Coinciding with vehicle quality scores reaching an all-time high, the National Automobile Dealers Association discovered through its latest Dealer Attitude Survey that franchise stores’ satisfaction with their respective automakers increased this year. Furthermore, the latest survey results that included input from more than 15,360 franchise stores showed Hyundai finished in the top overall spot for […] [Read More]

TrueCar.com wanted to get a better understanding of the youngest demographic of vehicle buyers — consumers ages 18 to 27 — better known as Generation Y. What brand vehicles should dealers stock so they can reel in these young purchasers? Of the top 10 that site analysts listed, not one was a domestic badge. According […] [Read More]

With foreign brands highlighted throughout, Edmunds.com recently unveiled its list of 2011 Consumers’ Top Rated vehicles, a compilation of 21 models. Audi took more honors than any other nameplate, winning four categories including: —Best Coupe $35,000-$45,000: 2011 Audi A5. —Best Coupe More Than $45,000: 2011 Audi S5. —Best Wagon $35,000-$45,000: 2011 Audi A4 Wagon. —Best […] [Read More]

Each month, CNW Research tracks what it calls fence-sitters, buyers who could fall either way toward purchasing a used or a new model. In June, a higher level than normal decided to go used. President Art Spinella determined that about 8 percent of the people who bought a used vehicle in June were sitting on […] [Read More]

Now almost four months after the Japanese earthquake and tsunami, Edmunds.com wanted to see the difference between new-vehicle inventory levels now and shortly after the March disaster that disrupted production industry-wide. What site analysts found might surprise franchise dealers. Using a statistically representative sample of U.S. inventory, Edmunds.com discovered, as expected, that dealer inventories for […] [Read More]

Though the inventory shortage has certainly caused some real issues for automakers, there is a bit of a silver lining, according to TrueCar’s Jesse Toprak. Not only are OEMs spending less on incentives, but June transaction prices were the strongest of all time, Toprak said. Thus, more profits. “The upside to a lack of inventory […] [Read More]

In the midst of used-car prices moving upward in the past year, there is some question as to whether this trend is like a “bubble” that will suddenly burst or — as CNW Research president Art Spinella put it — “more like a slow leak in an air mattress,” deflating gradually. To shed some light […] [Read More]

Analysts from J.D. Power and Associates and Edmunds.com each gave their latest projections about where June’s SAAR might land, touching on how incentive levels greatly swayed their estimations. J.D. Power indicated Thursday the pace of new-vehicle retail sales cooled during the third week of June, after exhibiting a stronger pace during the first two weeks […] [Read More]

Is the Prius really so valuable? A Toyota dealership recently announced it bought one of these used models back from a customer after more than a year for $1,500 more than it was originally sold for. Is this the result of high gas prices, the impact of the Japanese quake on supplies or what? The supply level of […] [Read More]

Chicago-area dealer John Nelson says he’s not sure whether or not this new gas promotion from Wal-Mart will actually lead to increased sales at his store or help give his customers more spending power, but he definitely sees it catching consumer attention. The business operations manager at Mercedes-Benz of Hoffman Estates said this new promotion can’t hurt sales […] [Read More]