NIADA, NABD Team up for Training

operations.

Ken Shilson unveiled the program at his recent NABD conference in Atlanta. Several NIADA representatives were on hand, including CEO Mike Linn, President Don Fincher and President-elect Chris Martin.

Fincher and Martin are both CMDs who also do in-house financing.
Despite being in the business for decades, Fincher said he learned a lot from his CMD training.

You can never say you ve learned everything you need to know, Fincher said.

The two groups are gathering input from dealers to shape the content of the classes. Some topics are already marked for inclusion, such as compliance and financial management.

We ll sit down and figure out what makes sense, Linn said.

The new program received a positive reaction from the audience at the NABD event. Several conference attendees were already CMDs, and said they would enroll in the new course.

One hope for the CMD program is it improves the tarnished image of buy-here, pay-here dealers. A series of unflattering articles in the Los Angeles Times has lead to new calls for increased regulation of the sector.

The new designation could enhance the image of buy-here, pay-here dealers.
The better we look, the better off we are, Fincher said.

Linn said the NIADA website allows consumers to search for CMDs in their market. This option draws a lot of interest each month, he said.

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Wealthier Shoppers Looking at New Cars, Used Luxos

2004.

"December has certainly been a month to remember for dealers over the last two years,'" said Edmunds.com Chief Economist Lacey Plache. "And with a substantial number of new car buyers still coming back to the market after deferring their purchases this summer, dealers have plenty of reason to believe that this December will continue the trend.

"Recent income growth, moderated inflation and improved consumer confidence are all combining to put consumers in a better position to spend."

New-car buyers tend toward a wealthier demographic. So do used luxury buyers and they're doing more shopping lately, too.

Luxury vehicles were the certified pre-owned "Big Movers," at the segment level, and in the list of the top 20 most-viewed vehicles for AutoTrader.com in October.

The majority of consumers consider both new and pre-owned choices when they are searching for their next vehicle, so it is no surprise that we saw a spike in activity around luxury cars on the CPO front in the same month that we saw an increase in new luxury car shopper activity," said Rick Wainschel, vice president of automotive insights at AutoTrader.com. "There are strong signs of pent up demand for luxury vehicles among car shoppers, indicating that despite continuing economic headwinds, there are more consumers willing and able to consider higher end choices."

For CPO luxury cars, it was Jaguar that had the most models to make big moves in October, with the XJ Series moving up 34 spots to No. 174, the XF moving up 30 spots to No. 143 and the XK Series moving up 28 spots to No. 177.

On the segment level, luxury cars came in as the No. 1 CPO segment on AutoTrader.com in October. Out of all the CPO segments in October, luxury cars and SUVs were the only ones to see month-over-month increases in consumer interest. The luxury car segment increased 0.4 share points from September to October, and the luxury SUV segment increased 0.7 share points during the same time.

In looking at the most-viewed CPO vehicles, luxury cars claimed six of the top 20 spots on the list of most-viewed CPO cars in October, more than any other segment represented. The BMW 3 Series, always a favorite among CPO shoppers, took the No. 1 spot again in October, a position it held during the same time last year.

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New Bankruptcy Rules Could Prove Costly

"If you don't fill them out properly, you won't get paid," Sicay-Perrow said.

Buy-here, pay-here dealers work into their business models the reality that a portion of customers will declare bankruptcy. Failing to get paid from the bankruptcy trustee due to paperwork problems hurts their bottom line.

What's more, the individual who fills out the forms improperly could face a 50,000 fine for fraud.

Expect little help from the bankruptcy trustee in figuring out the ins and outs of the forms.

"The trustees are maniacally adverse to giving legal advice," Sicay-Perrow said.

He recommends dealers work with a bankruptcy attorney to make sure they follow the right procedures for their local bankruptcy districts.

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Thief Makes Repeated Visits to Car Store

front window and removed several personal items from the window sill inside of the building.

The incident occurred about 4 a.m. and was caught by the dealership's surveillance cameras.

The suspect was filmed wearing an orange and white football jersey with the word BEL AIR, and the number 13 on the front. He was also filmed driving off in a small, light-colored vehicle.

In August, at about 6 a.m., the same suspect shattered the front window in another attempt to take personal items from inside the store. He was caught on camera using pliers to take an antique thermometer attached to the outside wall.

This time, the suspect wore a solid blue football jersey with the words BEL AIR and the number 21 on the front.

