Along with listing which brands fared best, J.D. Power and Associates’ 2011 U.S. Customer Service Index Study refuted an industry stereotype that dealerships routinely pressure customers to accept unnecessary maintenance or repair services. Turns out, the study says very few service customers indicate experiencing upselling by the dealer. In fact, overall J.D. Power found only […] [Read More]

AutoTrader.com analysts sought to answer a question that inventory managers probably are considering. Where is the tipping point in gas prices where consumers shift their interest to more fuel-efficient vehicles? According to the February Trend Engine Report, AutoTrader.com discovered consumers haven’t reached that tipping point yet, but they may be close based on information gleaned […] [Read More]

Reporting on what it observed in the market for the fourth quarter, Experian Automotive said it hadn’t seen a scrappage-rate climb like this since Cash for Clunkers. Experian’s Vehicles in Operation Market Analysis showed the fourth-quarter scrappage rate for cars increased by 28.3 percent when compared to the third quarter of the same year. Meanwhile, […] [Read More]

As the certified pre-owned market has emerged more rapidly in recent years, it has given dealers another avenue to boost profits and also foster confidence among used-vehicle shoppers, who are often given greater peace-of-mind in making a used purchase. However, while MSN Autos acknowledged CPO models do provide more assurance — albeit “at a price,” […] [Read More]

After spending the third quarter in second place behind Toyota, Ford once again leads the list of most-considered auto brands, according to the latest Kelley Blue Book Market Intelligence Brand Watch study. Ford had held that spot for three straight quarters, beginning with the final quarter of 2009. Toyota regained its prior No. 1 ranking […] [Read More]

Similar to the act of a certain late-night comedic talk show host, TrueCar.com has unveiled a pair of Top 10 lists this week. The first list included the site’s Top Winning Cars for 2011 while the other highlighted its Top 10 fuel-efficient vehicles. Looking first at the list of Winning Cars, TrueCar.com described this compilation […] [Read More]

Vehix recently performed tests of four small SUVs/crossovers across various city, highway and mountain driving environments, and found that the top overall model in this class is the 2011 Honda CR-V. The three other small SUVs/crossers in Vehix’s “2011 Small SUV Comparison Test” were the 2011 Chevrolet Equinox, 2011 Toyota RAV4 and the 2011 Hyundai […] [Read More]

After generating significant positive response from the inaugural workshop in February, NCM said Wednesday that it will be the sponsor of three additional Jeff Cowan’s Pro Talk Service Advisor Workshop events this year. The first event — which took place Feb. 23 through Feb. 24 in Kansas City — was designed to show dealers how […] [Read More]

Brand Keys — a brand and customer loyalty and engagement consultancy out of New York — recently released its 2011 Customer Loyalty Engagement Index, which honored companies in 79 categories, including automakers. The index once again awarded the top automotive ranking to Hyundai, which celebrated its second straight year of winning in the category. “The […] [Read More]

Shopper analysis by AutoTrader.com and Kelley Blue Book showed consumers don’t appear to be taking climbing fuel prices lightly. As the average price of gas approaches $3.50 per gallon nationwide, the majority of vehicle shoppers at both AutoTrader.com and Kelley Blue Book’s Kbb.com are seriously considering fuel prices during the process. AutoTrader.com found on its […] [Read More]