integration with Black Book as well as an advisory board with five industry experts who collectively have vast experience. On Tuesday, Black Book announced the integration of its valuation and enhanced vehicle […] [Read More]

Hendrick Automotive Group is taking its Hendrick Autoguard vehicle protection and maintenance service program and extending it to other dealer groups through a new affiliate called NationsGuard. Johnny McKellar — who is the senior vice president, chief marketing and administrative officer of Hendrick Autoguard — is the president of the new NationsGuard affiliate. He joins […] [Read More]

In December, First Business Bank announced a new agreement to offer floorplan financing to independent dealerships through ACV Auctions. On Tuesday, the bank made a similar move; this time unveiling a new arrangement allowing First Business Bank’s floorplan financing clients to finance their vehicle inventory purchases from SmartAuction. First Business Bank is enthused about this […] [Read More]

With a fleet of 200 Jeep Renegades, mobility services company Free2Move will provide its carsharing services to the greater Portland, Ore., area. The company said the Portland announcement reflects growth, including a 40% increase in overall car sharing activity during the second half of last year. Free2Move, with a presence in 170 countries and 1.2 million […] [Read More]

Penske Automotive Group said Tuesday it has rebranded its standalone used-car store program in the U.S. to create one global brand for all of its used-vehicle SuperCenters. More specifically, the six CarSense stores in the U.S. are rebranded as CarShop locations, matching Penske’s existing 11 CarShop stores in the U.K. “With this name change, we are […] [Read More]

The CarGurus consumer sentiment study focused on auto finance found a significant portion of participants said that receiving pre-qualification for financing before visiting the dealership would be useful. In fact, the study results released on Tuesday showed that 93% of vehicle shoppers agreed with that sentiment. However, consumer perception about the availability and the eventual finalization […] [Read More]

Bubble talk in March is not limited to just discussions about which teams will qualify for the major college basketball tournaments. The term surfaced when Epiq and the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) reviewed February filings and looked ahead to what the bankruptcy landscape might be later this year. Epiq reported its February bankruptcy filing statistics […] [Read More]

Kelley Blue Book’s parent company Cox Enterprises recently expanded its longstanding relationship supporting Girls Inc., a nonprofit that inspires girls to be strong, smart, and bold. To celebrate Women’s History Month, Kelley Blue Book worked with Charitable Adult Rides & Services — or CARS — to launch a campaign helping Girls Inc. and other nonprofits […] [Read More]

A recent auto dealership study looked at the question, “How often did the brand’s dealerships email or text an answer to a website customer’s question within 30 minutes?” Infiniti, Volvo, Subaru, Acura and Jaguar accomplished that feat more than 45% of the time on average. Overall, the 2021 Pied Piper PSI Internet Lead Effectiveness Benchmarking Study […] [Read More]

For the first time in more than 15 years, there is a new public franchised dealership group. LMP Automotive Holdings — an ecommerce and facilities-based auto retailer whose stock is already publicly traded on NASDAQ — closed on the first wave of its dealership acquisitions Friday, including three pre-owned stores. Included in stage 1 acquisitions […] [Read More]