Worry that federal regulators' crackdown on dealer markup might spill over into FandI products is revving an industry trade group's efforts to get state-by-state legal definitions for those products, and rules for how they're sold, on the books.
Automakers' growing use of aluminum body parts to save weight and fuel could create an opportunity for dealership FandI departments to sell more paintless dent removal policies, some FandI experts say.
People in the car business are so used to being lectured on how they are doing things wrong -- social media, customer service, what have you -- that it's notable whenever an automotive company sets a new benchmark for the rest of the world.
Dealership staffers must either present FandI products to customers when they take delivery of their car or contact them later by phone, says Lou Bregou, a director of operations at Driver's Village. Selling FandI online is "an uphill struggle," he says.
Parts Director Danny Perez saves $100 to $400 a day in rental-car costs thanks to Same Day Service, a parts distribution program run by Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc.
The center stack is already a hub for entertainment and navigation, but what if it could help you get half off a turkey sandwich at a deli that's just around the corner? For automakers and their technology partners, it's an appetizing thought.
Jaguar Land Rover executives got their first look at the Land Wind X7 from Jiangling Motors Corp. last month at the Guangzhou Motor Show -- and they weren't amused.
General Motors' captive finance company, GM Financial, is finally ready for prime time.
After working as a sales representative for almost two years at Atlantic Hyundai in West Islip, N.Y., Russell Williamson was ready for more responsibility and the chance to earn more money.
Takata promoted Swiss-born Stefan Stocker to president last year to inject global thinking and openness into the insular, family-dominated Japanese supplier.
Lou Bregou, a director of operations at Driver's Village in Cicero, N.Y., says he has embraced putting financing tools on the dealership group's e-commerce website.
Ford is considering giving the continuously variable transmission another spin. "We've had some experience with CVTs and it wasn't all good," said Raj Nair, Ford's global product development chief, during a media event here. "They are getting better.
Chinese bureaucrats are jittery, maybe even a bit panicky, about the country's slumping economy. But global carmakers sound as optimistic as ever as they place big bets on the world's biggest auto market.
Chrysler Group is improving its Pentastar family of V-6s, adding direct injection, turbocharging and other technology to enable smaller displacement engines to power its vehicles.
Jeep's big year has helped Fiat Chrysler grow at four times the pace of the rest of the industry, gaining momentum as the U.S. market shows signs of starting to plateau.
In 2013, the average dealership had a 66 percent turnover rate among sales consultants, up 4 percentage points from the previous year and well above the national average for the private sector of 42 percent, the National Automobile Dealers...
After toiling to revitalize separate single-point dealerships in the Detroit area, two childhood friends merged and expanded operations to compete with larger groups. "It's not an acquisition, but a partnership," says Sam Slaughter.
One reason auto sales in the United States still aren't quite back to the 17 million-a-year pace seen during the boom years before the recession: Many consumers haven't gotten much of a raise since then.
For most of the last five years, Toyota has been hampered by one problem after another: recession, safety crisis, earthquake, strong yen.
Pickup trucks are still seen as a stronghold of the industry's testosterone-laden, good-old-boy past. But now, women do pickups, too. Next month Becky Blanchard will take over as director of Chrysler Group's Ram brand.
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