CreditPrivate-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 »
JIM HENRY Lenders must be locally flexible 12:01 am U.S. ET | June 5, 2013  Several large dealership groups and lenders have centralized functions at headquarters or set standard nationwide procedures. But sometimes consumers and their incomes don’t fit the usual profile.... Read More »
EDITORIAL Auto lending: Regulator must be reined in 12:01 am U.S. ET | June 3, 2013 Congress must rein in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which has overstepped its mandate by squeezing banks and finance companies to limit dealership profits, apparently based on questionable assumptions of widespread discrimination in auto lending.... Read More »
Chrysler's outlook raised to positive from stable by S&P 6:39 pm U.S. ET | April 30, 2013  Chrysler Group may get an upgrade in its credit rating in the next 12 months, said Standard and Poor's, which raised Chrysler's outlook Tuesday to "positive" from "stable." S&P changed its outlook on the company to positive even after Chrysler posted a 65-percent drop in first quarter profit.... Read More »
Ford seeks more pension stability after funding shortfall widens 12:34 am U.S. ET | March 16, 2013  Ford, moving to close a growing deficit in its pension funding, will shift more of its plan's assets to fixed income to shield against changes in interest rates.... Read More »
Renault-Nissan, UniCredit create Russia finance ventureFeb. 14, 2013 15:50 CET  Renault-Nissan will create a joint venture with Italian bank UniCredit to sell loans to car buyers in Russia. The alliance will have a 60 percent stake in the venture, while UniCredit will hold 40 percent, the companies said in a joint statement.... Read More »
Former Ford executive Kenneth Merrill dies at 82 3:05 pm U.S. ET | Jan. 25, 2013 Kenneth Merrill, a former Ford Motor and Ford Credit executive, died Jan. 22 in Livonia, Mich. He was 82.... Read More »
France seeks EU approval for PSA aid, report saysJan. 9, 2013 10:09 CET  The French government has officially sought approval from the European Union for its 7 billion euro ($9.2 billion) state loan guarantee for PSA's financing arm, a French newspaper reported today.... Read More »
Fiat rebuts report that it will raise funds for Chrysler buyDec. 14, 2012 10:40 CET  Fiat rebutted a report that it was set to raise money to finance its purchase of a further stake in Chrysler, saying it had no need for extra funds.... Read More »
Hyundai Capital America seeking $1.2 billion credit line 2:56 pm U.S. ET | Nov. 21, 2012 Hyundai Capital America, the U.S. auto finance unit of Hyundai Motor Co., has asked banks for proposals for a new $1.2 billion three-year revolving credit line.... Read More »
JIM HENRY F&I’s biggest boogeyman 12:01 am U.S. ET | Oct. 31, 2012  Halloween is a good time to inventory the monsters under the F&I bed. Shining a flashlight under there, we see that credit availability is good. Interest rates are low. The economy is slowly improving. Even housing seems finally to be recovering. No real monsters there.... Read More »
JIM HENRY More credit checks mean more loans 12:01 am U.S. ET | Oct. 24, 2012  Here’s a chicken-or-egg question: Do people check their credit because they want a loan, or do they want a loan because they check their credit?... Read More »
Akerson: GM wants investment-grade interest rate for expanded credit line 10:21 am U.S. ET | Oct. 22, 2012  GM, which has junk credit ratings, aims to double its revolving credit line to $10 billion at the same interest rates as if it were an investment-grade company, CEO Dan Akerson said.... Read More »
Ford Credit says longtime CEO Bannister will retire 4:19 pm U.S. ET | Oct. 22, 2012 Ford Motor Credit CEO Mike Bannister will retire after 39 years, Ford said today. Bernard Silverstone, Ford Credit’s COO since January, will succeed Bannister, effective Jan. 1.... Read More »
JIM HENRY A reason to cheer the CFPB 12:01 am U.S. ET | Oct. 3, 2012  The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has given auto lenders a lot to worry about in the past year, though so far, its bark has been a lot worse than its bite.... Read More »
U.S. policies promoting electric cars to cost $7.5 billion by 2019 6:16 pm U.S. ET | Sept. 20, 2012  U.S. federal policies to promote electric vehicles will cost $7.5 billion through 2019 and have "little to no impact" on overall national gasoline consumption over the next several years, the Congressional Budget Office said in a report issued on Thursday. Consumer tax credits for buying electric vehicles, which can run as high as $7,500 per vehicle, will account for about 25 percent of the $7.5 billion cost, the CBO said.... Read More »
Auto lending on the rise, but with caution, study says 9:52 am U.S. ET | Sept. 4, 2012 Auto lenders aren’t quite throwing "caution to the winds," even though they made bigger loans, at lower interest rates, and approved customers with lower average credit scores in the second quarter of 2012, according to Experian Automotive.... Read More »
JIM HENRY How many would-be ID thieves bolt? We may never know 12:01 am U.S. ET | Aug. 29, 2012  It’s odd that there aren’t a lot of statistics around documenting whether the Red Flags Rule is working.... Read More »
JIM HENRY Consumer confidence is sales 'wild card' 12:01 am U.S. ET | Aug. 22, 2012  Toyota's Bob Carter, told attendees at a JPMorgan Chase & Co. auto conference in New York last week that there's "plenty of credit." Pent-up demand and low interest rates are also positive factors, he said. That leaves consumer confidence as the missing ingredient to a full recovery.... Read More »
JIM HENRY Sell more service contracts? That may get tough 12:01 am U.S. ET | Aug. 15, 2012  Is the glass 40 percent full, or is it 60 percent empty? Perhaps it's neither. A couple of the publicly traded new-vehicle retailers reported their extended-service contract penetration was around 40 percent for the second quarter -- specifically, Group 1 Automotive and Lithia Motors Inc. The other public groups don't usually break out detailed F&I numbers.... Read More »
JIM HENRY Bad loans spell good news for dealers 12:01 am U.S. ET | Aug. 8, 2012  Good news for dealerships: Credit losses are set to increase from historic lows. Why is that good news? It means lenders are approving more subprime loans, something dealers have wanted.... Read More »
Ford Credit, citing tropical storm, allows Florida customers to delay payments 4:06 pm U.S. ET | July 27, 2012 Ford Motor Credit said today that will it allow Florida customers affected by Tropical Storm Debby to delay some car and truck payments.... 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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