smart USA and Nissan announced Wednesday that they are collaborating on a new vehicle to offer for sale in the United States. Company executives revealed a memorandum of understanding has been signed that indicates smart USA will obtain the rights to procure and distribute a five-door, gasoline powered, B-segment vehicle from Nissan. The unit would go up […] [Read More]

The battle between two rental car giants to acquire Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group has been chaotic to say the least, but in the aftermath of a Hertz Global Holdings and DTAG deal falling through, it appears Avis Budget Group and Dollar Thrifty have reached an accord. The two companies put out a joint statement Tuesday saying […] [Read More]

The National Automobile Dealers Association is looking to help dealers avoid consumer confusion after officials from the U.S. Department of Transportation and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration rolled out an enhanced 5-Star Safety Ratings System for new vehicles. What concerns NADA are the varied results from the first round of model-year 2011 vehicles tested under the […] [Read More]

Dealers using the CarSoup.com auto shopping website to sell used vehicles now have a way to foster greater confidence in consumers, which, of course, can lead to more sales. CarSoup.com has struck a deal with Carfax to ensure used-vehicle listings on the site include a link to the specific Carfax Vehicle History Report that is […] [Read More]

Toyota finalized plans for the 10 Years of Prius celebration, an anniversary event that includes several environmentalists, art exhibitors and music performers, as well as the winner of a contest conducted on Facebook. To mark the occasion, the automaker is leveraging the unique date that comes on Sunday — which happens to be 10/10/10 — […] [Read More]

Even against a CARS comparable, AutoNation’s third-quarter retail new-vehicle sales showed a 3-percent year-over-year hike, the company said Monday. Not only that, but the company also revealed that September’s retail new-vehicle sales climbed 35 percent from the year-ago period. Specifically, AutoNation moved 56,340 new retail units during the quarter. For September, it sold 18,040 new […] [Read More]

Toyota Motor Engineering and Manufacturing North America said Monday that it has seen an 80-percent decrease in reports of acceleration-related concerns from customers since April when its SMART evaluation program was rolled out. With these efforts to address acceleration-related issues being so successful, TEMA said its SMART program will be enlarged to tackle other areas of […] [Read More]

While acknowledging that import brands have the lead in the San Francisco Bay area where her family dealership resides, dealer Carolyn Lehmer Anderson contends that the product her store offers is stronger.   Concord Buick-GMC chief financial officer Darren Anderson — her son — even boasts that the “right marketing” can help the dealership grab even more conquest sales.   [Read More]

Import automakers saw year-over-year lift in new-vehicle sales during September as they remain on a “gradual” and “steady” uptick, according to the American International Automobile Dealers Association. Sharing figures from Autodata Corp., AIADA noted that import brands moved 525,483 units in September, a year-over-year gain of 25.4 percent. Through nine months of the year, import dealers have […] [Read More]

Ford and its Northern California dealers recently contributed $25,000 to help in the aftermath of the gas explosion that took place in San Bruno, Calif., earlier this month. The funds were given to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation’s San Bruno Fire Fund, which will determine which non-profits benefit. Basically 100 percent of the donation will […] [Read More]