February 13, 2015 — In a lawsuit you don’t see every day, Hyundai is suing a Chevrolet store for importing parts and selling them to its dealers in the U.S. Meanwhile, Subaru filed a lawsuit against one of its California dealers for falsifying customer service surveys. Wonder how long before that store is on the…
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 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 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 1, 2015 — China’s car dealers’ inventory battle with automakers shows the need for strong franchise laws. Also, what do the current challenges in the Chinese automotive market mean for the U.S. and the potential entry by players such as Volvo’s parent Geely or the Warren Buffett-backed BYD Auto? The recent spate of stories highlighting…
December 27, 2014 — Much of the auto industry’s discussion regarding cyber warfare focuses on the inherent vulnerabilities of the connected vehicle. But one area that receives little scrutiny is the retail side of the automotive industry. This will soon change as dealerships likely will become one of the central battlefields in the cyber wars that will be… Continue Reading
December 11, 2014 — Recent developments in patent law playing out in an expensive two year dispute involving Auto Alert, DealerSocket and Dominion Dealer Services portend a world in which defending patents that are for business based processes becomes significantly more difficult. How will the dispute affect the data mining equity world in automotive retail space? And…
November 8, 2014 — An interesting legal decision this past week in California affecting the pharmaceutical industry may have a bearing on the future of CDK Global, Autobytel and other automotive retail vendors that are dealing with activist investors. A judge ruled on Tuesday that activist investor Bill Ackman can vote all of his shares at… Continue Reading
October 29, 2014 — Dealers in the market for a Cadillac franchise may want to tread carefully. A month ago we wrote about what we believe will be a painful forecast for many of Cadillac’s 924 dealers. The brand has a new home in New York and as many as 10 new products coming in…
October 8, 2014 — A federal judge in New Jersey Monday approved the settlement of a class action lawsuit resulting from BMW’s long standing practice of forcing dealers to help inflate its monthly sales numbers in what is commonly known as “punching” sales. The lawsuit alleged BMW cheated customers by reducing the length of its four-year Ultimate…