John Huetter Reporter covering the finance and insurance business and auto retailing [email protected] 313-446-0434 See All Staff Page Recent Stories Subaru: Restocking used-vehicle inventory a priority Subaru National Retailer Advisory Board Chairman Jeff Williams, discusses topics including used vehicles, electric vehicle requirements and the technician shortage. Layoffs, funding delays reported at Solera Auto Finance An Indiana dealer said compliance with state law meant he had to transmit a title to Solera for a financed vehicle despite still awaiting payment on it. Ally sets revenue record in 2022, but auto finance income down Ally interim CFO Bradley Brown told a Q4 2022 earnings call the bank had increased consumer auto interest rates by 3.95 percentage points in 2022, and yields on auto interest had risen. Rising interest rates are less of a concern for Subaru dealers Subaru National Retailer Advisory Board Chairman Jeff Williams, whose auto group owns Lansing, Mich.-based Williams Subaru, said the nature of Subaru's customers made rising interest rates less of a concern. Will leasing rally in 2023? Auto leasing isn't likely to return to its pre-pandemic position representing one-third of retail auto sales yet, but it is expected to represent more of the market in 2023 after bottoming out in 2022. Upstart: National rollout of AI auto loans to start in Q2 Upstart Auto Retail digital auto sales platform also will begin to offer dealership customers the ability to buy cars completely online. Bankrate: Direct new-vehicle auto loan interest rates to grow 0.8 points Four-year used-vehicle loans directly from banks will grow 1 percentage point to 7.8 percent, Bankrate's chief financial analyst Greg McBride predicted. 84-month auto loans gain in popularity By the third quarter of 2022, 19 percent of new-vehicle debt and 11 percent of used-vehicle loans ran seven years, according to Experian. Point Predictive tool automates car loan pricing, fraud protection AutoPass system allows lenders to adjust interest rates and give denied customers another chance. N.Y., CFPB sue Credit Acceptance, allege unaffordable, misleading loans The difference between the amount financed in an auto loan and what Credit Acceptance would pay a dealership represented a hidden finance charge, the New York Attorney General's Office and CFPB alleged. FTC extends comment period on plan for broad ‘junk fee' regs The Federal Trade Commission gave businesses and consumers until Feb. 8 to comment on its October concept for regulating bait-and-switch advertising and fees for worthless items. Dealers see opportunity in used-vehicle F&I products Used-vehicle buyers might respond to options for length of coverage, according to a Protective Asset Protection executive with experience at its higher-mileage F&I subsidiary AUL Corp. Cox's Dealer Sentiment Index: A pulse check on auto retailers Cox Automotive Dealer Sentiment data can help dealers compare their own situation and market to national sentiments expressed by peers, both on a quarterly basis and over time. Banned, fined Calif. dealer says AG's office wore him down into settling for $1.7 million Paul Blanco and co-owner Putu Blanco said they were worn down by the state into settling and denied the behavior the court said had been stipulated by Paul Blanco's Good Car Company Auto Group. Grand larceny case against N.Y. car dealership exec drops to petty theft Fuccillo Automotive Group's former corporate director of finance, tax, finance-and-insurance operations and reinsurance entered an Alford plea to a single count of petit larceny under a deal reached with authorities. Load More
John Huetter Reporter covering the finance and insurance business and auto retailing [email protected] 313-446-0434 See All Staff Page