May 9, 2017 — Tesla’s moment of truth is nearly here. This year’s introduction of its Model 3 may be the auto industry’s most critical vehicle launch since Ford’s Model T took over America’s roads more than a century ago. Whether the fledgling company becomes the ultimate disruptor and a truly viable automaker will be determined by the…
May 4, 2017 — Fighting for its survival, Authenticom is seeking an expedited briefing and hearing schedule as part of its antitrust lawsuit against CDK Global and Reynolds and Reynolds. In the next few days, Authenticom will file a motion for a preliminary injunction asking the judge to issue a temporary ruling that would force… Continue Reading
May 2, 2017 — Authenticom, a firm providing data integration services to car dealers, filed a lawsuit late yesterday against CDK Global and Reynolds and Reynolds alleging the two companies engaged in antitrust practices. The suit could have far-reaching implications — not only on the companies involved, but also on the entire automotive retail space. It’s another chapter… Continue Reading
April 21, 2016 — Berkshire Hathaway Automotive finds itself the victim of the law of unintended consequences in Texas’ fight to keep electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla from selling direct to consumers. The problem is that Texas’ legislation prohibiting manufacturers from selling vehicles directly to customers in the state was written so broadly that it includes… Continue Reading
February 20. 2017 (UPDATED) — The industry had a scare last Thursday when it appeared that a large data breach occurred involving several dealer management system (DMS) providers and dealer groups. What actually happened was much more benign, and involved none of the DMS vendors. Nor did the event involve any sensitive personal data. The… Continue Reading
February 4, 2017 — In what may become the year’s biggest story in automotive retail, the long simmering battle over data access in the automotive retail world escalated yesterday when a third party vendor sued tech giants CDK Global, Reynolds and Reynolds and one of their joint ventures for engaging in antitrust practices. This is the first…
February 2, 2017 — As the National Automobile Dealers Assn. celebrated its 100 year anniversary at its annual convention in New Orleans last week, it capped an nine year period that might have been its toughest, yet finest hour. But 2017 brings a new set of daunting challenges. Playing Defense For the last nine years, the association…
January 12, 2017 — The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today accused Fiat Chrysler of violating the Clean Air Act by using software to hide excess diesel emissions in 104,000 vehicles. Following the news, FCA stocks dropped more than 16% forcing the halt share trading for the automaker. The EPA claims FCA installed and failed to… Continue Reading
January 2, 2017 — Beck Chevrolet scored another big legal win last week in its five-year battle with General Motors over how it measures sales effectiveness of its dealers and the decision could have a far reaching impact on the overall relationship manufacturers have with their dealers. The ruling last week by New York’s Second… Continue Reading
December 1, 2016 — Following a three year battle amidst tough opposition from car dealers in Virginia, Tesla Motors won the right to open a second store in the state. Tesla says it will begin construction on the store, which is slated for Richmond. It will be the second Tesla dealership in Virginia that is allowed to… Continue Reading