Trending Auto Retail News
Fire Safety Across Showrooms, Service Bays and Vehicle Inventory
One dealership houses a number of separate environments, not a single building with one uniform risk level. The showroom floor, the business office, the service and repair bays, the parts department, the detail area, the EV charging equipment, and the extensive...
AI in Dealerships: From Hype to Real Value
AI is quickly becoming one of the most talked-about technologies in automotive retail, but not everyone is convinced it belongs in the car-buying process. Many customers worry that AI will simply become another version of the pushy salesperson: a tool designed to...
Rethinking Trust in Auto Finance: How Dealers & Lenders are Partnering to Fight Fraud
A pay stub or proof of residence has typically functioned as a reliable check on who a borrower was and what they earned. That assumption is breaking down as Generative AI tools now make it just as easy, and often faster, to fabricate an income statement, a utility...
Kelley Blue Book Report: Average New-Vehicle Prices Top $51,000, Reach Record High in October
ATLANTA, Nov. 10, 2026 – The average price paid for a new vehicle in the U.S. reached a record $51,109 in October, according to an analysis by Kelley Blue Book, a Cox Automotive brand. The October average transaction price, or ATP, increased 1.3% from September and...
Launch Labs Identifies 4 Signs a Past Buyer Is Back in the Market
Website behavior can show a past customer is shopping again months before a lease matures or a lead form arrives.
Dealer Websites Keep Failing Google’s Core Web Vitals Test
Key Takeaways: 97.1% of dealership websites fail Google Core Web Vitals on mobile or desktop, a failure rate that is costing dealerships $30 of every $100 spent on digital advertising. Mobile interactivity failures affect 88% of dealer sites, with a median response...
The Test Drive Isn’t the Problem. Everything Around It Is.
I can book a flight to Tokyo in about 90 seconds without talking to a single person. I can book a same-day haircut in three taps and get a text confirming the time. But if I want to test-drive a new SUV this weekend, there's still a good chance the process starts with...
Virtual Selling: From Online Interest to Real Appointments
The internet, online shopping habits, and the COVID era have changed the way people make purchase decisions. Buyers are now used to doing their own research and moving through the buying journey on their own terms whenever possible. And when it comes to a major...
The Lead Is Already Too Late: 7 Ways AI Moved the Starting Line for Car Dealers
A shopper asks an AI assistant for "the best Toyota dealer in [City]." Before that shopper visits a dealer website, opens a vehicle detail page or submits a lead, the system can return a short list and explain why those stores made it. That changes the sequence...
Why Automotive Retail Is Betting Big on AI-Driven Credit Decisions
At the core of every automotive transaction sits a financing decision, and yet it remains the single greatest source of friction in the entire buying journey. Consumers can browse inventory, estimate payments, and submit leads online in minutes. Then they hit the...
Stop Merchandising Like It’s 2015. Your VDP Is Now Your Showroom
There is a question I have started asking dealers more often: How long does it take a car to go from arriving at your dealership to becoming truly sellable online? The answer is more important than it sounds. Dealers today pay close attention to how long a vehicle...
Year-End Volume Is When Title Fraud Slips Through
The title problem that ties up your inventory in January can start with a shortcut on December 30. Here's a scenario most stores will recognize. It's 4 p.m. Eleven deliveries are on the board. A trade came in that morning, but the name on its title doesn't match the...
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