According to the New Jersey State Police, the suspect is a white male between 5 feet 7 inches and 6 feet tall with long dark shoulder length hair. The vehicle he has been filmed leaving the dealership in is a white or light colored two-door vehicle, possibly a Dodge Neon.

The suspect is wanted by police for multiple thefts and criminal
mischief.

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New Car Sales Set to Rise as Year Ends

market and another third should return to the market by March 2012.

That remaining third may prove harder to budge.

"The exact number of remaining sales that will return - and their exact pace - depends on economic conditions, since some portion of buyers likely have been deterred by current economic uncertainty," Plache said. "But positive trends in the U.S. economy, such as steady job growth, moderate inflation and income growth could reassure buyers enough to push them to finally make their new car purchases."

The manufacturers are doing what they can to nudge consumers before year's end. TrueCar.com forecasts seven of the top 10 days to buy a car this year occur in the next month.

"December is going to be the best month of 2011 to buy a car with manufacturers offering attractive year-end incentives and dealers motivated to move inventory to get to their sales objectives," said Jesse Toprak, TrueCar.com's vice president of industry trends and insights. "It's also a good month to buy a luxury vehicle or large truck/SUV."

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Financing Repairs Raises Issues

The old buy-here, pay-here saying says, "If the car stops running, the customer stops paying." But keeping the car running proves harder than it sounds.

The common method is for dealers to finance a repair if a customer has a problem. Very few do this properly, however, said attorney Tom Hudson.

The first mistake comes in the contract's structure, Hudson told attendees at the recent National Alliance of Buy-Here, Pay-Here Dealers conference.

Any contract that requires four or more payments falls under the federal Truth in Lending Act.

Even those done in three or fewer

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Dealer Takes Anything in Trade

the oddest trade was a horse Najjar accepted in September as down payment on a 2010 Chevrolet HHR.

"We have an ad running that says, When other people say no, we find a way to go'," he said.

It caught the attention of a woman going through a divorce and in need of a car, he said.

When she showed up at his Pinellas Park, Fla., showroom, Najjar assured her he would be flexible on the trade.

"She said she had nothing of real value except a horse," he said. She showed him a video of Dallas, her buckskin quarter horse, and Najjar called his wife.

"I asked her, What do you think about owning a horse?' And she said, I always wanted one.'"

The woman had been paying more than her new car payment to feed and care for the 13-year-old gelding. Those costs now fall to Najjar.

"Somebody told me a long time ago, don't take anything on trade that eats," Najjar said. "I broke the rule I guess."

No matter. Najjar's wife and three kids - ages 5, 7 and 9 - are delighted.

Having to find a buyer for a traded item occasionally takes longer than expected and that can temporarily tie up Najir's cash flow, but it doesn't happen often.

"We try to turn things around pretty quick," he said. "We have a relationship with some local vendors (and) always turn to them first."

Najjar said the occasional hassle unloading the oddball trades are worth it.
They bring in an extra 10 or 15 deals a month.

He avoids taking anything illegal in trade and is careful to do everything by the book.

That includes valuing even the items he keeps and telling the lender he is taking, say, a horse as the trade in. Najjar said his entire sales staff is skilled at assessing the value of a broad range of items.

But if the trade in turns out to be worth less than the required down payment, it is the dealership that comes up short, not the bank.

Creditors don't mind the unconventional deals because all the risk falls on Najjar.
There are some limits to what Najjar will take on trade. He once refused two burial plots.

"He was asking too much money for them," Najir said. "I didn't know how to value them - and I didn't want to use them."

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Town, Dealers Team up for Test Track

dealers who were also interested in the track. The next step was finding the land.

That became available when Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad sold its 60-acre auto storage facility to a consortium that included the city and local car dealers.

A focus group then collectively worked to determine which features and amenities should be included in the design. A design team took the ideas and incorporated them, along with addressing safety and maintenance issues.
A project this size came with a large price tag.

The land was close to 2 million, engineering was around 150,000 and construction was just more than 1.5 million - all of which the city covered.

A group of 12 dealerships signed on to use the track and split the annual 50,000 operating costs. Ten currently belong to the group.

All of it is definitely worth it, especially to dealers like Danny Wolf of Dan Wolf Automotive Group.

Wolf's Lexus and Toyota stores are the main users of the test track, accounting for roughly 65 percent of each month's use. Wolf serves as president of the Naperville Test Track Association, as well.

