Welcome to this week's edition of Black Book Market Insights, with in-depth analysis of used car and truck valuation trends and insights straight from the auction lanes. Click here to download the full report.

This week’s Market Insights Report…

A car has become more than just a simple mode of transportation, while it still serves its primary purpose of getting you from A-B while sitting comfortably in traffic it has now taken on a variety of new and different meanings. For some their car is a measure of their success, while others its to showcase brand affinity. Some vehicles also envoke a sense of aspiration, and there are many consumers out there who have a car they see as their dream…

As a digital marketing agency in the era of Big Data, we use technology to drive more meaningful outcomes for our clients.

Local Search Group is absolutely a Digital Marketing Agency, but we like to think of ourselves as an Operational…

Albany, NY – May 28, 2018​ – The Center for Economic Growth (CEG)'s Tech Awards selection committee has chosen Auto/Mate Dealership Systems as the recipient of the 2019 Economic Winner Award. The CEG's Annual Tech Awards celebrate and honor the most innovative and inspiring companies in New York's Capital Region, as well as individuals whose pioneering and entrepreneurial successes better the community by strengthening its workforce and creating new jobs and…

As the old adage goes, no one plans to fail, they just fail to plan. This could not be more true when it comes to service marketing budgets in dealerships.

As new vehicle sales and gross margins decline, it's natural to look for ways to cut expenses. But I've never understood the logic behind cutting service marketing…

Are the hottest models, too hot to the touch?

Back in March of 2019, news broke that California would again be pushing “Right to Repair” legislation, joining 19 other states in doing so.

So what exactly is the Right to Repair Act?

All fine print aside, the Right to Repair…

A recent Google search for “customer experience” produced around 1.49 billion results. And refining the search…

Albany, N.Y. – May 22, 2019 – Auto/Mate Dealership Systems announced today it has successfully completed all dealership management system (DMS) integrations with MacroFile, Macrosmith's electronic document management system. The integration helps speed auto dealers' transition to a paperless environment, improves productivity and streamlines workflow.

"The ability to instantly retrieve information allows employees to quickly answer inquiries from partners and…

Stitched photo videos have been around awhile. I’ve had many people ask me lately if they are still relevant, do consumers really watch them, and why dealers should have them when they already have a large number of photos and vehicle description on the VDP. My response is to remove personal opinions out of the equation and let the “data” do the…

We want you to be profitable and proud of what you do. We want you to have all the success that you deserve. We want you to know that it’s possible for you! That’s exactly why we started the video series, …

Welcome to this week's edition of Black Book Market Insights, with in-depth analysis of used car and truck valuation trends and insights straight from the auction lanes. Click here to download the full report.

This week’s Market Insights Report…

Auto sales have faced slightly downward pressures so far in 2019, especially in April where U.S. auto sales declined 2.3 percent¹ despite having an extra selling day in the month and having the benefit of the spring selling season as an added incentive for car shoppers.

With the monthly data, the annualized pace of sales dropped to 16.41 million¹, below the estimates most industry observers pegged for the year closer to the 16.8 million mark. A year ago…

Timonium, MD –­ May 21, 2019 –­ Helion Technologies today announced it has become a CIS SecureSuite^® member. Through this membership, Helion is bolstering its auto dealership clients' cybersecurity defenses by leveraging CIS SecureSuite resources. The CIS Benchmarks^™, the consensus-based, internationally recognized security configuration resources, CIS-CAT Pro, and the CIS Controls^™, a set of cyber practices developed by…

Several Entry-Level Cars Experience Price Increases, Allowing Dealers Room For Greater Holiday Weekend Lease Discounts

Wantalease.com, the nation’s first online car lease marketplace for new lease deals, reports the latest update on new lease offerings, with prices on most of today’s popular leases holding steady from last month. Thirty-six different vehicles maintained their prices from April, a slight decrease from last month’s lease deals, where 75% of…

VIN information is organized in groups, and a search of your vehicle identification number can tell you a lot about your car. There's even a bit of fraud detection in the VIN, in the form of the "check digit," described below.

The first group of three numbers and letters in a VIN make up the world manufacturer identifier (WMI).

In this…

In this video blog, Jim Flint shares why time is important in capturing consumer attention.

A few notes on subprime loan origination and balance activity:

Subprime auto loan originations have a corresponding total balance of $7.07 billion, a 5.3% increase year-over-year.

The average subprime loan amount was $18,934. This is a 5.0% increase compared to January 2018.

Auto Loan Originations Observations through January 2019 reported as of March 2019:

• 1.78 million auto loans, totaling $41.3 billion, have been originated…

When my friend, Erica* took her vehicle to the dealer recently, the needed repairs were performed quickly and competently. Yet, when the CSI survey came, she rated her overall experience three stars: “just okay.” Why not five stars: “excellent”? Well, because frankly, they didn’t earn it. This was the result of a couple very significant––and…