Mike Rosvold, owner of Michael Automotive Group in Fresno, CA decided it was time to sell his dealerships and retire. This month, four rooftops owned by the group were purchased by Steve Cornelius and they are now Blackstone Toyota, Blackstone Chevrolet, Blackstone Cadillac, and Blackstone Volkswagon.
Assisting Mike with the transaction was Bill Scrivner, CEO of Pinnacle Mergers & Acquisitions, a nationwide automotive dealership brokerage firm out of Frisco, TX.
The month of May brought change for a Birmingham Alabama Honda dealership. Freeway Honda, owned by Victory Automotive Group, changed ownership on May 9 when Carlock Automotive Group purchased the dealership now known as Carlock Honda.
Although Freeway Honda was their only rooftop in the Alabama market, Victory Automotive Group, which celebrated 25 years of business in 2022, is the 14th largest dealer group in the United States with 49+ locations nationwide.
Honda seems happy with its upcoming Acura and Prologue SUVs due in a couple years.
Justin Westbrook for Motor Trend >
Apr 5, 2022
A couple of years ago, Honda and General Motors shacked up to make a couple of new BEVs by 2024, and the deal seems to be going so well the two companies are now expanding their partnership it to include an entire series of new vehicles,
The smaller Cherokee’s future is not looking so bright amid tanking sales and factory layoffs.
Justin Westbrook for Motor Trend >
Mar 31, 2022
The now nine-year-old Jeep Cherokee is going through a rough patch, as sales of the mid-size crossover dropped dramatically last year, with demand dwindling, industry supply shortages—and now more factory layoffs at the plant where the Cherokee is produced in Illinois have been announced.
This version of the Jeep Cherokee was introduced in 2013 (for the 2014 model year) as the replacement for the old Jeep Liberty;
Mercedes will build luxury seven-seat full-electric SUV at its U.S. plant for export to Europe as the brand expands its dedicated electric lineup.
March 21, 2022. Read original article at Automotive News >
Mercedes-Benz will unveil the EQS SUV, the brand’s flagship full-electric SUV, on April 19 as it expands its lineup of dedicated EVs.
The EQS SUV will be built in Mercedes’ factory in Vance, Ala., and exported to Europe and other global markets.
January 11, 2022 Read Original Article >
While it doesn’t do anything against unfair and anti-consumer markups, Ford is taking contractual action against dealers and potential scalpers.
It seems that Ford is ready to do nearly anything to protect the upcoming F-150 Lightning EV pickup from negative news or a poor customer experience. The automaker is hoping to head off a big potential doozy that’s endemic to hotly anticipated new car debuts: Egregious dealer markups on new F-150 Lightnings.
January 11, 2022 Read Original Article >
GM to launch used-vehicle shopping platform CarBravo
DETROIT — General Motors this spring will launch CarBravo, a shopping platform designed to boost used-vehicle sales through GM dealerships, the automaker said Tuesday.
“CarBravo will give customers more choice and access to shop significantly expanded inventories of both the dealer and a national central stock of GM used vehicles. Importantly, the program features will also be offered on non-GM used vehicles,”
January 11, 2022 Read Original Article >
National Automobile Dealers Association’s 2022 outlook says shortages will continue to constrain inventory.
U.S. auto sales will climb just 3.4 percent this year to 15.4 million cars and trucks as the semiconductor shortages continue to constrain vehicle inventory, auto dealers predict.
The National Automobile Dealers Association, representing 16,000 U.S. car retailers, said the lingering chip shortage slashed inventory on dealer lots 59 percent in December compared to a year earlier.
November 9, 2021 Read Original Article >
Every major semiconductor company has pledged to comply with a U.S. request for information pertaining to the global chip shortage, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said on the day of a deadline set by the government.
“The past two weeks, I personally have called the CEOs of all the major chip producers in the U.S. and overseas, and every CEO has assured me that they will be complying and will be giving us the data that we’ve asked for,”
October 28, 2021 By Jeanne Whalen. Read Original Article >
LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. — The 2019 Honda Civic that kicked off a used-car auction earlier this month would have been nothing special before the pandemic. But as automotive dealer Brad Wimmer watched, the online bidding quickly became, to quote him, “bananas.”
As a new car, the Civic would have had a sticker price of around $21,000.