Cars.com Announces its First Board of Directors as a Publicly Traded Company

CHICAGO, June 1, 2017 - Cars.com Inc. (NYSE: CARS) has completed its previously announced spin-off from TEGNA Inc. ("TEGNA") and announces the appointment of seven members to the company’s first board of directors as a public company. Cars.com will begin regular way trading on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) today.

TEGNA's spin-off of Cars.com was consummated through a tax-free distribution of all issued and outstanding shares of Cars.com common stock to TEGNA shareholders. TEGNA shareholders received one share of Cars.com common stock for every three shares of TEGNA common stock held as of the record date, May 18, 2017.

“This is an exciting moment in Cars.com’s history,” said Alex Vetter, Cars.com’s chief executive officer.  “This caliber of leadership and expertise of our Board of Directors, and their singular focus on Cars.com, will help us drive transformational growth throughout our company and help ensure our sustainability as a leading brand in the marketplace for online car buyers and sellers.”

The company has appointed a board of directors composed of a diverse and broad range of talent, expertise, and experience, led by Scott Forbes. Forbes is currently chairman of Rightmove, the leading UK online home advertiser, and Ascential, a global business-to-business media company that completed its IPO in February 2016. Forbes is joined by independent directors Jerri DeVard, Jill Greenthal, Tom Hale, Don McGovern Jr., and Greg Revelle, and Vetter, to complete a team of seasoned professionals in finance and asset management, online consumer and enterprise marketing, engineering and product design, and consumer user experience.

Becky Sheehan, chief financial officer at Cars.com, who previously led FTD Companies, Inc. through a spin-off from their parent company in 2013, said, “Cars.com is on an incredible journey, primed for expansion and growth. This is a talented board of experts assembled from across the online consumer marketplace that will help guide Cars.com with greater financial, operational and strategic focus.”

“I would like to thank Gracia Martore, president and chief executive officer of TEGNA, and the TEGNA board of directors, for their expert leadership and guidance to Cars.com,” said Vetter. “Working with Gracia and the board for the past three years has provided us with a benchmark for success that has helped us get here. Today, we enter the market as an independent business that will continue to be a leading branded player in the digital automotive marketplace.”

Prior to the separation, Cars.com made a one-time cash distribution of $650 million to TEGNA and entered into new credit facilities with borrowing capacity of $900 million. It intends to invest in organic growth initiatives and selective acquisitions to create shareholder value.

Vetter and the Cars.com leadership team, accompanied by several of Cars.com’s longest standing dealer customers, will ring the Opening Day Bell at the NYSE on Monday, June 5, 2017, to celebrate Cars.com becoming an independent, publicly traded company. 

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 classified, 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 companies include DealerRater®, Auto.com,PickupTrucks.com™ and NewCars.com®.  The company was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Chicago. For more information, visit www.Cars.com

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED BY SEARCH ENGINE LAND

A new study released today by Ahrefs shows how featured snippets have a negative impact on clicks to the first organic search result.

Ahrefs analyzed two million featured snippets and found that the first organic result shows a significant drop in click-through rate when a featured snippet is present. Without a featured snippet, the first result gets a 26 percent click-through rate. With it, it only gets a 19.6 percent click-through rate, and the featured snippet gets an 8.6 percent click-through rate.

The study also shows that the presence of a featured snippet means fewer clicks overall for the organic search results.

Out of the 112 million keywords that Ahrefs analyzed:

• 12.29 percent of search queries have featured snippets in the search results.
• Only 30.9 percent of featured snippets rank at the very top placement in the organic results.
• 99.58 percent of the featured snippets are already in the top 10 positions in Google.
• The vast majority of featured snippets are triggered by long-tail keywords.
• Wikipedia has by far the most amount of featured snippets in Google.
• Featured snippets often change sources.

This follows another featured snippets study we posted last week that looked at 1.4 million queries and hundreds of thousands of featured snippets.

I have only summarized some of the findings from the Ahrefs study, so check out the full results over here.

