Annualized, nearly 8% of auto loans slipped into delinquency in the fourth quarter of last year. Pexels/Karolina Grabowska As last year ended after a 2022-23 cycle that saw 11 interest rate hikes, the dual pressure of the high rates and inflated prices started to reveal a crack in the consumer foundation.A fourth-quarter report by the…

Year-over-year, access was greater in every channel but franchised used sales, which was flat, and for all lender types. Pexels/Mike Bird Auto credit access was stable last month, Cox Automotive’s All-Loans Index essentially flat at 94.8. Availability grew tighter in most channels and all lender types, said Cox, which observed that the subprime and negative…

U.S. auto insurance rates are up 11% on average over the past year, but insurers are still losing an average of five cents on the dollar in collected premium. Pexels/Vlad Deep Auto insurance consumers’ trust of insurers is low, negatively affecting satisfaction and brand advocacy. Over half, or 51%, of the more than 41,000 people…

Attorney James Ganther says the CARS rule in its current form exceeds consumers’ desires. Pexels/Kampus Production There are two sides to every story, and such is the case with the Federal Trade Commission’s Combating Auto Retail Scams, or CARS. The FTC says the regulation would eliminate confusion and inconvenience in the car-buying process and won’t…

Benchmark says the alert system pinpoints areas of underperformance down to the individual level. Benchmark Data Suite, a provider of automotive solutions for decision-making across dealerships, launched the Benchmark Alert System. The company says the technology empowers dealers by leveraging their data when it matters most to enable performance improvements through real-time, actionable insights via…

Surprisingly, about half of survey respondents even said they wouldn’t resist the much more encroaching automatic speed restrictors, or technology that makes it harder to put the pedal to the floor. Pexels/Pixabay A recent survey found that a majority of consumers would accept in-vehicle speed warnings in their cars. The nonprofit Insurance Institute for Highway…

Transferring credits to the auto dealer, essentially giving buyers a down payment rather than the consumer waiting to get the money back at tax time, has been popular. Pexels/Dids More than $1 billion in federal tax credits have gone to electric-vehicle buyers across over 150,000 sales this year so far, the U.S. treasury department said.…

Toyota says the Hilux project ‘will contribute to the next generation of fuel cell technology, which will offer longer lifecycles, increased driving range for vehicles and significantly reduced costs.’ Toyota entered the demonstration phase of its hydrogen fuel cell project, taking half of 10 Hilux pickup truck prototypes it’s built since last fall into field…

Expensive full-size pickup trucks revved the average transaction price higher. Ford’s F-150 series is the U.S. top-selling vehicle. New-vehicle prices kept falling in May as incentives continued their own opposite momentum in a supply-and-demand dynamic ignited by boosted inventory. Prices were down 1% month-over-month for an average transaction figure of $48,389, according to Cox Automotive’s…

Wrapmate has more than 2,000 certified installers that can apply the VW wraps. Volkswagen of America Wrapmate, in collaboration with Volkswagen of America, launched a custom graphics program for the all-new Volkswagen ID. Buzz. The initiative invites enthusiasts and future owners to begin personalizing their vehicles with custom wrap and other vinyl decal designs using…