Fiat stretched the reach of Chrysler Group’s sales and service into four key European markets during the third quarter, and the Italian company’s automobile businesses — comprising Fiat Group Automobiles, Maserati and Ferrari — posted a 2 million euro year-over-year gain in trading profits, Fiat Group announced Thursday. [Read More]

On Thursday, Toyota announced another voluntary recall on certain Toyota and Lexus models that covers many parts of the world, including the U.S.    Will this mean a hit to the automaker’s U.S. residuals and used-vehicle values? Both Kelley Blue Book and Edmunds.com analysts say it’s unlikely. However, these experts say that the higher incentives and enticing deals Toyota has been offering […] [Read More]

While also sharing what social media trends are impacting brands most, J.D. Power and Associates believes October’s seasonally adjusted annualized rate for new-vehicle retail sales should surpass 10 million for the first time this year. Sparking what J.D. Power thinks is a sign of a more pronounced recovery trend is an October new-vehicle retail sales […] [Read More]

Ford said Thursday that two of its officers are retiring early next year, and the automaker also revealed several shifts in its global management team. Retiring on Feb. 1 is the company’s chief technical officer and vice president of research and advanced engineering, Gerhard Schmidt. [Read More]

AOL Autos recently picked 20 vehicles for what the site declared as the best October lease deals. Contained within five vehicles segments — compact cars, family cars, compact crossovers, luxury SUVs and luxury cars — the list included three units from Nissan, the most of any single nameplate. Those three Nissan vehicles were the Sentra, […] [Read More]

Porsche Cars North America wanted part of its 60th anniversary celebration to include the discovery of the oldest model sold in America. Company officials revealed Thursday that vehicle turned out to be a restored 1952 Strawberry Red 356 Cabriolet. The automaker learned the whereabouts of this unit through an initiative launched in late August, the […] [Read More]

In examining the overall health of dealerships across the country, the Federal Reserve observed in its latest Beige Book report a rather robust auto market, both on the used- and new-vehicle fronts.  Used-sales have been healthy, while the new-vehicle market in the majority of areas was either stable or showed improvement, the Fed noted. [Read More]

Joe Verde recently announced his company has partnered with The National Association of Minority Automobile Dealers as an enrollee in the group’s online Minority Dealer Vendor Directory.   The directory lists companies with automotive-related products and services, including automotive sales training, and is designed to help dealers locate vendors who will help them increase profitability. […] [Read More]

The National Independent Automobile Dealers Association will now utilize Experian Automotive’s AutoCheck for vehicle history reports in the the NIADA Certified Pre-Owned Program. Per the exclusive deal revealed Wednesday, an AutoCheck vehicle history report will come with every CPO vehicle in NIADA’s program. National Auto Care Corp. serves as the administration of the CPO program. [Read More]

— Chrysler has started selecting its Fiat brand U.S. dealer network, the automaker said Wednesday, revealing that phase-one stores have set up their plans and are preparing to receive Fiat 500 orders. Chrysler said that it will bring in more stores by year’s end, and that it is still working with a few dealers to submit proposals. […] [Read More]