Opinion

RICHARD JOHNSON

Lengthening loan terms get brokers', banks' attention

12:01 am U.S. ET | Jan. 24, 2015

The best handicappers of the U.S. market may be the folks lining up to buy dealerships. They place bets in the form of the multiples of earnings they're prepared to pay for stores.... Read More »

NICK BUNKLEY

Could a Super Bowl loss deflate car sales in New England or Seattle?

4:45 pm U.S. ET | Jan. 24, 2015

Cars are emotional purchases for consumers. A Wisconsin dealer told me he got clear evidence of that this week, after the Green Bay Packers were eliminated from the NFL playoffs is heartbreaking fashion.... Read More »

LINDSAY CHAPPELL

Sometimes success comes from a loving push

12:00 pm U.S. ET | Jan. 24, 2015

SAN FRANCISCO -- A few months ago, I interviewed a West Virginia car dealer named Mike Wood. You might have caught the article we ran in Automotive News.
... Read More »

DAVE VERSICAL

North of U.S. border, big dealer groups emerge on 2 fronts

11:00 am U.S. ET | Jan. 24, 2015

The United States generates far more new-vehicle sales than its northern neighbor, but Canada is looking more like America in one area: Dealer groups are getting bigger.... Read More »

DAVE GUILFORD

Money's cheap, so here come the store upgrades

9:30 am U.S. ET | Jan. 24, 2015

One of the better indicators of the health of a business is its willingness -- and ability -- to make capital expenditures. By that measure, auto retailers are doing well.... Read More »

RICHARD JOHNSON

Low gas prices - the good ... and bad for dealers

8:25 pm U.S. ET | Jan. 23, 2015

A lot of auto people can't seem to make up their minds about whether low gasoline prices are in the long-term best interest of the car industry, given that they may not be in the best interest of the economy at large.... Read More »

JAMES B. TREECE

Where are you spending your dollars on digital?

5:00 pm U.S. ET | Jan. 23, 2015

The impact of digital tools on dealerships' marketing has grown exponentially. Those tools have been a hot topic at the last few NADA conventions. But it may be time for the focus to shift.... Read More »

NICK BUNKLEY

NADA, Tesla, pitchforks and torches -- a missed opportunity

1:00 am U.S. ET | Jan. 23, 2015

If there's one thing many car dealers can't stand right now, it's Tesla. Yet here they are, thousands of them, spending a few days right in Elon Musk's backyard.... Read More »

JAMES B. TREECE

Building a new fortress to protect data

2:00 pm U.S. ET | Jan. 23, 2015

When it comes to protecting sensitive data against hackers, the days of building thick digital walls and moat are over.... Read More »

DAVE GUILFORD

Navigating the great digital divide

3:30 pm U.S. ET | Jan. 23, 2015

Among the devotion to all things digital and data-driven in San Francisco, there are still some qualms over how today's shoppers want to kick the tires and take delivery of new wheels.... Read More »

VINCE BOND JR.

Toyota channels Muhammad Ali for Camry Super Bowl spot

1:59 pm U.S. ET | Jan. 23, 2015

Toyota channels boxing legend Muhammad Ali in its Camry Super Bowl spot about overcoming obstacles. “How Great I Am” was originally slated to run pre-game, but Toyota confirmed today that it will now run in the first quarter.... Read More »

LINDSAY CHAPPELL

The other side of the digital ad craze

7:15 am U.S. ET | Jan. 23, 2015

One veteran ad agency owner has some advice for dealers pondering a shift in their marketing outlays: Don't be so quick to change horses.... Read More »

DAVE VERSICAL

Industry's rising chorus: Timing is everything

6:27 pm U.S. ET | Jan. 22, 2015

Dealers spoke. NADA listened. So this year's convention started a day earlier, to get you home for the entire last-week-of-the-month sales push.... Read More »

JIM HENRY

Fox, incoming chair, stumbles and takes on look of a prizefighter

2:01 pm U.S. ET | Jan. 22, 2015

Bill Fox, NADA vice chairman and incoming NADA chairman, tripped and fell in San Francisco earlier this week, requiring five stitches in his chin and three trips to the dentist so far for repairs, outgoing NADA Chairman Forrest McConnnell III.... Read More »

LARRY P. VELLEQUETTE

Why Jeep executives might be praying for more snow days

1:48 pm U.S. ET | Jan. 22, 2015

For most of its life, Jeep has been at best an under-developed niche brand, relegated to an automotive sales backwater by a series of owners who always suspected it had sales potential -- they just couldn't figure out how to properly exploit it.... Read More »

JAMES B. TREECE

Luddites? Really?

12:01 am U.S. ET | Jan. 22, 2015

Maybe you saw this: Four states received a “Luddite Award” from a think tank for laws preventing Tesla from opening its own stores. The four are Arizona, Michigan, New Jersey and Texas.... Read More »

DOUGLAS A. BOLDUC

Why VW is closer than ever to global No. 1

5:26 am U.S. ET | Jan. 21, 2015

Volkswagen Group has reason to celebrate. Toyota seemingly conceded the title of world's largest automaker to its German rival 21 days into the new year.... Read More »

LUCA CIFERRI

Farewell to an auto PR legend

8:17 am U.S. ET | Jan. 21, 2015

Nothing was impossible for automotive PR man Tom Kowaleski -- even literally crashing into an auto show.... Read More »

DOUGLAS A. BOLDUC

Why VW is closer than ever to global No. 1

5:26 am U.S. ET | Jan. 21, 2015

Volkswagen Group has reason to celebrate. Toyota seemingly conceded the title of world's largest automaker to its German rival 21 days into the new year.... Read More »

JIM HENRY

The lesson of the pizza delivery man

11:00 am U.S. ET | Jan. 21, 2015

Here’s a lesson for dealerships that run security cameras in the F&I office and elsewhere: Treat all store visitors well.... Read More »

LUCA CIFERRI

Farewell to an auto PR legend

8:17 am U.S. ET | Jan. 21, 2015

Nothing was impossible for automotive PR man Tom Kowaleski even literally crashing into an auto show.... Read More »

RICHARD TRUETT

Why tomorrow's sports cars will have mixed pedigree

11:00 am U.S. ET | Jan. 20, 2015

It would have been unthinkable even a few years ago that Mazda would share the MX-5 Miata with another company.... Read More »

LARRY P. VELLEQUETTE

Why Marchionne's Wrangler conundrum will require creativity

12:22 pm U.S. ET | Jan. 19, 2015

I truly believe that FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne would prefer to write a big check and keep the next generation Jeep Wrangler in its historic home in Toledo, Ohio. The problem? There's not much wiggle room right now in the corporate checking account.... Read More »

HANS GREIMEL

Acura exec drops the chalupa, runs for the border

8:00 am U.S. ET | Jan. 19, 2015

Acura boss Mike Accavitti let a case of the Mexican munchies get the better of him when he conceded Taco Bell was a source of marketing inspiration for his luxury auto marque.... Read More »

BRADFORD WERNLE

Bentley joins VW's party of quirky names

12:01 am U.S. ET | Jan. 19, 2015

Now we can add a new head-scratcher name to the list: the Bentley Bentayga. That's what Bentley is christening its first-ever SUV, which will be introduced later this year and will go on sale in 2016.... Read More »

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