July 20, 2015
ON THE WEB: Consumers Find Car Shopping Stressful
A new survey by Nationwide Bank reveals one in four people find shopping for a car as stressful as preparing their taxes, and three in four say negotiating the price is the worst part.
Edmunds Rolls out New Pre-Owned Program
Edmunds.com has opened dealer registration for Used+, a new used car sales program. Dealers present their used vehicle inventory to in-market shoppers with a Vehicle Protection Plan and a $200 gas card, both underwritten and administered by Edmunds through third-party providers.
Lawyers Look at Cox Bid for Dealertrack
A law firm has initiated an investigation to determine if Cox Automotive’s takeover of Dealertrack Technologies Inc. is fair to the latter’s investors. The investigation concerns whether Dealertrack’s Board of Directors undertook an adequate sales process.
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Specialty Store Enjoys Fast Growth By Sheila McGrath
You might call it a good problem to have. Since opening in 2010, a Michigan consignment dealer has grown so fast that its 22,000-square-foot building is already feeling cramped. This summer, the GR Auto Gallery is moving into a larger facility at 4722 50th St. SE, Grand Rapids, just a mile from its current location. They plan to be into the new space by Sept. 1. Owning partners Jeffrey Bowen, John Hoekstra and Christopher Hoexum said the move is needed not only to house their growing inventory, but to provide office space for future expansion. They have opened two more Michigan stores in the past three years, and envision having 10 stores within the next five years. “We think of this as our corporate headquarters, so we can manage all of our stores out of this one location,” Bowen said. “We’ll continue to add office space here to help manage those stores. Continued on page 6
Photo by Sheila McGrath GROWING: From left, partners Jeffrey Bowen, John Hoekstra and Christopher Hoexum stand at the entrance to the 36,000-square-foot building they will move into this summer.
Santander Shakes up Top Spots Following Enforcement Action Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc. replaced its chief executive following an enforcement action by the Federal Reserve. Santander’s board named Jason A. Kulas as chief executive officer, succeeding Thomas G. Dundon. The move was announced July 2 and was effective July 15. The release from Santander states the change is in line with the firm’s succession plan and that Dundon is leaving “to pursue new opportunities.” Dundon will continue to serve as a member of the SCUSA Board of Directors and as a senior adviser to the company. However, many industry watchers point out that the
change in leadership came the same day Santander reached a settlement with the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston concerning claims of lax risk management at the finance company. Santander had 60 days to comply with the requirements of the agreement. Kulas joined the company in 2007 as chief financial officer, after covering SCUSA, since its founding, as an investment banker at JPMorgan. Kulas became President in 2013 and, since SCUSA’s IPO in 2014, has overseen the company’s corporate development, asset management, investor relations and various regulatory functions.
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