Five-year, $35 million research program designed to support safe transition to future of mobility

New research focus marks conclusion of CSRC's successful first five years of automotive safety research

Since its 2011 creation, 44 completed research projects with 23 partner institutions have resulted in meaningful contributions to auto safety

ANN ARBOR, Mich., May 31, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Toyota's Collaborative Safety Research Center (CSRC) today formally launched the next phase of its research mission, celebrating the successful conclusion of its first five years of auto safety research. The new research effort, named CSRC Next, will focus on the challenges and opportunities of autonomous and connected vehicle technologies over the next decade.

First announced in 2014, CSRC Next will direct $35 million through 2021 towards research designed to support a safe transition to the future of mobility. Projects will follow four research tracks:

1. The potential integration of active and passive safety systems, using advanced pre-crash sensors to improve and personalize crash protection
2. Building advanced technology vehicle user experience models for individuals and society in order to improve usability and strengthen the driver-vehicle relationship;
3. Studying driver state detection, working to improve mobility using metrics for physiology and health; and,
4. Applying big data and safety analytics techniques to develop algorithms and tools to study naturalistic driving data.

Toyota’s CSRC Research Program

"The launch of CSRC Next reflects Toyota's understanding of the importance of human interaction with emerging and advanced vehicle technologies," said Chuck Gulash, Director of CSRC. "These highly advanced systems are radically reshaping the transportation landscape, building a relationship between drivers, occupants and vehicles as teammates working together safely and conveniently. We are excited to continue our safety mission by helping to support a safe evolution to a broader mobility future."

At launch, CSRC Next's research portfolio includes eight projects in partnership with six schools.

Examples include work with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) AgeLab to develop new systems for autonomous vehicles to perceive and identify objects in their environment and to understand social interactions in traffic; and a research study with Virginia Tech to estimate issues that may arise after Integrated Safety Systems (ISS) are deployed in the future, including all active and passive safety systems.

CSRC is working with the Toyota Research Institute (TRI) and Toyota Connected (TC). CSRC research is helping to accelerate autonomous driving technology development as well as contributing to the exploration of the complex relationship between future mobility and broader social trends.

The beginning of CSRC Next also marks the conclusion of the center's first five years of automotive safety research; where it explored Human Factors, Active and Passive vehicle safety technologies, and Data Analysis and Tools development.

Since its launch in 2011, CSRC has operated with a mission unique in the automobile industry: collaborating with leading North American universities, hospitals, and research institutions on projects aimed at reducing traffic casualties, and sharing the results publicly so that all can benefit.

In that period, CSRC has launched and completed 44 research projects with 23 partner universities, publishing more than 200 papers and presenting at multiple industry conferences. And while CSRC research has helped improve the safety of Toyota vehicles—for example, enhancing the capabilities of computer crash simulations and improving the tuning of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems—its impact has been much broader. Results have contributed to standards development at international bodies like the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE).

In addition, CSRC projects have made meaningful contributions to auto safety industrywide, including research into human factors on vehicle safety and the impact of active and passive safety systems as well as the collection of driving safety data and development of new tools to analyze that data.

One of the key beneficiaries of CSRC research has been emergency medicine. A project with the University of Michigan Department of Emergency Medicine's Center for Integrative Research in Critical Care studied a computational technique for noise-tolerant, robust detection and prediction of severe cardiac events, including Myocardial Infarction and Myocardial Ischemia, inside a vehicle. As part of CSRC Next, the ECG data collected from in-hospital and in-vehicle subjects will be trained with machine learning models to detect and predict the in-vehicle occurrence of cardiac events.

"Another study, in collaboration with the Mind & Brain Health Labs at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, deployed real-time glucose monitoring systems in drivers with insulin-dependent diabetes. The project's goal was to investigate the feasibility of combining physiologic and driving sensor data to determine the levels and patterns of glucose control that might produce changes in driver behavior and safety in individuals with diabetes." 

"The CSRC and its mission follow from Toyota's belief that great things happen when good ideas are shared," continued Gulash. "We are extremely proud of our work over the last five years, including both the significant contribution we have made to automotive safety and our opportunity to support the next generation of researchers at universities across North America. It is a track record of success that gives us tremendous confidence as we launch CSRC Next."

