F&I and Showroom, March 2014

Developments Fed Questions CFPBs Renovation Costs Jennifer Lee was promoted to vice president of product for Vin Solutions She will continue to oversee the companys mobile platforms CRM tools campaign MGT tools and Haystak websites for VinSolutions an Auto Trader Group company Lee joined VinSolutions in February 2013 as senior director of product In that role Lee worked directly with dealers and product development teams to integrate and streamline exiting dealership solutions including the seamless 10 F I and Showroom March 2014 integration of data and technology with AutoTrader Group Prior to joining VinSolutions Lee served in dealer product development and leadership roles with Dealertrack JM Family Enterprises and Reynolds and Reynolds She began her automotive career following four years of distinguished service with the U S Air Force having served in Desert Storm She earned a bachelors degree in business administration from Indiana University The combined entity of National Auto Care Corp NAC and Family First Dealer Services FFDS an administrator of vehicle service contracts and ancillary products and programs named Ryan Schumacher vice president of fi nance He will lead many of the companys fi nancial management initiatives Schumacher joins NAC FFDS after spending six years in fi nancial management at Jacksonville Fla based Allstate Dealer Services Schumacher earned a bachelors degree in mathematics from the University of North Carolina He will report to Tony Wanderon CEO of NAC FFDS Ohio Dealers Taking on Tesla Again AT THE URGING OF AUTO dealers Ohio lawmakers are backing Senate Bill 260 which would prohibit the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles from issuing dealer licenses to manufacturers Dealers believe the bureau violated a rule when it allowed Tesla to sell cars in Ohio according to a report on Cleveland com Last year similar legislation was shot down in the Ohio House when lawmakers concluded the issue needed to be further studied FTC Settles With Two Dealers for Deceptive Ads THE FTC CHARGED Don Whites Timonium Chrysler Jeep Dodge of Cockeysville Md with advertising dealer discounts and Internet prices not available to the typical consumer Additionally Clevelandbased Ganley Ford West Inc was charged with misrepresenting that vehicles were available at a specifi c dealer discount when in fact the discounts only applied to specifi c more expensive models Both dealers are now prohibited from advertising discounts or prices unless the ads clearly disclose any qualifi cations or restrictions The settlements also prohibit the dealers from making misrepresentations regarding the existence price value coverage or features of any product or service associated with the motor vehicle purchase as well as the number of vehicles available at particular prices J D Power Dependability Declines for First Time in 16 Years OWNERS OF THREE YEARold vehicles 2011 model year reported more problems than did owners of three year old vehicles last year according to J D Powers 2014 U S Vehicle Dependability Study VDS The study found that overall vehicle dependability averages 133 problems per 100 vehicles a 6 increase in problems from 126 PP100 in 2013 This marks the fi rst time since the 1998 study that the average number of problems has increased FEDERAL RESERVE investigators will conduct a review of the costs associated with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureaus renovation of its headquarters which have ballooned to three times the original estimate reports the Washington Examiner The renovation costs for the project were initially estimated at 55 million but at a hearing on Jan 28 CFPB Director Richard Cordray announced that the costs are now hovering around 145 million Moves and Hires