"I have been in the automobile business for nearly 25 years now," he said. "This is the first I've heard of something like this where the city and the dealers formed a partnership to build and maintain such a facility."

The track's popularity among customers can't be denied.

"It gives us a unique opportunity and environment to demonstrate our vehicles and their features," said Joel Weinberger, dealer principal at the Continental Motors Group.

"It enables us to provide an extra Wow' experience during the test drive phase that cannot be duplicated by our same-brand competitors in the Chicago market."

Weinberger uses the track and he serves on the executive committee of the track association.

The track benefits the city, too.

"It reduces congestion on our roads and provides a safe driving environment for potential car buyers," said Hallgren.

"It is a great economic development tool that supports our local car dealerships."

The track is used for community events along with test drives. A local politician used it recently for a green car show, which highlighted the Naperville Green Fuels Depot project.

Weinberger said cities that follow in Naperville's footsteps need to be sure to utilize a track if they invest in one.

"It can be a valuable asset and differentiator to help attract business to the area, but only if supported by the dealer body through consistent usage and making sure the test track experience is an integral part of the sales process," he said.

Wolf said he can't see selling without the track.

"It works out well for us on so many levels," he said. "I think we would be somewhat lost if it was taken away from us at this point."

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System Makes Payments Easier

The money is transferred directly into that account when the customer makes the payment.

The one downside of the product is 7-11 stores do have some geographic limitations. For example, there are none in Georgia, one of the largest buy-here, pay-here states.

But the company is common in some of the biggest markets, such as Florida. About 50 percent of the nation's population lives within a mile of a 7-11 store.

And PayNearMe is adding another provider that will give it more than a 1,000 more locations.

"The footprint keeps getting bigger," said Danny Shader, the firm's CEO.

Even if a customer doesn't live near a 7-11, a sizable segment work in fields that wind-up near the stores, such as long-haul truckers.

An advantage for dealers looking to sell their paper is PayNearMe provides a payment mechanism independent of the dealer. That means a contract's owner can change hands, but the customer keeps paying at the same 7-11.

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NIADA General Counsel Steps Down

throughout his involvement with the association. For years, he presented dealer compliance seminars across the country, which later evolved into pioneering on-demand and live webcasts through NIADA.TV. More recently, Whann's "Car Counselor's TARP" (Together Automotive Retailing Prospers) program brought lenders and dealers together at a time when funding was difficult to find. His "Dealer Tech 2.0" series stresses the importance of social media interaction for dealers.

Keith has been instrumental in representing the interests of car dealers in Washington, DC. He has participated as an industry expert in all recent FTC roundtable sessions, as well as meeting with various members of Congress, White House staff, the Department of Defense, Small Business Administration, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

"I have thoroughly enjoyed working with Keith for over thirteen years, and I truly appreciate the contributions he has made to NIADA and the industry as a whole," stated Michael Linn, NIADA CEO. "Keith and I have created some ground-breaking innovations, such as the NIADA.TV network. I personally look forward to working with him on industry related projects in the future."

"On behalf of the Board of Directors and our dealer members," continued Linn, "I would like to express my deep appreciation for his dedication and loyalty to NIADA and we wish him continued success in his ongoing ventures."

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Retail Prices Remain Strong, But That Could Change

Dealers continue to pass on higher prices to consumers as demand for used cars remains strong and credit become more available. But that pricing power is starting to weaken.

Asking prices for the majority of used and CPO vehicles on AutoTrader.com are higher than they were one year ago, the company reports.

In September, 10 out of the top 20 most-viewed used cars and 17 out of the top 20 most-viewed CPO cars showed year-over-year increases in median asking price.

"As the economic challenges that influenced major price changes earlier in the year subside, consumers will have to keep

an eye on the gaps between new and used vehicle prices so they can make the best decision that is right for them," said Rick Wainschel, vice president of automotive insights at AutoTrader.com.

There are signs that retail prices are starting to retreat, just as they have been on the wholesale side.

CarGurus released its CarGurus Used Car Price Index for October, which showed the average price of a used car at 19,278, down by 0.88 percent from September and down 1.7 percent from August.

Despite the recent downtrend, the average price of a used car remains up 2.86 percent over last year at this time. Such year-over-year price increases are most significant for hatchbacks (up 13.62 percent over last October) and coupes (up 14.89 percent over last October) and are negative for SUVs (down 0.26 percent) and pickups (down 1.49 percent).

CarGurus CEO Langley Steinert said while prices on most used cars are still high, they are "less erratic" than in the spring and summer. He expects prices to fall through the rest of the year.

