LOCKPORT, N.Y. — Charles Heinrich, the president and chief executive officer of Heinrich Chevrolet, may soon add another title to his name: Guinness Book of World Records winner. The Buffalo, N.Y., area dealer was recently spotlighted on General Motors' Faces of GM blog. On the blog he shared some of his background, success strategies, personal interests and, […] [Read More]

CINCINNATI — Pushed by increased leasing activity among the same domestic automakers that got out of the segment in fall 2008, interestingly enough, the overall lease penetration rate for this year is projected to reach between 18 and 25 percent. In fact, some market segments can expect to see rates up to 40 percent, according to Swapalease.com. […] [Read More]

TROLLHATTAN, Sweden — Saab Automobile has officially built its first units in its "new era" as an independent company. The automaker resumed production Wednesday at its Trollhattan, Sweden, plant. In commemoration, Saab chief executive officer Jan Ake Jonsson, along with Spyker Cars CEO Victor Muller and Trollhattan plant director Gunnar Brunius, joined workers along the assembly […] [Read More]

DEARBORN, Mich. — Alan Mulally's total compensation for last year, including the grant date value of long-term stock options and other stock-based awards, was $17.9 million, according to Ford. A preliminary notice about Ford's 2010 annual meeting of shareholders, which was filed to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, indicated that Mulally earned $1.4 million in […] [Read More]

DETROIT — General Motors has spoken out via newspaper advertisements about a bill in the Kentucky legislature that it believes would be detrimental to the state's economy and the automaker. GM's $50,000 campaign includes ad spots that were slated to run Sunday in the Louisville Courier-Journal, Lexington Herald-Leader, Ashland Daily Independent, Paducah Sun, Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer and […] [Read More]

BEDFORD, Mass. — Volkswagen's iconic Beetle is slated to be completely redesigned and overhauled and might not even carry the same name, Auto Remarketing learned Friday. The new model will not start arriving at stores for about 18 months or so, Katie Shea, the business development coordinator for Minuteman Volkswagen in Bedford, Mass., told Auto Remarketing […] [Read More]

SANTA MONICA, Calif. — With still more than a week left in the month, Edmunds.com analysts projected that March new-vehicle sales are currently pacing at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 13.2 million. The site came to this figure because of the hefty incentives offered by Toyota and other automakers that came as the Japanese OEM […] [Read More]

McLEAN, Va. —  NADA University is kicking off a series of four on-site management seminars for dealers early next month that focus on fixed operations and financial management. These week-long sessions — which are part of NADA University's NADA-ATD Learning Hub component — will be held at the headquarters of the National Automobile Dealers Association at 8400 Westpark Drive […] [Read More]

PASADENA, Calif. — A murky sales climate didn't prevent one of the stores in the Rusnak Auto Group from again winning a top award from one of the luxury brands it sells. Rusnak Arcadia Mercedes-Benz was presented with the 2009 "Best of the Best" Dealer Recognition Award, an honor group executives said was reserved for the […] [Read More]

DETROIT — U.S. automakers have used the recession to shed excess capacity, a move that puts them in a positive position for future profitability, according to Sudarshan Mhatre, senior analyst with PricewaterhouseCoopers' Autofacts and a featured presenter at the Automotive Economic Forecast and Financial Forum, which will be held May 10-11 in Chicago.  "As a […] [Read More]