N.J. dealer association sues Ford, Lincoln over standalone store program

N.J. dealer association sues Ford, Lincoln over standalone store program https://ift.tt/3b3It3B

The lawsuit, filed Friday in New Jersey State Superior Court, alleges that the program would create an illegal two-tier pricing program. Lincoln reworked the program last year in an attempt to appease unhappy dealers.

VW promotes Movassaghi to top sales, marketing role

VW promotes Movassaghi to top sales, marketing role https://ift.tt/2RIQdR5

Duncan Movassaghi will take over as executive vice president, sales and marketing for the Volkswagen brand in the U.S. effective Feb. 3. The job had belonged to Derrick Hatami, who left VW in August.

Asbury appoints new operations chief

Asbury appoints new operations chief https://ift.tt/2t9mQhc

Longtime company insider Daniel Clara, 40, was appointed to the position effective Jan. 29. He replaces John Hartman, a 30-year industry veteran who held the position for just more than two years before leaving Asbury earlier this month.

GM to show (part of) Hummer pickup in Super Bowl ad

GM to show (part of) Hummer pickup in Super Bowl ad https://ift.tt/2u2tOFi

The commercial, which will include NBA star LeBron James, will mark GM’s plan to revive the Hummer name on an electric pickup. It will be sold under the GMC brand, with production starting in 2021.

How a little automaker survived this long

How a little automaker survived this long https://ift.tt/2GDhTQS

Mazda celebrates its centennial keenly aware it will have to leverage its creativity, engineering prowess and new business partnerships to survive a new era of industry tumult.

Edmunds to cut 129 jobs in Calif., Detroit

Edmunds to cut 129 jobs in Calif., Detroit https://ift.tt/2RzwuDh

Vehicle listings company Edmunds plans to cut 122 jobs at its Santa Monica, Calif., headquarters, and another seven at a satellite office in Detroit, by March 7.

Tesla Mich. win may hurt franchised dealerships

Tesla Mich. win may hurt franchised dealerships https://ift.tt/30UJ0jG

A settlement in the birthplace of the U.S. auto industry, experts say, could serve as a template for similar cases in other states and pave the way for other startups to sidestep dealers.

Dealer anniversaries

Dealer anniversaries https://ift.tt/2vqxQYr

75 with Ford

Roger Campbell Sr., second from left, retired dealer principal of Campbell Ford in Ozark, Mo., received a 75-year award from Ford Motor Co., along with, from left, John Campbell, vice president, Stephanie Campbell, finance manager, and Roger Campbell Jr., dealer principal.

50 years of Mazda retail in U.S.: A labor of love

50 years of Mazda retail in U.S.: A labor of love https://ift.tt/2U5GNAu

Mazda conquered the market for rotary vehicles in the United States from the north 50 years ago and has provided a steady stream of fun-to-drive cars to its dealers — along with more than one existential crisis — decade after decade. 

Miller group owner gives $50 million for children's health

Miller group owner gives $50 million for children's health https://ift.tt/38IypLG

The owner of Larry H. Miller Dealerships and her family are supporting Intermountain Healthcare of Salt Lake City. Gail Miller has firsthand experience with the health system's Primary Children's Hospital.

A century of Mazda innovation and ideas

A century of Mazda innovation and ideas https://ift.tt/36wnfrA

Mazda celebrates its centennial keenly aware it will have to leverage its creativity, engineering prowess and new business partnerships to survive a new era of industry tumult.

Dale Pollak?s ?new truth of used-car profitability?

Dale Pollak?s ?new truth of used-car profitability? https://ift.tt/30YzQmd

The idea has been slow to catch on, but eventually dealers will get it, the vAuto founder says.

Mazda's little giant: The MX-5 Miata

Mazda's little giant: The MX-5 Miata https://ift.tt/36x4OTI

Mazda's MX-5 Miata has carved a niche — 1 million sales and counting.

Orlando dealer gives older cars a break

Orlando dealer gives older cars a break https://ift.tt/2sYWVJ4

A Florida Nissan dealership is using a discount parts and service program to woo customers away from the independent shops.

Rivian expects lower prices than previously announced

Rivian expects lower prices than previously announced https://ift.tt/36uTp6Q

CEO R.J. Scaringe declined to say how many prospective buyers have so far spent $1,000 on a refundable deposit to hold their spot for a Rivian, but he said the reaction had been "really positive."

