E-NEWSLETTER

A study by Maritz Research CEBenchmarks revealed that the auto industry outperforms several other industries when it comes to providing a quality customer service experience.

Tags: customer retention, customer reviews, Customer Service

A study by J.D. Power and Associates revealed that strong initial quality of 2009 model-year vehicles translated into historically high levels of vehicle dependability in 2012.

Tags: J.D. Power and Associates, vehicle quality

RouteOne LLC introduced the Compliance Dashboard, a free tool that provides dealers with a visual assessment of the dealership's compliance status for all applicable deals.

Tags: business tools, Compliance, dealer, digital compliance

Asbury Automotive Group Inc. reported adjusted income from continuing operations for the fourth quarter 2011 of $17 million, up from $12.2 million during fourth quarter 2010.

Tags: Asbury Automotive, dealer, revenue

A report by Urban Science revealed that as of Dec. 31, 2011, there were 17,767 dealerships in the United States, a 0.6 percent increase year over year.

Tags: franchised dealerships, independent dealerships, Urban Science

A report by Comerica Bank indicated that the purchase and financing of an average-priced new vehicle took 23.1 weeks of median family income in the fourth quarter of 2011, the best affordability reading since the third quarter of 2009.

Tags: auto affordibility, Comerica Bank

Auto Point Inc. was selected by General Motors as a Customer Sales and Service Retention (CSSR) Plus-up Vendor for an important segment of GM customers.

Tags: Auto Point, customer retention, General Motors

After reviewing data in January from eight randomly selected users of its Automated Virtual Assistant, AutoFerret.com found that its artificial intelligence technology averaged a closing rate of 28.7 percent.

Tags: AutoFerret, closing rates, lead generation

Auto/Mate Dealership Systems announced it has added Automated Dispatch and Electronic Repair Order functions to the fixed-operations module in its dealership management system software.

Tags: Auto/Mate, dealership management system, DMS, fixed operations, repair orders

Izmocars’ annual AOA Auto Accessories Trend Report revealed that dealerships continued to generate solid profits from accessory sales in 2011.

Tags: accessories department, accessories selling, Accessory Market, F&I products, izmocars

AUL Corp. announced an expansion of its service-contract relationship with Ace Motor Acceptance Company (AMAC), a subprime finance source in Charlotte, N.C.

Tags: AUL Corp., BHPH, buy-here, pay-here, service contracts

The preliminary agenda for the second annual Agent Summit, scheduled for March 12–14, 2012, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, has been released.

Tags: Agent Summit, general agents

The 2012 NADA convention marked the culmination of four years’ of planning, research and development for Todd Kinzle, president of Auction Genius, and his software development team.

Tags: Auction Genius, auto auctions

Michael Maledon, president and CEO of Chandler, Ariz.-based Inilex Inc., traveled to last weekend’s NADA convention to showcase his company’s SkyLINK device and SkyLINK Protect service, which he described as the “next generation” of vehicle-recovery and –tracking technology.

Tags: Inilex, vehicle recovery, vehicle tracking solutions

FordDirect announced the launch of its new website solution for Ford and Lincoln Dealers, DealerConnection Elite.

Tags: automotive SEO, dealer websites, Ford, FordDirect, Internet leads, inventory, lead generation, Lincoln, mobile solution, Web tools

FordDirect, a joint venture between Ford Motor Company and its franchised dealers, launched DealerConnection Vehicle Showroom (VSR). The solution is based on SiSTeR's Technologies' VSHOC and Publisher platform.

Tags: Ford, FordDirect, Lincoln, online reputation management, Social Media

Dealer.com unveiled an enhanced version of its SocialRelationship Manager (SRM) solution, which aggregates every major online social media channel into a single-login access page called ControlCenter.

Tags: Dealer.com, online reputation management, Social Media, Web tools

Dealer.com announced the launch of Dealer.com Digital Website Suite, an integrated marketing solution that offers tools for video, mobile, enhanced inventory merchandising and management, analytics and reporting.

Tags: Dealer.com, dealership marketing, digital marketing, marketing, Web Marketing

Manheim Consulting’s 17th annual report on the used-car market revealed that auto manufacturers, rental car companies, lenders and dealers increased revenues and earnings in 2011 despite a weak economic backdrop.

Tags: Manheim, used vehicles, used-vehicle sales

CUDL announced a new initiative with Manheim’s OVE.com (Online Vehicle Exchange) and GE Capital Fleet Services that will offer a new online vehicle buying program to CUDL’s dealer network.

Tags: CUDL, GE Capital, Manheim, OVE.com, remarketing

Experian Automotive announced the launch of Velocity, an online business intelligence tool that combines automotive data with advanced analytics, enabling automotive professionals to better understand the market, vehicles and consumers.

Tags: automotive data, Experian, Internet

The American Financial Services Association (AFSA) named Andrew Stuart as chair of the trade group's Vehicle Finance Division Advisory Board.

Tags: AFSA, AFSA Vehicle Finance Conference, American Financial Services Association, VW Credit

HookLogic announced it will integrate Polk's predictive lead scoring and segmentation data into version 2.0 of its Lead to Show solution for automotive dealers.

Tags: HookLogic, incentives, Internet leads, lead generation, lead management, Polk

Westlake Financial Services named Norwalk Auto Auction as its overall 2011 Auction of the Year.

Tags: auto auctions, Norwalk Auto Auction, Westlake Financial Services

The economy and aging vehicle population continues to spur more car owners to do more of their own auto repairs, according to AutoMD.com’s 2012 DIY Report.

Tags: AutoMD.com, consumer buying habits, vehicle maintenance