NADA released the December 2011 edition of their Used Car Industry Update last week, and there are several bits that I like to see:

“Looking ahead, we’re anticipating that used car and truck prices will remain relatively flat through the remainder of the month and into January before moving upward again per the seasonal norm as we head deeper into the first quarter.” (p.5)

This is a change from the usual pattern, where used car prices slump significantly in Q4 in response to slackening demand due to the holiday season.

However, this year, strong demand from people who are finally giving up their old cars, coupled with tight inventory levels, has been keeping the prices relatively stable:

“In addition, used vehicle demand indicators remain strong, which when viewed alongside an anticipated ~8% reduction in year-over-year used supply supports the view that used prices will remain firm through the end of the quarter.”  (p.5)

Why do I like to see that?

It means that members of the Carloan.com Dealer Network are going to continue to be successful with the finance leads we send them. They’re going to continue to be able to get a higher price for their used inventory and not have to wait till January to keep cars moving off their lots.

We’re still seeing demand from consumers in our network too — which is even better news for our Carloan.com dealers. And there’s only going to be more as we head into tax season.

Not a member of the Network yet? Check out our FREE Volume Estimator to see what we have available in your area.

NADA released the December 2011 edition of their Used Car Industry Update last week, and there are several bits that I like to see:

“Looking ahead, we’re anticipating that used car and truck prices will remain relatively flat through the remainder of the month and into January before moving upward again per the seasonal norm as we head deeper into the first quarter.” (p.5)

This is a change from the usual pattern, where used car prices slump significantly in Q4 in response to slackening demand due to the holiday season.

However, this year, strong demand from people who are finally giving up their old cars, coupled with tight inventory levels, has been keeping the prices relatively stable:

“In addition, used vehicle demand indicators remain strong, which when viewed alongside an anticipated ~8% reduction in year-over-year used supply supports the view that used prices will remain firm through the end of the quarter.”  (p.5)

Why do I like to see that?

It means that members of the Carloan.com Dealer Network are going to continue to be successful with the finance leads we send them. They’re going to continue to be able to get a higher price for their used inventory and not have to wait till January to keep cars moving off their lots.

We’re still seeing demand from consumers in our network too — which is even better news for our Carloan.com dealers. And there’s only going to be more as we head into tax season.

Not a member of the Network yet? Check out our FREE Volume Estimator to see what we have available in your area.

"In a ruling that could literally alter the lifestyles of millions of Americans, the National Transportation Safety Board has recommended states completely ban the use of all mobile phones and other portable electronic devices while driving except in emergency situations."

Do you agree with this ban? Read these articles from this past week concerning the ban on use of electronics while driving, and weigh in on your thoughts. Effective or exaggerated?

NTSB To Drivers: 'Stop Texting And Get Off The Phone:'  According to the National Highway Safety Administration, nearly one put of every 100 motorists is either texting, emailing, surfing the Web or otherwise using a handheld electronic device at any given time. NHTSA says drivers are more than 24 times more likely to crash their cars if they're texting while driving. In 2009 (the last year statistics were available), nearly 5,500 people were killed and 450,000 more were injured in distracted driving crashes.

Safety Board Proposes Ban on Cell Use While Driving: "When it comes to using electronic devices, it may seem like it's a quick call or a quick text or a tweet, but accidents happen in the blink of an eye," said NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman. "No emails, no texts, no calls. It's worth a human life."

Why banning drivers from using any electronics is a drastic overreaction, and won't work: The problem isn’t smartphones or gadgets: it’s us. We don’t take driving seriously enough and even those who do can’t avoid all distractions. Perhaps we do need our roadways full of self-driving Google cars after all. At least then we could drink a coffee without fear of causing an accident.

NTSB wants to ban mobile phone and electronics use in cars across the country: In August of last year, a 19-year-old pickup driver received 11 texts in as many minutes while traveling down a Missouri highway outside Gray Summit. The truck rear-ended a stopped tractor trailer at speed, which was then struck by not one, but two school buses, resulting in a massive, multi-car pileup that left 38 people injured and two dead – including the serial texter and a 15-year-old student riding in one of the buses.

So after reading these articles that are for and against, which do you agree with? Should the ban go into effect totally? Or should the restriction only be limited to texting?

"In a ruling that could literally alter the lifestyles of millions of Americans, the National Transportation Safety Board has recommended states completely ban the use of all mobile phones and other portable electronic devices while driving except in emergency situations."

Do you agree with this ban? Read these articles from this past week concerning the ban on use of electronics while driving, and weigh in on your thoughts. Effective or exaggerated?

