The Federal Reserve elected to hold its target lending rate at 3.5% to 3.75% in a 10-2 vote, marking the end of a series of three quarter-point cuts that started in September 2024. +
Presidio Group and NCM Associates analysts say U.S. dealers enjoyed their first full-year net pretax profit gain since 2021 last year despite a 9.7% decline in the fourth quarter. +
Protective Asset Protection’s annual State of the F&I Industry report raises concerns that affordability issues are making customers question the value of F&I products and hurting sales. +
The latest Digital Transformation Index shows a 4.6% decline in econtracting volume from the third quarter to the fourth but a 3.2% increase over the course of 2025. +
Fullpath is beta testing its Agentic CRM with a select group of dealers and will demo the new, AI-powered customer relationship management system at NADA 2026. +
Select Stellantis dealers now have access to FlexCare Drive, a new suite of F&I products provided by JM&A Group, expanding a program built to replace Mopar Vehicle Protection. +
Promising “real-time, automated validation” for F&I product sales, F&I Sentinel announced its compliance engine has been embedded in Cox Automotive’s digital contracting platforms. +
Dealerslink has launched its 2026 AI Suite, adding six new AI-powered tools dedicated to multiple facets of automotive sales and marketing, including inventory, pricing and vehicle description pages. +
ActivEngage has added a suite of AI tools designed to increase the quantity and quality of inbound and outbound engagements and relay each customer’s intent. +
A Dealer Savvy review of 100 U.S. dealership websites finds 84 are effectively invisible to ChatGPT and other AI-powered tools consumers use to research and select vehicles. +
