Author: Automotive News n Feed

The Maguire Family of Dealerships offers the Maguire Family Assurance policy, which guarantees the Ithaca, N.Y.

When look-alike stores sell the same vehicles at roughly the same prices, only the people distinguish one dealership from another. Yet very few dealers are good at hiring and retaining employees. It’s costing the industry billions of dollars a year.

The act of recruiting and securing talent has never been as critical and competitive for dealers as it is now, due to a growing gap in profits allowing the best to out-hire the rest.

Two redesigned crossovers on the way should help Chevrolet increase its retail market share, the head of the brand’s dealer council says, but Chevy needs to find ways to sell more of its Cruze sedan.

NADA consultant Glenn Mercer says suburban dealers are most likely to sell out in the next wave of store consolidation. Rural stores have lower volume, but also are less subject to price competition.

Wal-Mart Stores, the nation’s largest retailer, is jumping into car sales through partnerships with dealership groups, including AutoNation Inc., the nation’s largest new-vehicle retailer, and with CarSaver, an online auto retail platform.

Mercedes and BMW still sell a good volume of the luxury sedans known as brand flagships. But the identity builders for European luxury brands are likely to increasingly become crossovers and SUVs as the sales shift to trucks continues.

The advent of autonomous cars and ride-sharing mobility services could mean massive changes for dealers. No one knows exactly what those changes will be, but industry officials are confident that the dealer body won’t go extinct.

Jaguar’s midcycle freshening of the F-Type sports car adds a slew of new technology, upgraded seats and a new limited-edition model.