F&I Special Section: Unlocking Opportunity
Coronavirus upended the industry, but F&I is finding the keys to adapt.
Innovation Uncorked
Changing the way things are done is more palatable in a crisis. Changes might even be necessary. So it is in the U.S. auto industry in 2020, especially on the retail front. But for some businesses, a crisis is no time for costly initiatives. Who is turning crisis into opportunity and who is standing pat?
Intelligence Report
The COVID-19 crisis has been going on for so long it can be hard to keep track of what day it is, much less all that has happened in the auto industry. To help you keep up, Automotive News has launched Intelligence Reports, examining segments of the industry -- automakers, suppliers, dealers, mobility -- and summarizing what key companies have been up to since the end of February.
Mazda's 100th anniversary
In its 100 years, Mazda has popularized the rotary engine, devised innovative designs, crossed the Pacific to sell cars, partnered with Ford and revived the passion for convertibles. Not bad for a company that started as a cork maker from Hiroshima.
2020 CES show
Visions of fully self-driving robotaxis have given way to the more-immediate prospect of widely used advanced driver-assist technology.
2019 ALL STARS
Our annual All-Stars, who led the industry in a year of continued growth.
RETAIL REALITIES
Starting in July , Automotive News dispatched six staffers deep inside U.S. dealerships. They came back to create a portrait of an industry striving to preserve worthy traditions while transforming itself to survive in what promises to be a more challenging future.
2019 UAW-DETROIT 3 NEGOTIATIONS
The Detroit 3 and UAW labor talks are underway, and Automotive News follows every turn. From healthcare to wages, temporary workers to job security, we will keep readers informed until the last local votes.
BEST DEALERSHIPS TO WORK FOR
Audi Turnersville was named the No. 1 dealership on the eighth annual Automotive News list of the 100 Best Dealerships To Work For. It marks the second straight year a Penske Automotive Group dealership from the New Jersey town took the top honor.
MATERIAL SCIENCE REVOLUTION
New market challenges are sending researchers back to the lab to explore diffrent materials to build vehicles. These automakers and suppliers are commercializing the innovations.
WHAT'S IN THE PIPELINE
The future Product Pipeline allows you to stay up to date on current and new brand products, along with changes and other features.
40 UNDER 40
Each of the individuals in Automotive News' eight annual listing of 40 Under 40 in auto retailing earned their spot on the list by their real-world accomplishments.
LEE IACOCCA | 1924-2019
Lee Iacocca's towering public face, corporate pitches, bold leadership and straight-talking voice for the American auto industry's triumphs and challenges dominated the national media in the 1980s and early 1990s.
ALL HAIL THE DRIVERLESS CAR?
Four essays adapted from a debate April 13 in New York on the motion "All Hail the Driverless Car" as part of the nonprofit debate series Intelligence Squared U.S., in partnership with the Manhattan Institute's Adam Smith Society.
2019 RISING STARS
At a time when the industry is facing powerful forces of change, it's important that it develop leaders who know a thing or two about disruption.
NEW TECH
Component by component, new advances are sweeping across the auto industry, taking cars and trucks to higher performance and greater intelligence. Engineers are translating innovations into mass production that were not imagined or commercially viable a decade ago. The result? Faster, lighter, smarter, safer, cleaner, less complex and more driver-friendly rides.
WORLD CONGRESS
Industry executives who gathered in Detroit for the Automotive News World Congress emphasized the need to adapt to changing times.
SHOWTIME IN DETROIT
From the new 2020 Ford Explorer to Toyota's newest sports car, the Supra, to the GAC lineup, vehicles unveiled and displayed in January
CHINA'S U.S. AMBITIONS
This special report on some of the early vanguard of Chinese companies in the U.S. shows the wide variety of ways their executives are formulating, developing and executing their strategies.
HOUSE OF CARDS
Described as a 'house of cards' in court records, a once rapidly expanding dealership group with stores in Michigan, Pennsylvania and New Jersey is now facing lawsuits from Nissan and Hyundai's captive finance arms as the survival of its stores is in question.
INGENUITY UNLEASHED
Shaped and hardened by the economic trauma of 10 years ago, a generation of dealers reinvented auto retailing in the U.S.
LUXURY REDEFINED
Mass-market brands such as Ford, Honda and Kia aren't luxury players, but the loaded upper trim levels they offer inflate prices to the point where their vehicles end up face to face with high-end brands.
COSTLY LESSON
The road to becoming a dealer can be fraught with pitfalls and obstacles, as dealership general manager Andrew Anderson found out.
REMEMBERING SERGIO
Sergio Marchionne came into the auto industry 15 years ago as an outsider, a middle-aged accountant-turned-corporate strategist with no experience running a car factory. He departed as one the industry's most daring visionaries.
DENNY HECKER
The onetime Minneapolis car-dealing kingpin, whose spectacular fall in the wake of the Great Recession shattered lives and left him with a mountain of debt, is free -- and talking.
CAR COLLAPSE
Just five years ago, U.S. vehicle sales were evenly split: 50 percent cars and 50 percent light trucks. Now, trucks outsell cars by a ratio of more than 2-to-1, and there's no sign of a car rebound anytime soon.