Key projects in the CSRC's first five years include groundbreaking programs to develop test platforms for collision avoidance systems, including one with Indiana University - Purdue University at Indianapolis (IUPUI) and The Ohio State University that created advanced test targets for pedestrian pre-collision systems, which feature radar cross-sections that match those of human beings. Another, with MIT, modelled in-vehicle voice command systems and driver behavior.

CSRC will be participating at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) 25th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV) in Detroit, Michigan, June 5-8, 2017.

More information about CSRC, including the CSRC 2017 Report, can be found on Toyota's USA Newsroom at www.toyotanewsroom.com.

Media Contacts:

TMNA Corporate Communications
Brian Lyons 
310-418-8819 
brian.lyons@toyota.com

Ming-Jou Chen 
310-480-3967 
ming-jou.chen@toyota.com

There are some very important distinctions between being a manager, and being a leader. Not all managers are leaders, and not all leaders are managers. It’s really fantastic when you get a manager who is also a leader, but you don’t have to be at the top of the organization to lead.

There are some incredibly important qualities that all good leaders have. It’s not too difficult to try and adopt some of these qualities and create a leader within yourself. Being a leader in your organization will help those around you feel motivated and excited about work, and even if your management struggles to lead, you can be a source for good and help cultivate a great culture.

• Good Leaders Work. Good leaders are in the trenches, getting their work done and then aiding others to get their work done. No job is beneath them, deadlines aren’t to be missed, and they do what they need to do to help everyone succeed. Being willing to work sets an example for others of what is expected, and ensures that everyone feels equal.
• Good Leaders Balance. While it’s hugely important that good leaders put in the time and do the work, good leaders also balance. They take time for their relationships and personal life, and encourage others to do the same.  They work the late nights with everyone to pull off the project, but also encourage everyone to enjoy time off and step up to the plate to help them do so. They lead by example.
• Good Leaders Listen. There aren’t bad or wrong ideas, good leaders don’t just hear things said by coworkers, they actually listen to them. They try to understand where colleagues are coming from, and they respond accordingly. When they need to give correction, they do so kindly and with understanding.
• Good Leaders Take Responsibility. Good leaders know when to take responsibility for their actions. They apologize when they need to, don’t blame other people for shortcomings, and they own who they are and what they have done. They are willing to hear feedback, evaluate, and take responsibility to implement what they can to improve.
• Good Leaders Care. In my mind, the most important thing a good leader can do is care about the people they work with. They care about them doing a good job and meeting goals, but they also care about their family and personal life. Now, there is a line of professionalism that’s important in most work environments, but a good leader is sympathetic and understanding about the plight of a single parent; they are interested in hearing about vacations, and they recognize personal improvement and growth.

It’s important that those of us who are managers really take the idea of leadership vs. management to heart, and really ensure that we aren’t just managers, but that we are leading as well. Similarly, those who aren’t managers can be the greatest leaders in an organization. They may not have the authority to sign off on vacation or they may not have the skills to help on a particular project, but they can always be the example, the word of kindness, and the helping hand in anyway they can.

ORIGINALLY POSTED BY AUTOMOTIVE NEWS:

Fewer subprime borrowers are paying off their auto loans early, a possible sign that consumers with weaker credit scores are struggling more, according to a report by Wells Fargo & Co. researchers.

Borrowers are making fewer extra payments on loans that were bundled into bonds in 2015 and 2016, compared with loans in 2013 and 2014 bonds, according to Wells Fargo analysts led by John McElravey. The data on prepayments may offer another sign that subprime consumers are having more trouble paying their bills, the analysts wrote in a note dated Tuesday. Borrowers are already defaulting on a growing amount of auto debt.

Last decade, slower monthly payment rates on credit cards were an early sign of the consumer credit cycle changing for the worse, the analysts wrote. For auto loans, slower prepayment may be more of a coincident indicator than a leading one, they wrote.

Growth in auto debt since the financial crisis has set off alarm bells on Wall Street and among regulators who are concerned that borrowers may be overburdened and used car prices are falling. Government enforcement officials have expressed concern that lenders may be making loans that borrowers can't repay, and packaging them into bonds that investors are willing to buy.

