Amazon and other behemoth online services have taken a heavy toll on the country’s retailers. But dealers have been largely immune. That’s because state franchise laws largely restrict manufacturers from directly selling to customers. Having said that, there are signs of a few manufacturers shifting to a more European-style shopping…

For most people, buying a car is still an emotional decision. The emergence of the numerous online car buying and building tools won’t change that. What is changing is how, when and where shoppers do their research and negotiation. Car buying going forward will be much more transactional in nature…

The average car buyer spends nearly 15 hours shopping for a vehicle, and most of that time – about 9 hours, is spent online. Dealership websites are the first dealer contacts for nearly half of vehicle shoppers, and almost 40 percent of all buyers went only to the dealership where…

Estimates are that the pool of off-lease vehicles will grow from 3.6 million in 2017 to 4 million in 2018. This is nearly double the pool of off-lease vehicles in 2015 at 2.6 million. Although car leases can help drive sales of new cars, they also pose greater risks for the…