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

Fastlane, the recently launched e-commerce platform for car dealers, has chosen Market Scan as their financial data supplier. 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. Toward that end, Fastlane has chosen Market Scan to provide real-time payment and rebate information tracked from every car manufacturer, bank and credit union in the country.
 
“The payment transaction is clearly one of the most important aspects of the online car buying checkout process, and we wanted to partner with a highly trusted and reliable data supplier who would give our customers accurate lease and retail payment information,” said Dave Luce, Fastlane’s Vice President of Sales. “We looked at other data providers in this space and we believe Market Scan fits the bill perfectly.”

 

 
“Market Scan gives car dealers and consumers real-time information needed for the sales transaction,” said Rusty West, Market Scan’s President and Co-Founder. “Our data is penny-certain and extremely comprehensive. We track every parameter, policy and factor that can impact an automotive transaction —and we do it for every vehicle sold in the United States. This includes lender policies and rules, rates, residual values, manufacturer rebates and incentives, even tax and DMV calculations. This information is updated daily, which is imperative for creating a superb online car buying experience.”
 
Fastlane’s platform enables car buyers to purchase a vehicle directly from the car dealer’s website and gives them an easy Amazon-like 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 Market Scan, dealers can be assured that pricing information will be spot on.”
 
The Market Scan team is very pleased to partner with Fastlane,” said West. “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 Market Scan 
Market Scan Information Systems, Inc. is a software firm and data aggregation company, founded in 1988, that tracks nearly every automotive lender in the U.S. (lease and retail finance, new and used vehicles) and all their programs, variables, parameters, policies, factors and rules; plus all OEM rebate and incentive programs –anything that can impact an automotive transaction. Additionally, Market Scan tracks all taxation–rates, methodologies and calculations–plus DMV calculations, and how they apply to every lease and finance structure, anywhere in the United States.
 
Through Market Scan’s mScanAPI, the company now powers many of the industry’s most important companies and, working with companies like Fastlane,  is changing how automobiles are sold. 
 

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Media Contact:
Kurman Communications, Inc.
Cindy Kurman or Lee Barrie
312-651-9000 Office
312-543-3928 Mobile
team@kurman.com

VIN-View Optimizer Brings New Level of Transparency to Dealers in Key Markets

CHICAGO, October 05, 2017 -- LotLinx, the industry’s #1 Automotive AI, today announced its expansion to Canada, launching December 1.  LotLinx will offer it’s highly awarded TURN™ platform including the VIN-View Optimizer® (VVO) to dealers across Canada.  The company will launch by invitation-only, collaborating initially with Canada’s largest and most influential dealership groups.

This effort brings a model of transparent digital marketing never before seen by the Canadian market. LotLinx Automotive AI technology targets and scores shoppers, based on their search behavior, and delivers them to conversion-optimized Vehicle Display Pages (VDP). And their VVO tool is a powerful new way for dealers to measure success and optimize campaign performance in real time. Via this expansion, dealers in Canada will finally be able to laser focus their omni-channel marketing efforts while gaining valuable insights on ROI.

Kijiji, Canada’s largest automotive website, is the first Canadian online marketplace to embrace this new level of transparency for the industry. Leanne Kripp, Head of Autos at Kijiji, is eager for dealers on her site to tap into the LotLinx VIN-level marketing tools to help identify where the best advertising ROI is being delivered.

“Our customers have been looking for new, targeted technology that better tracks the online buying and search habits of today’s consumer,” says Kripp. “With LotLinx coming to Canada, dealers will possess a new toolkit that provides deeper insights and greater transparency than they’ve ever had to help them spend smarter and focus investment on those media channels that provide the most value. I believe dealers across Kijiji will appreciate this clearer, real-time view into their marketing performance and how well their investments are being spent.”

LotLinx will initiate outreach to dealers in key Canadian markets such as Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Quebec City, Edmonton, Calgary and others beginning in mid-October.

“We’ve been hearing pleas from up north about the need for alternatives to the digital tools currently available.” Said Len Short, Founder of LotLinx. “As our dealers here know, we strongly believe in the importance of transparency. We’re excited to bring Canadian dealers these same data-driven solutions to them to better utilize their marketing spend. Most of our AI technology has been developed from our Canadian offices, so this is something of a homecoming for us.”

LotLinx continues to enhance its all-in-one shopper targeting capabilities, a platform that’s fully unique to the industry. This expansion brings unprecedented marketing technologies and much-needed transparency to the Canadian automotive space. For more visit www.lotlinx.com.

