National Auto Care has been buying finance-and-insurance agencies in a prominent example of a broader consolidation trend within that industry. “It’s going at a fast pace,” Colonnade Advisors CEO Gina Cocking, an industry analyst, said of F&I agency consolidation. Cocking estimated there are about 1,200 F&I agencies nationwide. Courtney Hoffman, NAC senior vice president of
Month: December 2021
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Not so many years ago, the Southeastern U.S. was largely off the map of the North American auto industry. But over the past three decades, states in that region have attracted — and continue to attract — billions in auto manufacturing and supply chain project investments. At a gathering of the multistate
Mercedes-Benz has named Mathias Geisen as head of its van operations, replacing Marcus Breitschwerdt on Jan. 1. Breitschwerdt will become head of Mercedes-Benz brand and corporate heritage including the Mercedes-Benz Museum, and all business activities in the classic area, the automaker said in a news release. Geisen, 43, is currently head of corporate strategy for
By Joey Klender Posted on December 4, 2021 Tesla’s Full Self-Driving Beta program is getting a new version this weekend with Update Version 10.6, and the release notes show an extra emphasis on vision, object detection, and the precision of movements by the vehicle. The Tesla Full Self-Driving Beta program is a unique fleet of
General Motors doesn’t currently offer a rival to the Ford Ranger Raptor but had things gone a little differently for Holden, a Camaro-powered Colorado would have hit the market. Holden Special Vehicles began tinkering with the Colorado in 2017 after Holden was preparing to end Australian manufacturing. They ended up building two high-powered V8 prototypes,
11:26 AM ET JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia — Formula 2 drivers Theo Pourchaire and Enzo Fittipaldi were both taken to hospital after an accident during a support race for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Theo Pourchaire appeared to stall his car from third on the grid and was hit by Enzo Fittipaldi, the grandson of two-time
What kind of car is the 2022 Jaguar E-Pace? What does it compare to? The 2022 E-Pace slots in as the smaller crossover SUV in the Jaguar family, below the F-Pace. It’s a hotter-handling wagon with turbo-4 power, which makes it a natural rival for the Volvo XC40, Audi Q3, and BMW X2. Is the
Lexus partnered with Germane Barnes, an American architect, designer and assistant professor of Architecture at the University of Miami to design a sculpture based on the LF-Z Electrified concept. Working together with his students at the University of Miami, Barnes created a three-dimensional sculptural rendition of the LF-Z Electrified concept rendered in steel and illuminated
In this article F AMD NVDA CNBC’s Jim Cramer said Wednesday he’s not ready to sell any shares Nvidia yet, even though he recently booked some profits in two other big charitable trust winners Advanced Micro Devices and Ford. Cramer told “Fast Money Halftime Report” he believes that Nvidia could be a $10 trillion stock
Lucid Motors is enjoying a wild ride to the top tier of the EV pack. The quick pace of events is like a quarter-mile blast in the automaker’s 1,111-hp Lucid Air Dream Edition. Since late October, Lucid delivered its first Air sedans to paying customers, matched Ford Motor Co. in market value and received a
BEIJING — Toyota is planning to launch an all-electric sedan in China late next year, having turned to local partner BYD for key technology to finally make an affordable yet roomy vehicle, four sources told Reuters. Two of the four people with knowledge of the matter described the car as an electric holy grail for
The 2022 Hyundai Ioniq 5 proves that legacy automakers should now be taken seriously in the electric vehicle space. Regardless of how you feel about Tesla and its eccentric leader, Elon Musk, it’s impossible to deny that the Californian automaker has long led, and continues to lead, the electric vehicle race. In fact, if it
5:21 PM ET JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia — Race after race, corner after corner, Max Verstappen has been pushing his Red Bull to the limit this year. His impeccable judgement of speed versus grip has saved him from disaster and delivered him to glory on numerous occasions, but on the final corner of the final lap
A Porsche 911 Turbo is already about the best winter-beater supercar on the planet thanks to its compact dimensions, great visibility, traction-boosting rear-biased weight distribution and all-wheel drive. But this modified, Safari-style 911 Turbo spotted by Matt in or around Chicago looks like it could face down the kind of weather disaster only Hollywood can
In this article F Ford Motor Co. displays a new 2021 Ford F-150 pickup truck at the Rouge Complex in Dearborn, Michigan, September 17, 2020. Rebecca Cook | Reuters DETROIT – Ford Motor’s F-Series pickup will remain America’s best-selling vehicle for a 40th straight year in 2021 and the industry’s top-selling truck for the 45th