NTSB To Drivers: 'Stop Texting And Get Off The Phone:'  According to the National Highway Safety Administration, nearly one put of every 100 motorists is either texting, emailing, surfing the Web or otherwise using a handheld electronic device at any given time. NHTSA says drivers are more than 24 times more likely to crash their cars if they're texting while driving. In 2009 (the last year statistics were available), nearly 5,500 people were killed and 450,000 more were injured in distracted driving crashes.

Safety Board Proposes Ban on Cell Use While Driving: "When it comes to using electronic devices, it may seem like it's a quick call or a quick text or a tweet, but accidents happen in the blink of an eye," said NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman. "No emails, no texts, no calls. It's worth a human life."

Why banning drivers from using any electronics is a drastic overreaction, and won't work: The problem isn’t smartphones or gadgets: it’s us. We don’t take driving seriously enough and even those who do can’t avoid all distractions. Perhaps we do need our roadways full of self-driving Google cars after all. At least then we could drink a coffee without fear of causing an accident.

NTSB wants to ban mobile phone and electronics use in cars across the country: In August of last year, a 19-year-old pickup driver received 11 texts in as many minutes while traveling down a Missouri highway outside Gray Summit. The truck rear-ended a stopped tractor trailer at speed, which was then struck by not one, but two school buses, resulting in a massive, multi-car pileup that left 38 people injured and two dead – including the serial texter and a 15-year-old student riding in one of the buses.

So after reading these articles that are for and against, which do you agree with? Should the ban go into effect totally? Or should the restriction only be limited to texting?

Read some interesting articles on dealerrefresh.com and autonews.com about Google basically entering in the automotive lead business.

In February of 2010 when Google made a presentation to a select group of industry leaders about their intentions to get into the auto lead business. Some questions answered include:

How will it work for the consumer?

Basically Google will establish a Web page for vehicle shoppers. Dealers will bid, through a Google auction, to be one of about three dealers listed on the page when shoppers fill out a discounted price request for. The shoppers will then choose which of the listed dealers will receive the lead and provide the price.

When does it start?

Google is initiating the program with a handful of Bay-area dealers but has set no date for a national launch.

How will bidding work on the dealer side?

The minimum bid for placement on the Google vehicle-shopping page is $10 per lead generated and could go well above $25 a lead for popular vehicles, Christian said. The lead is generated when the Google shopper submits vehicle specifications to the dealer

How this may affect third party leads?

Well once example comes from Shaun Del Grande, president of the eight-store Del Grande Dealer Group in San Jose, Calif. He predicts that the program could push enough business his way that he may reduce the number of third-party leads he now buys.

To find out more read the following articles:

autonews.com: Dealers eager for Google pilot
dealerrefresh.com: Google enters into the auto lead business

Share your thoughts below! Will this work? Or is it another territory Google should rethink stepping into? Will this launch affect 3rd party vendors at all? Stay tuned for the launch to see how it all plays out!

Read some interesting articles on dealerrefresh.com and autonews.com about Google basically entering in the automotive lead business.

In February of 2010 when Google made a presentation to a select group of industry leaders about their intentions to get into the auto lead business. Some questions answered include:

How will it work for the consumer?

Basically Google will establish a Web page for vehicle shoppers. Dealers will bid, through a Google auction, to be one of about three dealers listed on the page when shoppers fill out a discounted price request for. The shoppers will then choose which of the listed dealers will receive the lead and provide the price.

When does it start?

Google is initiating the program with a handful of Bay-area dealers but has set no date for a national launch.

How will bidding work on the dealer side?

The minimum bid for placement on the Google vehicle-shopping page is $10 per lead generated and could go well above $25 a lead for popular vehicles, Christian said. The lead is generated when the Google shopper submits vehicle specifications to the dealer

How this may affect third party leads?

Well once example comes from Shaun Del Grande, president of the eight-store Del Grande Dealer Group in San Jose, Calif. He predicts that the program could push enough business his way that he may reduce the number of third-party leads he now buys.

To find out more read the following articles:

autonews.com: Dealers eager for Google pilot
dealerrefresh.com: Google enters into the auto lead business

Share your thoughts below! Will this work? Or is it another territory Google should rethink stepping into? Will this launch affect 3rd party vendors at all? Stay tuned for the launch to see how it all plays out!

Checking out data from CNW that came out last week -- they've got tons of data going back years and years, it's amazing.

There's one report in particular that caught my eye: "Approval Rates by FICO"  - document 1483 for those keeping score at home. Wish I could share it with you, but you have to subscribe to get the insider info. (Maybe Art Spinella will give us some sound bites in the coming weeks.)

What this Excel spreadsheet shows is the absolute destruction of the loan approval rate for the subprime segment  -- from a height of 46.29% in August 2006 to the crushing low of 4.16% in December of '08. The numbers are reflective of what we know, which is that lenders voted with their feet when it came to financing a car for anyone with a score below 620.

