Tesla free to sell cars in New Jersey as Christie signs bill

By: Autonews TRENTON, N.J. (Bloomberg) -- Tesla Motors Inc. will be allowed to sell its electric cars straight to consumers in New Jersey, after Republican Gov. Chris Christie signed a bill overhauling the state’s dealership laws. Christie on Wednesday said he signed legislation allowing direct sales by manufacturers of zero-emissions vehicles. The law requires Tesla to maintain a service center in the state where consumers can have their cars fixed. The governor previously said he would sign such a bill. The measure caps a yearlong struggle...

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FTC Announces Multi-Agency Crackdown on Dealership Fraud

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Calling its Operation Ruse Control, the Federal Trade Commission joined 32 law enforcement agencies in announcing a nationwide and cross-board crackdown on deceptive advertising and fraud in auto sales, financing and leasing. The operation, which encompassed 252 enforcement agencies, resulted in six new FTC cases and $2.6 million in monetary judgments. The announcement marks the second major enforcement sweep in 14 months - the last one netting 10 dealers for deceptive advertising in January 2014. The latest operation, which...

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Porsche Dealers' Profits Keep Piling Up

By: Automotive News The reason Porsche dealers are generally happy? They make a lot of money, and that only improved last year. Porsche Cars North America CEO Detlev von Platen said Porsche's U.S. dealerships posted an average net profit margin of 3.9 percent in 2014, up from 3.6 percent the year prior. That compares with 2.4 percent for the nation's average dealership through the first 11 months of 2014, according to the National Automobile...

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Infiniti QX30 could attract new dealers

By: Lindsay Chappell GENEVA -- Infiniti's QX30 crossover concept, unveiled here last week, should boost the brand's sales in North America and Europe, but it also will help Infiniti expand its dealer body in markets outside North America. "It's a very good business proposal for dealers who are interested in investing in dealerships with Infiniti of Europe," says Roland Krueger, president of Infiniti Motor Co. worldwide. "This model gives us...

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The New Old Guard

by Toni McQuilken Even just a few years ago, if you attended any industry event, there would inevitably be a discussion at some point about the “old guard” among car dealers who were refusing to accept a rapidly changing landscape of lead generation and management. At the time, that term applied to those who would not accept Internet leads as on par with those acquired via phone calls or other methods; today, that term is also being used for those who are slow to accept mobile technologies in the same capacity. But is there really an “old guard,”...

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Midwest Compliance Summit Set for April

CHICAGO — Organizers of Compliance Summit, a series of regional events dedicated to front-end compliance, have announced that the next event will be held April 20–21, 2015, at the DoubleTree Chicago O’Hare in Rosemont, Ill. The Midwest event will follow a successful inaugural event held in the Miami area this past November. “We are delighted to have the opportunity to bring Compliance Summit to the Midwest,” said David Gesualdo, show chair. “If the outcome of the Florida event is any indication, attendees will leave with an invaluable education...

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New Service Helps Dealers Manage Recalls

PORTLAND, Ore. - AutoAp rolled out a new service designed to help dealers easily verify whether their vehicle inventory has any “open” safety recalls that need to be repaired. The company’s Dynamic Recall Management SM service also tracks daily the recall status on every vehicle in a dealer’s inventory. In 2014, more than 60 million vehicles were affected by safety recalls, challenging dealers to keep track of vehicles with open safety recalls. AutoAp’s Dynamic Recall Management SM service solves this by automating most of the process for dealers. According...

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Berkshire Hathaway Completes Acquisition of Van Tuyl Group

OMAHA, Neb. And DALLAS — Berkshire Hathaway Inc. completed its acquisition of the Van Tuyl Group on Tuesday. The transaction, announced in October, is the largest in the retail automotive industry’s history, officials said. Van Tuyl Group, the largest privately held dealership group in the United States, has been renamed Berkshire Hathaway Automotive and is headquartered in Dallas. Larry Van Tuyl will serve as chairman of the board of the new company. Jeffrey C. Rachor, formerly Van Tuyl Group’s president, will be chief executive officer of the...

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CPO Sales Reach Record High in 2014

BY: Auto Dealer Monthly SANTA MONICA, Calif. — Sales of certified pre-owned vehicles hit an all-time high of 2.3 million units sold in 2014, making up 20.8% of total used-car sales at franchised dealerships, according to the latest Used Vehicle Market Report from Edmunds.com. Edmunds said it expects this trend to continue through 2015, with lease vehicles expected to return to dealerships at a faster rate than in previous years. “This allows dealers to maintain a large CPO inventory," said Jessica Caldwell, senior analyst at Edmunds.com....

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Free-Market Lawmakers Take Aim at Utah’s Restrictive Car Dealer Laws

BY ERICA PALMER The Salt Lake Tribune For the first time in years, Utah lawmakers are making a serious push to dismantle — or at least chip away at — state laws protecting car dealerships. The assault on longstanding rules by free-market Republicans who view them as protectionist and anti-competitive has taken the form of several bills up for consideration in the current legislative session. One would amend a 1991 law that prohibits establishment of a new-car dealership within 15 miles of an existing one, unless it is OK'd by a board whose...

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JPMorgan, DOJ Engaged in Discussions About 'Potent Statistical Disparities'

By Brittany-Marie Swanson NEW YORK — In a regulatory filing Tuesday, JPMorgan Chase revealed that it is engaged in discussions with the U.S. Department of Justice about “potential statistical disparities” in the markups on auto loans charged to car buyers of different ethnicities. JPMorgan said it is having the discussion about rate markups on loans originated by car dealers and purchased by the firm, but did not disclose whether it was the target of an investigation by the regulator. Several other finance sources have been subpoenaed by the...

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Santander Agrees to $9.35 Million DOJ Settlement

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Santander Consumer USA Inc. has agreed to pay at least $9.35 million to resolve a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), which charged the auto finance source of violating the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA). The complaint and the settlement, which is subject to court approval, were filed on Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. The settlement covers repossessions of 1,112 motor vehicles between January 2008 and February 2013. According to the DOJ, the proposed consent...

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Dodge dealers called out for 'unscrupulous' Hellcat sales practices by FCA exec

BY :Larry P. Vellequette DETROIT -- Fiat Chrysler has taken the unusual step of warning some of its most enthusiastic customers -- about some of its dealers. At issue is outsized consumer demand for the 2015 Dodge Charger and Challenger SRT Hellcats and dealer practices that the company says are “unscrupulous” and perhaps illegal. Gualberto Ranieri, FCA’s senior vice president for communications, says that a “handful of dealers” have...

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