SAN DIEGO, Ca. (November 30, 2017) – CSB Technologies has expanded its relationship with Carfax to enhance its Shop Boss Pro automotive business management software. Now, service and repair shops can easily register customers with myCarfax.com from within Shop Boss Pro to help increase customer retention. Service technicians use a dedicated button built into the software to create a free myCarfax.com account for their customers so they can track their vehicle’s service history and get reminders when it’s time to return for their next service visit.

“We now offer one of the most robust automotive management solutions available to service shops today,” said Chris Boshaw, president of CSB Technologies. “The completed integration with myCarfax puts tools and resources into the hands of our customers that give them a competitive advantage in customer service, retention and loyalty. Well-informed car owners feel more confident in their service tech’s recommendations and come back for service more often.”

Recent Carfax research suggests that car owners using myCarfax.com make 20% more service visits than an average customer. Shops that register customers with myCarfax.com through Shop Boss Pro automatically have their business saved as the customer’s favorite service location. The myCarfax.com desktop service and mobile app sends alerts when regular maintenance items like oil changes and tire rotations are due to help customers maintain the safety, performance and value of their vehicles.

For more information, visit shopboss.net.

About CSB Technologies

CSB Technologies is a force in the automotive repair shop software market.  Our flagship application, Shop Boss is designed to give the shop owner or manager the electronic toolbox to handle any situation. We offer one of the most innovative, flexible and shop-focused software applications on the market today.

About Carfax

Carfax, a unit of IHS Markit (Nasdaq: INFO), helps millions of people every day confidently shop, buy, own and sell used cars with innovative solutions powered by Carfax vehicle history information. The expert in vehicle history since 1984, Carfax provides exclusive services like Carfax Used Car Listings, myCarfax, Carfax History-Based Value and the flagship Carfax® Vehicle History Report™ to consumers and the automotive industry. Carfax owns the world’s largest vehicle history database and is a nationally recognized top workplace by The Washington Post and Glassdoor.com. Become a myCarfax Service Shop at www.mycarfaxserviceshop.com or call 888-655-5362. Based in London, IHS Markit is a world leader in critical information, analytics and solutions.

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. (November 8, 2017) –Dealers can enhance the ownership experience by offering consumers quick online and in-lane payment options that implement the highest security standards for service thanks to integrated payment processing capabilities from Xtime and Vantiv Integrated Payments, a Vantiv, Inc. company (NYSE:VNTV).

The Vantiv payment solution integrates into Xtime Engage, which delivers tablet-friendly access to menus, pricing and service history to enhance the service lane check-in and checkout experience. Online payment allows the dealer to send an email or text to the customer to prompt them to pay online and arrange for convenient vehicle pick-up. For in-lane payments, service advisors run credit card transactions via tablet and Bluetooth-connected card swipe in the service lane.

“It’s one less step the customer has to go through when they come here to pick up their car,” said Jerry Antoine, service manager at John Hine Mazda. “In our case, the customers are in a hurry. The quicker the process of picking up their vehicle, the happier they are.”

The powerful duo of Xtime Engage and Vantiv Integrated Payments enables dealers to accept a wide range of payment types at point of sale and online – including chip cards, credit and debit cards, gift and stored value cards, all the “Pays” – Android Pay, Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, dealer financing options and PayPal or mobile wallets, are available.

Engage is part of Xtime Spectrum, an integrated, cloud-based system that helps dealers provide a quality experience from the first touchpoint to checkout and beyond to support consumers throughout their ownership experience. Dealers using Xtime Engage saw an 8.2 percent increase in service retention on average and $13,000 in additional monthly revenue1.

“By meeting customers on their terms and valuing their time, dealers can instill satisfaction and loyalty and drive their revenue,” said Jim Roche, division vice president, Marketing & Managed Services, Xtime. “The checkout experience should leave a positive impression and not diminish, or ruin, an otherwise excellent service experience.”

Vantiv’s Integrated Payments solution is PCI-compliant and utilizes encryption and tokenization to maintain the high security standards while processing card transactions. Further, retailers using Xtime Engage software can still take advantage of Vantiv’s integrated solution even if they currently use another company to process payments.

“We are very pleased to partner with Xtime to offer a flexible payment option that employs the highest standards in security and safety to the U.S. automotive industry,” said Matt Downs, head of channel and business development at Vantiv. “This solution provides automotive dealerships with a new level of security by offering point-to-point encryption, as well as improving the consumer’s experience by offering a full suite of payment methods.”

To learn more about how Spectrum can optimize customers’ ownership experience and drive profitable growth, visit www.xtime.com. To learn more about Vantiv’s products and services, please visit https://www.vantiv.com/get-quote.

