On Tuesday, General Motors broke ground for a new electric motor plant, which it said will be the first plant dedicated to making the critical components for vehicle electrification by a major U.S. automaker. The plant scheduled to open in 2013, is an addition to GM’s Baltimore Operations Complex, which houses the company’s two-mode hybrid […] [Read More]

ADESA and Toyota Financial Services unveiled their new online auction platform on Tuesday, giving Toyota and Lexus dealers a new version of Dealer Direct that includes a slew of new features and upgraded functionality. Dealer Direct lets Toyota and Lexus dealers buy off-lease units prior to them being sold at physical auctions. [Read More]

DealerTrack said this week General Motors has certified DealerTrack’s customer relationship management/Internet lead management system for deployment by GM franchise dealers using the DealerTrack dealer management system. Officials contend that the combination of DealerTrack’s CRM/ ILM systems with a dealership’s DMS can give store managers a complete end-to-end solution for customer communications, from prospecting and […] [Read More]

As part of its PowerUp series, Carfax is hosting a free online seminar later this week that is designed to help dealers boost their online profitability. Featured in the Webinar — scheduled for noon (EST) on Friday — will be Carfax’s Chad Goodson and HomeNet Automotive’s Mike Mitson. [Read More]

NADA Used Car Guide announced Monday the launch of a redesigned website that features improved functionality and a more modern design, officials noted. The design for the new website focuses on user-friendly and streamlined navigation, increased industry related content and more accurate search capabilities, according to NADA Used Car Guide. Website enhancements include: [Read More]

Online ad technology company Netsertive recently created a new solution aimed to help dealerships. Netsertive stressed its new offering is in response to the growing need for dealers to better target local consumers and be discovered online, even as they primarily do business “offline.”  Netsertive’s technology platform, time-tested in several other similar industries, specifically addresses […] [Read More]

In response to how online ad protocol is changing, Chrysler’s entire interactive Web advertising campaign now has a full disclosure application. What is it meant to do? The automaker says it’s to inform consumers on how their information is being captured. Chrysler explained that each of its brands has become fully engaged in the use […] [Read More]

As other automakers catch up to Ford’s SYNC technology, the company has been turning its sights to what could be the next big offering in vehicle technology. And according to Ford, Google could play a central role.   The OEM now is using Google to search for ways to expand vehicles’ high-tech capability. [Read More]

A year-over-year total revenue gain of more than 30 percent helped Autobytel shave its first-quarter net loss down significantly compared to the losses it sustained in earlier quarters. Company officials calculated their first-quarter net loss amounted to $571,000 or 1 cent per share, which was sharply reduced from a net loss of $3.3 million or […] [Read More]

Underscoring the importance of including photographs and prices with their online new-vehicle listings, AutoTrader.com shared research results Monday that illustrate how much dealers can benefit from including these kinds of details. In particular, AutoTrader.com shed some light on how its new inventory listing format has helped dealers achieve substantial gains in their online traffic. [Read More]