Featured Blog Posts – January 2010 Archive (11)

Four Auto Firms Make ‘Best Companies’ List

Family focus, hefty benefits, openness, and integrity made four auto and auto-finance firms among the best companies to work for in 2009, according to a ranking in the Feb. 8 issue of Fortune magazine. Here’s the list, along with Fortune’s rationale:

JM Family Enterprises

Rank: 28 (previous rank: 33)

What makes it so great?

The remarkable family vibe at this distributor of Toyota vehicles is a legacy of the founder, Jim Moran, who… Continue

Added by Marcie Belles on January 29, 2010 at 12:30pm — No Comments

Toyotapocalypse?

Amid growing reports of cars with sticky gas pedals and malfunctioning electronic modules that pose a safety risk, Toyota announced today that they will voluntarily stop selling the following cars:

2009-2010 RAV4,

2009-2010 Corolla

2009-2010 Matrix

2005-2010 Avalon

Certain 2007-2010 Camry

2010 Highlander

2007-2010 Tundra

2008-2010 Sequoia

…and Toyota will also be temporarily halting production at some facilities. The sales shut… Continue

Added by Alex Kwanten on January 27, 2010 at 1:00pm — 5 Comments

GM to Sell Saab for $74 Million

Dutch automaker Spyker Cars NV agreed to buy General Motors Corp.’s troubled Saab division for $74 million. Saab sold 8,680 cars in the U.S. last year, down 59% from 2008.

Spyker, a maker of exotic sports cars, will also issue $326 million worth of stock to GM, in a deal backed by a $556 million loan guarantee by the European Investment Bank.

Click here to read more about the deal, which… Continue

Added by Marcie Belles on January 26, 2010 at 2:49pm — No Comments

Consumer Web Site Aims to Sidestep Finance Companies at Lease-End

An investment advisor disappointed by his lease-end negotiation process with Porsche Financial Services has created a web site to help consumers in similar situations.

Michael Corcelli launched GetYourCarBack.com to offer auction and pricing information to consumers whose leases are expiring.

Here’s how it works: You return your car at lease-end. For $100, you can use the site to track down the location and time… Continue

Added by Marcie Belles on January 21, 2010 at 12:01pm — 12 Comments

Ford Credit Captures 2009 Auto ABS Crown

Ford Motor Credit Co. snared the top spot among auto securitizers in 2009, as market volume ballooned from the deflated level of 2008.

Auto securitization volume, including floorplans and retail loans and leases, totaled $51.5 billion last year, compared with $34.6 billion in 2008 — a 49% increase, according to an analysis by Auto Finance News. Including fleet lease deals, volume would have topped out at $54 billion. As a point of reference, auto securitization volume hit $120… Continue

Added by Marcie Belles on January 20, 2010 at 2:00pm — No Comments

Congressional Panel Questions GMAC Aid

In a 200-page report published this week, the congressional panel overseeing the $700 billion TARP bailout challenged the special treatment GMAC received.

The Congressional Oversight Panel, as the committee is called, is tasked with reviewing the Treasury Department’s actions and assessing the impact of spending to stabilize the economy. In its January report, the panel questioned Treasury’s conclusion that GMAC is “too big to fail.”

The panel devoted four pages in the… Continue

Added by Marcie Belles on January 15, 2010 at 12:00pm — 1 Comment

Regulators Liquidate Kern Central Credit Union

Regulators seized a three-branch credit union in California last week, funneling accounts to a credit union in North Carolina.

The National Credit Union Administration liquidated Bakersfield, Calif.-based Kern Central Credit Union on Jan. 8, assigning its assets and liabilities to Raleigh, N.C.-based Self-Help Federal Credit Union. Of Kern Central’s $35 million in assets, $20 million were auto loans.

Kern Central largely served central California construction and farm… Continue

Added by Marcie Belles on January 12, 2010 at 1:03pm — 2 Comments

Credit, Alliances, Used Cars Will Headline 2010

After being shaken to the core last year, the auto finance industry faces the slow task of rebuilding in 2010.

In a nutshell, 2009 started off with Chrysler and General Motors on life-support, barely originating loans as they petitioned for government funds. Three months later, the two manufacturers filed for bankruptcy protection and targeted a combined 1,800 dealerships that would lose their franchises.

Meanwhile, vehicle sales continued their downward spiral, as the… Continue

Added by Marcie Belles on January 11, 2010 at 12:49pm — No Comments

An Unlikely Pair

The asset-backed securitization market has been jumpstarted this year with a pair of deals backed by dealer floorplans and nonprime loans.

Captive Ford Motor Credit Co. issued $1.25 billion of floorplan loans this week, while nonprime lender Tidewater Finance issued a $106 million two-tranche deal.

Ford Credit’s securitization is backed by a guarantee from the Federal Reserve, as part of the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility. Tidewater’s issuance, meanwhile, is… Continue

Added by Marcie Belles on January 8, 2010 at 1:34pm — 2 Comments

Take the AutoFinanceNews.net Car-Sales Crystal Ball Challenge

2009 is finally behind us. The bad news is that the numbers are in, and 2009 was officially the worst car-sales year since 1982. The good news: It can only get better.

In all, 10.4 million new cars were sold last year, down 21% from 2008 and down 35% from 2007. All manufacturers but Hyundai posted year-over-year sales volume declines.

So where does that leave us for 2010? GM expects industry sales in the 11-million-to-12-million range, while Ford forecasts sales of 11.5… Continue

Added by Marcie Belles on January 6, 2010 at 1:00pm — 12 Comments

CarMax Launches Twitter Contest

CarMax’s “Tweet Yourself to a New Ride” promo will give one lucky winner $25,000 toward the purchase of a used vehicle from the retailer’s inventory. To participate, contestants must tweet a specific phrase they’ll find on www.carmax.com/tweet.

The eight-week-long contest will also award $250 gas cards to eight other contestants.

CarMax designed the Twitter campaign as “a fun way to promote our brand and to share our story with car… Continue

Added by Marcie Belles on January 4, 2010 at 12:29pm — No Comments