After being ousted from the top spot of most talked about automotive brand online by Chevrolet in August, Ford regained the lead in online discussions this past month. According to the September Social Buzz Report from  Phoenix Marketing International’s Automotive Practice, the Blue Oval was talked about 867,308 times last month. Following closely behind was […] [Read More]

Throughout 2013, dealers at auction have seen full-size truck prices spike, while alternative energy vehicles have consistently softened throughout the year.  Now the two segments sit at opposite ends of the spectrum… [Read More]

Online monthly payment marketing technology provider DriveItNow announced its new Trade-in Equity Analyzer is now available as part of its pre-qualified payment quoting service. Since many vehicle sales involve a trade-in, DriveItNow said the value and the equity in these trade-ins dramatically affect the whole transaction. The company contends consumers typically are unaware of their […] [Read More]

ShipCarsNow announced Friday it was awarded a 2013 Better Business Bureau Integrity Award, as it was honored for ethical business practices with customers, employees and communities. [Read More]

Porsche certainly appears to be striking quite a chord with potential buyers at NADAguides.com. According to the October edition of Guidelines from NADA Used Car Guide, the sports car brand led all badges in year-over-year gains for consumer site activity for the second consecutive month. Porsche posted a 32-percent spike in September. A month earlier, […] [Read More]

CarProof Vehicle History Reports announced this week it has chosen a new director of corporate accounts. Filling the role is Bryan Smith. In his new role, Smith will be responsible for growing the corporate accounts portfolio and expanding CarProof’s Corporate Services division to offer new products and services to automotive manufacturers and finance companies, officials […] [Read More]

The increase in activity for green/hybrid category vehicles on Swapalease.com last month was higher than the gains for any other vehicle segment — and it wasn’t even close. Specifically, the year-over-year change in inventory listings on the site for the green/hybrid segment ended up being an increase of 66.7 percent, the site indicated. Next up […] [Read More]

Manheim chief economist Tom Webb first cited data from J.D. Power that indicated more than 3 million new-vehicle leases will be written this year, thanks to a penetration rate well above 25 percent. With those numbers in mind, Webb contends those levels can — and should — move even higher, resulting in healthy returns for […] [Read More]

How does your dealership rate? There’s a new way to find out, as a new online scoring system for dealership reputation rolled out this week to compare dealers against others within their area. Called Consumer Perception Rating, the new website is located at www.ConsumerPerceptionRating.org or www.myCPRscore.org, and provides dealerships with a CPR Score its creator […] [Read More]

Consider the respective approaches of hypothetical Dealership A versus Dealership B. Assume that both dealerships own exactly the same used vehicle. After 45 days of inventory life, Dealership A says, “retail the car and lose $600.” Dealership B says, “are you out of your mind? … There’s no way I’m retailing a vehicle after only […] [Read More]