The local segment of U.S. social media ad spending will reach $3.1 billion in 2016 CHANTILLY, Va.. -– Social media advertising revenues will grow from $3.8 billion in 2011 to $9.8 billion in 2016, representing a compound annual growth rate of 21 percent, according to BIA/Kelsey’s U.S. Local Media Forecast (2011-2016). BIA/Kelsey, adviser to companies [...]

As Issue Moves Closer to 2012 Ballot, Voters Expect To Get Cost Savings and Convenience on Their Car Repairs BOSTON — The Right to Repair Coalition announced that it is launching the next phase of its “Campaign for Consumers” and will begin gathering the final batch of 11,000 voter signatures required to get the issue [...]

ATLANTA - The credit landscape continues its consistent recovery heading into the second quarter of 2012, with the exception of home finance, according to the U.S. consumer data from Equifax’s March National Consumer Credit Trends Report. At the end of Q1 2012, U.S. consumer debt was at $10.9 trillion, down more than 11% from its peak of $12.4 trillion in Oct. 2008. Credit write-offs are lower by 50% from March 2009, when banks wrote off a total of $39.7 [...]

Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac dealers in the U.S. reported 23,062 sales of certified pre-owned vehicles for April 2012. This represents an 11.6 percent decrease compared to April 2011, and a 28.4 percent decline compared to an exceptionally strong March – the highest-selling month since March 2011. Through April, dealers reported 101,313 sales of certified [...]

For the month of April 2012, Porsche’s Approved Certified Pre-Owned vehicle sales were 791, compared to 779 last year – a 1.5 percent increase. Year-to-date, Porsche’s CPO sales are up 9.1 percent (3,174 vs. 2,907). About Porsche Cars North America Porsche Cars North America, Inc. (PCNA), based in Atlanta, Ga. is the exclusive U.S. importer [...]

MONTVALE, N.J. — Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA) has reported April sales of 22,336 for its Mercedes-Benz models, a 23.8 % improvement over April 2011, delivering a year-to-date total of 83,849 new vehicles to customers, up 17.5%.  Combined sales of Mercedes-Benz passenger vehicles, smart and Sprinter for the month totaled 25,066, up 30.8% bringing a year-to-date total [...]

INDIANAPOLIS – J.D. Byrider, the nation’s leading used car sales and finance enterprise, closed its first asset-backed securitization today. “Entering the securitization market has been our focus for almost a year, and this deal allows us to access a much larger pool of capital to fund our growth,” said Steve Wedding, CEO of J.D. Byrider. [...]

Lone Star Chevrolet is the number one Chevrolet dealership in overall sales volume nationwide. As for Internet sales units, last year, Lone Star Chevrolet was in the top 100 dealerships nationwide among all brands – boasting 3,000 new and used Internet sales units. And the numbers for this year are heading in the same direction. [...]

COSTA MESA, Calif.– With gas prices rising, NADAguides, the leading provider of vehicle pricing and information, has identified the top ten most versatile vehicles under $20,000 that take value and feature sets into account.  New car shoppers in the market for fuel-efficient models that provide more than just the basic equipment will find a diverse list of vehicles that are feature [...]

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE: AN), America’s largest automotive retailer, today announced that its retail new vehicle unit sales in April 2012, as reported to the applicable automotive manufacturers, totaled 20,534, an increase of 12% as compared to April 2011.  Retail new vehicle unit sales in April 2012 for AutoNation’s operating segments were [...]

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE: SAH), one of the nation’s largest automotive retailers, this week reported 2012 first quarter earnings from continuing operations of $19.5 million for a 24% increase over the prior year results. Earnings from continuing operations per diluted share increased 22% to $0.33 compared to $0.27 in the prior year [...]

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif.,  — Customer satisfaction with the auto claims experience declined for the first time in three calendar quarters, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2012 U.S. Auto Claims Satisfaction Study(SM)—Wave 2 have been released. Overall customer satisfaction has declined 13 points to 842, the lowest satisfaction level in the past three calendar [...]