Dealers mourn Tonkin, miss his spunkAuto News

Auto dealers are longing for another outspoken advocate like Ron Tonkin, the Oregon dealer who crusaded against what he considered overbearing factories while president of NADA 25 years ago. Tonkin died Jan. 17 at age 82.



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Nissan's Palmer pursues the right formulaAuto News

To Andy Palmer, a British high school dropout who was anointed Nissan's global No. 3 executive on Nov. 1, it's an immutable mathematical truth: Brand matters.



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Dealers should respond to questions quickly or internet shoppers will leaveAuto News

At Proctor Honda in Tallahassee, Fla., salespeople are expected to respond to Internet leads within 20 minutes.



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Details emerge of new engine, batteries and much more for the 4th-generation PriusAuto News

The fourth-generation Toyota Prius, the car that made "hybrid" a household word, won't arrive for at least another year. But emerging details paint a picture of a car that could be a breakthrough on multiple fronts.



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Sales bonus: $1,000 and you go on vacationAuto News

A car dealership that makes salespeople go on vacation and throws in $1,000 spending money? That's how Peter Petito, general manager of Hillside Honda in New York, rewards his high performers.



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Barra steers a course set by AkersonAuto News

General Motors CEO Mary Barra doesn't seem eager to discuss the glass ceiling that shattered with her elevation to GM's top job this month or whether her appointment can help transform the company's stodgy image.



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New BMW stores to be big, open, beigeAuto News

BMW of North America is rolling out new dealership standards, patterning changes on what has happened to retail outside the automotive world.



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No shopping spree for Sonic this yearAuto News

Acquisitions aren't on the front burner at Sonic Automotive Inc. in 2014.



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Plastic Omnium, Lithia deliver top shareholder returnsAuto News

Retailer Lithia Motors and supplier Plastic Omnium returned the most value to shareholders in their categories last year and over the past three years, according to the Automotive News/PwC Shareholder Value Index.



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Volvo shifts marketing message and dollarsAuto News

Volvo Cars of North America will scale back its TV advertising this year and has yanked the commercials that poke fun at the Germans.



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Tesla completes L.A.-to-New York Model S charging networkAuto News

Tesla said it expanded its U.S. network of rapid chargers to allow owners of the battery-powered Model S sedan to drive their cars from coast to coast for the first time.



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VW's Horn hits reset button with U.S. dealersAuto News

Michael Horn, the new CEO of Volkswagen Group of America, has a message for VW dealers: We're listening.



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GM execs tell dealers Chevy can gain U.S. share in pickupsAuto News

General Motors executives say Chevrolet can take market share from Ford in the pickup market despite the planned introduction late this year of a redesigned F-150.



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Buick extends lease promotionAuto News

Buick plans to continue a 24-month promotional lease program that has helped stoke its lease business over the past two years.



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Honda targets record year, expects 6% gain in U.S. salesAuto News

Honda Division is gunning for its best year ever in 2014. At the make meeting on Sunday, Honda told dealers it targets sales in the United States of about 1.44 million vehicles in 2014, up about 6 percent from 2013.



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Mazda helps dealers with data mining softwareAuto News

Mazda is helping dealers pitch customers coming off lease or with equity in their vehicles.



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Lincoln's new product flow pleases dealersAuto News

Lincoln dealers, following a dismal 1 percent decline in sales in the United States last year, will have the benefit in 2014 of a full year of production of the MKZ mid-sized sedan.



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BMW exec wants U.S. dealers to generate higher CSI scoresAuto News

BMW's North American CEO pressed dealers to produce higher customer satisfaction scores this year and called on them to make commitments to invest in renovating showrooms.



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Ford asks dealers for help with launchesAuto News

With 16 product launches coming in 2014, Joe Hinrichs, Ford's president of the Americas, asked dealers at the make meeting Sunday to partner in the launch process.



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Cadillac aims for double-digit growthAuto News

Cadillac is planning for sales growth of at least 10 percent in the United States this year as it rolls out at least three new or redesigned vehicles, dealers were told at the make meeting.



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Kia will boost supply to reverse sales slipAuto News

Kia dealers will see vehicle availability and marketing funds increase in 2014 as the brand seeks to reverse its first annual sales decline in the United States since 2008.



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Mercedes plans new round of dealership employee trainingAuto News

Mercedes-Benz USA is launching a new wave of training for dealers and their employees this year, continuing the focus on customer service, said dealers and company executives.



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Chrysler adds 26 minority-owned storesAuto News

Chrysler Group gained more than two dozen minority-owned dealerships in 2013 and is poised to challenge Toyota's lead in the percentage of its stores in the United States at least partially owned by racial minorities.



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Tata Motors executive Karl Slym dies after Bangkok hotel fallAuto News

Tata Motors Managing Director Karl Slym died after falling from a high floor in a Bangkok hotel. The Englishman, who joined Tata in 2012 after a 17-year stint at GM, was in Bangkok for a Tata Motors Thailand board meeting.



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Ford dealer improvement program tops expectationsAuto News

Last year, Ford told dealers it would offer them as much as $750,000 in matching funds to improve their dealerships. The response since then far exceeded Ford's expectations.



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