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About LotLinx:
LotLinx is the industry’s #1 Automotive AI dedicated to empowering dealers to turn inventory 78% faster with VIN-Specific digital advertising campaigns that deliver low-funnel shoppers to conversion-optimized VDPs. Founded in 2012, LotLinx works with thousands of dealers around the country to reach over 63 million unique car shoppers per month across more than 500 digital properties, including Facebook.

MUSA Auto Finance becomes first non-captive automotive leasing company to offer automated decisioning

MUSA also adds pre-populated, automated documents to its proprietary portal, saving dealers from the time-consuming tasks typically associated with leasing.

DALLAS, Texas, Oct. 2, 2017 – MUSA Auto Finance, an automotive lender specializing in effortless leasing for new and pre-owned vehicles, announced today the launch of automated decisioning for leases submitted through DealerTrack, RouteOne or its online portal. This development makes MUSA the first non-captive / independent auto lender in the country to pair auto-decisioning with leasing. It also marks the final step toward achieving a completely effortless, fully automated lease for both new and used cars.

“Prior to rolling out auto-decisioning, dealers might wait up to 20 minutes for a callback. But when you’re dealing with prime customers who already know they’re approved and just want to close the deal, that’s 20 minutes too long. With MUSA auto-decisioning, they’ll get an answer within 30 seconds,” said Jeff Morgan, CEO of MUSA Auto Finance.

Morgan said MUSA’s underwriters have authority to rehash, make credit decisions and customize the callback to help a dealer over the finish line. “Our dealers can forget about waiting on hold. A couple of rings and you’ve got a live underwriter on the phone,” he said.

Once the decision has been returned, MUSA auto-populates the lease documents needed to finalize the funding package. As of this month, the following documents are automatically pre-populated for the dealer:

• Lease contract
• Credit application
• Agreement to provide insurance
• Vehicle condition report
• Funding checklist

President Richard Frunzi said MUSA completely eliminates or automates many of the challenges associated with the leasing process. “As a dealer, you don’t need to be an expert on leases to get one done with MUSA,” he said. “In fact, dealers who have never done leasing before will find our process surprisingly simple. New or used, economy or luxury – we offer effortless leases for a wide range of vehicles.”

Frunzi said his company will lease used vehicles up to seven model years old, a range that is unheard of among the few providers that offer used leasing. “With the wide variety of vehicles that fit our program, we are converting a lot of customers who were planning to purchase and end up choosing our lease instead. We can get them a lower payment and a shorter term, so they can trade up sooner and not worry about negative equity. The dealer gets repeat business faster, and the consumer saves money on a nicer vehicle. It’s no wonder leasing is skyrocketing in popularity, especially among millennials.”

MUSA is now doing business in 29 states, with representatives already on the ground in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Missouri, Texas and Washington. The company is also signing up dealers in Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah and Virginia.

MUSA recently secured $175 million in funding capacity through a warehouse facility with Goldman Sachs and a capital investment from Crestline Investors, Inc. This funding will enable MUSA to launch its auto leasing program nationwide, as well as implement future enhancements to its online portal.

To learn more about MUSA’s effortless leasing, visit www.musaautofinance.com and click “Dealers.”

About MUSA Auto Finance

MUSA Auto Finance maintains its corporate offices in Dallas, Texas, with a servicing and collections center in Jacksonville, Fla. MUSA originates its leases from franchise and select independent dealers and will soon expand its sales force nationwide. The company expects to have marketing reps in 25 major markets and to be doing business in 48 contiguous states within the next two years. 

MUSA was founded by Jeff Morgan, who also owns Mortgages USA and Internet Auto Group. Richard Frunzi, President, former co-founder and COO of Exeter Finance Corp., joined Mr. Morgan in 2016 to create MUSA Auto Finance. MUSA’s leadership team also includes Cinde Perales, Chief Compliance Officer; Eric Estes, Chief Operations Officer; and Scott Schondau, Chief Financial Officer. For more information, visit www.musaautofinance.com.  

Performance is the Theme for 2017 with 12 Vehicles Making the List

LOS ANGELES (September 21, 2017) – The Automotive Video Association (AVA), which represents nearly 500 million unique viewers per year, today announced the list of finalists for the first-ever AVA Awards. The AVA award program will be hosted Saturday, September 23rd, 2017, and held at the Resort of the Mountain in Welches, Oregon. Titled “The Mountain Run,” the AVA selected High Performance as the vehicle category for 2017 pitting some of the world’s most incredible cars and SUV’s up against one another in an all-out battle for driving supremacy. The Finalists are:

Performance Car

• Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Widebody
• Nissan GT-R Nismo
• McLaren 570S Spider
• Rolls-Royce Black Badge Ghost
• Mercedes-AMG GT C Roadster
• BMW M550i xDrive
• Lexus LC 500
• Honda Civic Type-R