1Data based on average increase for Xtime dealers using Engage between 2015Q2 and 2016Q3

About Xtime
Xtime delivers retention solutions for the automotive retail industry. Xtime, headquartered in Silicon Valley, is the exclusive or preferred provider for 29 major global automotive manufacturers in the United States, Canada, Europe and Australia, as well as leading dealership groups, and services 8,000+ dealerships. Xtime is a Cox Automotive brand. For more information, visit Xtime.com

About Vantiv
Vantiv, Inc. (NYSE: VNTV) is a leading payment processor differentiated by an integrated technology platform. Vantiv offers a comprehensive suite of traditional and innovative payment processing and technology solutions to merchants and financial institutions of all sizes, enabling them to address their payment processing needs through a single provider. We build strong relationships with our customers, helping them become more efficient, more secure and more successful. Vantiv is now the largest merchant acquirer and PIN debit acquirer based on number of transactions in the U.S. The company’s growth strategy includes expanding further into high-growth channels and verticals, including integrated payments, B2B payments, eCommerce, and merchant bank. Visit us at www.vantiv.com, or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+ and YouTube.

PRESS RELEASE - Fastlane Chooses F&I Express to incorporate VIN-Specific Vehicle Service Contract and Aftermarket Pricing in its Dealer-focused Online Car Buying Platform

Fastlane, the developer of an increasingly popular e-commerce platform for car dealers, has chosen F&I Express to provide VIN-specific vehicle service contract and aftermarket pricing. Fastlane offers dealers an Amazon-like checkout process for consumers who wish to buy their car online. Savvy dealers are gravitating toward Fastlane because of its flexibility, customizability and ease of use.

“From the car dealers’ perspective, providing accurate service contract and aftermarket pricing is imperative when offering an online buying option,” said David Luce, Fastlane’s Vice President of Sales. “Partnering with F&I Express lets car dealers using our platform incorporate F&I Express’s superior vehicle service contract and aftermarket product information into their car buying process. Having accurate VIN-specific pricing online creates a better customer experience when the consumer takes delivery of their vehicle.”

“F&I Express provides a digital connection with more than 140 automotive aftermarket product providers,” said Brian Reed, CEO of F&I Express. “Our partnership with Fastlane is enabling dealers to shift the education of F&I products forward in the car-buying process. The consumers want to have complete transparency of F&I products, so we provide the tools they need to take control of the process and drive their research.”

Fastlane’s platform enables car buyers to purchase a vehicle directly from the car dealer’s website and gives them an easy and complete checkout experience. The platform handles nearly all the tasks associated with the purchase process: Year, make, model, specifications and price information on each vehicle, warranty and service contract options, aftermarket product options, trade-in evaluations and accurate retail and lease payment information.

Dealers have been very pleased that Fastlane is much more than a cookie-cutter solution. The car-buying experience is customized to meet each dealer’s unique branding, messaging and sales needs. “We built Fastlane knowing that the online car-buying process typically differs from dealer to dealer and from region to region,” said Brandon Hall, Fastlane’s CEO. “Our technical teams work closely with each dealer to determine how their online car buying experience should work. Then we configure it to their satisfaction. It’s a win-win that makes online purchasing easy for dealers and their customers. Because of our partnership with F&I Express, dealers can be assured that vehicle, service contract and aftermarket pricing information will be spot on.”

“The F&I Express team is very pleased to partner with Fastlane,” said Reed. “This new company is clearly—and quickly—going to have a significant impact on the way car dealers bring their inventory to the online car-buying world and we’re proud that Fastlane considers us to be a valuable part of their growing success.”

About Fastlane

Fastlane, with headquarters in Dallas, Texas, is a developer of innovative e-commerce and showroom technologies for automotive dealerships. Fastlane creates value for dealers by providing them with an online checkout experience and enhancing dealer’s in-store purchase experience, giving them the power to sell more cars, be more profitable and increase overall customer satisfaction. By offering Fastlane’s turnkey purchasing solution, dealers give customers a convenient way to complete the purchase transaction while the sales team focuses on engaging with customers and building long-term relationships that last well after the car is purchased.

Fastlane’s technical integration team, based in Dallas, Texas, customizes the Fastlane e-commerce platform to meet the specific and unique needs of individual dealerships and dealer groups.

For more information about Fastlane, please visit their website, www.fastlane.car and their online newsroom, www.newsline360.com/fastlane. Contact Fastlane at sales@fastlane.car.

About F&I Express

Since 2008, F&I Express has been dedicated to leading the aftermarket industry into the digital age with innovative technology solutions. With solutions that cut costs, educate consumers, improve compliance and increase efficiency for dealers, agents, providers and lenders, F&I Express offers eRating, eContracting, eRegistering and eCancellations for aftermarket products on one platform. The Express Recoveries solution is an optimized eCancellation solution for lenders, providers and dealers to streamline the cancellation and recoveries process in an efficient and compliant manner. Express Digital Media gives digital retailers the power to educate car shoppers online with accurate and dynamic aftermarket rates and content. For more information about our innovative solutions, please visit www.fandiexpress.com or follow us on Twitter @fandiexpress.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 10 – A General Motors partnership with suppliers to use sustainably sourced natural rubber tires is transforming the landscape of the automotive industry in ways that will reduce deforestation and human and labor rights violations.

The landmark initiative will be the topic of an interview and panel discussion featuring David Tulauskas, director of sustainability at GM; Michael Stuewe, senior advisor at the World Wildlife Fund; and Ellis Jones, senior director of Global Environmental, Health, Safety & Sustainability at Goodyear, at COMMIT!Forum, Oct. 10-12 at MGM National Harbor, near Washington.

