November 6th, 2017 — “The era of the human-driven automobile, its repair facilities, its dealerships, the media surrounding it — all will be gone in 20 years.” So wrote automotive extraordinaire Bob Lutz yesterday for Automotive News as part of its Redesigning the Industry series. Lutz, who is in his mid-eighties, has a rich history… Continue Reading
UPDATED — October, 21, 2017 — Last month, the Trophy Automotive Group completed the purchase of four dealerships that were part of the eight-store Sage Automotive Group in the Los Angeles, CA area. Trophy, which was started by Nasser Watar in 2014 with the acquisition of Mercedes Benz of Encino, acquired West Covina Nissan, Universal… Continue Reading
October 20, 2017 — The Walser Automotive Group continues its aggressive growth strategy announcing this week that CEO Paul Walser is stepping down to take on the new role of managing OEM relationships and acquisitions. His brother President and COO Andrew Walser has been named CEO. The group also announced this week it has acquired… Continue Reading
October 13, 2017 — Hyundai Motor America last week unveiled its Shopper Assurance program – what the company calls an industry-first nationwide program that streamlines and modernizes the car-buying experience. The key elements of Shopper Assurance are intended to align with auto consumers’ major pain points: transparent pricing; flexible test drives; streamlined purchases; and a three-day… Continue Reading
September 6, 2017 — Scott Painter officially launched Fair, his newest venture this week in Los Angeles with plans to roll it out through out California by the end of the year and into other markets in 2018. The Banks Report first reported on the new venture last November. It’s a fintech mobile solution that provides… Continue Reading
August 29, 2017 — Jonathan Ord, CEO of CRM vendor DealerSocket, is stepping down as CEO of the company he founded with Brad Perry in 2001. Replacing Ord is Sejal Pietrzak, who is leaving her position as Chief Administration Officer at Active Network. Under Ord’s leadership, DealerSocket grew into one of the top CRM companies… Continue Reading
May 18, 2017 — According to an article in The Texas Tribune this week, legislation dubbed the “Buffett Bill” that would allow Berkshire Automotive to keep selling vehicles in Texas is dead. Fierce opposition from Tea Party activists and environmental groups (yes, politics still can make strange bedfellows) forced Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick to pull the legislation… Continue Reading
(Update -Correction Below) May 15, 2017 — Mike Maroone, former AutoNation president, has acquired four dealerships from the Serra organization in Colorado Springs, CO. The acquisition follows a two-year non-compete stemming from Maroone’s retirement from AutoNation in April 2015. The stores include two Chevrolet dealerships and Honda and Volkswagen dealerships along with a collision shop. The… Continue Reading
April 18, 2017 – Get ready to jam to some tunes at the next Cox Automotive economic briefing…Seriously. The company announced this morning that DJ Smokey Smoke, also known as Jonathan Smoke, is succeeding long time automotive analyst Tom Webb as its chief economist. If you haven’t heard of him, you will. Smoke, who moonlights… Continue Reading
December 1, 2016 — Following a three year battle amidst tough opposition from car dealers in Virginia, Tesla Motors won the right to open a second store in the state. Tesla says it will begin construction on the store, which is slated for Richmond. It will be the second Tesla dealership in Virginia that is allowed to… Continue Reading