ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Similar to the overall market, import automakers closed a challenging year on a high note, as their December sales were up double digits from the prior year, according to the American International Automobile Dealers Association. Citing statistics from Autodata Corp., AIADA officials said that import brands moved 558,680 vehicles during December, a 23.4-percent […] [Read More]

SALT LAKE CITY — The Larry H. Miller Group launched a new dealership this week that stands on the site of a former Saturn store in Utah. Group president Tony Schnurr said Larry H. Miller Chrysler Jeep Dodge Riverdale is now operational at 1481 West Riverdale Road in Riverdale, Utah. Company officials indicated that the dealership […] [Read More]

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Executives from three major automakers will gather this month in a conference to discuss how federal environmental mandates will continue to push the drive toward more electric and hybrid vehicles. Scheduled to take part in the third annual Green Car Summit are Stefan Jacoby, chief executive officer of Volkswagen Group of America, along with executives from Ford and […] [Read More]

HERNDON, Va. — Volkswagen Group of America altered its management team regarding government relations and communications. Promoted into the position of vice president, industry and government relations is Anna-Maria Schneider, an executive with more than 20 years of automotive experience. Schneider previously served as director of industry and government relations at VW. She also has been […] [Read More]

MT. LAUREL, N.J. — Automotive Resources International recently promoted two executives in its information technology department. Taking over as director of systems and programming will be Tony Candeloro, while Dan O'Callahan now will serve as director of information technology.  During the past year, ARI said that Candeloro assumed responsibility for pre- and post-sales support in the imaging systems […] [Read More]

YONKERS, N.Y. — Consumer Reports recently tested five redesigned luxury sedans from Cadillac, Acura, Audi, Mercedes-Benz and Lincoln, and just one posted an overall score considered to be "excellent." Field testers put each vehicle through a battery of examinations at its center in East Haddam, Conn., and the Cadillac CTS received the excellent status by getting a […] [Read More]

BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. — Penske Automotive Group announced this week that the management of smart USA has changed. Taking on the role of president of the Penske subsidiary is Jill Lajdziak, who had joined the company in December as vice president of sales and marketing for smart USA. Smart USA had been managed by Dave Schembri, who […] [Read More]

IRVINE, Calif. — Kelley Blue Book found three automakers enjoying a position that analysts described as "bucking the trend" when it comes to vehicle depreciation. While Kbb.com cited overall depreciation levels coming in at 5.6 percent during the last four weeks, a trio of OEMs — Audi, Mercedes-Benz and Subaru — came in with percentages much lower. Subaru […] [Read More]

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Chrysler executives contend that they listened to the wishes from dealers when they launched their latest marketing strategy on New Year's Day. Basically, the automaker leveraged the audience watching some of college football's most anticipated bowl games to roll out its advertising campaign, which was intended to do more than just sell vehicles. […] [Read More]

RICHMOND, Va. — CarMax is looking to boost sales prospects in 140-character, tweet-size chunks by launching a new promotion using the social networking Web site Twitter. Company officials are planning to give one consumer $25,000 toward the purchase of a used vehicle from their nationwide inventory. The award is the grand prize in the promotion CarMax […] [Read More]