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Buy-Here, Pay-Here Cars, Customers Better Than Image

addressed the sector's image.

Keith Whann, counsel for the National Independent Automobile Dealers Association, said buy-here, pay-here plays a vital role in getting people back to work and keeping them employed.

"If you want to get the economy growing, people need access to affordable transportation," Whann said.

Of course, critics say dealers lock consumers into contracts doomed to failure and then repossess the vehicle for resale.

Consumers fall into this trap because they're desperate and ignorant, the story goes.

But Melinda Zabritski of Experian Automotive said her company's analysis found buy-here, pay-here attracted better vehicles and better customers than many believe.

Only 8 percent of the cars in the buy-here, pay-here deals Experian looked at had major issues reported in AutoCheck vehicle history reports.

That's higher than traditional used-car sales, but half of the rate for cash sales.
Most buy-here, pay-here customers are locked out of the traditional market due to their low credit scores, Zabritski said.

Most, but not all. She said about 6 percent of the customers who buy from buy-here, pay-here dealers actually have prime credit.

These customers keep shopping at buy-here, pay-here stores because they like the service.

"Imagine that, people actually buy cars from people they trust," Whann said.

The number of prime credit customers at buy-here, pay-here stores also shows they're making a smart decision.

"These are not ill-informed customers," Zabritski said.

In fact, about a third of them have college degrees.

Some perceptions hold up.

Minorities and the working poor make up most of the customer segment. Many are single mothers.

In many cases they rent, but a sizable portion own their homes. Most rent because they're younger than the general population.

So, there is potential to grow with customers as their credit improves.
"People aren't born with bad credit," Whann said. "They're born with no credit and then things happen."

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Consumers Want Technology, Then Don't

Fancy technology may attract shoppers, but it irritates buyers.

Ford saw its brand drop 20 spots on the Consumer Reports list over concerns about its MyTouch system. David Champion, head of auto testing for Consumer Reports, said the system is difficult to use even when its actually working.

Champion said the technology may draw praise from the consumer electronics crowd, but creates too many hassles in the real world.

There s a difference between sitting in the showroom and driving the car, he said.

The company s powershift and ecoboost features also brought it down.

The challenges go beyond Ford. The entire minivan segment scores below average due to complaints about sliding doors, navigation systems and DVD players.

Consumers demand all these features, Champion said, but are disappointed when they fail to function easily.

Champion said these issues with non-essential items can turn into safety concerns as drivers focus on getting them to work rather than the road. Taking your eyes off the road for only two seconds greatly increases the risk of an accident, he said.

Champion recommends scraping touchscreens.

Make it as simple as possible, he said. Don t listen to the stylists who want to make it look good.

European cars are an example of putting style over substance, Champion said.

The European market weighs handling and appearance more than reliability, which is why manufacturers such as BMW and Audi rank low on the list.

We expect a car in the U.S. to behave more like an appliance, Champion said.

Not all technology hurts a car s reputation. The Chevrolet Volt ranked the highest of any offering from that brand.

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Technology Improves Inventory Choices in Tight Market

Technology has the opportunity to make general dealership functions more efficient. That s what AutoTrader.com is trying to do.

(Chip Perry is the CEO of AutoTrader.com.)

In the past year, AutoTrader has expanded considerably. How is that going?

We are even more excited now about the potential to create new value in the industry through the acquisitions we've made than we were when the deals were done.
It's because the opportunities we saw looking at the companies, from the outside in, have all been confirmed. There's only so much you can learn through the due

diligence process. But you always hope there won't be negative surprises. In our case, we haven't had any negative surprises and we've been delighted with some of the positive surprises we see for future opportunities.
We're very upbeat about how the online side of the automotive industry is going to evolve in ways that will be both useful for consumers and also (help dealers) go to market with technology more efficiently than they can today.
The future looks very bright from our perspective. We think it's probably still in only the second or third inning in the evolution of where it ultimately will get in the next decade.
We also have what we call the trade-in marketplace. We're the first company in America to offer consumers an instant offer, sight unseen, subject to an inspection of the vehicle. This enables dealers to capture trade-ins that they would not otherwise seek.

How are these acquitions helping dealers?

