FordDirect, a joint venture between Ford and its franchise dealers, revealed Monday its choice for chief operating officer. Appointed to the position is Valerie Fuller, who previously served as executive vice president of operations and has been a member of the company’s management team for the past six years. "Valerie has been a key driver in […] [Read More]

According to a new study from Dataium, more consumers than ever before are turning to mobile devices while shopping for their next vehicle. The company found that the amount of auto buyers who accessed an automotive website via a mobile device this past July nearly doubled when compared to 2010, coming in at 8.74 percent. [Read More]

Cars.com recently launched a new solution — Dealer Reviews — aimed at giving dealers the opportunity to drive their online reputations in the same place consumers are shopping for their next vehicle. During the beta period, site officials indicated more than 67 percent of their dealer customers opted in, prompting Cars.com to insist these dealers […] [Read More]

Social media intelligence platform GOSO revealed late last week it will be delving even further into the world of cars with a new co-branded automotive agency/reseller program set to launch in September. The program is created to help agencies and resellers “more effectively manage their automotive dealers’ social media initiatives,” stressed the company. “The platform will […] [Read More]

Multimedia and video marketing technology company Liquidus announced Tuesday the launch of its new Socialink Facebook application that can help enable dealers to deliver engaging, customized video of every vehicle in inventory to an audience of potential buyers on Facebook. Socialink provides an interactive, multimedia marketing opportunity for dealerships looking to tap into a larger […] [Read More]

EasyCare has teamed up with used-car research provider PureCars for a partnership that allows dealers to offer more comprehensive vehicle details to interested shoppers when sending EasyCare CoVideo messages. Thanks to the alliance, when an EasyCare dealership sends a personalized video to a customer in response to a question, the CoVideo message will also include a PureCars […] [Read More]

Meant to engage customers in new and innovative ways, Fiat aimed to put even more electronic information at potential buyers’ fingertips with a new free Apple iPad application. The brand explained the “FIAT Source” touch-based application can digitally showcase the new 2012 Fiat 500 vehicle line. The app’s features include detailed 360-degree images, colorizer, videos […] [Read More]

TRADER Corp. and Yahoo Canada formed an alliance this week, making autoTRADER.ca the official automotive partner powering the used car section of Yahoo Canada Autos. The companies believe the alliance creates a seamless user experience for autoTRADER.ca and Yahoo consumers in Canada. They contend potential buyers can find the best deals on used vehicles through […] [Read More]

In an attempt to help dealers better capitalize on the ever-growing accessories marketplace, Chrome Systems introduced an enhanced version of its Accessories Web Service. The company highlighted this new solution can allow dealers and their portals to capture leads and revenue by displaying, promoting and up-selling accessories at strategic customer touch points, including in social […] [Read More]

Thanks to a recent deal it struck with Dataium, Asbury Automotive Group now has a package of tools at its disposal that can help effectively gauge shopper behavior throughout the dealer group’s various websites. Per the agreement signed by the companies, Dataium is offering its VisiCogn Knowledge Center and VisiCogn INSITE applications to Asbury. [Read More]