A century of Mazda milestones

A century of Mazda milestones https://ift.tt/2GoMykW

Mazda wasn't always Mazda, and the company it was born from didn't always make cars.

Tesla clears road for Rivian, others to sell EVs without dealers

Tesla clears road for Rivian, others to sell EVs without dealers https://ift.tt/2Rlsmqn

Michigan ruled that sale contracts Tesla signs with Michigan consumers will have to indicate that the transaction took place elsewhere. But customers won’t actually have to leave the state to complete the contracts. Michigan dealers are reviewing the settlement.

Tomorrow's consumers want a different dealership experience, survey shows

Tomorrow's consumers want a different dealership experience, survey shows https://ift.tt/2RoKTlT

Cox analyst Michelle Krebs said the study found "trailblazer" consumers, who are most likely to embrace new technology and services, will be the new mainstream consumer by mid-decade.

Delaware judge delays DealerSocket's acquisition of Auto/Mate

Delaware judge delays DealerSocket's acquisition of Auto/Mate https://ift.tt/36h5zjU

The restraining order will be in place until a preliminary injunction hearing is held Feb. 11 before a judge in Delaware.

Michigan, Tesla settle suit over direct vehicle sales

Michigan, Tesla settle suit over direct vehicle sales https://ift.tt/2Rhfb9L

The settlement says Tesla may "operate under existing Michigan law; sell cars to Michigan customers as long as the sales contract indicates the sale took place in a state other than Michigan; and, indirectly own service and repair facilities in Michigan through a subsidiary."

Delaware judge holds up DealerSocket's acquisition of Auto/Mate

Delaware judge holds up DealerSocket's acquisition of Auto/Mate https://ift.tt/2vfyZC7

The restraining order will be in place until a preliminary injunction hearing is held Feb. 11 before a judge in Delaware.

Record-high subprime auto delinquencies on horizon, Cox says

Record-high subprime auto delinquencies on horizon, Cox says https://ift.tt/2sT5y88

November and December saw record-high delinquency rates on subprime auto loans and may signal even more consumers will fall behind on payments in January and February. To compensate, lenders may restrict credit access further for subprime borrowers in 2020, Cox Automotive said.

Safety advocate drops lawsuit after service bulletins get posted on NHTSA site

Safety advocate drops lawsuit after service bulletins get posted on NHTSA site https://ift.tt/30M5TGe

Automakers' technical-service bulletins, which regulators call manufacturer communications, include warranty and policy memos, product improvement notices and repair instructions for dealership service departments.

Nissan dealers give CEO an earful

Nissan dealers give CEO an earful https://ift.tt/2NXir8z

A group of retailers gathered at Nissan's North American headquarters voiced frustration with slumping residual values and profitability and urged Makoto Uchida to provide faster product updates and greater marketing and incentive support.

Muñoz tweaks Hyundai dealer pay plan amid mission to boost retail health

Muñoz tweaks Hyundai dealer pay plan amid mission to boost retail health https://ift.tt/2RsWZJm

Dealers said they left a meeting last fall in Las Vegas loving the new vehicles they saw, but not so much the early outlines of the pay program designed to elevate the brand's distribution network. A positive outcome to the latest dealer drama at Hyundai and Genesis is crucial as they seek to move from challenger brands in the U.S. to top-tier competitors.

Shine hired to lead Fixed Ops Journal

Shine hired to lead Fixed Ops Journal https://ift.tt/3aoMDTq

Automotive News has hired Dan Shine as editor of Fixed Ops Journal, the magazine that focuses on dealerships' parts, service and collision departments. Shine will also oversee coverage of finance and insurance for Automotive News.

Dealer anniversaries

Dealer anniversaries https://ift.tt/368HOdy

Dealers featured this week include David and Michael Cuene, dealer principals of Broadway Chevrolet in Green Bay, Wis.; and Monica and Eric Rehkemper, owners of Tri Ford in Highland, Ill.

Corvette joyride lands GM employees in hot water

Corvette joyride lands GM employees in hot water https://ift.tt/2RyN4SE

Kentucky State Troopers arrested two GM employees near the Bowling Green Assembly plant for racing two 2020 Corvettes.

Subscriber options are on the rise at Clutch

Subscriber options are on the rise at Clutch https://ift.tt/2TDLv8o

What began as a premium-brand subscription service — Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and BMW — provided by Cox Automotive-owned Clutch Technologies has expanded to the mass market.

