March 28, 2025 — After months of speculation and delays, President Trump’s 25% automotive tariffs on all imported vehicles are set to take effect at 12:01 am Thursday, April 3. President Trump cited national security concerns in Wednesday’s White House proclamation as the reason for the tariffs. According to information from the Department of Commerce… Continue Reading
August 18, 2024 — CDK Global has agreed to pay $100 million to settle a class action lawsuit brought by 25 dealers seven years ago as part of a series of antitrust allegations. The lawsuit alleges that the DMS vendor conspired with competitor Reynolds and Reynolds to eliminate competition in the Data Integration Services market,… Continue Reading
August 5, 2024 — The world’s economy looks much different than it did last Wednesday. Overnight, Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock index plunged more than 4,400 points – 12.5% – the biggest drop since 1987, forcing a suspension of trading. The Nikkei’s Monday decline follows a series of troubling economic news in the U.S. at the… Continue Reading
June 27, 2024 — Late Thursday afternoon, CDK Global began rebooting the systems for a test group of dealers, following a two-pronged cyber attack more than a week ago. (UPDATED July 11 — According to a CNN report, CDK likely paid a ransom of $25 million to the hackers on June 21 — in numerous… Continue Reading
March 12, 2024 — At the start of 2024, conventional wisdom held that Federal Reserve Chairman Jay Powell would initiate a series of interest rate cuts throughout the year as inflation began to slow. Some optimistic economists even predicted up to six cuts in total for this year. However, the financial narrative took an unexpected… Continue Reading
A modern-day automotive Godzilla, the likes of which we have not seen before, is how China expert Michael Dunne described China’s automotive juggernaut last week in a presentation at the Canadian Automobile Dealers Association Summit. Chinese automakers “could be the single biggest disruptor this decade” in the auto industry, Dunne said. The question is whether… Continue Reading
Here we are – January 3rd, and we still don’t have a firm grasp of how many electric vehicles qualify for the full $7,500 consumer tax credit in 2024. Reading the headlines, the number of eligible vehicles ranges from five to 20. What we do know is that several vehicles that qualified on December 31st… Continue Reading
November 14, 2023 — According to a bulletin from the Illinois Automobile Dealers Association today, the state’s Motor Vehicle Review Board confirmed the October 24th proposed decision by Hearing Officer Mark Kuchler finding for the 26 Ford dealers who filed a protest against Ford’s Model e certification program. Today’s announcement was a formality as Ford had indicated it would… Continue Reading
Photo courtesy of Shutterstock & Luigi Morris October 30, 2023 (With November 14th updates) — The dust is still settling from the recent tentative settlements between the United Auto Workers union and the Detroit Three automakers. Still, initial details reflect agreements that may be a win-win for both sides following a 40+ day strike costing… Continue Reading
October 23, 2023 — KPA, a compliance services provider, announced last week it is acquiring ComplyNet, a Columbus, OH-based firm providing end-to-end compliance software for automotive dealerships. Phil Troy founded ComplyNet in 1994 in Chicago and sold it in 2018 to an investment group led by Alexis Jacobs, owner of Columbus Fair Auto Auction, and,… Continue Reading