Salesforce and Automotive Retail — Is There a Play?

Salesforce and Automotive Retail — Is There a Play?

July 7, 2016 — The automotive retail technology world is dominated by three players today — Cox Automotive, CDK Global, and Reynolds and Reynolds. On the CRM side, the major players are DealerSocket and ELead1One. Meanwhile, Salesforce is hovering around the industry. The question is, will this power structure continue over the next two to… Continue Reading

An Automotive Brexit Primer on What to Watch in the Coming Months

An Automotive Brexit Primer on What to Watch in the Coming Months

July 3, 2016 — The long term effects on the auto industry resulting from Great Britain’s vote to exit the European Union may well be determined by how amicable the divorce proceedings are. Early indications are that the breakup could be ugly. But it’s only been a week since the Brits shocked the world so…

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Volkswagen’s Initial Diesel Payout to Exceed $15 Billion

Volkswagen’s Initial Diesel Payout to Exceed $15 Billion

(UPDATED June 30 with dealer information)  June 28, 2016 — Volkswagen is expected to announce settlements with U.S. regulatory agencies and 475,000 customers for lying about its diesel emissions today that could exceed $15 billion. According to numerous media reports, the deal only affects the 475,000 customers that purchased 2009 – 2015 2.0 liter diesel Volkswagen…

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Cadillac’s Project Pinnacle Becomes Reality — Virtually

Cadillac’s Project Pinnacle Becomes Reality — Virtually

June 16, 2016 — Dominating headlines over the last 10 days was Cadillac’s pending move to “encourage” approximately 400 of it smaller franchises to become virtual stores. It’s a story that demands attention — Cadillac moving to virtual reality dealerships. But the reality (not virtual) is, the move likely will have little effect except to ultimately force…

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Cliff Banks - The Banks Report

Slow Dealer Buy-Sell Pace Continues First Two Weeks of June

June 14, 2016 — (UPDATED June 16) Of the nine dealership acquisitions through the first two weeks of June, four occurred in the Denver market. In two separate transactions last week, the Larry H. Miller Group acquired three stores from Doug Moreland — Cherry Creek Dodge in Denver, Fiat of Denver and Colorado Chrysler Jeep of Aurora… Continue Reading

Dealer Buy-Sell Market Slows Down

Dealer Buy-Sell Market Slows Down

May 31, 2016 — With only 86 transactions through May of 2016, the dealership buy-sell market appears to be slowing down from the record-setting pace in 2015 in which The Banks Report recorded 107 transactions over the same period. The number of rooftops changing owners is also down significantly with 149 this year compared with 222…

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Cliff Banks - The Banks Report

Ford Direct Names New CEO

May 16, 2016 — FordDirect announced today that industry veteran Mike Jurecki will be its new CEO effective June 6. Jurecki previously served as CEO of RouteOne for 14 years where he led the formation of the joint venture of the financial services firm. He replaces Stacey Coopes who left FordDirect in early December (Big… Continue Reading

Cliff Banks - The Banks Report

NY Court Rules GM’s Sales Formula Not Legal

May 10, 2016 –In an intriguing decision last week, the New York’s Court of Appeals determined in a 5 – 1 decision that General Motors’ use of its Retail Sales Index to evaluate its dealers’ sales performance violates state law. The ruling could force manufacturers to change how they measure their dealers’ retail performance. GM used the RSI In 2011 in… Continue Reading

What We Learned From Holman’s Acquisition of Kuni

What We Learned From Holman’s Acquisition of Kuni

Last week’s announcement that Holman Automotive is acquiring the Kuni Automotive Group is significant on numerous levels. The Banks Report, which broke the news of the deal, estimates that it is the biggest dealer acquisition since Warren Buffett’s purchase of the Van Tuyl Automotive Group in March of 2015. So what does the deal mean for…

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