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…
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
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…
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
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
April 20, 2016 — Greg Miller, the former CEO of the Larry H. Miller Automotive Group, announced last week that he has acquired Bob Baker Toyota from the Bob Baker Automotive Group in San Diego. According to media reports, Miller’s new venture is separate from the Larry H. Miller Automotive Group, the mega dealer group, he… Continue Reading
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…
April 11, 2016 — The Holman Automotive Group will announce tomorrow morning that it is acquiring Kuni Automotive, The Banks Report has learned. The acquisition brings together two storied automotive companies and creates one of the country’s largest privately held dealer groups with 33 dealerships located in eight states generating more than $3 billion in annual revenue.… Continue Reading
April 10, 2016 — On Wednesday, Ed Napleton, owner of one of the largest dealer groups in the country, filed a lawsuit against Volkswagen alleging the automaker engaged in criminal racketeering. Napleton owns three Volkswagen dealerships acquiring the Urbana, IL store three days before the diesel emissions scandal exploded in September. Napleton also claims the manufacturer… Continue Reading
Most dealerships today are configured to yesterday’s processes and experiences. The environment hasn’t kept up with the digital age. While most dealerships have effective websites and Internet processes, their store images often don’t reflect the new realities of today’s society – touch screen mobile devices; interactive and personalized digital signage and virtual reality (VR) applications. But… Continue Reading
