September 2020

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. –  Quantum5 is a social advocacy platform that seeks to digitally transform automotive buying by shifting to a “lifetime value model” instead of the transactional model of the past. The company uses a “social advocacy learning platform” of dealership training on people skills and behavioral tactics that it says is necessary to succeed in the digital world of today. On Wednesday, the company released its community-building platform, called Quantum5, and said it seeks to teach those skills to help fill the void left when on-the-lot car buying went digital… Read More »Platform aims to help dealers further improve people skills amid pandemic

Wednesday, Sep. 30, 2020, 03:57 PM CARY, N.C.  –  Fair announced in mid-September that it was launching 2- and 3-year used-car lease options for consumers, in addition to its existing month-to-month option. Chief executive officer Brad Stewart joins the Auto Remarketing Podcast discuss this new offering, share his thoughts on the overall market potential for pre-owned leasing and more. “These tailored lease options will make a car more accessible to more people and give our customers an even greater ability to create a personal driving experience that suits their circumstances… Read More »PODCAST: Fair CEO Brad Stewart talks used-car leasing

Wednesday, Sep. 30, 2020, 02:51 PM TORONTO –  With the company’s founder and chief information officer Ryan O’Connor saying its growth is “rooted in our team’s commitment to developing the best-in-class product for our dealers,” EBlock said it placed as the highest ranked automotive company on the 2020 Report on Business ranking of Canada’s Top Growing Companies. EBlock also placed No. 30 overall on the list, which comes from media company, The Globe and Mail. O’Connor said that at the time of EBlock’s founding in 2015, company leaders we knew that… Read More »EBlock ranks among Canada’s top-growing companies

CARY, N.C. –  In the latest episode of the Auto Remarketing Podcast, Widewail founder and chief executive officer Matt Murray joins the show to talk with Auto Remarketing’s Joe Overby about how reviews have become a more integral part of the car-buying process. Plus, we talk about Widewail’s pivot, its launch of Invite and how the company’s name came to be. For more on Widewail, see this story from mid-September. To listen to the entire conversation, click on the link available below, or visit the Auto Remarketing Podcast page.  Download and subscribe to the Auto… Read More »PODCAST: Widewail founder & CEO Matt Murray

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. –   AutoNation’s Drive Pink initiative, or DRV PNK, is personal for long-time AutoNation associate Lisa Logan, who is a breast cancer survivor. “Sadly, just about everyone has been touched by cancer,” Logan said in a news release. “I am so proud to work for a company that not only supported me throughout my journey, but that also supports such an important cause.” For AutoNation, that cause has reached a new milestone. The auto retailer said funds raised for cancer research and treatment through Drive Pink have surpassed $25… Read More »New Drive Pink milestone for AutoNation

SAN FRANCISCO –  A former leader with AutoNation and Sonic Automotive has joined Shift as its chief revenue officer, a newly created position at the used-car ecommerce company. Named to the post is Mark McCollum, who most recently was founder and chief executive officer at auto retail software company Automotive IntelliQuence. Shift, which is on its way to going public through a business combination with special purpose acquisition company Insurance Acquisition Corp. (which is publicly traded), also recently hired a chief financial officer, Cindy Hanford. In a news release Wednesday announcing… Read More »Shift hires former AutoNation executive as chief revenue officer

Wednesday, Sep. 30, 2020, 11:29 AM TAMPA, Fla. –  RISC announced that with support from Hudson Cook, it recently completed the 2020 update of the education firm’s training certification program — CARS Financial Client (CARS FC). The firm reiterated this week that the CARS FC certification program was created for financial clients, including national forwarding companies and lending institutions, to provide a comprehensive understanding of the state and federal laws that apply to self-help repossession. RISC indicated in a news release that the course update aligns the content with current federal… Read More »RISC, Hudson Cook update collateral recovery training program

ST. GEORGE, Utah –  With the demands on call centers even more intense nowadays, TCN rolled out a platform update this week to help contact centers and collection agencies worldwide, especially as representatives might be working at home. TCN highlighted its platform update with Room 303 can allow for “easy and seamless” agent-to-agent and agent-to-manager communication. The company said Room 303 is built directly into TCN’s software, making collaboration convenient for agents and managers in call centers. “There has been high demand for an internal chat feature for a while now,”… Read More »TCN upgrades cloud-based call-center platform

WASHINGTON, D.C. –  Last week, Lobel Financial Corp. finalized a settlement with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau totaling more than $1.4 million. According to a news release, the bureau found that Lobel engaged in unfair practices with respect to the finance company’s loss damage waiver (LDW) product in violation of the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA). When a contract holder has insufficient insurance, rather than force-placing collateral-protection insurance, the CFPB said Lobel places the LDW product. The bureau said this product is not itself insurance on accounts and charges a monthly… Read More »Lobel Financial reaches $1.4M settlement with CFPB

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. –  Wholesale values are continuing their typical autumn descent, according to the COVID-19 Market Insights released by Black Book on Tuesday. However, analysts and auction observers noticed that consignors aren’t budging much when it comes to the floors for the limited volume of vehicles going through the wholesale market nowadays. With that scenario as the backdrop, Black Book got into the details of the latest price movements for both cars and trucks. Based on volume-weighted data, Black Book determined overall car segment values decreased 0.37% over the past week,… Read More »Lane watch: Floors not expected to change even as values continue to soften