DealerSocket co-founder files suit challenging Auto/Mate deal

DealerSocket co-founder files suit challenging Auto/Mate deal https://ift.tt/38lQWx7

Co-Founder Brad Perry contends some members of the DealerSocket board, along with CEO Sejal Pietrzak, conspired with majority sharholder Vista Equity Partners to force the acquisition.

Serpentini Auto Group acquires three Pat O'Brien dealerships in Ohio

Serpentini Auto Group acquires three Pat O'Brien dealerships in Ohio https://ift.tt/2R4z2ZZ

The addition of Pat O'Brien Chevrolet locations outside of Cleveland gives Serpentini a total of six Chevy dealerships in northeast Ohio.

CarGurus acquires vehicle listings site Autolist

CarGurus acquires vehicle listings site Autolist https://ift.tt/2tj1oGT will be maintained as a separate website and brand. It will remain headquartered in San Francisco and led by its founder, Corey Lydstone.

NHTSA to review petition seeking defect probe into 500,000 Tesla vehicles

NHTSA to review petition seeking defect probe into 500,000 Tesla vehicles https://ift.tt/38gMxva

The petition cites 127 consumer complaints to NHTSA about unintended acceleration in 123 unique vehicles. The reports include 110 crashes and 52 injuries, the agency added. Tesla did not immediately comment.

Defense department ?unresponsive' on clarifying Military Lending Act rules, NADA says

Defense department ?unresponsive' on clarifying Military Lending Act rules, NADA says https://ift.tt/2uPAMxn

Two years after the government revised its interpretation of how auto lenders and dealers comply with MLA standards, the auto finance industry is still waiting for a resolution.

CFPB taps auto legal expert for consumer finance task force

CFPB taps auto legal expert for consumer finance task force https://ift.tt/2uTt99l

Jean Noonan, a partner at auto dealer law firm Hudson Cook, will serve on a four-member panel to examine and harmonize federal consumer finance laws, identify gaps in borrowers' knowledge of consumer financial laws, and educate shoppers on financial markets and products.

Malware disrupts services for marketing company AutoWeb

Malware disrupts services for marketing company AutoWeb https://ift.tt/30n7fqo

The company, formerly known as Autobytel, said in a filing that it hired third-party consultants and forensic experts to assist in restoring systems and investigating the incident.

New Jersey lawmakers pass legislation for EV rebates

New Jersey lawmakers pass legislation for EV rebates https://ift.tt/35YC3zj

New Jersey's legislature has passed a bill that would give consumers large rebates on electric vehicle purchases, leases and in-home chargers.

The bill, which was introduced almost two years ago, includes sales rebates for full battery-electric vehicles that would provide consumers with $25 per mile of the vehicle's battery range, up to $5,000 for cars priced at $55,000 or less.

New Jersey Assemblyman Daniel Benson, D-Mercer and Middlesex, told Bloomberg he worked closely with Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy's staff on the bill, which passed Monday. He expects Murphy to sign it.

The state passed a bill in 2017 that waives a 7 percent sales tax on electric vehicles and provides a tax credit based on the vehicle's battery capacity.

The bill would also provide consumers with rebates of up to $500 for in-home chargers.

"Originally, the bill was going to include infrastructure; that part was taken out in favor of the rebates for the in-home chargers," New Jersey Assemblywoman Nancy Pinkin, D-Middlesex, who sponsored the bill with Benson, told Automotive News last week. "We don't want to end up having a tax in favor of what's already happening organically."

Statewide public education programs and a "vehicle charging infrastructure plan ... incorporated into the State Energy Master Plan," would be implemented through the bill, it said.

Rebates for hybrid electric vehicles are limited to about $550, and would be phased out in 2022, said Pinkin.

Loren McDonald, an EV analyst who runs EVAdoption.com, told NorthJersey.com that the bill is "penalizing" the plug-in hybrid, "which I don't think is in the overall best interest of the state or its residents," he said.

The bill sets goals of all nonemergency state-owned cars and small trucks to be electric by 2035. It also calls for the state to buy only electric-powered buses by the end of 2032.

The American Lung Association's "State of the Air" study found that New Jersey's ozone smog level worsened from 2018 to 2019. Ten of 15 New Jersey counties received grades of "F," the report said.