Total issuance of subprime auto loan-backed securities rose to $7.1 billion in the first quarter from $5.9 billion in the same quarter last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The growth came even as losses from the debt have risen beyond levels last seen in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis.

The researchers at Wells Fargo, the number one seller of bonds backed by subprime auto loans, have said that the bonds pose few risks to bondholders, even though they recommend investors cut their risk exposure because of valuations.

Slowing prepayments can hurt investors in bonds backed by car loans, said Peter Kaplan, a senior portfolio manager at Merganser Capital Management. They can result in a deal's bonds getting paid down more slowly, which can hurt the riskiest securities in a transaction. "I think downgrades are completely possible," with a remote possibility that the riskiest securities will take losses, he said.

Lenders and big bond graders, such as S&P Global Ratings, have pointed to the debts' fast amortization and possible upgrades as reasons for investors to have faith in the securities.

ORIGINALLY POSTED BY AUTOMOTIVE NEWS:

When his car needed weeks of transmission work and his dealer was out of loaners, Myles Arnett was sent to a nearby Hertz rental-car lot. He had his pick of Nissan Altima and Sentra sedans to choose from -- and little else.

"Over the past two, three years, predominantly Nissan is what's on the lot, whether its Enterprise or Hertz," said Arnett, a Columbus, Ohio-based computer-network administrator who rents vehicles several times a year.

More American rental-car lots are looking a lot like the one Arnett encountered, which helps explain why Nissan Motor Co. has been an exception among automakers reporting declining U.S. sales this year. But Nissan's decision to boost deliveries to fleet companies carries risk, both to the Japanese automaker and to struggling rental-car giants Hertz Global Holdings Inc. and Avis Budget Group Inc.

Rental-car companies go through cars much like consumers do, racking up miles before reselling them to the used-vehicle market. If Nissan sells too many cars to the likes of Hertz and Avis, the oversupply can depress the value of vehicles owned both by regular consumers and the companies. Having been burned by this phenomenon in past downturns, Detroit automakers have been dialing back their fleet business this year, contributing to what analysts expect to be another month of slower U.S. auto sales in May.

"Nissan has been very open that they think they can handle more fleet business in a profitable way," said Eric Lyman, an analyst at TrueCar Inc.'s ALG unit. "If GM and FCA have left some of the fleet business, Nissan is more than happy to fill the void."

Automakers probably will report a slower pace of annualized sales for a fifth consecutive month, according to a Bloomberg News survey of analysts. The industrywide selling rate, adjusted for seasonal trends, may have slipped in May to about 16.8 million, compared with 17.2 million a year ago.

Nissan has been expanding its fleet business as some dealers criticize its use of retailer incentive programs and rising discounts to consumers drag on earnings. The Yokohama, Japan-based company risks reducing the value of its models over time, a hidden cost to buyers that also makes it harder to finance competitive leases.

Almost a third of Nissan Altima sedan sales in the U.S. last year went to fleets, according to Edmunds.com data through October.

Car giveaways

"A successful fleet operation is one thing, when it's 10 percent of your volume," said John Mendel, who until April was Honda Motor Co.'s top U.S. sales executive. "But when it approaches 35 percent to 40 percent of your business on that vehicle line, I struggle with saying that's successful. That's just giving cars away."

Detroit automakers may be cutting back on their fleet business, but Judy Wheeler, Nissan's vice president of U.S. sales, said the companies remain very much in the mix. Nissan has been working more than a year to sell nicer-equipped models to rental fleets to make impressions with consumers and woo some potential buyers, she said in a phone interview.

"Maybe it makes them rethink what they have in their driveway," Wheeler said.

Nissan's market share gains this year could continue another month, based on analysts' estimates. The company's deliveries may rise 0.6 percent in May, while four of its biggest peers are projected to report declines. General Motors is expected to post the biggest increase, at 4.3 percent.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles' move to end production of the Dodge Dart and Chrysler 200 sedans took out big chunks of rental-car supply and has contributed to shrinking total sales for about a year. CEO Sergio Marchionne is retooling factories that used to produce cars to make more profitable Jeep SUVs and Ram pickups.

U.S. auto sales are on track to decline this year for the first time since 2009, the year that GM and Chrysler's predecessors went bankrupt.

