P&A Online
May 12, 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
Inverse Relationship: Vehicle Technology Versus VSC Costs
Today’s vehicles are rapidly increasing in complexity and are loaded with sophisticated technology. Compare a similarly equipped vehicle from as recent as ten years ago with a current model of the same brand, and no one could argue that there is considerably more value (read technological improvements in safety, performance, content, and economy) for what ... Read More »
Hyundai’s New Trade-In Value Guarantee
Hyundai recently announced an innovative program: a trade-in value program which guarantees the value of the customer’s car. Here is how the program basically works: Buy a new Hyundai after May 1, 2011 Perform all recommended service at a Hyundai dealer Between 24 and 48 months, trade-in your vehicle for a new Hyundai The value ... Read More »
OEM’s Embrace Mobile Apps, Providers Enter Market
Everyone in the supply chain, from the provider to the consumer, benefits from immediate access to information. The popularity of smartphones and tablets has created a whole new platform to reach the consumer through the proliferation of mobile apps. First, let’s take a brief look at how the OEM’s are embracing mobile apps, then we ... Read More »
Guest Editorial
Don’t Be “That Guy”
We’ve all heard the expression “Don’t be that guy,” but do you know what it means? In normal life, it means the buffoon who is completely unaware of the fact he is being a buffoon. True story: I was in London one year on the Fourth of July, along with a bunch of other American ... Read More »
P&A Industry News
AUL Corp. Partners With OptionSoft Technologies
NAPA — AUL Corp., a provider of service contracts for used vehicles, has partnered with OptionSoft Technologies, a provider of automotive software solutions. The goal of the partnership is to allow both companies to continue offering their dealer networks the most advanced electronic business solutions. “Partnering with OptionSoft will provide our mutual clients nationwide a ... Read More »
Amendola Named SVP for Resource Automotive
CHICAGO — Resource Automotive, a unit of The Warranty Group Inc., announced that Joe Amendola was named senior vice president of national sales. Amendola will be responsible for all sales and marketing activities within Resource’s U.S. retail automotive segment. Amendola joined Resource in 1994 as an F&I specialist, successfully holding a series of positions including ... Read More »
DealerTrack’s First Quarter Profit Increase Driven by Improving Market Conditions
LAKE SUCCESS — Strong car sales and an improving credit environment led to a first quarter revenue increase for DealerTrack Holdings Inc., company officials reported today. Revenue increased to $77.2 million from $56.9 million in the year ago quarter. The company’s net profit for the quarter stood at $24.7 million, a turnaround from the $2.5 ... Read More »
Safe-Guard Products Promotes Randy Barkowitz and David Duncan
ATLANTA – Safe-Guard Products International, LLC, the leading third party administrator of ancillary finance and insurance products in the automotive industry, announced that Randy Barkowitz has been promoted to Chief Executive Officer. In addition, David Duncan has been promoted to President. Barkowitz and Duncan bring more than 40 years of combined industry experience to their ... Read More »
Automotive Industry News
Treasury Said to Decide Against GM Stock Sale Before August as Shares Fall
The U.S. Treasury Department has opted to hold off on selling more shares in General Motors Co. until after July as it waits for the stock to climb, said two people familiar with the decision. The Treasury, which owns 33 percent of GM, can file as soon as May 22 for a secondary offering. Such ... Read More »
Nissan, Toyota Plan New Sales Incentives
Nissan Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. are launching new incentives to spur U.S. sales of cars and trucks, even though dealers have been concerned recently about supplies of vehicles from Japanese auto makers. Nissan on Thursday told its dealers in a memo that its supply of vehicles at U.S. dealerships had grown in May ... Read More »
Automakers Group Asks White House to Say No to 62 MPG Standard
A trade group representing Detroit’s Big Three automakers and Toyota Motor Corp. urged the Obama administration to reject efforts by environmental groups and 18 senators to impose a 62 mpg requirement by 2025. The administration said it is considering annual increases in fuel efficiency ranging from 3 to 6 percent between 2017 and 2025, which ... Read More »
Toyota Raises View of June Car Volumes
Toyota Motor Corp. said it would boost its North American auto production to 70 percent of usual volumes beginning in June, two months earlier than it had forecast, after making extraordinary efforts to obtain supplies of parts. Toyota is operating its plants in North America at about 30 percent of regular volume, taking two days ... Read More »
Toyota Quarterly Profit Slides on Quake Disruption
Toyota Motor Corp. today reported a surge in annual profit, but its fourth-quarter earnings tumbled after the massive earthquake in Japan brought the company’s operations to a halt in March, the last month of the Japanese fiscal year. For the fiscal year that ended March 31, Toyota’s net profit nearly doubled to 408 billion yen, ... Read More »
Triad Founder Launches Nonprime Finance Company
NEW YORK — Four former Triad Financial executives have partnered with a Perella Weinberg Partners affiliate to form CarFinance Capital LLC, a direct and indirect automobile finance company catering to the nonprime market. Based in Irvine, Calif., CarFinance Capital will initially launch on the West Coast and plans to expand to Texas in June. Compay ... Read More »
Signet Folds, Dealers on Hold
Dealers, consumers and state regulators want to know the whereabouts of Greg Lehmann and his Signet Financial Group. The Vacaville, Calif.-based F&I product provider, which offered a service-contract refund agreement, closed its doors without notice in late March, leaving consumers with a lot of questions and dealers without answers. Those answers can’t come soon enough ... Read More »
Former GM Execs Sue for Retirement Benefits
DETROIT — More than 100 former General Motors executives are suing the automaker in federal court to recoup pension benefits slashed during the company’s historic bankruptcy. The retirees, including former vice presidents and high-ranking managers, are trying to recoup benefits plus interest and want a federal judge to order GM to accurately pay future benefits, ... Read More »
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