Many wheels of change in auto retail There’s been a lot going on in auto retail, as you’ll see in this week’s Automotive News. Bryan DeBoer’s ambitious growth plans for Lithia Motors Inc. have the company, based in Medford, Ore., (pop. 86,000) finding its way to London (pop. 9 million) about 5,1000 miles away. That’s

Several years ago, Corina Diehl — owner of Diehl Automotive Group — decided to roll the dice and build a 26,000-square-foot standalone collision center in Pittsburgh. The final cost: About $2.5 million. The calculated gamble has turned into a smashing success. Since the Diehl Collision Center opened in October 2019, annual revenue has increased by

Automakers cut remarkably fewer vehicles from their production schedules worldwide last week because of the microchip shortage — just 2,400 vehicles, one of the lowest weekly totals in months, according to the latest estimate by AutoForecast Solutions. All of the new reductions occurred at European factories, with plants around the rest of the globe getting

The 2024 GLA, scheduled to arrive at dealerships this year, will have a new grille with vertical louvers and a redesigned front bumper. The headlights and taillights have been changed to LED, and three new wheel designs are available. Inside, two screens with a total viewing area of more than 20 inches are standard. Also

Lithia Motors Inc.’s acquisition of Jardine Motors Group in the United Kingdom, similar in store count and revenue to its 2021 megadeal to buy Michigan’s Suburban Collection, immediately gives the largest new-vehicle dealership group in the U.S. significant scale in an international market it long coveted. The deal adds more than 40 new-vehicle dealerships in

Trying to get driver’s license certifications for her children in Pennsylvania was an “unbelievable” experience for Beth Beans Gilbert, vice president of Fred Beans Automotive Group. Road tests in Pennsylvania must be taken through the state’s Department of Transportation or an approved third-party business. Gilbert described signing up for the test through PennDOT as a

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — With the upcoming Dodge Hornet compact crossover, designers had to instill the brand’s signature attitude and character into an existing design.The canvas was the Alfa Romeo Tonale, a model meant for luxury customers that incorporated visual cues such as the Italian brand’s triangular “scudetto” grille. Dodge’s design unit took that foundation and

Unifor is considering the merits of negotiating a profit- sharing agreement for the first time in its history as it prepares for bargaining with the Detroit 3 automakers in August. “We are asking our research department to do a deep dive into what that looks like,” said Dave Cassidy, president of Local 444, which represents

Reconditioning is too valuable to dealership health to ignore managing it by precise numbers. Get cars sale-ready in 3 to 5 days.If you don’t know with 100% certainty what your reconditioning times, costs, and opportunities are, you’re not practicing strategic T2L. A recon department driven by strategic T2L means you connect to what you expect

EV startups are over budget and behind schedule. Who will win? By last year, the world was supposed to have three-wheeled electric cars powered by roof-mounted solar panels. Cities were to see electric buses flooded with natural light and padded by soothing grays reminiscent of a luxury Manhattan apartment. Commercial deliveries would zip across the