Recent Stories
Leo Levine
Leo Levine, former Mercedes public relations chief in N.A., dies at 90

Levine was a journalist and a book author, an automotive historian with an encyclopedic memory.
Positive signs for the F&I road ahead

Auto finance should enjoy several advantages in 2021 that carry over from 2020, starting with the fact that auto delinquencies barely rose overall last year, despite high unemployment, according to a panel of industry executives.
Subaru, which had a captive arm in the U.S. in the 1980s, now maintains a captive-type relationship with Chase Auto.
Money keeps many from the captive game

If captive finance companies are such a great idea, why doesn't everybody have one?
Choosing ‘true captive' or ‘captive-like'

Captive finance companies offer advantages for dealers, like loyalty, but private-label financial services are more capable of raising capital.
Avoid legal snags posed by remote sales

Many of the laws that apply to sales outside the dealership were written before the Internet. That can create potential legal problems for deals conducted remotely during the pandemic.
A ‘blind' approach to diverse hiring

A couple of points from Juanita Baranco, COO at Baran Co. in Atlanta, stole the show at NADA's Women Driving Auto Retail event Wednesday night.
Need service advisers? Fix job title

Business conditions are great for dealerships to recruit and retain service advisers, yet the ability to do so continues to be a weak spot.
Smaller teams can benefit dealerships

Speakers at the "Redesign Your People Strategy to Improve CX and Drive Profitability" workshop recommended breaking up the dealership organizational chart into smaller teams, with "tactical" and "strategic" responsibilities.
Low overhead and digital options are key as HAAH ramps up

Nicole Geenen is vice president of service operations for HAAH Automotive Holdings, which plans to introduce vehicles developed by China's Chery Automobiles to the U.S. market under the brand names Vantas and T-Go starting in 2022.
Service-only BDC aims to grow business via outreach, efficiency

BDC handles inbound customer calls for service appointments and also initiates calls, emails and text messages to drum up business from customers who, for instance, declined recommended service on their last visit.
Taking initiative helps keep business rolling

As state-mandated shutdowns stemming from the coronavirus pandemic slowed business in the service lane, many fixed ops directors reduced hours and, in some cases, limited appointments to emergencies only.
Metrics help service departments staff for rebound after pandemic shutdowns

Dealership service departments have routinely used data to measure what works and what doesn't. But the effective use of numbers to help steer fixed ops decisions is even more crucial to pull some service departments out of a deep hole.
Dealerships will need technicians as pandemic subsides, business returns

Concerns over the auto retail industry's chronic shortage of service technicians have taken a back seat during the coronavirus shutdowns. But the issue isn't going away.
Virus makes hands-on training hard for techs-to-be

The National Automobile Dealers Association says the industry expects around 39,000 newly trained service technicians in an average year. But 2020 isn't an average year.
Some ahead of the curve on pickup and delivery

Some dealerships that have already been offering pickup and delivery services in their service departments have an advantage now.