February 12, 2014 — Right now, it’s a simple share buyback plan that would be-activist investor Harry Wilson is trying to foist upon General Motors. But does the former architect of President Obama’s automotive bailout plan have other plans in mind also? If so, it could be bad news for General Motors dealers. This week, Harry…
January 26, 2015 — It’s no secret that the automotive retail industry gets pummeled in the press. Dealers often are journalists’ favorite punching bags. It’s one of the reasons I appreciate and like the Time Magazine’s Dealer of the Year award, which is handed out each year at the National Automobile Dealers Association Convention. The program, sponsored… Continue Reading
January 29, 2015 — Group 1 & Prestige Reach Settlement; FCA’s Impressive 2014; W.P. Carey expands into U.K. with $350 Million Deal; Jim Ellis Sells VW Store/ Group 1 Automotive and Prestige Imports Reach Settlement Group 1 Automotive’s pending acquisition of the nation’s top selling Audi dealership took a step closer to completion yesterday following…
January 28, 2015 — Fort Walton Beach Stores Sold for $80 Million; Penske Buys Land Rover Dealership; Texans Find Ohio to be Tough; Oregon Dealer Dies; It’s Huge — and Not in a Good Way; Mac Haik Acquires Nissan Store Fort Walton Beach Stores Sold for $80 Million In a deal we reported on two weeks ago, Texas-based…
January 26, 2015 — Sitting in the San Francisco airport waiting for a flight (after missing my morning flight) and going through nearly 50 pages of notes from last week’s NADA convention and related conferences. I’m not a big theme guy, but on the last day of the convention, that seemed to be the question I heard the… Continue Reading
January 19, 2015 — AutoNation announced late last week that its President & COO Mike Maroone is retiring on February 3 and is leaving his board position in April of this year. Mike Jackson, AutoNation’s chairman and chief executive officer will assume the role of company president while Bill Berman, currently vice president of sales, was named… Continue Reading
January 15, 2015 — It’s time for some perspective now that some of the dust has settled from Elon Musk’s explosive appearance in Detroit on Tuesday during which he managed to casually drop at least three bombshells about Tesla. When he first got on stage at the Automotive News World Congress, Tesla’s founder and CEO appeared…
January 13, 2015 — The Banks Report began a new feature this week for subscribers — The TBR Daily Report, which provides short clips of analysis and news you may have missed. In today’s TBR Daily Report:: Chinese online firm BitAuto’s shares plunge; Volkswagen to add 100 dealerships; Washington, IA dealership bankrupt. AutoTrader’s Bitauto Gets…
January 11, 2015 — The auto show in Detroit hasn’t yet officially begun, but we already have what likely will be the event’s biggest story — the suddenly heated battle between General Motors and Tesla for dominance over the electric vehicle segment. Tomorrow morning’s unveiling of GM’s concept of its new electric vehicle, dubbed the Bolt —… Continue Reading
January 11, 2015 — CDK Global suddenly is attracting the attention of Wall Street investors and analysts following two prominent hedge funds taking activist positions in the company since its IPO and spinoff from ADP in early October. The early returns have been strong — a stock price that began trading in the mid-twenties hit…