Saab Automobile Parts North America announced a new program Thursday that may give owners of 2010 and 2011 model-year Saab vehicles some added peace of mind in the wake of Saab Automobile AB’s bankruptcy in Sweden. Through Saab Secure, owners of these vehicles will be offered a Limited Lifetime Protection Plan on internal engine components […] [Read More]

Swapalease.com highlighted Wednesday that customer credit approvals based on U.S. bank data jumped 27.3 percent in 2012 compared with approval rates from the previous year. Most notably, the site pointed out that the last two months of last year saw significant credit approval rates jump with 55 percent more approvals in December compared with November. […] [Read More]

The Federal Trade Commission recently completed its systematic review of the Cooling-Off Rule and determined that no changes to the rule are warranted that would have impacted dealers. In making this determination, the National Automobile Dealers Association indicated the FTC rejected several proposed changes to the rule that would have affected dealers, including a proposal […] [Read More]

PureCars said Tuesday afternoon it has generated $5 million in new equity capital from Gemini Investors and Stage 1 Ventures that can help the company bolster its offering for dealerships. The auto technology company aims to work with dealerships of all sizes to “optimize returns on digital marketing and increase sales.” It debuted in 2007 […] [Read More]

Safe-Guard Products International, an F&I provider in the auto industry, announced recently it has been purchased from H.I.G. Capital by an affiliate of Goldman Sachs, in partnership with management. [Read More]

Showing some softening as the year wound down, the latest RDN Monthly Analytics Update indicated November recovery volumes decreased 4 percentage points from October levels, halting a string of consecutive month-over-month jumps. Furthermore, the November reading came in 1 point below year-earlier levels. Also registering downward movement, RDN indicated November recovery orders ticked 7 percentage […] [Read More]

When Edmunds.com considered the Top 10 trends expected for 2013, an even higher increase in auto loans to subprime consumers made the list. Senior analyst Jessica Caldwell stated several times during a conference call on Thursday that the subprime market is an area of growth. [Read More]

Avis Budget Group said Wednesday morning that it will buy the car-sharing network Zipcar for roughly $500 million in cash. The deal is expected to be finished by spring, but it first must gain approval by Zipcar shareholders and meet other customary closing conditions. Both companies’ respective boards of directors unanimously approved the deal. Additionally, […] [Read More]

Westlake Financial Services announced a major update to the DealerCenter website, which is operated by Nowcom Corp., Westlake's sister company under the Hankey Investment Group umbrella. DealerCenter is the business portal that houses Westlake's proprietary Buy Program software as part of a full-fledged online DMS solution. [Read More]

On the same day Ally Financial said it repaid debt to the FDIC, General Motors announced on Wednesday that the automaker will purchase 200 million shares of GM common stock held by the U.S. Department of the Treasury for $5.5 billion, or $27.50 per share. The share buyback is part of the Treasury’s plan, also […] [Read More]