Dealers
GM tops benchmark quality study for the first time
1:00 pm U.S. ET | June 19, 2013 | UPDATED: 6/19/13 10:31 pm ET - adds details
GM for the first time ranked atop a closely watched survey measuring new-vehicle quality, while Ford continued to be dragged down by its electronic features. GM placed two brands -- GMC and Chevrolet -- in the top five of J.D. Power and Associates' Initial Quality Study released today.... Read More » Comments [0] | Recommendations [0]
Chevy to return to Oscars with user-generated ad
11:21 am U.S. ET | June 19, 2013
Chevrolet plans to return to advertise on ABC's annual Academy Awards telecast next year after a 5-year absence. But the General Motors brand's return to the Oscars will come with a twist, said Paul Edwards, GM's executive director of global marketing strategy.... Read More »| Related topics: | Dealer Groups and Dealerships | Shareholder Value | NADA | Dealer Speaks | Best Practices | Innovative Dealers | Visionary Dealers | Finance and Insurance | Fixed Operations | Advertising | Used Cars | Vehicle Sales | U.S. Monthly Sales |
Seattle startup Tred brings the test drive to the customer
7:30 am U.S. ET | June 19, 2013
With the help of a new online service, Seattle-area car shoppers can test drive vehicles without setting foot in a dealership.... Read More »Nissan price cuts, weaker yen raise fear of U.S. discount war
2:25 pm U.S. ET | June 17, 2013
Nissan's take-no-prisoners approach to gaining U.S. market share has the auto industry worried that a price war is brewing that will erode the profit progress made since the recession ravaged auto sales.... Read More »Chrysler adds spiff to stair-step program
12:01 am U.S. ET | June 17, 2013
Chrysler Group has tweaked its stair-step sales incentives to make them more palatable to dealers, said Reid Bigland, the automaker's head of U.S. and Canadian sales. Starting this month, dealers who hit two-thirds of their monthly sales goal by the 20th of the month will receive extra payments related to the stair-step incentives.... Read More »BEST PRACTICES
Austin dealer is the biggest show in town
12:01 am U.S. ET | June 17, 2013
Since instituting one-price selling, First Texas Honda has jumped from 380th among Honda dealerships in terms of sales volume to the top 30, and from selling 200 new and used vehicles a month to 450.... Read More »GM poised to leap out of 'lease hole'
12:01 am U.S. ET | June 17, 2013
For nearly two years, GM dealers have been suffering through a shortage of off-lease customers. That's because leasing by GM dealers all but dried up in late 2008, amid the financial crisis, and didn't resume in earnest until mid-2010. Three years later, those first post-crash lessees are returning to Cadillac, Buick-GMC and Chevrolet showrooms.... Read More »Toyota limits online warranties
12:01 am U.S. ET | June 17, 2013
Until a month ago, Acton Toyota of Littleton had a nice little side business for five years selling Toyota-sponsored extended service contracts over the Internet. Toyota Financial Services, though, pulled the plug on the business in May, prohibiting Acton Toyota and a handful of other dealerships from selling the contracts nationally online.... Read More »Dealers reap more Internet leads
12:01 am U.S. ET | June 17, 2013
Dealerships are seeing a surge of traffic on their Web sites and a greater willingness by shoppers to leave their crucial contact information, said data consultant Dataium. The brightening auto-selling climate combined with dealership Web-site improvements are prompting more Internet leads than a year ago.... Read More »Dealers
12:01 am U.S. ET | June 17, 2013
Dealers and organizations include the Ohio Automobile Dealers Association, Tom Heffernan of Tom Heffernan Ford in Lake City, Minn., Dennis Dubie of K-M Toyota in North Adams, Mass., Bill Vazac, general manager of Honda Cars of Corona in Corona, Calif., and Conley Byrnes, CEO of PSC Automotive Group.... Read More »Dealer Buy and Sell
12:01 am U.S. ET | June 17, 2013
Buyers include Lithia, Garff, Pope, Fenton and Jenkins. Sellers include Roberson, O'Brien and Group 1.... Read More »AutoNation's largest shareholder reduces stake to 32%
12:40 pm U.S. ET | June 14, 2013
AutoNation's largest shareholder, Edward Lampert, has reduced his stake in the nation's biggest dealership group to meet client redemptions from his main hedge fund.... Read More »Sales Data
Inventory
Dealer Data
Incentives
Dealers can offer free SiriusXM trial to service customers
11:05 am U.S. ET | June 13, 2013
SiriusXM Radio is launching a program this summer that allows dealers to offer a complimentary two-month SiriusXM subscription to qualifying service customers.... Read More »DealerTrack sued in U.S. court for racial discrimination
3:58 pm U.S. ET | June 13, 2013
Software vendor DealerTrack and its holding company are facing a federal lawsuit for alleged race discrimination filed by two former employees. DealerTrack wrote in a statement that it believes the defendants' claims do not have merit.... Read More »For Lincoln dealers, fine cheese and Jason Bourne hold key to brand makeover
1:11 pm U.S. ET | June 12, 2013
Ford is spending more than $1 billion to try to resurrect the Lincoln brand and it knows it needs not just better cars, but a luxury car-buying experience that will attract younger, better-educated and wealthier buyers. So it's putting its dealers through training at the Lincoln Academy, where they raise their consciousness and sharpen their senses with exercises including sampling cheese.... Read More »Dealerships should adopt a standard reserve for legal protection, F&I experts say
6:00 pm U.S. ET | June 12, 2013
Dealerships should adopt a standard amount for dealer reserve as part of a detailed fair lending program to protect themselves from potential lawsuits driven by federal regulators' crack down on auto lenders, experts say.... Read More »Lithia adds BMW, Honda, VW stores in Oregon to growing roster
6:40 pm U.S. ET | June 10, 2013
Lithia Motors has acquired three new-car dealerships in Oregon that will add $110 million in estimated annual revenues. Lithia said Monday it had purchased the O'Brien Auto Group of Salem in Salem, Ore.... Read More »GM engineers take retail road trips
12:01 am U.S. ET | June 10, 2013
GM engineers have been chatting with dealership service managers about how they diagnose problems and deal with snags on new vehicles. They're shadowing salespeople in showrooms and chatting up customers about what they like and don't like. They're even visiting non-GM stores to size up the competition.... Read More »Auto industry outsiders snag dealerships
12:01 am U.S. ET | June 10, 2013
They're coming from investment banking and the beverage industry, real estate and manufacturing. What do they have in common? After making their money in other industries, they're now snapping up or jockeying to buy U.S. auto dealerships.... Read More »Sonic to use iPads for sales from start to finish
12:01 am U.S. ET | June 10, 2013
Sales reps at Sonic Automotive Inc. dealerships will begin using iPads next year to handle the vehicle sale from beginning to end.... Read More »BEST PRACTICES
Champs sell accessories all day, every day
12:01 am U.S. ET | June 10, 2013
The folks at Fitzgerald Auto Malls don't leave the sale of vehicle accessories to chance. They leave it to the accessory champions: employees whose jobs it is to show every customer the factory and aftermarket accessories that are available to trick out, personalize and enhance the comfort and security of their new car or truck.... Read More »
Special Report
 Dealer O.C. Welch's big-truck turnaroundAfter Mercury's demise, South Carolina Ford-Lincoln dealer O.C. Welch had to find a way to replace lost revenue. He decided to load up on Super Duty pickups – and sell them online. Mon., June 17» Watch the Video |
- ALL POSITIONS
Don Davis Dealerships, Inc. -- Lake Jackson, Texas, United States - Service Manager
Performance Toyota -- Memphis, Tennessee, United States
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