A bright spot came in a yield spread decrease of 54 basis points, pointing to lower interest rates for borrowers.Pixabay/Raten Kauf Though automotive loan approval rates rose slightly in April, overall credit access was flat and consumer stress signals increased.Cox Automotive observed a 20 basis-point bump in loan approval rates month-over-month. The subprime share, though,…

Some of the first-quarter EV sales surge came in consumers getting ahead of any trade tariff push on vehicle prices. Pexels/Tom Fisk As the Trump administration and congressional Republicans target electric-vehicle subsidies, consumers have a potentially fading chance to  get deals, just as EV prices have come in line with gas-powered models. House Republicans proposed…

Younger buyers like to be invited into a sales process, not be subjected to one.  Pexels/Hamann La The fundamentals of F&I haven’t changed a lot over the years.  F&I managers still need to have a high degree of emotional intelligence, enabling them to read customers quickly. They need to have sales skills and be excellent…

VMenu was deisigned to help F&I managers present products and services intuitively. Virtual F&I unveiled vMenu to help F&I managers optimize the vehicle-buying process by presenting products and services intuitively. Dealerships can leverage the offering to elevate customer interaction, delivering an interactive experience designed to boost transparency, reduce discrepancies, and ensure full control over the…

May 1, 2025 It’s essential for the customer to understand how a feature would help them. Wehman explains in this video how you can inform them most effectively.

A customer should never leave the store without noting the dealer’s commitment to ethics and compliance. Pexels/Mikhail Nilov I spent much of my time prosecuting Florida dealers during my tenure working for the Florida attorney general’s office. For various reasons, I became the point of contact for the entire state, and almost all complaints came…

It’s essential to recognize that not all products are suitable for inclusion in reinsurance programs.  Pexels/Artem Podrez Navigating the complexities of reinsurance and wealth management can be overwhelming, especially when your primary focus as a dealer is ensuring that your F&I products align with your financial objectives. The decisions you make regarding these products directly…

Fifty-seven percent of consumers shopped around for auto insurance in the first quarter, the highest rate in decades, J.D. Power said.  Pexels/Kindel Media As more consumers shop for auto insurance, despite rates falling as 2024 progressed, a growing number say they’re interested in embedded policies from auto dealers or automakers. The J.D. Power research, conducted…

Industry forecasters have said at least part of trade tariff cost would be passed on to consumers.  Pexels/Jakub Zerdzicki After nearly two months of back-and-forth U.S. trade policy moves, the domestic auto industry got partial relief Tuesday, some of the tariffs in play being removed from the sector or reduced. A 25% tariff on imported…