Toby Russell of online car marketplace Shift says the company realizes that auto sales have been hit hard by the COVID-19 crisis. “I think that the COVID environment is going to really cause an acceleration of the transition to online shopping,” said Russell, who is co-chief executive officer of Shift, in an interview with Auto […] [Read More]

If you’re like many Americans, there’s a good chance you have used curbside pickup in the last four weeks to secure your groceries, prescriptions or even takeout from your favorite restaurant. And now, CarMax is offering consumers that same option for car buying. The country’s largest used-car retailer announced Tuesday the launch of CarMax Curbside, […] [Read More]

According to an email message from the organization distributed on Tuesday, the National Automotive Finance Association has postponed its annual Non-Prime Automotive Financing Conference. The 24th installment was scheduled for June 3-5 in Plano, Texas. NAF Association officials did not indicate a new date for the event that gathers auto finance companies and other services […] [Read More]

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the retail automotive industry throughout the country, including the pre-owned side of the business. To drill down into how used-car sales are faring in one particular market – our own – Auto Remarketing turned to monthly analysis data from Cross-Sell Interactive, which is part of Dominion Dealer Solutions. Through Cross-Sell’s online […] [Read More]

Two new auto service programs are now available to help dealers during the COVID-19 pandemic, one providing data on closed repair order volume, which could help new-car dealerships understand and respond to changes in demand for vehicle maintenance and repairs. DriveSure is a customer retention product designed for new car dealerships, and it has compiled […] [Read More]

Before PointPredictive made its patented technology solution — SyntheticID Alert — available to auto-finance companies at no charge for the rest of this year, chief fraud strategist Frank McKenna returned last week for another episode of the podcast. Senior editor Nick Zulovich asked McKenna for recommendations for how finance companies can spot potential fraud, especially […] [Read More]

While there are still a few locations that have suspended operations, the auto auction community at large is back on track with simulcast sales, with “just about everybody” running these virtual auctions, including the majority of independents, along with corporately owned ADESA and Manheim. National Auto Auction Association chief executive officer Frank Hackett shared this […] [Read More]

Fitch Ratings offered some sobering assessments of current dealership finances on Monday when revising its dealer floorplan (DFP) asset-backed securities (ABS) performance outlook, mentioning some of the same unprecedented conditions dealer groups and principals now are facing as vAuto founder Dale Pollak did in an open letter posted on Good Friday. Fitch revised this particular […] [Read More]

F&I products and services provider and administrator Dealer Owned Warranty Co. has started a partnership with a company that produces technology assisting in returning lost vehicle keys via web-based communication. Through the partnership between Dealer Owned Warranty Co. — or DOWC — and Keyfetch Automotive USA, Keyfetch Auto Protect provides customers with a keychain that […] [Read More]

Dent Wizard International has partnered with the maker of a vehicle disinfection and long-term antimicrobial surface and air protection system that the company says meets the EPA’s criteria for use against SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes the disease COVID-19. Dent Wizard, a provider of automotive reconditioning services and vehicle protection products, said that through […] [Read More]