CUTTING THE CORD
By selling more plug-ins than their competitors, Tesla and GM are on the verge of crossing a threshold that will mean the end of $7,500 tax credits many of their customers have counted on, creating a considerable price advantage for their rivals.
SERGIO'S SURVIVAL GUIDE
As fragile as Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has appeared to be in recent years, on June 1, 2018, the company laid out a determined and doable strategy for the post-Sergio Marchionne era.
STILL AT RISK
After four years, 92 percent of the cars with faulty ignition switches that GM believes still exist outside a junkyard have been fixed globally -- 96 percent of those in the U.S. -- but other recalls spurred by the ignition switch crisis were less successful.
TATA'S JAGUAR LAND ROVER
Tata has defied critics since buying the celebrated British brands from Ford Motor Co., turning them into one of the biggest automotive success stories in recent memory.
AUTO SHOW CRISIS
BMW's decision to unveil a car in a video game illustrates how the digital era is transforming the way automakers introduce vehicles, forcing Detroit and other big auto shows to figure out how to stay relevant.
THE BIG BOOM IN ULTRALUXURY
Ultraluxury car companies project an image of perfection, but their cash flow used to be as unreliable as the cars they built. That's no longer the case.
THE DAIMLER / CHRYSLER MERGER
20 years ago, on May 7, 1998, DaimlerChrysler debuted with great expectations. Then, disaster. How Chrysler executives who lived it remember the "merger of equals."
SUBSCRIPTION DRIVE
The way consumers choose their next car might have more in common with Netflix than the traditional retail system that's defined the automotive industry for more than a century.
USED-CAR RANKINGS
Automotive News' list of the top 100 dealership groups based in the U.S. ranked by 2017 used-vehicle retail sales.
2018 NEW YORK AUTO SHOW
Another wave of new and redesigned SUVs and crossovers shared the spotlight at the New York auto show.
PLANT LIFE
When they are no longer needed, the transition from auto plant to a second life can be painful.
SERGIO'S FINAL LAP
One thing about Sergio Marchionne stands out as the onetime tax accountant and philosophy student prepares to step aside after nearly 15 years running first Fiat and now FCA: The guy knows how to make money.
SUBARU TURNS 50
Subaru of America turned 50 in February 2018. We look at its history and the roadblocks it faced along the way.
RECALL SUCCESS
At dealerships and office conference rooms, in state houses and in Washington D.C., groups are working on making recalls more successful.
INDUSTRY REDESIGNED
A new auto industry is forming, triggered by a reimagining of the vehicle itself. How will it all shake out?
ELECTRIC MOMENTUM
Dramatic advances in EV development don't often make big headlines. But they haven't escaped the notice of the industry's big players, which have been waiting for this moment to arrive.
SIX-FIGURE PICKUP
A new era is dawning for luxury-class pickups as Detroit goes searching for a price ceiling.
2017 VS. 2007
After a tumultuous decade of desperation and prosperity, the U.S. auto market of 2017 bears only a passing resemblance to the one that preceded the Great Recession.
GM'S IT TRANSFORMATION
Randy Mott built General Motors' in-house IT team from virtually nothing. Now he must unlock the potential of the operation.
FACES OF FRAUD
As identity thieves prey on auto finance, lenders and dealers are striking back.
SUCCESSION PLANS
With many minority dealers nearing retirement and inexperienced at succession planning, ensuring their heirs can take over is about more than just carrying on the family legacy.
HURRICANE HARVEY
Hurricane Harvey potentially having damaged 1 million vehicles in Houston.
2016 EXECUTIVE PAY RANKING
Elon Musk towered over the highest paid CEOs at publicly traded U.S. automotive companies last year.
HYUNDAI'S FUMBLE
Bobbled kickoff, escalating cost of NFL sponsorship weigh on marketing team
KEY SAFETY TAKES OVER
Key Safety CEO Jason Luo studied the idea of taking over his much larger rival Takata for years. Now he's done it.
BODY-ON-FRAME
Think body-on-frame trucks are relics of the past? Nope. They're wildly popular, and profitable.
ELECTRIC CHOICE
Smart dealers have a decision to make: Stick with a shrunken, EV-only brand, or give up?
CAN R2-D2 CHANGE OIL?
Robotics could transform the service lane, but hefty price tag may hinder progress
FORD MANAGEMENT CHANGE
Ford replaces Mark Fields with Jim Hackett in a surprise management shake-up.
POWER AND PASSION
A look at racing's influence on the automotive industry, and its leadership.
MEXICO'S MODEL CITY
A model city rises in Mexico next to an Audi plant, but who will live there?
WHO RUNS THE STORE?
Proliferating automaker incentives to dealers are changing the retail business model -- and giving automakers increasing control of dealership operations.
F&I SALES ONLINE
How should the industry prepare for online F&I transactions? What are the challenges it faces in creating a compliant and profitable online financing experience?
NEW TECH, NEW TALENT
The industry is scrambling to find engineers for self-driving programs.
MILLENNIALS BUY CARS, TOO
During the past decade, many doubted millennials' desire to ever own a vehicle. Not anymore.
INDUSTRY ON TRIAL
Sergio Marchionne says the auto industry is broken. Is he right?