dealer issuesAudi revamps Web site for the smartphone set 12:01 am U.S. ET | June 10, 2013 Audi has tried to cultivate a tech-savvy image in the United States, becoming one of the first brands to offer Wi-Fi in most vehicles. But until recently, Audi of America's Web site, audiusa.com, did little to shore up that image. When shoppers configured cars, the photos were small, drab and not very useful, says Mark Ramsey, general manager of digital retail operations at Audi of America.... Read More »
Lithia adds BMW, Honda, VW stores in Oregon to growing roster 6:40 pm U.S. ET | June 10, 2013  Lithia Motors has acquired three new-car dealerships in Oregon that will add $110 million in estimated annual revenues. Lithia said Monday it had purchased the O'Brien Auto Group of Salem in Salem, Ore.... Read More »
GM engineers take retail road trips 12:01 am U.S. ET | June 10, 2013  GM engineers have been chatting with dealership service managers about how they diagnose problems and deal with snags on new vehicles. They're shadowing salespeople in showrooms and chatting up customers about what they like and don't like. They're even visiting non-GM stores to size up the competition.... Read More »
Brit with buying fever said to target AutoNation 12:01 am U.S. ET | June 10, 2013  A British high roller named Roger Jenkins plans to buy a string of 30 luxury-car dealerships on the West Coast, according to London's Daily Telegraph. Oh, and he aims to acquire AutoNation, too.... Read More »
GM goal: Loyalty on the lift 12:01 am U.S. ET | June 10, 2013 General Motors' expansion of free maintenance across its 2014 Chevrolet, Buick and GMC lineups aims to draw more customers to the showroom -- and to keep them coming back to the service drive.... Read More »
Pohlad family was drawn by strength of the brands 12:01 am U.S. ET | June 10, 2013 The Pohlad family is better known for its achievements in banking, beverages and baseball. They own the Minnesota Twins baseball team and bankrolled the movie sensation Brokeback Mountain. When the chance to buy a BMW dealership in Minnesota came along in 2008, the three Pohlad brothers studied auto retailing's parallels to their other businesses.... Read More »
Auto industry outsiders snag dealerships 12:01 am U.S. ET | June 10, 2013 They're coming from investment banking and the beverage industry, real estate and manufacturing. What do they have in common? After making their money in other industries, they're now snapping up or jockeying to buy U.S. auto dealerships.... Read More »
Can Nissan exec repeat Mexico miracle in U.S.? 12:01 am U.S. ET | June 10, 2013  Jose Munoz, who most recently dazzled Nissan leaders by pushing the company's Mexican subsidiary into market dominance, became senior vice president of sales and marketing for Nissan and Infiniti brands over North and South America and the Caribbean on April 1. His charge? Overtake Honda in volume, increase dealer profits, double per-store sales in key markets, raise franchise values and convince multifranchise dealers that Nissan should come first.... Read More »
Dealers 12:01 am U.S. ET | June 10, 2013  Dealerships in today's report are Fury Motors in South St. Paul, Minn., McEleney Toyota in Clinton, Iowa, and Planet Toyota in Matteson, Ill.... Read More »
Private-sale used-car site adds financing 12:01 am U.S. ET | June 10, 2013  A new auto financing capability on the PRNDL.com Web site offers private-sale used-car buyers the ability to line up financing and apply for a loan online. Easier financing for consumer-to-consumer sales could potentially take some used-car sales away from franchised dealerships.... Read More »
M-B Financial customers pay loans from their vehicles 12:01 am U.S. ET | June 10, 2013 Mercedes-Benz Financial Services customers can now make payments, manage their accounts or contact a dealer directly from their cars using the Mercedes-Benz mbrace2 in-car infotainment system, the company says.... Read More »
Signs of life in deep subprime lending 12:01 am U.S. ET | June 10, 2013 Deep subprime lending is finally in recovery mode. "We have certainly seen a lot of growth; there are more loans to be had down in that area," said Melinda Zabritski, senior director of automotive credit for Experian Automotive.... Read More »
Recession shuffled credit deck 12:01 am U.S. ET | June 10, 2013 Subprime customers who were prime-risk before the recession are a profitable, reliable niche, dealers and lenders say. "You had plenty of people who had credit challenges because of what was happening on Wall Street," says Aaron Dalton, senior vice president at subprime lender Prestige Financial Services.... Read More »
