As economic recovery continues on a strong path in the U.S., findings from the 2013 Harris Poll EquiTrend study show that consumers’ perceptions of automotive brands continue to improve. In fact, the study — which assesed 30 brands this year — found that both the luxury and full-line auto categories improved, perhaps a sign of […] [Read More]

Former new-car dealer Tarik Daoud says education offers freedom — that’s why he takes part in the National Automobile Dealers Charitable Foundation’s Ambassadors program, and points the way for other dealers to do the same. “I’ve always maintained that education leads to freedom,” said Daoud, 77, who serves as a trustee on the board of […] [Read More]

Blackline GPS recently reached an agreement with MVTRAC for the distribution of Blackline’s Dart covert and asset tracking system into the recovery industry. Well-positioned within the auto finance, government and law enforcement market, officials highlighted MVTRAC’s Intelligent Data Network can process real-time data from public and privates sources to automatically identify delinquent collateral, including vehicles, […] [Read More]

Dealers are used to seeing an uptick in auction prices come spring, but this year, prices stayed relatively flat. Why? Kelley Blue Book’s Alec Gutierrez said this flatness can be attributed to “mild fuel prices and increased supply.” In fact, wholesale values increased only 2 percent in the first quarter, said Gutierrez, who is the […] [Read More]

Gas and wholesale pre-owned prices are falling as car buying season gets underway — a winning combination for dealers. And as the weather continues to warm as we approach summer, Kelly Blue Book’s manager of market intelligence and market analyst Arthur Henry said its “a good time to be a car enthusiast.” In fact, on […] [Read More]

When company leadership highlighted its first-quarter performance last week, Ally Financial discussed its objectives for continuing to work with Chrysler franchised dealers even though its exclusive agreement with the automaker expired on Tuesday. Ally Financial president Bill Muir acknowledged one of the biggest changes will be that the company no longer will arrange subvented leases […] [Read More]

NADA University extended the deadline to participate in the 2013 Dealership Workforce Study for a second time to accommodate many requests from dealer members. Now stores have until June 30 to participate. Officials from the National Automobile Dealers Association and American Truck Dealers reiterated this project is only study that compares a dealership’s compensation and […] [Read More]

As weather warmed, buyer interest for used vehicles on KBB.com focused in on Japanese automakers, with Honda and Toyota making up four of the top five most researched pre-owned vehicles on the site. Taking the No. 1 spot was the popular Honda Civic, followed by the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry, respectively. In the No. […] [Read More]

Car-buying season: May through September. What will it bring for used dealers? On Thursday, Carfax reported that it is expecting 22.1 million used-car sales over the next few months. Interestingly, the company explained that history shows that more than half of all used cars sold this year will be bought in the next five months. [Read More]

To dealers, knowing what a customer is looking for in a car is a crucial aspect of the sales process. Based on the results of a recent survey, NADAguides.com discovered five of the most important attributes customers considered when shopping for a vehicle. The site discovered that  fuel economy, ownership cost, brand perception, safety and […] [Read More]