Performance SUV

• Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk
• Audi SQ5
• Volvo XC60 T8
• Mercedes-AMG GLC 43 Coupe

Awards competition programs are serious business in the auto industry and the AVA has developed a program that both tests out the cars capabilities, but also sets a tone of having fun while doing it. Consumers in the market place do care about horsepower numbers, but they also car about how a car will function as a daily driver. They care about how the Bluetooth works and whether the adaptive cruise control and lane departure warning actually help the driver operate the vehicle. The AVA Award program sets out to showcase all that is great about these top finalist vehicles, but also where they may be lacking in some areas. One vehicle will be crowned in each category, but the scores will be public knowledge on all vehicles.

The AVA was formed by video media outlets that span the country and this group represents the auto industry’s first-ever national media organization that focuses on video exclusively. The AVA was established to provide media outlets that specialize in video content the ability to promote their industry, which is the fastest growing segment within the spectrum of automotive media. The organization is made up of some of the most prominent and most followed automotive outlets in the country.

Over the past month, the AVA has been solicited by a handful of video media outlets to join this organization. The AVA looks forward to having more members join and to do this in a way that benefits all parties involved, the AVA is developing a solid foundation in 2017 and 2018 with its founding members. Once this association has been fully developed and two AVA Awards events have taken place, the group will gladly open its doors to new members.

The AVA has no boundaries and its content spans the globe. The new coalition helps promote the video aspect of covering the greater auto industry. The organization also isn’t limited to just card carrying journalists. The AVA has members that have a variety of backgrounds. The unifying nature is video and all video content is owned by its members.

The overarching goal of the AVA is to promote video as the primary outlet for content, but is also aimed at auto makers as well to showcase the power of video. Consumers today, look to video for their news. The combined bandwidth of the AVA is in the millions for monthly unique views. This is something no traditional media outlet can do.

Although we reported on the founding members in our last news release, the below is a quick reminder of these media groups are:

• Nik Miles (OurAutoExpert.com) – Northwest
• Roman Mica (The Fastlane Car) – Midwest
• Alex Dykes (AlexOnAutos) – Northern Cal
• Kyle Lindsey (Saabkyle04) – North Carolina
• Sofyan Bey (Redline Reviews) – DC
• Jason Fenske (Engineering Explained) – Idaho
• Matt Maranowski (Matt Maran Motoring) – Pennsylvania

For more details and information on the Automotive Video Association, please contact DRIVEN360 at 310-374-6177 or officeadmin@godriven360.com.       

Cars.com Appoints Darren Haygood as Senior Vice President of Commercial Strategy

CHICAGO, September 21, 2017 – Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) is announcing the appointment of Darren Haygood as the company’s senior vice president of commercial strategy, effective September 25, 2017. Haygood most recently served as president and chief operating officer at Transparency AI. Previously, he was executive vice president at Dealer.com.

“Cars.com is focused on creating value for our dealer partners and advertisers with strategy and intelligence that fuels their business,” said Alex Vetter, chief executive officer of Cars.com. “Darren is a recognized thought leader in the automotive industry with nearly 20 years of experience across multiple business channels. His depth of expertise in mobile attribution, automotive insights and intelligence has helped redefine digital marketing investment strategies for retail dealers in the space. We are thrilled to have Darren on our team to help us drive customer-centric innovation in this highly competitive online market”

"For almost 20 years, my career has centered around delivering innovative solutions in automotive that improve the experience for consumers and business results for dealers,” said Haygood. "Cars.com is helping the industry evolve with consumer behavior. I’ve watched as they’ve led the mobile and attribution conversations across the industry. I'm proud and excited to be joining at a time when Cars.com’s innovative products and services are fueling the evolution of the industry and empowering local dealers."

Prior to his roles at Transparency AI and Dealer.com, Haygood was the general manager at the Lokey Nissan dealership in Clearwater, Florida, from 2004-2007. He was also the director of e-commerce at Asbury Automotive Group, one of the largest, publicly traded, top 10 dealer groups in the country, from 2001-2004, and he served as regional marketing director at the Chrysler Corporation from 1997-2001.

Haygood has also served as featured speaker and contributor at automotive industry events in the US and Canada over the past several years.

About Cars.com
Cars.com is a leading online destination that helps car shoppers and owners navigate every turn of car ownership. A pioneer in automotive classifieds, the company has evolved into one of the largest digital automotive platforms, connecting consumers with local dealers across the country anytime, anywhere. Through trusted expert content, on-the-lot mobile app features, millions of new and used vehicle listings, a comprehensive set of research tools and the largest database of consumer reviews in the industry, Cars.com helps shoppers buy, sell and service their vehicles. Cars.com properties include DealerRater®, Auto.com™, PickupTrucks.com™ and NewCars.com®. The company was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. For more information, visit www.Cars.com.

