Will the free maintenance plan for eligible 2014 Buick, Chevrolet and GMC models have any impact on residual values for those vehicles? That’s the question ALG’s Eric Lyman delved into after General Motors announced the new program on Thursday. In short, buyers or lessees of eligible new 2014 models from Chevrolet, Buick or GMC in […] [Read More]

If the latest data from CNW Research is any indication, it appears dealers are already realizing benefits in their used-vehicle operations from the upswing in supply from off-lease volume and corporate returns. In an analysis released Tuesday, the firm found that May used-vehicle sales increased across every age group in the one- to five-year-old category. […] [Read More]

Ford remains on top of the industry when it comes to brand loyalty rates, but it's two luxury makes that are showing the most improvement in retaining their respective ownership bases. That’s the latest from Polk, which released its first-quarter brand loyalty report on Wednesday, finding that Porsche (up 9.5 percentage points) and Cadillac (up […] [Read More]

After the last chapter of our “How to sell to Gen X and Y” series, we have a good idea of what happens during the active evaluation phase — when car shoppers expand their initial consideration set. The question now is, is your dealership at an advantage when it comes to capturing these shoppers at […] [Read More]

As subprime financing showed more signs of strengthening, too, Experian Automotive determined new-vehicle leasing during the first quarter rose to the highest level since the firm began tracking the data in 2006. According to its State of the Automotive Finance Market report released on Tuesday, Experian indicated leasing accounted for a record 27.5 percent of […] [Read More]

Despite declines by both franchised and independent dealers, industry-wide used-vehicle sales nudged higher in May, climbing just under 2 percent from the year-ago period, according to the latest data released by CNW Research this morning. Year-to-date sales through five months are up 4.3 percent. And within the certified pre-owned slice of the used-car market, several […] [Read More]

National Creditors Connection recently formalized a strategic alliance with Del Mar Recovery Solutions to perform repossession agent on-site inspections.  In this strategic alliance, officials explained NCCI will assume on-site inspection responsibilities of repossession lots for Del Mar’s network of more than 450 repossession agents.  Del Mar Recovery Solutions specializes in national repossession management, skip-tracing and […] [Read More]

Similar to relationships with pets, some people seem to prefer their cars over people. And there may be something to learn for dealers from studying how drivers relate to their vehicles. A new survey from AutoTrader.com explores the reasons why people’s "relationships with their cars are longer than ever before." The responses show that relationships […] [Read More]

In April, Ford dominated the list of most-researched used vehicles at KBB.com, claiming eight of the 25 spots. But in May, however, things were a little more balanced between the various brands making the list. Ford and Honda led the way, each brand claiming five spots, with Toyota not far behind at four. There were […] [Read More]

For dealers, the success of their sales staff is perhaps one of the most important elements of the entire store. In studying the most troubling roadblocks for sales staff during sales negotiation, Joe Verde Sales and Management Training found that price is perceived to be the most troubling part of the sales negotiation process. In […] [Read More]