Following similar trends as July and August, the Dataium Automotive Shopper Intensity Index rose significantly last month, moving higher by almost 8 percent. The index climb, showing potential for an increase in retail sales in the next few weeks, bodes well for dealers and manufacturers — particularly Chrysler and Infiniti. Conversion rates or leads per […] [Read More]

TrueCar.com’s Performance Scorecards released Monday revealed big moves from one Japanese automaker as Honda moved into a tie for second place with Hyundai for highest grade by manufacturer. Subaru edged the two out, taking first place with an A+. Interestingly, even with production struggles stemming from the recent natural disasters in Japan, Honda also made […] [Read More]

NADAguides recently named its Car of the Month for October, giving the distinction to the 2012 Volkswagen Passat. The redesigned Passat — which NADAguides called “simple, smooth, elegant and appealing” — saw its consumer market increase more than double from July to August, analysts noted. Editors called its design “ergonomically comfortable” and touted its “intuitive, […] [Read More]

Canada’s new-vehicle market has continued to experience an up-and-down year through the first nine months of 2011, but based on what automakers are telling Auto Remarketing Canada, the certified pre-owned market, once again, fared quite well. Many of the automakers reporting CPO results to Auto Remarketing Canada experienced year-over-year gains in certified sales during September. […] [Read More]

While explaining how Hyundai Motor Group topped the industry in corporate loyalty for the first time, Experian Automotive revealed more data that showed the depth of the impact the Japan earthquake and tsunami had on second-quarter new-vehicle market trends. During a Webinar this week, Experian director of consulting and analytics Jeffrey Anderson made noteworthy contrasts in new-vehicle […] [Read More]

Reading, hiking, football, singing. These are just a few of the things that come to mind when thinking about what is traditionally considered a hobby. But for extreme General Motors fan Gary Monn, his hobby is a little harder on the bank account. For Monn, buying cars is his pastime of choice, according to a […] [Read More]

Almost one in three luxury vehicle owners have a more negative attitude toward purchasing another luxury model, a recent survey by global research firm TNS confirmed. Why are these owners so cautious? Along with changing brand and performance perceptions, TNS found that with the unknown future of the European debt crisis, continued economic concerns throughout […] [Read More]

To coincide with more 2012 models hitting dealer lots, AutoTrader.com examined its new-vehicle site activity and found the compact car segment has gained considerable increases in consumer interest. At the other end of the price spectrum, the AutoTrader.com New Car Insights Report for September showed luxury vehicles are gaining ground with notable new-model rank improvements […] [Read More]

Cherokee Automotive Group announced that early registration for the 2011 CPO Forum, as well as the other two Used Car Week Conferences, the National Remarketing Conference and the Re3 Conference, will be ending Oct. 14. “If you are planning to attend any or all of the 2011 Used Car Week Conferences, now is the time […] [Read More]

Chrysler Group and the UAW announced this morning they have reached a tentative agreement on a new national labor contract. This agreement — which is subject to UAW member ratification — covers approximately 26,000 represented employees. Chrysler noted that at this time, the automaker cannot discuss the specifics of the agreement pending a ratification vote; this […] [Read More]