April 2020

Gale Halderman, designer behind first Ford Mustang, dies

Gale Halderman, credited with the exterior styling of the original Ford Mustang, based on a sketch he created some 21 months before the car’s April 1964 public debut, died Wednesday. He was 87. The cause of death, at a hospital in Troy, Ohio, was cancer, the Dayton Daily News reported, citing the family. Halderman was a fairly young designer whose early sketch of the Mustang emerged the winner among a competition during a secret project to create what became the first so-called pony car. Along with Hal Sperlich, he was… Read More »Gale Halderman, designer behind first Ford Mustang, dies

Hertz talks with banks, Treasury in push to avoid bankruptcy

Hertz Global Holdings Inc. is doing everything it can to preserve cash and get leniency from lenders to avoid a bankruptcy filing in the midst of the travel industry’s collapse, CEO Kathryn Marinello said in an interview. The company has been in discussions with creditors for weeks and is still pushing the U.S. Treasury Department to help rental-car companies, which Marinello says have been hit as hard as the airline sector by the coronavirus pandemic. “We are seeking the support of our lenders and banks,” said Marinello, whose biggest shareholder… Read More »Hertz talks with banks, Treasury in push to avoid bankruptcy

Hertz skips lender payments amid talks to reduce obligations

Hertz Global Holdings Inc., the giant rental-car firm running low on cash, hasn’t made certain payments related to leasing vehicles for its fleet as it engages in talks with lenders to reduce the obligations. With travel virtually ground to a halt across much of the globe, Hertz has furloughed employees and is trying to further reduce monthly expenses to lease vehicles from its special-purpose vehicle-finance subsidiary. While the company said in a regulatory filing that it’s reached an agreement with holders of the subsidiary’s notes, talks with lenders are ongoing.… Read More »Hertz skips lender payments amid talks to reduce obligations

Guide helps dealers address ‘new roadmap to the sale’

PHILADELPHIA –  A downloadable dealership performance directive from DealerMax discusses six “essential online sales processes” that it says are a requirement for the new online sales retail environment. Dealership support company DealerMax said its team of digital retail experts wrote the guide, titled, “Dealership 2020 Guide: Re-engineering Automotive Retail.” The team wrote the guide to give dealers a sense of control and focus as the industry sees an urgent need to move sales online. That is where consumers increasingly feel more comfortable, safe, and empowered to shop for and buy cars,… Read More »Guide helps dealers address ‘new roadmap to the sale’

PODCAST: Jay Maxwell of the Costco Auto Program

Thursday, Apr. 23, 2020, 12:55 PM CARY, N.C. –  Jay Maxwell, general manager of strategic operations of the Costco Auto Program, joins the show to discuss how the program and its partner dealers have adapted to COVID-19 stay-at-home orders, keeping customer, vendor and employee communication lines open and more. Plus, Maxwell shares some automotive success stories. To listen to this episode, click on the link available below, or visit the Auto Remarketing Podcast page.  Download and subscribe to the Auto Remarketing Podcast on iTunes or on Google Play.  Source Article

TrueCar announces assistance to its dealer partners

SANTA MONICA, Calif. –  To support its dealer partners during the COVID-19 pandemic, TrueCar is providing a 50% adjustment to the May invoice of dealer partners on its subscription billing model, in addition to the adjustment it announced previously in April. In a letter to dealers that are on TrueCar’s subscription billing model, TrueCar president and chief executive officer Mike Darrow said the company will “work tirelessly” to deliver new and innovative products to help dealers meet consumer buying preferences that are rapidly changing. TrueCar said dealers not on subscription also… Read More »TrueCar announces assistance to its dealer partners

Off-lease volume concerns in Canada amplified by COVID-19

MARKHAM, Ontario –  Off-lease volumes were already going to be a tough hurdle for the Canadian auto market to maneuver this year, even before COVID-19. But the impact of the pandemic certainly heightens the concerns around what is expected to be two “peak years” for off-lease volume, as analysis this week from Canadian Black Book illustrates. Lease terminations for 2020 are up 25% from 2017 lease terminations, CBB said, and 2021 lease terminations are expected to be up 31% from the 2017 numbers. “This increase in supply is arriving in the… Read More »Off-lease volume concerns in Canada amplified by COVID-19

Agora Data offers closer look at BHPH delinquency, recency during COVID-19

ARLINGTON, Texas –  While the latest overall auto-finance default reading came in at the lowest point in the past 10 years, Agora Data tried to generate more clarity about delinquency specific to the buy-here, pay-here industry. Through which AgoraInsights shared exclusively with BHPH Report this week, Agora Data used its newest feature to track the impact of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic by analyzing the daily data from hundreds of millions in principal balance and hundreds of thousands of individual contracts originated by BHPH dealers. Agora Data explained one of… Read More »Agora Data offers closer look at BHPH delinquency, recency during COVID-19

EDealer, EBlock waive costs for Guaranteed Trade until August

TORONTO –  Responding to the COVID-19 pandemic that they say has impacted the automotive industry worldwide, EDealer and EBlock are waiving all contract, set-up and transactional costs associated with their touchless trade-in product, Guaranteed Trade, until August for every dealer in Canada. EDealer and EBlock chief executive officer Jason McClenahan said that although car sales have seen a downturn, his company has seen a significant rise in “trades being self-captured by consumers.” “Since visiting showrooms is no longer an option, Guaranteed Trade can help dealers properly assess trade-ins while keeping everyone… Read More »EDealer, EBlock waive costs for Guaranteed Trade until August

Part II of CMG whitepaper series on digital car buying & selling now available

CARY, N.C.  –  And now we turn to digital retail.  After launching the series earlier this month, Cherokee Media Group has released Part II of a whitepaper series on “A New Age of Digital Buying & Selling” to share trends and best practices for a used-car industry that’s increasingly digital — and even more so in recent weeks. Part II focuses on the digital retail automotive environment and includes insights from eLENDING Solutions, The Appraisal Lane, Autotrader, TransUnion, AutoGravity and Autolist. Part I focused on the wholesale used-car business and includes insights from such key players as KAR… Read More »Part II of CMG whitepaper series on digital car buying & selling now available