It’s managed to happen again. The national auto loan delinquency rate hit its lowest level since TransUnion began to track the data in 1999. In 2Q12, the rate for borrowers 60 or more days past due fell to 0.33%, down from 0.36% in the previous quarter and down from 0.44% in 2Q11.

Consumers now value their…

Westlake Financial Services has recently added $100 million to a credit facility. This is in addition to a $200 million commercial paper conduit through Royal Bank of Scotland that was executed in 4Q11, raising the total capacity to $300 million. 

"With this new source of liquidity, Westlake is extremely well positioned to expand and continue the record growth that we have been experiencing since our incorporation 25 years ago," said Westlake’s CFO Paul Kerwin.

Southern,…

The agreement between General Motors and Wells Fargo to provide financing through Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac dealers and customers has broadened to include the South Central U.S., according to a Bloomberg report today. And Wells Fargo wants more.

But will this take away business from Ally Financial? Wells Fargo and other banks are pushing deeper…

Newly established Global Lending Services LLC has acquired Resurgent Auto Finance. The acquisition includes a $38 million loan portfolio as well as a funding and servicing platform. Atlanta-based Global Lending Services also has entered into a partnership with New York-based investment firm BlueMountain Capital Management. Several BlueMountain managed funds and Chairman Douglas Duncan will collectively invest $100 million in capital. BlueMountain will have a majority interest in Global…

As the Auto Finance Summit draws nearer, the list of exceptional speakers grows deeper as we welcome more seasoned professionals to the industry’s premiere event, slated for Oct. 22- 24.

Doug Timmerman, regional vice president at Ally Financial, and Ian Anderson, president of Westlake Financial Services, join senior executives from Bank of America Dealer Financial Services, Nissan Motor Acceptance Corp., and BMW Financial…

The world’s biggest search engine has been ogling some pretty attractive low-rate securities.

Google dived into auto asset-backed securities with $40 billion, most recently with the purchase of triple-A-rated debt from Honda Motor Co. and Hyundai Corp., according to the Wall Street Journal.…

The Auto Finance Summit, the industry’s premiere event slated for Oct. 22- 24, has bolstered its speaker faculty with the addition of auto finance executives Jeff Edwards and Shaun Bugbee.

Edwards, vice president of operations at Nissan Motor Acceptance Corp., and Bugbee, vice president of sales operations at BMW Financial Services, will join John Hyatt, president of Bank of America Dealer Financial Services, on the…

General Motors Financial released 2Q12 earnings this afternoon, reporting a net income of $136 million, up from $96 million in 2Q11.

Loan originations totaled $1.5 billion for the quarter, up from $1.4 billion in 1Q12 and up from $1.3 billion in 2Q11. Lease originations of GM vehicles were $394 million for 2Q12, up from $384 million in 1Q12 and up from $173 million in 2Q11, the company said.

The percentage of loans for new GM vehicles remained “steady” at 31% of total loans…

This time next year, Ally Financial’s U.S. auto franchise will dominate the company’s profile, according to executives.

“Ally has basically transformed itself from a captive to a successful, market-driven competitor,” said Ally CEO Michael Carpenter during the company’s 2Q12 earnings call.

Ally reported that its U.S. auto originations last quarter totalled $10.5 billion, up from $9.5 billion in 2Q11. Of the total, retail new-car loans accounted for $5.9 billion, retail used-car…

From finding a new hairdresser to locating the best produce in town, social media users are constantly touting their favorite local business through Facebook and Twitter. Now, thanks to viral marketing company, Vboost, consumers can share a positive car-buying experience through a viral music video with their family and friends, potentially bringing more business in for the dealer.

During the vehicle delivery process, Vboost allows…

When BMW launches its i3 electric and i8 plug-in hybrid next year, the manufacturer will be making the vehicles available directly to customers in Europe via online sales, according to a report from Bloomberg.

The online sales option is aimed at web-savvy customers, but may take a while to catch on because “many customers will still want to go…

The Auto Finance Summit has added another executive to its roster of speakers.

Brian Fallon, Senior Vice President of Commercial Lending Services at General Motors Financial, will participate in a panel discussion about floorplan and commercial lending.…

Wells Fargo broke its record for auto originations in 2Q12 with a total of $6.6 billion, up 6% from 1Q12 and up 18% from 2Q11.

The results reflected “growth across the credit spectrum,” the lender said in its earnings report.

Those results even beat Chase Auto Finance’s second quarter results of $5.8 billion in auto originations, up 7% from the prior year and flat to 1Q12.

Core auto outstandings for Wells for 2Q12 totaled $44.8 billion, up 3% from 1Q12 and up 9% from the…

Just like you would do with a not-so-flattering pair of new jeans, Chevrolet is allowing customers to return their newly purchased ride if they discover that it’s not the match for them.

Beginning this week, the “Love it or Return it” guarantee allows for a 60-day, vehicle return program on every new 2012 or 2013 model year vehicle purchase. Additionally, the manufacturer is offering “Total Confidence Pricing”…

Roadloans.com has struck up yet another relationship. This time, it’s with alternative credit reporting agency eCredable.

For consumers who may not have traditional credit histories, eCredable verifies bill payments that they routinely pay on time in order to prove their creditworthiness. Then, by using its…

I’m done putting money away in a piggy bank. Why? Well, first off, my friends and family never contribute to it no matter how much I ask and, secondly, no one seems to ever want to match my savings.

The idea of saving for a new vehicle just got social. Motozuma.com, a free social savings website, allows customers to set up a profile and share it with…

As the Chrysler and Jeep brands continue to gain momentum, Chrysler group reported U.S. sales of 144,811 units, up 20% from June 2011 – the group's best June sales since 2007.

The big winner for the month was the Fiat brand, up 122% year over year. Fiat sales last month totaled 4,004, up from 1,803 in June 2011. The brand set a sales record for the fifth straight month. In fact, more Fiat 500 vehicles were sold during the first six months of 2012 than during all of 2011, the company…

TD Auto Finance has taken a page from Hyundai's playbook ― three years later.

TD Auto debuted a loan-protection program this week aimed at Canadian customers who lose their jobs during the first year of vehicle ownership.

The new program allows qualified consumers to sell back their car to TD, plus receive up to $7,500 to compensate for depreciation. It covers sudden job loss, but not bankruptcy, out-of-country job transfer, or several other major events that could prevent a…

Mitsubishi Motors North America has selected Ally Financial as the preferred provider of leasing and financing for the Mitsubishi i. The partnership also calls for Ally to provide leasing for other vehicles in the Mitsubishi lineup, alongside Mitsubishi Motors Credit of America Inc.…

As social media continues to be an important factor in a company’s success, myAutoloan.com just reached a milestone of achieving over 11,000 “fans” on Facebook and 32,000 “followers” on Twitter.

As for the success, it didn’t happen overnight. The strategy has taken years to accomplish, CEO of myAutoloan.com, Greg Thibodeau said in a…