Fortunately, there's been a slow climb back up since then...all the way to a whopping 8.92% approval rate for car loan applications in the subprime category for September 2011.  The rate slid a little during Q3 from some months over 10% in Q2, but that 8.92% for last month is still a 28.9% increase over September 2010.

What does that mean for us, who cater to the consumers who fit that profile?

Lenders are still cautious about lending to anyone who qualifies for special financing. But they're dipping their toes back in the water and finding the temperature more and more to their liking.

My question to you is: what are you doing to take advantage of the lenders who are wholeheartedly getting their feet wet?

Checking out data from CNW that came out last week -- they've got tons of data going back years and years, it's amazing.

There's one report in particular that caught my eye: "Approval Rates by FICO"  - document 1483 for those keeping score at home. Wish I could share it with you, but you have to subscribe to get the insider info. (Maybe Art Spinella will give us some sound bites in the coming weeks.)

What this Excel spreadsheet shows is the absolute destruction of the loan approval rate for the subprime segment  -- from a height of 46.29% in August 2006 to the crushing low of 4.16% in December of '08. The numbers are reflective of what we know, which is that lenders voted with their feet when it came to financing a car for anyone with a score below 620.

Fortunately, there's been a slow climb back up since then...all the way to a whopping 8.92% approval rate for car loan applications in the subprime category for September 2011.  The rate slid a little during Q3 from some months over 10% in Q2, but that 8.92% for last month is still a 28.9% increase over September 2010.

What does that mean for us, who cater to the consumers who fit that profile?

Lenders are still cautious about lending to anyone who qualifies for special financing. But they're dipping their toes back in the water and finding the temperature more and more to their liking.

My question to you is: what are you doing to take advantage of the lenders who are wholeheartedly getting their feet wet?

Earlier this week, Special Finance Insider published the results of a study conducted by AutoUSA that polled the Internet sales staff at dealerships around the country to find out how they're doing.

Not surprisingly, their findings state that "the economy is having a significant influence on customers' abilities to buy cars."  What was surprising was that "72% of respondents do not plan to cut back on their Internet marketing budgets this year."

That's good news. It means that they know that what they’re doing is working.

The other bit that looks good is item #1 in the list below, though that might be because I'm not an ISM at a dealership:

“What are the biggest challenges for your Internet marketing departments?”

• Keeping up with lead volume: 31%
• Quality of staff: 28%
• Staff’s failure to adhere to written processes: 23%
• Lack of management buy-in: 21%
• Lack of staff accountability: 15%
• Lack of staff training: 15%
• Additional responses included “other” at 15% that included a mix of responses about quality of leads, lack of inventory and staff morale, and finally, high staff turnover at 11%.

That's what a good friend of mine used to call "a high class problem" -- something along the lines of “my wallet is too small for my $50 bills and my diamond shoes are too tight.”

It’s the kind of issue anyone would love to have, especially an ISM looking to sell cars in a down economy, because there are ways to tackle that shortcoming that are high impact, low resource.

Easy-to-use, lightweight lead management tools on the market today that can support a sales team and a sales process while the challenges around staff training and accountability are being addressed.

I'm sure some examples have already sprung to mind. And if you ask nicely, we may even tell you what some are.

Earlier this week, Special Finance Insider published the results of a study conducted by AutoUSA that polled the Internet sales staff at dealerships around the country to find out how they're doing.

Not surprisingly, their findings state that "the economy is having a significant influence on customers' abilities to buy cars."  What was surprising was that "72% of respondents do not plan to cut back on their Internet marketing budgets this year."

That's good news. It means that they know that what they’re doing is working.

The other bit that looks good is item #1 in the list below, though that might be because I'm not an ISM at a dealership:

“What are the biggest challenges for your Internet marketing departments?”

• Keeping up with lead volume: 31%
• Quality of staff: 28%
• Staff’s failure to adhere to written processes: 23%
• Lack of management buy-in: 21%
• Lack of staff accountability: 15%
• Lack of staff training: 15%
• Additional responses included “other” at 15% that included a mix of responses about quality of leads, lack of inventory and staff morale, and finally, high staff turnover at 11%.

That's what a good friend of mine used to call "a high class problem" -- something along the lines of “my wallet is too small for my $50 bills and my diamond shoes are too tight.”

It’s the kind of issue anyone would love to have, especially an ISM looking to sell cars in a down economy, because there are ways to tackle that shortcoming that are high impact, low resource.

Easy-to-use, lightweight lead management tools on the market today that can support a sales team and a sales process while the challenges around staff training and accountability are being addressed.

I'm sure some examples have already sprung to mind. And if you ask nicely, we may even tell you what some are.