Rising fleet sales last year -- led by Nissan -- powered the U.S. auto industry to an unprecedented seventh straight annual sales gain in 2016. While full-year light-vehicle sales rose by 70,882 vehicles, according to researcher Autodata Corp., total fleet sales increased by about 108,440 units, according to Automotive News.

Nissan's fleet sales alone rose by 80,200 vehicles, Automotive News reported.

Nissan's Wheeler downplayed how much of a role rental-car companies are playing in the company's increased fleet sales. Deliveries of Titan pickups and NV work vans are boosting business with commercial customers, she said.

The target for Nissan is to sell 15 percent to 20 percent of its vehicles to fleets, Wheeler said. That's higher than recommended by ALG, which finds that used-car values and brand image take a hit once fleet exceeds about 10 percent of automakers' total sales.

"The fleet sales that we're seeing with Nissan is going to create pressure on their new-car values," ALG's Lyman said.

Rental turnoffs

While selling to rental fleets can mean exposing your vehicles to potential buyers, lower-tech models run the risk of turning off drivers.

That was the case for Arnett, the Hertz customer from Ohio. The Altima he rented has more pep than his Hyundai Veloster, but he called the Nissan's infotainment cluster "subpar and basic" and said the steering wheel was already showing wear.

Concerns about Hertz and Avis sitting on an aging and bloated supply of used cars have depressed the companies' shares this year. Hertz's stock plunged 56 percent and Avis's dropped 39 percent through Tuesday's close.

Hertz is planning to sell $1 billion of secured bonds to refinance debt as it as it tries to turn itself around and upgrade its fleet.

"The automotive roadside is littered with failures and costs of excessive fleet business," said Mendel, the retired Honda executive. "Few manage it well."

DETROIT, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The new vehicle retail sales pace in 2017 is expected to be lowest for the month of May since 2013, according to a forecast developed jointly by J.D. Power and LMC Automotive.

With one additional selling day in 2017, retail sales in May are anticipated to reach 1,222,000 units, a 2.9% decrease compared with May 2016 on a selling-day-adjusted basis. The seasonally adjusted annualized rate (SAAR) for retail sales in May is expected to be 13.4 million units, a decrease of 212,000 units from a year ago. With the slowdown expected to continue in the second half of the year, LMC Automotive is reducing its retail light-vehicle sales forecast for 2017 to 13.9 million units.

(in millions of units) Source: Power Information Network® (PIN) from J.D. Power

Incentive spending for the industry continues to rise, and through the first 11 days of May was $3,583 per unit, the highest level ever for the month of May and up $241 from May 2016 ($3,342). Incentives as a percentage of MSRP were at 9.9%, and on pace to exceed the 10% level for 10th time in the past 11 months.

"While consumers will see substantial discounts this Memorial Day weekend, they are not expected to overcome the slowing demand in auto sales," said Deirdre Borrego, senior vice president of automotive data and analytics at J.D. Power. "The holiday weekend is one of the heaviest trafficked car-buying periods and, in 2016, the Friday-Monday selling period accounted for more than 20% of May retail sales."

Despite maintaining record incentive levels, the average days to turn for the industry is above 70 days for the first time since 2009. More than 27% of vehicles sold so far in May sat on dealer lots for more than 90 days, up from 25% last year. "Continued elevated incentives reflect the challenges of balancing record levels of inventory and are likely to remain elevated unless production is adjusted to meet consumer demand," Borrego said.

J.D. Power and LMC Automotive U.S. Sales and SAAR Comparisons

1Figures cited for May 2017 are forecasted based on the first 17 selling days of the month. 
2The percentage change is adjusted based on the number of selling days in the month (25 days in May 2017 vs. 24 days in May 2016).

