MONTVALE, N.J. — Mercedes-Benz USA opened the doors earlier this week to a more than 100,000-square-foot Vehicle Preparation Center in coastal Georgia that will process vehicles on their way to the automaker's Southern region, Texas and Oklahoma dealerships. Mercedes-Benz USA chief executive officer Ernst Lieb hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday at the VPC in Brunswick, Ga., with […] [Read More]

HERNDON, Va. — Audi recognized its U.S. dealers that had the best performances last year on Thursday as it unveiled its 2009 Magna Society honors. Fifty-eight of Audi's 270 U.S. stores received this distinction, which is given to dealers that provide "superlative customer service" and post strong overall business performances. In essence, these stores are exceptionally […] [Read More]

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Import automakers continued to see their sales climb upward during April, as they now have shown year-over-year growth for each month of 2010, according to the American International Automobile Dealers Association. More specifically, international nameplates combined to sell 540,077 units in the U.S. during April, marking an 11.1-percent decrease from March, but an […] [Read More]

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — In the first arbitration case involving Chrysler and one of its rejected dealers, the arbitrator ruled in favor of the automaker, Chrysler announced late last week. The arbitration — which happened April 14 in Cleveland — was between Chrysler and Joe Kidd Dodge, a dealership in the Cincinnati area that was cut in the automaker's bankruptcy […] [Read More]

BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. — Penske Automotive Group executives credited their company for overcoming weather-related issues and the struggles of the smart USA brand to still post a handsome year-over-year quarterly income increase. The company detailed late last week that its 2010 first quarter income from continuing operations totaled $20.8 million, or $0.23 per share. It's a […] [Read More]

TORRANCE, Calif. — Honda executives late last week announced they're recalling approximately 167,000 Acura TSX vehicles to replace a power steering hose. The automaker indicated that affected TSX vehicles are from the 2004 through 2008 model years sold in the United States. Each recalled unit is equipped with the 2.4-liter inline 4-cylinder engine. Brand officials explained […] [Read More]

TOYOTA CITY, Japan — Toyota Motor Corp. announced late last week that it has initiated organizational and executive responsibility changes to shore up its quality issues stemming from ongoing recall turmoil. The automaker has created a new design quality innovation division, which will reside under the technical innovation group. Toyota indicated that its decision alters its […] [Read More]

NEW YORK — As Sergio Marchionne, chief executive officer of Chrysler, took to the stage on Wednesday for the NADA/IHS Global Insight Automotive Forum in New York, he said the important role that dealers play in his company's reconstruction cannot be overstated. "The development of a quality distribution network was a key element in the turnaround […] [Read More]

TOKYO — This week, Toyota laid out some plans detailing how the automaker intends to ensure quality and safety levels for its vehicles across the globe. For instance, as a part of Toyota's first meeting of its Special Committee for Global Quality, the automaker announced it has decided to increase the number of technology offices in North America […] [Read More]

DETROIT — The highlights of the best leasing offers during March were the attractive rates offered in the "hotly contested" family and compact segments, according to the Best March Lease Deals report from AOL Autos. Among some of the deals AOL Autos shared, the Nissan Sentra compact car was leasing for as low as $149 per month […] [Read More]