September 21, 2014 — We’re heading to Las Vegas this week for the 17th Digital Dealer Conference. Outside of the NADA convention, it’s probably the biggest dealer-focused conference in the country, and has been for several years. There always seems to be news coming from the conference. During the conference last April (Dealer Communications holds two… Continue Reading
September 17, 2014 — ADP announces details and the date of the spin off of its Dealer Services Group (now called CDK Global) along with information about a new financing partner for its dealers. ADP Dealer Services U.S. and Canadian clients who have financed with ADP Commercial Leasing will be moved to a new co-branded financing…
September 15, 2014 — Automotive sales in August far exceeded everyone’s expectations leading to concern that automakers were again relying on aggressive incentives rather than true demand juice showroom traffic. The truth lies somewhere in the middle — but could have far reaching implications for the short term future of certain market segments, and even,…
September 15, 2014 — In the words of Kenny Rogers — “You’ve got to know when to hold ’em; know when to fold ’em; know when to walk away; know when to run.” And Group 1 Automotive’s Chairman and CEO Earl Hesterberg is showing he’s not afraid to follow that advice and cut his losses.…
September 14, 2014 — Drew AutoCenter in La Mesa, CA announced on Friday to its employees that it is being acquired by Roger Penske Jr.’s group, SoCal Penske Dealer Group, according to multiple sources familiar with the deal. The auto center includes Drew Ford and Drew Hyundai along with a used vehicle super store. The industry…
September 13, 2014 — Edmunds.com is rolling out new initiatives over the next several months that will integrate into its Price Promise program launched in 2013. The goal is to improve the buying experience for consumers. More than 8,000 of Edmunds’ approximate 10,000 dealership clients are participating in Price Promise, in which they provide a…
September 11, 2014 — The Sonic Automotive Group is acquiring Hunt Nissan in Chattanooga to add to its BMW and Honda dealerships in that market, according to a Chattanooga newspaper story. Hunt Nissan is owned by Ken Hunt, who came to Chattanooga in 2002 when he acquired the Nissan store from the Penske (United at the… Continue Reading
UPDATED: AutoNation just sent a press release announcing the acquisition of Barrier Motors, which we reported earlier this morning. Industry sources are telling us that a sale of Barrier Motors Group in Bellevue, WA is imminent and that the likely buyer is a public dealer group. Based on the rumors, the market and the brands, it’s…
September 8, 2014 — An industry-wide problem of damaged vehicles with doctored titles seems to be growing. Are there companies that could enter the space and compete with CarFax? Nearly 800.000 vehicles that are on the road have had their titles “washed” in an attempt to hide significant damage, according to CarFax. The…
September 7, 2014 — There have been 175 dealership-buy sells through the first eight months of the year in 2013 — up from 115 through the same period in 2013. The increase came despite a slowing of the buy-sell pace in August which saw 15 dealership acquisitions — down from July’s total of 30 buy-sells…