P&A Online
April 8, 2011
Welcome to P&A Online, a monthly eMagazine dedicated to the interests and concerns of providers and administrators of automotive finance and insurance products.
P&A Online is your source for industry news and updates as well as original feature articles to keep you well-informed of best practices and trends.
Be sure to visit P&A's website at www.pa-magazine.com regularly for the latest updates.
Featured Articles
Networking – Making Powerful Connections
No matter how good you get, no matter how well you master your selling, negotiating, financial or whatever set of skills that have made (or are making) you successful, you cannot do it all alone. Somewhere along the line you will need a friend, a contact, an introduction, someone to urge you on or, just ... Read More »
A Certified Inspectors Program – A Must or Bust?
Two of P&A Magazine’s most highly read articles in 2010 discussed the idea of the necessity for a Certified Inspector’s Program. Both articles, Call to Action: Inspectors Need Certification to Improve Credibility by Don Larsen, and Where Have All the Good Inspectors Gone & Who is Filling Their Shoes? by L’Tonya Carr, provided some very ... Read More »
New Technology Devices and Real-Time Processes to Guide 2011 Focus for Product Providers
With technology being at the forefront of our business processes and being it is such an integral part of how we do business, I thought it would be interesting to see what some of the P&A industry’s product providers are focusing on and what they consider “HOT” for their business for 2011. Of the companies ... Read More »
A View From The Top
Another Possible Option for Pre-paid Scheduled Maintenance
A candid discussion of pre-paid scheduled maintenance: should the product maintain the status quo for most dealers as an also-ran offering, or should it morph into a core product? What would a core product pre-paid maintenance program look like, and who would be the winners and the losers? The statistical improbability of many F&I products ... Read More »
Staff Blog
VSCAC 2011 – What Would You Like to See?
We are pleased to announce that the 7th Annual Vehicle Service Contract Administrators Conference will be held at the Hilton Hotel in Las Vegas on September 26-28, 2011. Please mark this on your calendar now and plan to attend so you can benefit from networking and learning from others in the industry. One of my ... Read More »
P&A Industry News
ClassicTrak Partners With VisionMenu On Menu System
OLDSMAR – Norman & Company Inc., a provider of aftermarket products, has selected VisionMenu Inc., a provider of training, menu and software development tools, to provide its agents and their dealerships with the ClassicTrak Menu System. The ClassicTrak Menu System, which is created by Norman & Company, offers dealerships the sales and compliance tools available ... Read More »
Veratad Technologies Partners With VisionMenu On Compliance Solutions
TEANECK – Veratad Technologies LLC, a provider of identity verification and compliance solutions, announced that its Red Flags Rule and ID verification solutions will be offered to all VisionMenu Inc. dealerships nationwide. VisionMenu, a provider of software selling solutions to automotive and powersports dealerships, selected Veratad to provide a seamless solution delivered directly to a ... Read More »
AIG, Ally, GM CEO Compensation Will Not Increase
WASHINGTON – Compensation packages for the chief executives of bailed-out firms American International Group, Ally Financial and General Motors will not increase in 2011, the Treasury Department said late on Friday. The Obama administration’s pay czar has reviewed the packages for the top 25 executives at the four remaining companies that have received exceptional government ... Read More »
Treasury Seeks $5B In Lender Ally’s IPO
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Treasury Department plans to raise $5 billion when auto and mortgage lender Ally Financial Inc. launches an initial public offering in the coming months, The Detroit News has learned. Ally filed the paperwork Thursday to launch an IPO. The Securities and Exchange Commission must approve the nearly 500-page prospectus before the ... Read More »
Automotive Industry News
First Details Released For Agent Summit 2012
LAS VEGAS – F&I and Showroom and Agent Entrepreneur announced this week that Agent Summit 2012 will be held March 12–14 at Las Vegas’ Caesars Palace. Agent Summit 2011 took place March 8–9 at the Las Vegas Hilton and was co-sponsored by Agent Entrepreneur and F&I and Showroom. The agenda was packed with a Who’s ... Read More »
Old GM Bondholders Getting Shares In New General Motors May Depress Price
Investors holding bonds in the old General Motors Corp. will receive stock and warrants for shares in the new General Motors Co. On April 21, an action that analysts said may depress the stock price. Old GM, now known as Motors Liquidation Co, will give bondholders 150 million shares in GM and warrants to buy ... Read More »
Auto Leasing Back To Highest Rate Since ’05
Vehicle leasing, a popular financing option that dried up with credit during the recession, is rebounding, another sign of an improving economy and a recovering automotive industry. That’s good news for consumers attracted to leasing because it sometimes offers lower monthly payments plus a new car every couple of years. Automakers and dealers like leasing ... Read More »
Toyota And Microsoft Team Up On Telematics
Toyota Motor Corp. and Microsoft Corp. are teaming-up to deploy a next-generation telematics software platform that the automaker expects will debut on Toyota electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles next year. The first applications developed for the platform will let drivers monitor and manage charging and energy use of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles equipped with ... Read More »
Finance Express Signs Agreements With Wayne Reaves Software
RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA — Finance Express, provider of Web-based financial services for independent auto dealerships, has entered into a contract with Wayne Reaves Software that will allow the software company’s dealers to access Finance Express’ lender portal, reported F&I and Showroom. “Everyone is adverse to change, so this relationship allows dealers to take advantage of ... Read More »
Fiat Poised To Increase Chrysler Stake
Fiat SpA is on track to increase its stake in Chrysler Group LLC to 30 percent from 25 percent, possibly by the end of this month, a person familiar with the matter said. Fiat’s stake will increase once the Italian auto maker completes two international sales goals established by the U.S. government as part of ... Read More »
UDS Earns Top Training Award
CLEARWATER – United Development Systems Inc. has been named the top F&I training provider in the 2011 Dealers’ Choice Awards. It’s the seventh consecutive win for UDS, which has taken the F&I Trainer award since Auto Dealer Monthly began the program in 2005. “We have always believed that our training initiatives play a critical role ... Read More »
Mercedes-Benz Recalls M-Class Vehicles
DETROIT – Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz is undertaking a global recall of some of its older-model M-Class sport utility vehicles for issues related to cruise control that may lead to a crash, Daimler and U.S. federal safety regulators said on Tuesday. A wide majority of the vehicles being recalled are model year 2000-2002 M-Class SUVs, but ... Read More »
P&A Featured Companies
