Swapalease.com, the nation's largest online lease marketplace, compared truck inventory and consideration data from 2014 against 2012 and found that there has been a significant increase in the number of shoppers driving truck leases, and those looking for truck leases. Topping the list is the Chevy Silverado, which has seen a 286.4% jump in Swapalease.com inventory, and an 89.6% increase in shopping consideration over the last two years.



Here are numbers on four of today's…

Black Book today announced that Ricky Beggs, Senior Vice President and Editorial Director, will retire from the company effective April 1, 2015. Mr. Beggs has served as the voice of Black Book for the automotive industry since his career began thirty-four years ago in 1981.



“It has been an honor to work alongside Ricky who truly has become an industry legend,” said Tom Cross, President of Black Book. “His legacy of leadership and his dedication to excellence have left an enduring…

Hello and welcome to this week’s Used Car Market Report with insights from Black Book. Yes, gas prices at the pump are edging up, plus $.02 two weeks ago, and now a significant $.12 this past week. The national average is still a consumer friendly $2.19. Diesel was more stable and indications are this will be the case this year compared to gas. This past week was the first increase in diesel, at…

It’s Officially the Women Buyers Era...

OEM’s are increasing their advertising towards this powerful buying segment. Smart dealerships are too. Women bought an estimated 13 million cars at new car dealerships last year; an estimated 35,000 vehicles a day.

How many female “up’s” are converting to buyers at your store? If you aren’t tracking that number yet, we suggest you start accounting for sales by gender. The upside of your gross profit potential is tied to this.

The…

Hello and welcome to this week’s edition of The Used Car Market Report with insight from Black Book. As the month of January came to an end the weather for a portion of the country was brutal. Ice, snow, and strong winds closed businesses and reduced local auto sales to a crawl. When the weather improves local auto sales will improve as would-be buyers will have now discovered a greater need to have…

Vehicle depreciation is expected to accelerate in 2015 as increased used-car supply and larger off-lease volumes place pressure on retention rates, according to the latest joint vehicle depreciation report from Black Book® and Fitch Ratings, Inc. Click here to download the full report.



According to the report, 2014 new vehicle sales finished the year at 16.5 million units, and Black Book…

Hello and welcome to this week’s Used Car Market Report, with insights from Black Book. It’s great to be back with you, and from home base and the Black Book offices. The show in San Francisco was tremendous for our team and with the enthusiasm of the franchised dealers, we are sure to have even higher new car sales in 2015, which means even more used inventory in both the wholesale and retail…

Most executives believe that providing an excellent customer experience will increase customer loyalty. Many companies are known for it and stand out as examples of how to win business and loyalty – Nordstrom, Zappos and Apple come to mind. While providing an excellent customer experience is certainly more likely to increase a loyal customer base than providing a poor one,…

Our company has published it’s second annual report which showcases women are having empowering experiences at progressive car dealerships in the United States.

Women are responsible for buying over 13 million cars at new car dealerships; that’s an impressive 36,000 vehicles a day. Dealerships have to literally change gears, advertising, amenities and their sales strategies to attract this powerful buying force. “It’s a very competitive industry” shares Women-Drivers.com President,…

CINCINNATI, OHIO (January 28, 2015) – In truth, there may not be 50 different shades, but 80% of the cars and trucks in the Swapalease.com auto lease marketplace are in the gray family (including white and black). Swapalease.com, the nation’s largest car lease marketplace, analyzed colors of its entire online ecosystem and discovered that the grayscale dominates the automotive landscape.



Specifically, the colors black (31.4%), white (19.6%), silver (13.1%), dark grey (9.1%) and…

Hello and welcome to this week’s edition of the Used Car Market Report from Black Book. As you can tell we are again recording this market video blog via Skype while on the road. Where has the industry taken us this week? We are coming to you from the exhibition hall floor and the Black Book booth at the 98th annual NADA Convention and Exposition in San Francisco. Unfortunately there is…

Swapalease.com, the nation’s largest car lease marketplace, reports lease credit approvals for 2014 ended with a rate of 69.0%, down from the 2013 approval rate of 77.7% approvals. December 2014 specifically ended with a monthly approvals rate of 60.9%, down from the previous December that saw 73.3% approvals in 2013.



“The year ended much the same way it progressed, with turbulence as the approvals theme for the entire 2014 campaign,” said Scot Hall, Executive Vice President of…

Swapalease.com, the nation’s largest car lease marketplace, analyzed four of today’s most popular fuel-sippers against four of today’s most popular large trucks/SUVs to see if low gas prices are impacting consumer demand. The company analyzed search and consideration data from 2013 against 2014, when gas prices fell continuously through the end of the year.



The analysis showed that some small cars remained in healthy demand, while others did not. The analysis showed the same for…

Black Book® announced today that it has added Christopher Gluth as Account Manager, National Accounts, to its Activator Division. In his new role, Mr. Gluth will be responsible for expanding Activator’s relationships with national dealership and manufacturer (OEM) customers.



Mr. Gluth draws on more than twenty years of business development and account management experience in the automotive industry. Most recently, he worked at CARFAX for over eight years where he served as Senior…

Hello and welcome to this week’s Used Car Market Report with insight from Black Book. Our editors have been extremely busy over the past few weeks since the start of the calendar year. The short lull in the auction business during the holidays has dealers and remarketers chomping at the bits to do business. And overall, the greatest interest right now seems to cover the vehicles that each year are very…

Below are some stats from a recent survey you might find interesting from a December online Swapalease.com survey that was presented to 2,500 people across U.S. and Canada.



54.8% of men said they do not look forward to environments where negotiation takes place (66.7% of women).

However, while 32.5% of men said TV shows like Pawn Stars, Storage Wars and American Pickers have made them better negotiators, 78.2% of women said the…

Welcome to this week's used car market report, with insights from Black book. The overall market activity and market movement that so non-traditionally trended in November and the non-holiday weeks of December have mostly carried over into the first two weeks of January. The trend that has continued is the steady and consistent fall in gas prices at the pump. Now at $2.21 a gallon, down…

Swapalease.com, the nation’s largest car lease marketplace, unveiled results of its latest survey showing that 82% of drivers across the U.S. would consider getting a used car or truck lease that was three years old. Swapalease.com is studying the consumer appetite for used leasing and presented an online survey in front of 2,500 drivers across the country during November, 2014.



One of the benefits of a used lease would include a lower monthly payment, and approximately a third of…

Each year OEMs add more and more advanced technology to their vehicles. As a result, the skill set demanded of today’s technician has transitioned from one that is purely mechanical, into one that is more technology-based. Up until now, technicians have had access to master techs at their respective manufacturers to help diagnose and repair vehicles, and that was enough.…

Black Book® announced today that it has promoted Adam Mann to Vice President, Dealer Services, Activator Division. Mr. Mann will be responsible for leading a team of U.S. sales professionals and executing business development initiatives for Black Book’s Activator Division.



Mr. Mann joined Black Book in 2008 as Northwest Regional Manager, successfully developing a young territory for Activator. In 2010, he became the Southwest Regional Sales Manager, while also managing clients in…