• The average new-vehicle retail transaction price to date in May is $31,419, a record for the month, surpassing the previous high for the month of $30,886 set in May 2016.
• With record transaction prices for the month, consumers are on pace to spend $38.4 billion on new vehicles in May, about $1 billion more than last year's level and a record for the month.
• Average incentive spending per unit to date in May is $3,583 per unit, a record for the month, and surpassing the previous high for the month of $3,342, set in May 2016. Spending on trucks and SUVs is $3,358, up $187 from last year, while on spending on cars is $3,942, up $344.
• Trucks account for 61.7% of new-vehicle retail sales so far in May—the highest level ever for the month of May—making it the 11th consecutive month above 60%.  
• Days to turn, the average number of days a new vehicle sit on a dealer lot before being sold to a retail customer, reached 71 through May 14. This is the highest level for any month since July 2009 (80).
• Fleet sales are expected to total 320,300 units in May, down 5.8% from May 2016 on a selling day adjusted basis. Fleet volume is expected to account for 20.8% of total light-vehicle sales, a decrease from 21.3% in May 2016.

Jeff Schuster, senior vice president of forecasting at LMC Automotive, said: "On the surface, continued downward pressure on auto sales since the beginning of the year is troubling. However, we believe some of the weakness year-to-date has been exaggerated by jitters over policy risk with the Trump administration. If uncertainty dissipates and tax cuts are initiated—or OEMs engage higher incentives—stronger demand could return for an encore performance in the second half of the year. However, the industry still must deal with negative effect of a growing used car market and the notion of rising interest rates, both of which are real risks to future volume and potential growth."

A reassessment of market indicators and uncertainty risk has led to a reduction in the outlook for this year. LMC's forecast for 2017 total light-vehicle sales has been cut to 17.2 million units, down from 17.5 million previously and a decline of -2.0% from 2016. The retail light-vehicle outlook has also been cut from 14.2 million units to 13.9 million units, a decline of -1.4% from 2016. The reduction in fleet volume has outpaced that of retail with fleet volume expected to be down -4.5% from 2016.

About J.D. Power and Advertising/Promotional Rules www.jdpower.com/about-us/press-release-info 
About LMC Automotive www.lmc-auto.com.

Media Relations Contacts 
Geno Effler; Costa Mesa, Calif.; 714-621-6224; media.relations@jdpa.com 
Emmie Littlejohn; LMC Automotive; Troy, Mich.; 248-817-2100; elittlejohn@lmc-auto.com

No advertising or other promotional use can be made of the information in this release without the express prior written consent of J.D. Power or LMC Automotive. www.jdpower.com/corporate  www.lmc-auto.com

ATLANTA and MOUNT LAUREL, N.J., May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Cox Automotive, the same company that brings consumers Autotrader and Kelley Blue Book, today announced a new joint venture with Holman Enterprises, a global leader in automotive sector services. Both automotive companies are now shared owners of Flexdrive, a new mobility company that enables consumers to subscribe to a vehicle, rather than buying or leasing it. Flexdrive is an innovative new business model that was created within Cox Automotive in 2014 and evolved into a joint venture with Holman Enterprises in early April. 

"Both Holman Enterprises and Cox Automotive share an appreciation for what it means to move forward and create what consumers want today instead of fitting yesterday's solutions into today's demand," said David Liniado, vice president of consumer mobility at Cox Automotive. "Through this partnership, we are combining the best of both companies to give consumers a new way to satisfy their mobility needs while enabling dealers to get into the mobility market."

(PRNewsfoto/Cox Automotive)...

Flexdrive is a vehicle subscription and services platform that enables dealerships to offer vehicle subscriptions as an option alongside buying and leasing. Through Flexdrive, consumers can subscribe to a car via a mobile app within minutes, and drive away without worrying about insurance, maintenance or any of the other activities typically involved in purchasing or leasing a vehicle. They can swap vehicles at any time, giving them the flexibility they need without the commitment of a long-term contract.  

Founded in 1924, Holman Enterprises has grown from a single Ford dealership in Maple Shade, New Jersey to a global automotive conglomerate consisting of both consumer and business related services, including 38 franchise stores across the country, a global corporate fleet management company, truck upfitting, parts distribution, consumer finance and insurance businesses. The Holman history, culture, values, mission, team member approach, and community involvement mirrors that of Cox Automotive, making the partnership an ideal move to accelerate the growth of Flexdrive.

