May 22, 2017 — Coming off its second most profitable year ever, Ford Motor Co. has decided to replace its CEO and President Mark Fields. The announcement is expected this morning, according to numerous media reports breaking Sunday night. Jim Hackett, former board Ford member and current head of the automaker’s mobility division, is being named… Continue Reading
May 19, 2017 — Late yesterday afternoon, data services provider Authenticom filed a motion in its antitrust lawsuit against Reynolds and Reynolds and CDK Global, seeking a preliminary injunction. TBR wrote about the pending request last week. The lawsuit alleges the dealer management system providers conspired in 2015 to force Authenticom and other data integration competitors out of… 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
May 4, 2017 — Fighting for its survival, Authenticom is seeking an expedited briefing and hearing schedule as part of its antitrust lawsuit against CDK Global and Reynolds and Reynolds. In the next few days, Authenticom will file a motion for a preliminary injunction asking the judge to issue a temporary ruling that would force… Continue Reading
May 3, 2017 — TEGNA’s board today approved of the spin-off of Cars.com slated to be completed on May 31. Trading is set to begin on June 1 on the New York Stock Exchange with the ticker symbol CARS. TEGNA stockholders of record at the close of business on May 18 will receive one share… Continue Reading
April 21, 2016 — Berkshire Hathaway Automotive finds itself the victim of the law of unintended consequences in Texas’ fight to keep electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla from selling direct to consumers. The problem is that Texas’ legislation prohibiting manufacturers from selling vehicles directly to customers in the state was written so broadly that it includes… 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
March 18, 2017 — Although 2016 saw a slight downturn in the number of transactions from 2015, dealership buy-sell activity the last three years has stayed fairly consistent, according to data compiled by The Banks Report. And 2017 is shaping up to be on par with the previous three years. From 2015 to 2016, the…
March 3, 2017 — The Morgan Auto Group in Tampa announced yesterday it has acquired Naples Mazda and Naples Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram from Jon and Tom Myers. The acquisitions brings Morgan’s total number of stores to 23. Since January 2016, Morgan has added 11 stores, including acquisitions of Sun Toyota, Rountree-Moore Motors and Mercedes… Continue Reading