As summertime really heats up with Fourth of July coming later this week, Manheim chief economist Tom Webb again addressed the question of how changing gas prices are going to influence the wholesale and retail markets. The latest query came in light of tension resurfacing in Iraq not having a dramatic impact at the pump […] [Read More]

For both dealers and finance companies, the cost of being compliant is on the rise. Recent reports and reprimands are giving concrete financial figures to what making installment loans attached to vehicles entails nowadays. Before getting into those numbers, Rick Hackett touched on the reason why compliance is such an important — and consequently costly […] [Read More]

ACA International, the Association of Credit and Collection Professionals, recapped a recent decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals that determined a consumer had standing to assert claims based on collection letters he did not receive. Officials explained the court arrived at its decision because the alleged violation of the plaintiff’s statutory right not […] [Read More]

Along with making its projection for this month’s new-vehicle sales total, Kelley Blue Book revealed this year’s list of what editors believe are the 10 Coolest Cars Under $18,000. Headlining this year’s group, along with being featured on KBB’s annual affordable “cool cars” list every year of the vehicle’s 11-year existence, was the redesigned Mazda3. […] [Read More]

More applicants who already have a large amount of debt are taking a toll on approval levels at Swapalease.com. Site officials reported on Wednesday that lease credit approvals during the month of May came in at 60.6 percent — the lowest monthly level of the year and down from January when the approvals rate stood […] [Read More]

The litany of recalls at General Motors this year may wind up costing the automaker a great deal financially, but GM’s stores may actually realize some pretty nice gains — including attractive offers on the dealership buy-sell front. Haig Partners, which released The Blue Sky Report for the first quarter of 2014 on Wednesday, has […] [Read More]

Private dealership groups accounted for more than 83 percent of the dealership acquisitions in the first quarter, but public groups may be showing signs of growth, albeit modest and with caution. That’s according to The Kerrigan Quarterly Blue Sky Report released this week, which said overall buy/sell activity among U.S. dealerships shot up 60 percent […] [Read More]

One of my favorite verses from the Bible comes from Proverbs, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” This is one of my favorite scriptures as it reminds me to keep my inner circle full of positive, forward-thinking people. Those are the ones who challenge me mentally, physically and spiritually. But as life […] [Read More]

"What Women Want" was a great movie about an ad executive starring Mel Gibson who, after an injury, had the ability to read women’s minds. He could do wondrous things in the advertising world marketing and selling to women with that unusual ability. But that was the magic of movies. Knowing what women car buyers […] [Read More]

In the early days, as dealers, we were taught that all vehicles in inventory should be stocked, bucketed, spiffed and priced, and when it hits the ripe old age of 60 or 90 days old, the vehicle should be sent to auction or sold cheap only to have the same process repeated over and over […] [Read More]