(June 24, 2014) Consumers believe car dealers make about five times more profit on the sale of a new car than they actually do based on a survey commissioned by TrueCar. The company today announced the results of its first annual TrueCar Buyer Study, which highlights the "trust gap" between consumers and dealers.

(June 23, 2014) LONDON — The Department of Transport published "Public Attitudes Towards Electric Vehicles" on June 19 and reported that: "Only 5% of respondents said that they were thinking about buying an electric car or van, 56% said that they had not thought about buying one with an additional 14% saying that they had thought about buying one and decided not to."

In a recent survey of 3,896 known Jaguar owners by WeLoveAnyCar.com, the UK’s biggest car review site, 12% said they would buy an all-electric Jaguar and 26% said they would seriously consider buying one. 

(June 23, 2014) CHICAGO — The majority of Millennial consumers on car shopping site Cars.com want to purchase a vehicle under $20,000, and they're more likely to use a smartphone to comparison shop dealerships than older consumers.

According to new research by Placed, commissioned by Cars.com, nearly two-thirds (65%) of Millennials (shoppers ages 18-34) use a smartphone to conduct research prior to visiting a dealership, performing a wide variety of mobile research tasks, including reading online reviews and accessing information about vehicle payments and offers.

By AAA
An editorial

(June 20, 2014) ORLANDO, Fla. — General Motors' steps to change its corporate culture and take responsibility for failing their customers are essential. However, with more than 20 million vehicles recalled this year, General Motors CEO Mary Barra's congressional testimony related to the status of recall repairs was very disturbing.

(June 19, 2014) WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. — For a second consecutive year, Porsche ranked highest in initial quality among all nameplates with a score of  74 PP100 (problems per 100 vehicles)  in the J.D. Power 2014 U.S. Initial Quality Study (IQS) released on June 18.  Following Porsche in the rankings were Jaguar (87 PP100), Lexus (92 PP100) and Hyundai (94 PP100).

(June 18, 2014) SANTA MONICA, Calif. — Honda and Acura captured the top prizes in Edmunds.com's fourth annual Best Retained Value Awards, which recognize the brands and 2014 models that have the highest projected residual values after five years based on their average "cash" True Market Value (TMV) price during their first five months in the market (or, for vehicles introduced in November or December of 2013, through March 2014).

(June 18, 2014) McLEAN, Va. — Certified pre-owned (CPO) sales should surpass 2013's all-time high of 2.1 million vehicles this year, says the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Used Car Guide in the May edition of NADA Perspective, a monthly industry trends report.

After growing rapidly at the beginning of the 2000s, CPO sales experienced incremental gains in the years that followed. Hindered by higher costs and limited awareness, CPO sales increased by a marginal 200,000 units from 2003 to 2011, and deliveries consistently fell between 1.5 and 1.7 million units over the period.

(June 17, 2014) TUSTIN, Calif. — AutoPacific has announced its 18th annual Vehicle Satisfaction Awards (VSA), identifying the most satisfying vehicles on the market. The annual study found Lincoln the top premium brand among owners and GMC the top popular brand.

AutoPacific’s Vehicle Satisfaction Awards objectively measure owner satisfaction with 50 separate attributes ranging from interior comfort and convenience to fuel economy and performance.

(June 13, 2014) NEW YORK — Rear View Safety, Inc. says that its rear view safety systems can save lives. They will be mandatory in all new vehicles beginning in 2018 under regulations passed by the Department of Transportation. The installation of rear view safety systems is expected to save 95 to 112 lives annually while reducing injuries by 8,000, according to the company.

A back up camera system can aid drivers as they back up by allowing them to see the blind zone located behind the vehicle, outside of the view provided by mirrors.