Author: Automotive News n Feed

Lynk and Co.’s ‘radical’ departure from franchise model; How 4th-gen dealer group beat the odds; GM job cuts in Canada; Ford plugging new tech into older cars; Benz revamp.

Few auto brands had a better 2016 than Buick.

The U.S. economy is strong, the market for new cars and trucks is robust and the demand for premium-brand products continues to grow.

If Hyundai were a sports team, 2016 and 2017 would be viewed as “rebuilding years” ahead of big things planned for the rest of the decade.

Jeff Rosen, owner of two Nissan stores in Wisconsin, is in his third year as chairman of the Nissan National Dealer Advisory.

Mickey Anderson was chairman of the National Toyota Dealers’ Advisory Council for the last two years ending in December at a time when sales were so strong that dealers sometimes had more customers than SUVs to sell to them.

Kia’s 2016 performance was a glass-half-full/glass-half-empty proposition. Sales were up nicely — particularly impressive considering Kia’s lineup is light on light trucks. But dealer profits dropped about 16 percent for the year.

Mazda Motor Corp.’s U.S. dealers had a tough 2016 as sales slumped, eroding dealer profitability and leading to high days supply of inventory.

Like their Honda brethren, Acura dealers last year were preoccupied with resolving Takata problems for customers, and the ripple effects drove down profits nationwide.

Michael Vadasz has served as chairman of the Mini National Dealer Council since March 2014. As general manager of his family’s dealership Otto’s Mini, in Exton, Pa.