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]

BMW of North America revealed late last week that it is recalling about 198,000 models to fix a potential power-breaking problem. The company said it would be notifying the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration via letter that it planned to pull the vehicles. Included in the voluntary recall are particular V12 and V8 models of the following vehicles: BMW […] [Read More]

vAuto announced one merchandising workshop and four Velocity Webinars for its customers later this month. Tracy Noonan Fred, senior director of performance management, will be leading the events. “The Effective Merchandising Workshop will focus on dealership online classified and presence that can help maximize a dealership’s online presence,” according to officials. [Read More]

Scion made its Canadian debut earlier this week, boasting a dealer network of 45 stores throughout Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver. The automaker said it will add dealerships in additional markets. As Scion’s demographic tends to be a younger crowd, officials said Scion will one day have dealerships “in any Canadian city with a vibrant youth […] [Read More]