Picking the right car pricing it properly used to be done by dealers gathering information in the auction lanes and watching their own lot traffic to see what people wanted to buy. Today, there are very sophisticated stocking, appraisal and pricing tools that allow dealers to be much more scientific about their business. It enable dealers to surgically pick what car to buy and how to price it so thay can have maximum turnover and maximum profits. By acquiring vAuto, we have injected into an already strong company a new source of information which is allowing them to improve their stocking tool.
We grew organically at AutoTrader.com for the first decade. Now we've started to make acquisitions. The guiding force behind those has been and will continue to be driving and creating new value for our dealers.
So we're improving vAuto with AutoTrader.com data and Manheim data that they didn't have to access to before. We're also taking vAuto data and proving it free to AutoTrader.com dealers.
Another example is VinSolutions, which offers an intergrated suite of solutions that include wesbite, CRM and desking capabilities. Many dealers today have to deal with an alphabet soup of vendors for software that come with numerous user names and passwords. It's mind-bloggling. VinSolutions has a single log-in.
This is important because when a dealer sells a car these days he ofte creates an email relationship with the customer. When the customer answers that email, the CRM can capture a cookie that identifies that customer through their web browser. When that customer visits the website in the future, the system notifies the dealer a current customer is on the website.
Technology has the opportunity to make general dealership functions more efficient. That's what AutoTrader.com is trying to do.

AOL recently reported figures about the number of dial-up modems that are still being used. When everyone is on broadband, will that unlock the potential even more?

Yes, I think there is the ongoing increase in the percentage of consumers using the Internet to shop. That's driven by the pervasive availability of broadband now. But it's also because of mobile devices, which are cellular or Wi-Fi enabled.
We see that the percentage of car buyers shopping online is in the 70- to 80-percent range. That's gradually growing every year by a percentage point or two.
More important than the (transition from dial-up to Wi-Fi is the capability of the software on third-party sites for consumers and dealers. The inefficiencies that can be eliminated through better software tools that go deeper into the car-shopping experience and deeper into the dealership operations workflow. There's a tremendous amount of innovation that's going to happen in the next decade and in the next two or three years.
For many years, third-party sites provided information side-by-side with email forms and banner ads. That was the way sites chose to construct their businesses and there wasn't much change.
But now there are tools to help people what car to buy.
If you look at a category like mid-sized SUVs, there are 25 or 30 different vehicles to choose from. How do you make that choice?
There was a recent column in the Wall Street Journal talking about how people are using software now to figure out what car they should buy.

One thing that isn't changing is the role of dealers in the car-buying process. Your company has been a big supporter of dealer organizations like the National Independent Automobile Dealers Association. So what do you see in the future for dealers in regard to interacting with technology?

At its core, the Internet will remain an influencing, advertising and marketing system for dealers, rather than a transactional or direct response medium. People will continue to buy cars from people, rather than automate the process.
Not many consumers have: the money in hand; the exact certainty on the car; and the lack of need for liquidity in their trade in order to do an end-to-end online transaction. There's only a very small segment of the consumer population that's able to do that. Plus, the tools are not likely able to go end-to-end cleanly anytime soon.
Technology plays three ways in the auto retail space three ways: Attract, convert and mine. It plays in the way of helping to attract consumers to their store. Secondly, it helps them convert prospects once they're in the net of the dealership. Thirdly, technology can help dealers mine and develop more business with existing customers and past customers.
We've been in 970 dealerships and spoken to 130,000 consumers through a third-party research firm. It shows that the Internet is killing traditional media in terms of how much more influence it has in the car-buying process. Seventy percent of the time, when people buy a car at the dealership, they have not previously contacted the store before showing up. They show up after doing online research, an average of 11 hours before buying their cars.
The email lead phenomenon has basically died on the vine in the automotive industry over the past decade. We still have to respond to email leads and it's important we do it quickly. But it's not the main event. It shouldn't be the centerpiece of any dealer's strategy.
One important use of the Internet is mining your current customer base. Provide good solid communication that is meaningful to loyal customers.

So how should dealers best use the Internet?

The centerpiece of a dealer's strategy should be, how do I use the Internet as an advertising medium to attract people into my store?' There's a few simple things they can do.
First, dealers need to purchase cars that are in demand at the right price.
Secondly, make your vehicles stand tall on the Internet, so people will want to come to the dealership to see the car they found on the dealer's website or third-party site.
Thirdly, a dealer needs to make their dealership stand tall online. They have to differentiate why it's a good place to do business. Talk about the positive attributes. For example, some dealers have automatic inspections, warranties or purchase-assurance plans with every car. Some might have the lowest price in town, but don't discuss the assurances they provide. So every dealer has their claim to fame about why they're the best place to do business. Many dealers today are not highlighting the positive attributes of their stores to maximum effect.