1 woman in F&I, maybe, but 3? Now that's rare 12:01 am U.S. ET | June 10, 2013  Walk into Gordon Atkisson's adjoining Chrysler and Chevy stores here in rural Pennsylvania, and you'll find something unusual. "I have two finance managers, and both are women," says Atkisson, president of Country Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram and Jeff D'Ambrosio Chevrolet next door. "I would not have anyone other than a woman run my finance department." Why? They're better listeners, he says.... Read More »
Tablets are far from mainstream F&I tools 12:01 am U.S. ET | June 10, 2013  Since he started using an iPad to take car buyers through the finance and insurance process, Tim Dulaney has seen product sales and profit per vehicle jump.... Read More »
For Ken Garff Automotive, F&I lifts loyalty 12:01 am U.S. ET | June 10, 2013  In 2010 only one in five Utah residents recognized the name "Ken Garff" as a car dealership group. Last year the group's name recognition jumped to one in two. The nation's 11th-largest dealership group's finance and insurance department played a part in the improved name recognition.... Read More »
SOLVING THE F&I PAY PUZZLE Dealerships adjust compensation, roles, workload to make finance office hum 12:01 am U.S. ET | June 10, 2013  Many dealerships are experimenting with ways to get more bang for the buck in the F&I department. Some dealerships have merged sales and finance responsibilities into lower-paid hybrid positions. Others have hired junior-level F&I staffers to defray some of the workload. The experimentation makes many finance managers uneasy, but their compensation is generally increasing as dealers put more focus on boosting gross profits from finance.... Read More »
Edmunds joins TrueCar's push into online pricing 12:01 am U.S. ET | June 10, 2013 Edmunds.com is joining a consumer-driven push to provide guaranteed vehicle price information over the Internet. TrueCar Inc. pioneered the online practice of getting dealers to bid guaranteed prices for vehicles, but 18 months ago ran afoul of brokering and advertising laws in some states.... Read More »
Study: Don't forget women, baby boomers 12:01 am U.S. ET | June 10, 2013 Want to sell more accessories to new-vehicle buyers? Don't forget to make your sales pitch to women and baby boomers. That insight comes from the 2013 Automotive Accessory Market Report released in April by Foresight Research of suburban Detroit.... Read More »
Colorado gets added muscle to state franchise laws 4:13 pm U.S. ET | June 7, 2013  Colorado dealers have stronger franchise laws that they say now level the playing field with manufacturers.... Read More »
Group 1 sells four dealerships 3:51 pm U.S. ET | June 7, 2013  Group 1 Automotive sold four dealerships during the past three weeks and will post a one-time net pretax gain of $8.3 million during the second quarter.... Read More »
Used vehicle prices fall, but pickups still gain 2:15 pm U.S. ET | June 7, 2013  Used-vehicle prices dropped 4.8 percent overall last month compared with May 2012. But prices of used pickups emerged as the only segment to show a slight, year-over-year price increase, the Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index reveals.... Read More »
Volvo store's personalized videos connect with customers 12:01 am U.S. ET | June 6, 2013  Matthew Haiken's online team isn't camera shy. That's because several staffers at Prestige Volvo in East Hanover, N.J., produce customized video messages to welcome potential buyers to the dealership. Employees also hit the lot with camcorders to record detailed vehicle walkaround videos for customers. The personalized video clips have helped the dealership's Internet department capture half of the store's sales.... Read More »
GM to offer free maintenance across its lineup 9:51 am U.S. ET | June 6, 2013  DETROIT -- General Motors will include free maintenance on most 2014 Chevrolet, Buick and GMC models in a bid to increase sales through better customer loyalty, CEO Dan Akerson said today. Buyers will get free oil and filter changes, tire rotations and 27-point inspections for two years or 24,000 miles, whichever comes first.... Read More »
JAMIE LaREAU Ford dealers’ time to shine is during a recall 2:49 pm U.S. ET | June 6, 2013  A vehicle recall can be good for dealers. If handled right, a recall often helps boost a dealership’s customer retention rate and increase service revenues, an industry observer says.... Read More »
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Special Report
 Dealer O.C. Welch's big-truck turnaroundAfter Mercury's demise, South Carolina Ford-Lincoln dealer O.C. Welch had to find a way to replace lost revenue. He decided to load up on Super Duty pickups – and sell them online. Mon., June 17» Watch the Video |
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