BMW this week revealed the Concept XM as a preview of a standalone model from BMW M coming next year, the first from the company since the M1 supercar launched half a century ago. Previously thought to be called an X8, the XM will be a high-performance crossover packing up to 750 hp from a
Vietnamese conglomerate Vingroup JSC is restructuring its automobile unit VinFast ahead of a planned U.S. initial public offering in the second half of 2022. Vingroup’s 51.52 percent stake in VinFast will be transferred to a Singapore subsidiary, the company said in an emailed statement on Saturday. The EV maker, which aims to roll out electric
BMW has teased its new i7 full-electric sedan with pictures of the car undergoing winter testing in Arjeplog, northern Sweden. When it launches next year, the i7 will be a rival to the Mercedes EQS, Tesla Model S and vehicles from newcomers such Lucid. The sedan will be the battery-electric version of BMW’s new-generation 7-series,
I’m an electric bicycle guy through and through. You’ve probably seen me riding and testing any number of dozens of electric bicycles in the last few months – hundreds in the last year or two. So I’ve seen just about everything the e-bike industry has to offer, or at least I thought I had. That
12:20 PM ET Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton said he wants to do everything in his power to be a force for positive change in Saudi Arabia ahead of the country’s first race. Hamilton will wear Pride colours on his race helmet for the second race in a row this weekend, having done so at
If the Aston Martin Residences in Miami didn’t strike your fancy, perhaps you’ll find these Lamborghini-inspired villas more to your liking. Developed by Emaar Properties, the Dubai Hills Vista project is slated to be completed in 2026 and be a gated community that consists of 40 multi-tiered villas that feature expansive gardens, private pools, and
Hycan CEO Yang Ying speaks with CNBC’s Evelyn Cheng during the 2021 East Tech West conference in the Nansha district of Guangzhou, China. GUANGZHOU, China — Chinese electric car start-up Hycan hasn’t delivered many vehicles yet, but it claims it’s on the verge of a large fundraise as investors pour more money into a hot
Is Bob Brockman truly cognitively impaired to the extent that he won’t be able to help his lawyers defend him against federal tax evasion charges? Or is he, as prosecutors contend, exaggerating his symptoms to avoid a trial? A federal judge will make that determination now that a competency hearing for the former Reynolds and
BRUSSELS – Toyota is preparing a new Europe-specific vehicle platform that will accommodate full-hybrid, plug-in hybrid and full-electric powertrains, depending on market conditions and customer preference. The architecture will combine elements of Toyota’s global compact platform (GA-C) and the EV-only e-TNGA platform. E3 stands for for emotion, engagement and energy, Toyota Europe says. Toyota needs
The EPA range and efficiency ratings for first three Kia EV6 versions has been officially released and they are slightly better than the corresponding Hyundai Ioniq 5 versions (see here). The entry-level Kia EV6 Standard Range RWD – with a 58 kWh battery and single motor, rear-wheel-drive – can go up 232 miles (373 km) on
1:31 PM ET Mercedes Formula One boss Toto Wolff is to meet survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire after apologising on behalf of his team on Friday for any distress caused by a sponsorship deal with a company linked to the 2017 disaster. The deal with Kingspan, an Irish company that produces high-performance insulation and
What kind of car is the 2022 Porsche Macan? What does it compare to? The 2022 Porsche Macan is a small crossover SUV that puts an emphasis on drivability and sporty performance. That gives it a bit less utility than some competitors, but it’s also the most fun SUV to drive in its class of
For whatever reason, some people find parking lots extremely difficult to navigate and it appears the driver of this Ford F-250 Super Duty is one of those people. These images that were recently shared to the Facebook page of C8 Corvette Owners (And Friends) were snapped at a parking lot somewhere in the U.S. It
Gary Jones, the newly-elected President of the United Auto Workers (UAW), addresses the 37th UAW Constitutional Convention June14, 2018 at Cobo Center in Detroit, Michigan. Bill Pugliano | Getty Images News | Getty Images DETROIT – A federal corruption probe into the United Auto Workers has led to an overhaul of the union’s elections, potentially
We drove the 2022 Honda Civic Si, the BMW Concept XM debuted, and we spotted the 2024 Volkswagen ID.Buzz. It’s the Week in Reverse, right here at Motor Authority. We drove the redesigned 2022 Honda Civic Si and found you don’t need to be rich or have access to a racetrack to have fun in