“Purpose as Your Compass: How the Auto Industry is Driving Sustainability” will analyze the dynamic developments in auto industry sustainability, accountability, and supply chain transparency, and examine how partnerships, technology, and innovation are melding to meet customer expectations and company sustainability goals. Tulauskas, Stuewe, and Jones will discuss how they have united their efforts to use sustainable natural rubber in its tires.

Through collaboration with governments, rubber industry associations, environmental NGOs and major tire suppliers, GM expects to create greater transparency around natural rubber harvesting from farm to factory, while simplifying supply chain operations. The automaker purchases almost 50 million tires each year.

GM anticipates that the initiative will help to both preserve and restore forests, reduce the company’s carbon footprint and lower business risk associated with supply-chain sourcing. Other projected benefits include increasing natural rubber farmers’ product yield and quality, improved local economic and social development, and better protection of wildlife and the long-term availability of natural rubber as a resource and commodity.

“We encourage all automakers, competitors, peers, and suppliers to join in this effort to accelerate this progress,” said Steve Kiefer, senior vice president of global purchasing and the supply chain at GM.

GM is working to create an industry roadmap that will be in place by the end of the year, and it will meet with stakeholders to develop purchasing requirements and methodology to track natural rubber through the supply chain. As sustainable natural rubber policies are put in place for tire manufacturers, automaker demand should accelerate results.

Adopting a zero deforestation stance toward should reduce the human and labor rights violations and land grabs long associated with rubber production, according to WWF.

Focusing on theme, “Brands Taking Stands,” this year’s COMMIT!Forum event will feature more than 60 speakers, panelists, and interviews that will examine the role of corporate responsibility practitioners at a time when companies are aligning with causes that are good for business, good for the communities they serve, and good for the nation and world at large.

About COMMIT!Forum

COMMIT!Forum (http://www.commitforum.com) is an annual gathering of corporate responsibility and sustainability practitioners with emphasis on networking, case studies, new research, and compelling presentations from companies committed to making progress against an ambitious environmental, social, and governance (ESG) agenda. The event is produced by the Corporate Responsibility Association and CR Magazine

CLEVELAND, OH—August 31, 2017— Dealer Tire LLC and Southeast Toyota Distributors have entered into an agreement to work together to develop an enhanced tire retailing program for Southeast Toyota.

The two companies are both family run businesses with nearly 150 combined years of experience in tire and automotive retailing, and both companies are dedicated to building lasting relationships by providing exceptional customer service.

In addition to managing Southeast Toyota’s tire program, Dealer Tire will provide training, tools and services designed to help Southeast increase customer satisfaction and retention.

The agreement between the two companies is effective December 1, 2017. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

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About Dealer Tire

Dealer Tire is a family business that was founded in 1999 by the then owners of the former Mueller Tire & Brake, a Cleveland-based retail chain founded in 1918. Dealer Tire manages replacement tire and parts programs for 19 automotive OEMs. It serves more than 10,000 automotive dealerships from 39 distribution centers across the U.S. For more information about Dealer Tire, visit www.dealertire.com.

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill., Aug. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the DieHard brand, Sears is opening two new DieHard Auto Centers – conversions of existing Sears Auto Centers – located in the Detroit suburbs of Troy and Roseville, Michigan. DieHard Auto Center is designed to meet the ever-changing needs of today's driver. The new stores, located at Oakland Mall and Macomb Mall, respectively, open today.

Both DieHard Auto Centers are 17,000 square feet and leverage interactive in-store merchandise displays and advanced diagnostic technology. Each offers a suite of services and amenities, including:

• Digital Tire Journey: A web app that relies on IBM Watson Natural Language Classifier service to help customers identify the appropriate tires to fit their driving preferences. Customers can also use touchscreens in store to access the Digital Tire Journey.
• Free Wi-Fi: Enabling customers to be productive or entertained while their vehicle is serviced.

"The new DieHard Auto Center Driven by Sears is another example of how we are unleashing the power of the DieHard brand," said Jon Otterberg, president of Sears Automotive. “This builds on the success of the DieHard Auto Center that we opened in San Antonio in February. It offers state-of-the-art technology and services in a contemporary, comfortable setting – that, combined with service from our experienced associates, can help today's drivers make the right choices for their vehicle's needs."

"DieHard is America's most trusted automotive battery brand," said Tom Park, president of Kenmore, Craftsman and DieHard brands. "In 2016, we introduced DieHard tires, which have been well-received by our customers, and we have continued to see positive, strong sales since their introduction. As we have also expanded the brand into automotive consumer electronics accessories, it is a natural evolution to extend the brand to automotive service. Now, when you bring your vehicle to a DieHard Auto Center, you can have the same peace of mind you expect from DieHard products."

Operating hours for the new DieHard Auto Center Driven by Sears are Monday throughSaturday, from 8 a.m. – 7 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. For more information about the new Troy and Roseville DieHard Auto Centers Driven by Sears, visit www.searsauto.com.