ROCHESTER, Mich. — When looking at the factors that ultimately lead consumers to buy a vehicle, the biggest positive influence on a car buyer's decision is the dealership visit, according to a recent study from Foresight Research. In fact, more than half of vehicle purchasers indicated that their experience at the dealership was "highly influential in […] [Read More]

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Department of the Treasury revealed late Monday that it has received a repayment from Chrysler Holding. The amount is a settlement of one of the loans for a fraction of what federal officials extended last year. The sum of $1.9 billion is only a portion of what Treasury officials doled out to […] [Read More]

DES PLAINES, Ill. — Wheels Inc. announced a new member to its board of directors earlier this week. Appointed to serve as a board member was Greg Besio, who is the executive vice president and chief administrative officer at Aon Inc. His duties at Aon include heading up such global shared service functions as: corporate strategy, procurement, real […] [Read More]

DETROIT — General Motors said it returned to profitability in the first quarter, reporting net income of $900 million and operating income of $1.2 billion on total revenues of $31.5 billion. The automaker recorded adjusted EBIT of $1.7 billion. GM said this was determined following adjustments it made for the favorable impact of selling the Saab brand. GM […] [Read More]

SANTA MONICA, Calif. — Edmunds.com expects Memorial Day to be a busy time for dealerships. Site analysts described potential sales traffic during the holiday weekend as "especially strong this year." Edmunds.com indicated that new-vehicle sales have been relatively weak so far this month. The site even suggested that May SAAR may drop slightly from April's 11.2 […] [Read More]

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Chrysler Group saw the ruling turn in its favor in yet another dealer arbitration case, this time notching a victory against a store in Texas. Manuel Dodge in Richardson, Texas, was one of the hordes of dealers filing for arbitration after it was rejected by the automaker. After arbitration was held May […] [Read More]

STUTTGART, Germany — Citing a series of reasons late last week, the supervisory board of Daimler AG revealed its decision to apply for discontinuation of share listing on the New York Stock Exchange. Daimler executives also indicated that their letter will serve as notice for discontinuing the listing of 8.50 percent notes due Jan. 18, 2031 of […] [Read More]

DETROIT — Already contending it's the fastest-growing brand in the country, the brain trust for General Motors' Buick division recently gathered with industry partners to shape future strategy for design, engineering, marketing and advertising. The results of the gathering are what executives believe are keys to pushing Buick to potential buyers, which include sculpted designs, luxurious […] [Read More]

PARSIPPANY, N.J. — In the latest development to the potential sale of a major player in the rental-car market, Avis Budget Group revealed late Thursday afternoon that it has filed for antitrust approval of its potential acquisition of Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group. Specifically, Avis Budget officials said the company filed notification with federal antitrust authorities under […] [Read More]

NORTHBROOK, Ill. — Donlen announced this week that it has hired a new senior vice president of client relations. Appointed to serve in the post was Jim Kachidurian, who was previously the senior vice president of corporate lending at GE Capital, a role in which he worked primarily with Fortune 500 companies. "We are excited to […] [Read More]