DENVER (September 19, 2017) – Adtaxi, a leading digital marketing agency, today released an in-depth report on the state of automotive digital marketing. Titled Increasing the Efficiency and Effectiveness of Your Dealership’s Digital Marketing, the report highlights key challenges facing the industry today as well as proposed solutions for conquering those challenges and achieving sales goals.

According to the report, car sales are expected to be down this year from the record-breaking numbers in 2016. In addition, data indicate that 80% of consumers now aim to learn as much as they can online, visiting dealerships only to confirm their decision or complete paperwork. With a customer base that is opting to shop for cars on the internet rather than making decisions at their local dealership, it is crucial for dealers to find ways of reaching their customers across digital platforms, adapting to the ever-changing technological landscape.

“Digital marketing technologies and campaign management best practices are rapidly evolving as competition in the marketplace increases,” said Brian Kroll, Adtaxi’s VP of Sales and Strategic Accounts. “Combined with this year’s decrease in car sales, these factors present distinct challenges for dealerships. However, if sellers implement new, cutting-edge digital marketing strategies to stay ahead of the curve, they can confront these obstacles, leveraging insights to improve targeting and achieve the desired results.”

Identified in the report, the three main hurdles that dealers must overcome are:

1. Identifying the dealership’s ideal audience
2. Identifying which digital channels offer the best ROI
3. Optimizing overall campaign performance using data across all campaigns

According to Adtaxi, omnichannel marketing lies at the heart of the solution. By utilizing technologies that analyze campaign performance in real-time and reallocate marketing dollars to the highest performing platform, regardless of channel, dealerships can gain an edge on the competition.

“The opportunity for a dealer to interact with their core audience is only limited by their ability to see where their audience is most reachable and susceptible to messaging online,” said Joel Sesco, National Director of Automotive with Adtaxi. “With omnichannel capabilities, a dealer is able to more precisely target the best high-value consumers, where they are – online and in the decision-making process – and in a way that will most effectively resonate with them, in order to provide the highest possible ROI.”

About Adtaxi 
Founded in 2010 within Digital First Media, Adtaxi made its mark in programmatic advertising before expanding into search, social, email and native. Over time, Adtaxi has refined and perfected its conversions-based approach, which became the foundation of the Magellan optimization technology launched in 2015. Adtaxi functions as a true partner with its clients, acting as a single point of contact and support through multi-platform campaign cycles. Find Adtaxi on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

John Gottschalk Named Senior Vice President of Client Relationships

CHICAGO, September 18, 2017 -- LotLinx, the leading VIN specific digital marketing solution for car dealers, today announced that John Gottschalk has been named Senior Vice President, Client Relationships of LotLinx. Gottschalk was previously SVP of Dealer Relations & Business Development at FordDirect, a turnkey digital marketing solution for Ford Motor Company and joint venture between Ford and its franchised dealers. Gottschalk has been brought on to help manage and develop impactful communications with dealers and create new enterprise strategies and solutions for LotLinx.

An expert in client engagement with nearly 20 years experience in automotive retail and digital marketing, Gottschalk was key to expanding FordDirect’s online initiatives. During his tenure, he oversaw a variety of digital marketing services and helped create a comprehensive web presence for dealers to digitally update their existing practices. At FordDirect John was a strategic leader and member of the Executive Leadership Team focused on building sustainable growth across the enterprise, including Ford & Lincoln Dealers, Strategic Vendors and Ford Motor Company partners within all areas of the digital marketing ecosystem. Prior to FordDirect, he spent several years at the family-run McCrackin Ford dealership in Pittsburgh PA, where he led the dealership to be consistently in the Top 20 dealers within the Pittsburgh region.

The newly created position taps into Gottschalk’s deep understanding of how car dealers operate and conduct business in today’s increasingly digital world. His hiring and expertise will complement the LotLinx suite of technology products, which is built on VIN-specific, Omni-Channel campaigns that identify specific shoppers based on previous search habits and buying behavior, and has been the core of many successful dealers’ marketing plans.

About LotLinx:
LotLinx is an award-winning automotive AI company dedicated to empowering automotive dealers and the agencies that work with them, up to the OEM level. The LotLinx TURN platform can transform dealer results, dramatically increasing online engagement and net-new shoppers while eliminating digital advertising waste. Founded in 2012 and based in Chicago, LotLinx works with thousands of dealers around the country to reach over 63 million unique car shoppers per month across more than 500 digital properties.