NEW YORK — The former U.S. Secretary of Transportation, who has been tasked with helping to name Toyota's North American Quality Advisory Panel, announced the team Thursday. Former Secretary Rodney Slater said the team will include experts with experience in corporate, government, education and nonprofit areas.  The team will include: —Norman Augustine, former chairman and chief […] [Read More]

TULSA, Okla. — Just days after Hertz Global Holdings signed an agreement to buy it, Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group reported on Wednesday that the company posted its most profitable first quarter in its history. Company executives revealed in an abbreviated conference call that Dollar Thrifty's net income for the first quarter was $27.3 million, or $0.91 […] [Read More]

WALTHAM, Mass. — DealerRater, a dealer review Web site, recently conducted a poll to learn the most important element to consumers among six common vehicle shopping factors. Choosing from hassle-free shopping, low price, prompt attention, location of dealer, service promise and dealer reputation, site officials indicated that the majority selection was hassle-free shopping. DealerRater revealed that […] [Read More]

TORONTO, Ontario — OPENLANE recently brought its iDEAL Open Seller program into the Canadian market, providing dealers and other sellers an efficient online avenue to sell used vehicles to other dealers throughout the country. Dealers, fleet/lease companies, daily rental operators, repossession companies and other sellers throughout Canada can use iDEAL to market and sell used units […] [Read More]

INNISFIL, Ontario — In addition to sharing plans for its anniversary sale next week, North Toronto Auction revealed recently that it will be the first Canadian auction to partner with SmartAuction to sell wholesale units. "We are eager to break away from the traditional auction schedule of most physical auctions having an auction on the same day every week. […] [Read More]

BRAMALEA, Ontario — To give its dealers another strong selling point and to foster customer loyalty, Jaguar Canada has rolled out its Jaguar Platinum Coverage customer care package that enhances the automaker's warranty coverage and gives consumers a maintenance program that the automaker calls the industry's strongest. The customer care package, which comes standard on its entire 2011 lineup […] [Read More]

DALLAS — Liquid Motors recently announced the release of its Mobile Data Collection solution, which is designed to allow dealers to reduce the cost of collecting vehicle information and expedite the data collection process. "Giving dealers a tool that will speed the process of photographing vehicles on their lot and printing and affixing window stickers as […] [Read More]

PARK RIDGE, N.J. — Hertz Rent2Buy has teamed up with Kelley Blue Book for a partnership designed to enhance the online car-buying program. Basically, it allows Hertz Rent2Buy customers to compare Hertz's used-vehicle prices with the KBB Suggested Retail Value. The partnership also extends Hertz's reach, as its inventory can now be accessed on Kbb.com's The Trusted […] [Read More]

MINNEAPOLIS and REDWOOD CITY, Calif. — AutoUpLinkUSA and OPENLANE entered into a new partnership this week to benefit dealers who use the AutoUpLinkUSA Internet Inventory Management System. The agreement means dealers now can utilize the IIMS tool to upload and list their wholesale inventory to OPENLANE's Online Open Auction. Executives emphasized this partnership represents an integrated […] [Read More]

BANDON, Ore. — In the midst of used-vehicle inventories hitting their lowest levels in almost five years, used pricing remained on an incline, particularly for trucks and SUVs, according to CNW Research. More specifically, used-vehicle days' supply was at 53.3 days in March, which was 24 percent lower than the year-ago period. It marked shortest inventory […] [Read More]