Dealer F&I

GM lets Saab die

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EDT

General Motors is shutting down its Swedish car brand, Saab, after attempts to close deal with a buyer failed, CNN reports. GM had announced earlier this year that it was close to reaching a deal with Swedish super-carmaker Koenigsegg. That deal fell, though. "In the end, Koenigsegg discovered some issues they didn't think could be overcome in a timely fashion," said John Smith, GM vice president of corporate planning and alliances. Dutch exotic carmaker Spyker then emerged as a bidder for Saab, but that deal couldn't be concluded in time, GM said. In both cases, according to GM, issues arose during negotiations that prevented a final sale. GM executives would not say what the specific problems were, however. "Like everybody, we would have preferred a different outcome," Smith said. GM said it still intends to sell some Saab 9-3 and 9-5 technologies to the Chinese automaker Beijing Automotive Industry Holdings Co. Ltd. That deal was announced last week.

Wed, 11 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EDT

GM could launch IPO In 2nd half of 2010

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EDT

General Motors Co. is finishing the year in a slightly stronger position than U.S. government officials expected and is on track to return to the stock markets in the second half of 2010, the Obama administration's top auto adviser said Thursday, Dow Jones Newswires reports. The adviser, Ron Bloom, also said Chrysler Group LLC, despite losing market share, is also exceeding officials' expectations, largely by rebuilding cash reserves, and that early signs point to a broader industry turnaround. "The industry remains challenged but is in slow recovery," Bloom said in an interview with Dow Jones Newswires at the Treasury Department. "The industry is coming back. It's coming back slowly, but it's coming back." He said his assessment is based largely on vehicle sales, currently tracking at above 10 million annually. He said the administration is hopeful that sales will improve slightly in 2010. The U.S. owns about 60% of GM and a 9.8% stake in Chrysler after financing their restructurings this summer.

Fri, 09 Mar 2007 00:00:00 EDT

26 states object to Honda settlement

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EDT

More than half of the nation's state attorneys general are objecting to a deal to settle a 2007 class-action lawsuit against Honda Motor Co. over claims of inflated mileage for a hybrid vehicle, The Detroit News reports. In March 2007, John True, an Ontario, Calif., jazz pianist, filed suit after he bought a Honda Civic hybrid but couldn't get the gas-electric hybrid's advertised mileage: 49 miles per gallon in the city, 51 mpg on the highway. After 6,000 miles of driving, True said he averaged just 32 mpg in mixed city/highway driving. True's frustration with the actual mileage of his hybrid as compared to the advertised mileage echoes that of other owners and reflected the findings of some independent tests, including one by Consumer Reports. Honda and lawyers for True have reached a proposed settlement, but 26 state attorneys general, including Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox, objected this week in U.S. District Court in Riverside, Calif.

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Wisconsin auto dealers plead guilty to bank fraud

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Two brothers who defrauded two Tomah banks of $2 million to keep their financially struggling automobile dealership in business pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to bank fraud, the Tomah Journal reports. The two pledged vehicles they didn’t possess as collateral and sold cars without repaying the loans between January 2004 and August 2008, Assistant U.S. Attorney Grant Johnson said. The brothers were owners of a Tomah dealership with Farmers & Merchants Bank financing its Ford inventory and First Bank financing the Chrysler inventory. The scheme came to an end in August 2008 when Farmers & Merchants Bank said it would quit giving advance notice on inventory inspections, said Johnson. The brothers then revealed cash flow problems caused them to violate their loan agreements. The dealership listed 41 vehicles valued at $1.347 million with Farmers & Merchants Bank that weren’t in its inventory. It sold 16 vehicles valued at $419,720 without paying the bank, said Johnson. The brothers falsely told First Bank they had nine vehicles valued at $297,861, said Johnson. Niether man disputed Johnson’s statements. Both remain free pending sentencing March 3, when each face maximum penalties of 30 years in prison, five years of supervised released and $2,064,214 in restitution. The dealership since has been sold.

2009 U.S. car dealership closings worst on record

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Closures of U.S. car dealership this year will be the worst on record going back to at least the 1950s, spurred by the shutdowns at General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group L.L.C., consulting firm Urban Science said Dec. 16, Crain News Service. Through October, 1,467 U.S. auto dealerships have closed, according to the firm, which advises auto manufacturers about their retail networks. That leaves 18,617 stores, but another 200 or so are likely to shut down before the year is over, John Frith, vice president of retail channel solutions, said Dec. 16. The numbers reflect a 7.3-percent decline in the nation’s car dealership count through October. The decline is the worst both by percentage and number of dealerships, Urban Science said. In past years, the typical annual attrition rate for dealerships has been 1 percent. Almost 90 percent of the closures were General Motors and Chrysler closures.

Hyundai Capital America adopts Reynolds LAW 553

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Reynolds and Reynolds announced today that Hyundai Capital America, which finances Hyundai and Kia vehicles sold in the U.S., has adopted the Reynolds LAW 553 Universal Retail Sale Contract for use in its vehicle financing business. The LAW 553 will now become a standard part of the financing process for the nearly 1,500 dealerships nationwide that sell and service Hyundai and Kia vehicles and finance them through Hyundai Capital.

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Fri, 08 Sep 2006 00:00:00 EDT

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