"The modern marketplace is asking for mobility solutions, not just transportation, and we are enthusiastic about working together with Cox Automotive to meet the modern consumer's needs," said Brian Bates, president and CEO of Holman Consumer Services. "At Holman, we have always been committed to providing customers with extraordinary service, and giving our customers the opportunity to 'flex' in addition to purchasing or leasing is another way we are achieving that goal."

As a joint venture, Flexdrive will be led by Jose Puente, who has assumed the role of president.

"With Flexdrive, we are rewriting the rules of car ownership," said Puente. "It is the new way to car, and fueled by the joint support of Cox Automotive and Holman Enterprises, we'll be bringing this unique offering to more markets throughout the year."

The first Holman franchise to offer consumers the ability to "flex" is Flexdrive of Cherry Hill, located in Southern New Jersey.

How Flexdrive works:
A consumer downloads the Flexdrive app, selects a vehicle and schedules pick-up/drop-off. With two payment options and no down payment or credit check required, consumers choose when to stop or even suspend the service. Turning the service on or off during the span of use means no unnecessary payments when the car is not a priority. And the weekly or monthly payment covers traditional automotive cost of ownership items like maintenance, roadside assistance, and insurance. Flexdrive addresses the pain points of vehicle purchasing, vehicle ownership and vehicle disposal.

About Flexdrive:
Created within Cox Automotive in early 2014, Flexdrive quickly established itself as an emerging technology and services platform offering vehicle subscription services for the consumer market. The concept developed through in-market fleet use, resulting in a robust end-to-end technology platform delivering this same model to retail dealerships, fleet owners, ride-share operators and OEMs. Now a joint venture between Cox Automotive and Holman Enterprises, Flexdrive enables dealers to offer vehicle subscriptions for consumers who want mobility solutions without the commitment of a lease or loan. For more information, visit www.flexdrive.com.

About Holman Enterprises
Holman Enterprises, headquartered in Mount Laurel, New Jersey, is an international automotive services company. Beginning in 1924 as a single Ford dealership, Holman has evolved to encompass six business segments that support several diverse sectors of the automotive market: Holman Automotive, one of the largest privately-owned dealership groups in the United States, with over 38 retail franchises 17 brands from the East Coast to the Pacific Northwest; Steward Financial Services, an auto retail finance company; Holman Insurance Services, a commercial and consumer insurance services company providing a full array of insurance products to retail customers and customized insurance and risk management solutions to commercial clients; Holman Parts Distribution, a national multi-brand powertrain parts distributor; Auto Truck Group, a truck up-fitting business; and ARI, the largest privately-owned fleet leasing and management company in North America. Holman, a family-owned business, focuses on building relationships and investing in people. With values rooted in the principles established by founder Steward C. Holman, the company continues to promote a culture of philanthropy, which supports organizations such as the United Way and others important to the Holman team.

About Cox Automotive
Cox Automotive Inc. is transforming the way the world buys, sells and owns cars with industry-leading digital marketing, software, financial, wholesale and e-commerce solutions for consumers, dealers, manufacturers and the overall automotive ecosystem worldwide. Committed to open choice and dedicated to strong partnerships, the Cox Automotive family includes Autotrader®, Dealer.com®, Dealertrack®, Kelley Blue Book®, Manheim®, NextGear Capital®, vAuto®, Xtime® and a host of other brands. The global company has 33,000 team members in more than 200 locations and is partner to more than 40,000 auto dealers, as well as most major automobile manufacturers, while engaging U.S. consumer car buyers with the most recognized media brands in the industry. Cox Automotive is a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises Inc., an Atlanta-based company with revenues exceeding $20 billion and approximately 60,000 employees. Cox Enterprises' other major operating subsidiaries include Cox Communications and Cox Media Group. For more information about Cox Automotive, visit www.coxautoinc.com.

DrivingSales is thrilled to announce Ted Graham will be a keynote speaker at the Canadian Dealer Forum!

Is your dealership moving fast enough to keep up with customer-experience innovations? Learn how your dealership can develop disruptive innovation in your market to increase sales, get more customers and improve performance across all department. 

Ted, head of Open Innovation at General Motors, spent a year driving with Uber learning how the company completely turned the mobility industry on its ear. He will teach you how to rethink your business process, people and entire strategy to adapt more rapidly and beat competition. 