Pinkin said electrification incentives can give the U.S. an advantage both over the issue of climate change and overutilization of foreign oil.

"Unfortunately, with the situation in Iran, it just reminds us that whatever self-reliance we can get, the better," she said.

ElectraMeccanica plans more U.S. kiosks to sell single-seat Solo EV in U.S.

ElectraMeccanica plans more U.S. kiosks to sell single-seat Solo EV in U.S. https://ift.tt/36ZPyjy

The British Columbia-based automaker in November 2019 opened a kiosk in the Westfield Century City Shopping Mall on Santa Monica Boulevard in Los Angeles. Now, it's looking at locations in the states of Washington and Oregon. It is scheduled to be released in 2020 and expected to retail for less than $20,000.

Zeigler Automotive to buy 3 luxury dealerships near Chicago

Zeigler Automotive to buy 3 luxury dealerships near Chicago https://ift.tt/381DPRu

The new stores are expected to add 5,000 unit sales a year and $350 million in annual sales for the privately held dealership group in its largest acquisition to date.

Millennials could end up being a boon to the U.S. auto market

Millennials could end up being a boon to the U.S. auto market https://ift.tt/389mHtf

By 2025, there will likely be a record 245 million licensed drivers in the U.S. That could result in an extra 3 million vehicle sales a year.

Market declines for second straight year; EV demand dips for first time

Market declines for second straight year; EV demand dips for first time https://ift.tt/35Lwi7X

China’s new-vehicle market, a reliable source of growth and profits for automakers worldwide, contracted for the second consecutive year as a weakening economy and prolonged trade war with the United States continued to sap demand. New-vehicle deliveries slipped 8.2 percent to just below 25.8 million, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said Monday. 

Omnichannel retail can be buffer in downturn

Omnichannel retail can be buffer in downturn https://ift.tt/2Tj8bKY

Creating a seamless transaction from online to in-person is not only a shift in how dealerships sell cars. Experts say it also could protect against a downturn.

How Hyundai?s Genesis plans to grow ? quickly

How Hyundai?s Genesis plans to grow ? quickly https://ift.tt/2NAB0PJ

New global chief William Lee says the South Korean premium contender is about to make a "quantum jump" in terms of volume and brand image in the U.S.,  beginning with this year’s arrival of the brand’s first crossover.

Marketing means explaining F&I products to consumers

Marketing means explaining F&I products to consumers https://ift.tt/30gIrk2

Educating consumers before they arrive at the dealership about why they need such products is critical, pros say.

ZT Motors has sights set on Southeast for growth plans

ZT Motors has sights set on Southeast for growth plans https://ift.tt/2uARAYP

The dealership group, owned by a wealth management fund, bought its first stores just five years ago. It expects to add a lot more.

Wells Fargo sees payoff after work to boost services

Wells Fargo sees payoff after work to boost services https://ift.tt/2uEd7Ql

The bank's autos team has regained business by refining customer onboarding procedures, increasing automated loan approvals and adding sales reps to deepen relationships with dealerships.

Pacifico Auto Group founder, innovator in F&I, dies at 95

Pacifico Auto Group founder, innovator in F&I, dies at 95 https://ift.tt/2RcfxNW

Kerry Pacifico is known in the finance-and-insurance world as the originator of the "Pacifico approach" to dealership reserve, which requires dealerships to clarify any deviation from the set amount earned for arranging an auto loan.

CarOffer jumps in with instant trading

CarOffer jumps in with instant trading https://ift.tt/2ThOHGL

The early response from dealers to the company's trading platform for used vehicles has been strong.

Inventories at healthy levels to start year

Inventories at healthy levels to start year https://ift.tt/2R8KTFb

The UAW strike against General Motors contributed to the lowest supply of unsold vehicles for this time of year since 2013.

Dealer anniversaries

Dealer anniversaries https://ift.tt/30d2Czp

Dealers featured this week include Dan Roesch, president of Larry Roesch Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge in Elmhurst, Ill., and dealership vice president Paul Koch; Shane Huffman, managing partner of Neil Huffman Volkswagen in Louisville, Ky.; Danny Jones and Bryan Kilby, dealer principals of Jones Bel Air Nissan, in Maryland; Stephen Napleton, dealer principal of Napleton’s Schaumburg Mazda, in Illinois; and Mark Winkler, dealer principal of Champion Ford Sales in Erie, Pa.