Ford Dealers Win in Illinois

Ford Dealers Win in Illinois

November 14, 2023 — According to a bulletin from the Illinois Automobile Dealers Association today, the state’s Motor Vehicle Review Board confirmed the October 24th proposed decision by Hearing Officer Mark Kuchler finding for the 26 Ford dealers who filed a protest against Ford’s Model e certification program.  Today’s announcement was a formality as Ford had indicated it would… Continue Reading

DealerOn Acquires Competitor

DealerOn Acquires Competitor

November 14, 2023 — Dealership website provider DealerOn acquired competitor fusionZONE Automotive last week. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. Dealership executive Brett Sutherlin and his wife founded fusionZONE in 2009. Primus Capital acquired a majority investment in 2017. Sutherlin sold a second company, LeadRevenue, to Primus in 2021. Sutherlin now is the… Continue Reading

CarGurus to Acquire Remaining Minority Interest in CarOffer, Following a Somewhat Choppy Ride

CarGurus to Acquire Remaining Minority Interest in CarOffer, Following a Somewhat Choppy Ride

November 13, 2023 — CarOffer founder and serial entrepreneur Bruce Thompson is walking away with another $75 million in cash as CarGurus announced last week it is acquiring the final 49% of the Texas-based online used-vehicle trading platform. Zach Hallowell, whom CarGurus recently snatched from Cox Automotive’s Manheim division, will lead CarOffer following Thompson’s resignation.… Continue Reading

Cars.com Expands Into Canadian Market With Acquisition of D2C Media

Cars.com Expands Into Canadian Market With Acquisition of D2C Media

November 2, 2023 — Cars Commerce (Cars.com) announced this morning it has acquired the Montreal-based D2C Media Inc., an automotive technology and digital solutions provider for the Canadian market. The acquisition expands Cars’ footprint adding 1,000 Canadian dealerships to the 250 it currently has. Cars paid USD $76 million in cash ($105 million CAD) at… Continue Reading

Tentative UAW Contracts a Win-Win for All Parties, but Some Workers are Saying, No Deal

Tentative UAW Contracts a Win-Win for All Parties, but Some Workers are Saying, No Deal

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock & Luigi Morris October 30, 2023 (With November 14th updates) — The dust is still settling from the recent tentative settlements between the United Auto Workers union and the Detroit Three automakers. Still, initial details reflect agreements that may be a win-win for both sides following a 40+ day strike costing… Continue Reading

Cliff Banks - The Banks Report

Dealership Compliance a Hot Space as KPA Acquires ComplyNet

October 23, 2023 — KPA, a compliance services provider, announced last week it is acquiring ComplyNet, a Columbus, OH-based firm providing end-to-end compliance software for automotive dealerships. Phil Troy founded ComplyNet in 1994 in Chicago and sold it in 2018 to an investment group led by Alexis Jacobs, owner of Columbus Fair Auto Auction, and,… Continue Reading

Lendbuzz Obtains $45 Million Capital Raise

Lendbuzz Obtains $45 Million Capital Raise

October 9, 2023 — Since Lendbuzz CEO and Co-Founder Amitay Kalmar joined us on stage at the AUTOVATE conference in December last year, his company revenues jumped more than 80% in 2023, and has just announced a $45 million raise in equity funding along with $300 million a forward flow facility. The $45 million infusion… Continue Reading