Don't miss Ted's valuable insights detailing:

• How to build a culture in your team to identify and apply opportunities for innovation effectively.

• Why innovation does not mean buying the newest shiny technology for you’re dealership.

• Where to focus your attention as a leader of innovation for your dealership.

EARLY BIRD PRICING AVAILABLE THROUGH MAY 31ST

CDF 2017 - July 17-18, 2017

Calgary, Hyatt Regency

Redesigned with new user interface, new mobile app, one-step recovery link and new hardware, Spireon delivers simplicity with power in new GoldStar

LAS VEGAS, May 24, 2017 – Spireon Inc., a leader in telematics, risk management and location-based business intelligence solutions, announced the latest version of its GoldStar GPS solution for the vehicle finance industry, offering dealers and lenders an easy and efficient approach to mitigate risk while sustaining growth. The announcement is timed with the National Alliance of Buy Here Pay Here Dealers (NABD) Conference in Las Vegas, where the company’s senior vice president of sales for Automotive Solutions, Reggie Ponsford, is speaking on a panel addressing the challenges and opportunities for dealers in the Buy Here Pay Here (BHPH) space.

“Buy Here Pay Here dealers must carefully manage cash flow and protect their assets while growing their business during some of the most challenging economic conditions they’ve ever faced,” said Ponsford. “GoldStar allows dealers and lenders to extend more credit and increase sales volume while efficiently mitigating risk. The peace of mind that comes with more predictable revenue is invaluable, which is why more than 15,000 businesses trust GoldStar.”

For fifteen years, BHPH dealers and lenders have used GoldStar to stay connected to their customers in order to facilitate payment collection, monitor default predictors, and streamline recoveries when necessary. The new version of GoldStar offers faster workflows, a redesigned user interface, more durable hardware and additional proactive alerts.

“In our business, the most important factor in every decision is making sure the lender has peace of mind. Spireon’s GoldStar allows us to achieve this, making the product truly invaluable,” said Michael Harris of JD Byrider, Tuscaloosa.

The new GoldStar GPS solution includes several key updates and features, including:

• Redesigned User Interface— Offers a faster, more intuitive user experience
• Excessive Mileage Reporting—New reporting feature provides early warning of driver behavior that may accelerate the devaluation of assets
• Easy Recovery Link—One-step recovery process, enabling faster, more effective recovery workflows
• New Mobile App—New GoldStar Connect app offers real-time location tracking, geofencing, speed alerts and other connected vehicle benefits
• Redesigned Hardware—Improved GPS unit features a slim, re-engineered form factor and increased durability for extreme temperatures and tamper protection
• LTE Coverage—Additional device option offers more comprehensive service, improved wireless reception and better signal reliability, while future-proofing the investment 

“GoldStar has always been the gold standard in GPS, and now, with the latest enhancements, it is by far the most versatile, mobile-friendly, workflow-efficient GPS software in the industry,” said Sunil Marolia, vice president of product management at Spireon.  “Plus, it’s built on Spireon’s award-winning NSpire platform that delivers unmatched reliability and performance.  No other GPS product comes close to the value that GoldStar delivers to our customers.”

With the industry’s only 99.9 percent performance guarantee and award-winning 24/7 customer support, GoldStar offers the dependability and assurance dealers and lenders need to protect their assets and optimize return on investment. Spireon also offers three different GoldStar packages with varying levels of service, allowing users to scale based on individual needs. The updated GoldStar solution will be available in June 2017.

To learn more about GoldStar, please visit Spireon’s booth #415 at NABD in Las Vegas, or www.spireon.com/goldstar.

About Spireon

Spireon, Inc. is the industry’s leading open connected vehicle company, providing businesses and consumers with powerful insights to track, manage and protect their most valuable assets. The award-winning Spireon NSpire platform supports more than 3.75 million active subscribers across the company’s growing suite of products for new and used car dealers, lenders and financial institutions, rental car agencies, insurers and consumers, as well as fleet, trailer and asset management companies. Learn more at www.spireon.com.  

Emily Lynn Ashley (formerly Anderson)

Business Technology

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