F&I and Showroom, February 2016

www fi magazine com 10 F I and Showroom February 2016 DEVELOPMENTS Cox Automotive Inc has name Eric Jacobs senior vice president of corporate development a role in which hell lead strategic business development across the company including mergers and acquisitions He will also maintain his responsibilities for creating partnerships that will further the success of Cox Automotives client portfolio Jacobs brings 15 years of experience in the automotive industry and will report directly to Neil Johnston Cox Automotives executive vice president and CFO Before being appointed to his new role Jacobs served as executive vice president and chief financial and administrative officer for Dealertrack Technologies Inc which was acquired by Cox Automotive on Oct 1 2015 Wise F I has hired Amy Counts as an account executive She will be responsible for business and relationship development with independent agents She will also be tasked with growing Wise F I product penetration Counts brings more than 18 years of industry experience having worked in marketing management software training technology implementation and business to business sales for the Reynolds Reynolds Co and RouteOne Shes also received several honors including the Core Value Award the National Association of Minority Automobile Dealers Associations Appreciation Award the 300 Sales Club and Variable Operations Specialist of the Year IAS has promoted Frank Klaus to COO for the IAS Oklahoma City and Dublin Ohio offices He previously served as president of VSC for the company Klaus started his industry career selling cars for an Oklahoma dealership in 1980 In 1989 he founded First Dealer Resources which became one of the largest independent general agencies in the country IAS also announced it has promoted Eric Mélon from senior vice president of dealer development to president of sales Mélon has been with IAS since 2004 and previously worked at First Dealer Resources which IAS purchased in February 2014 He has nearly 30 years of experience in the automotive industry Moves and Hires FTC PLANS TO STUDY THE AUTO BUYING EXPERIENCE T he Federal Trade Commission FTC said it plans to commission a qualitative survey of consumers who have purchased and financed an automobile from a dealership during the second half of 2015 The survey will begin with an initial sample of five in person consumer interviews to test the questionnaire After that the FTC will conduct 40 additional in person interviews and may interview 40 more if the agency believes it will be beneficial The FTC said it hopes the study will provide useful insights into how well a consumer understands the car buying process If issues are identified however the agency said it could consider enforcement initiatives rulemaking or education COX ENTERS F I PRODUCT BUSINESS C ox Automotive announced in late January it has acquired a minority interest in SilverRock Holdings LLC which is majority owned by Ernest Garcia and Ray Fidel of DriveTime through a separate company Oreno Holdings Inc The transaction closed on Dec 31 2015 According to officials Go Financial and NextGear Capital dealers will soon be able to offer SilverRocks vehicle service contracts GPS based theft recovery products GAP and auto insurance JM A CELEBRATES RECORD YEAR F I product provider JM A Group said in late January it closed out the best year in the companys 37 year history with record month overmonth growth For 2015 the F I product provider sold more than 34 million contracts nationwide According to officials December 2015 marked the 23rd consecutive month JM A surpassed its monthly objectives setting sales records 69 out of the last 72 months And after steady growth over the last seven years officials said the company captured 113 share of the market in 2015 T he mass action lawsuit filed by 162 new and used vehicle dealers against TrueCar will proceed after a U S District Court judge denied the vehiclebuying sites request to have the case dismissed It wasnt a complete win for dealers however as four of the complaints six claims that the vehicle buying site violated federal and New York laws through false and misleading advertising were dismissed On Jan 6 Judge Kevin Castle for the Southern District of New York denied TrueCars motion to dismiss the suits charges that it violated the Lenham Act and New York business law by advertising a no haggle car buying experience and promising car buyers they can learn of a vehicles factory invoice price and receive an exceptional offer by using the site Dismissed however were the suits baitand switch allegations as well as charges that TrueCar made false and misleading statements in advertisements about financing transparency pricing and rebates Leonard Bellavia the attorney representing dealers in the case called the ruling a victory for the plaintiffs noting that the principal claims in the complaint remain The case now enters discovery a phase in which Bellavia will seek marketing and business plan documents to further validate the suits claims of false advertising JUDGE DENIES TRUECARS MOTION TO DISMISS DEALER LAWSUIT