Are dealers starting to embrace technology more?

Yes they are. But there's still a fair amount of skepticism about technology because a lot of it has been oversold. There's been some tools that haven't lived up to expectations.
The bar is raised is raised for venders now. They have to provide high quality, transparent understanding of what a technology tool can do. You have to show how it works and back-up the (product) with post-sale support. Dealers expect to receive individualized service and support after they've bought a media or software tool.
The most important key to success, for technology providers, is helping a dealer succeed with their existing tool before asking them to adopt something new.

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Dealers Take Down Payments, Fail to Deliver Cars

 

Two former used-car dealers in Hartford, Conn., were arrested and accused of stealing a total of 250,000 from 72 customers.

Rafael Ortiz Sr., 42, and his son, Rafael Ortiz Jr., 21, were arrested on Oct. 25 by the Hartford Police Dept. on larceny and racketeering charges following an investigation into several incidences at City Motors between Dec. 2010 and March 2011.

According to the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles, employees at City Motors had been accepting down payments from customers without ever delivering a vehicle, and also selling the same vehicle to multiple customers

The Hartford DMV revoked City Motors' license in March for failing to meet state legal requirements.

They began an investigation into City Motors, in cooperation with Hartford police, in April after several complaints that the lot had been emptied with several customers expecting cars they had purchased.

According to police, many customers paid Ortiz and his son in cash or by check, but were repeatedly told the car was not ready.

Some customers had brought cars in for repairs, and never got them back.
The dealership promised disgruntled customers a refund in the first week of April, but the lot was cleared out by then.

After warrants were issued for Ortiz and his son, they fled to San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Members of the Hartford Police Major Crimes Division and Hartford Police Intelligence Division brought both suspects back to Connecticut.

"They left no stone unturned in seeking out these fraudulent perpetrators and ensuring their extradition back to Connecticut for prosecution," said Daryl K. Roberts Hartford's police chief of the successful hunt for Ortiz and his son. "A job well done by all."

Upon their return to Connecticut, both men were charged and later arraigned Superior Court in Hartford. Bail has been set at 350,000 for Ortiz, and 200,000 for his son.

Pedro Segarra, Hartford's mayor, offered comments to ensure the victims that this matter would be resolved.

"(Ortiz and his son) will now be held accountable for their actions, which, I hope will help bring some sense of closure and justice to their victims, 72 innocent consumers," he said.

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Devices Work When Used Wisely

Payment assurance technology can improve collections and ease repossession if used properly. But it can also create problems for dealers when its not.

Ken Shilson, founder of the National Alliance of Buy-Here, Pay-Here Dealers, shared with attendees at the group's recent conference the results of a study on starter-interrupt and GPS devices.

More than 80 percent of the respondents said the devices lower the risk of default which allows them to sell higher value vehicles with less risk.

Problems using the devices arise when dealers don't disclose them. A dealer in Florida learned

that lesson the hard way when the state's attorney general sued him for unfair and deceptive practices when he failed to tell a customer about the GPS on his car.

Allen Douglas of iMetrick said dealers need an open relationship with their customers about the devices.

"It's not an adversarial relationship at all," Douglas said. "It should be seen as a positive."

After all, dealers are more willing to take a change on a customer if the car has a payment assurance device.

Shilson's survey found 85 percent of respondents disclose the device in writing. Almost all say the customers offer little or no pushback.

Attorney Tom Hudson said another way dealers get in trouble with the device is passing their cost onto customers. Hudson said the best way to handle the cost is treat it as overhead with the water and electric bills.

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Fiat Paying $1.27 Billion to Up Ownership

Fiat Paying $1.27 Billion to Up Ownership Faster than Expected
Fiat SpA CEO Sergio Marchionne said that Fiat’s ownership stake in Chrysler Group LLC will be going up to 51% later this year, and up to 46% in the second quarter. This will be two years faster than the loans had required as the company pays back its government loans.
Bloomberg, April 21, 2011

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Used Days' Supply Down, Prices Up

CNW Research expects the April used-vehicle sales total to jump 10 percent. President Art Spinella also predicted retail prices should edge upward because of short supply. Overall, CNW thinks April's used-vehicle sales total could reach 3.6 million. The figure for the same month a year ago was 3.286 million.

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