Auto Bytes Blog

Carmakers tripped up by choppy present as they chase an EV future

July 29, 2024

Car companies for years have made the case that they are ready to become technology companies, with plans to transform cars into battery-powered smartphones on wheels. Those ambitions, coupled with an unprecedented run of profitability […]

EVs are cheaper than ever. Can car buyers be won over?

July 22, 2024

By Ben Glickman | ben.glickman@wsj.com Discounts abound as automakers and dealers try to entice hesitant shoppers to make the switch Electric vehicles were a splurge purchase not long ago. Now they are among the biggest […]

Car repossessions surge 23 percent as Americans fall behind on payments

July 19, 2024

High interest rates and tight budgets are making monthly bills unaffordable for a growing number of vehicle owners.  Car repossessions rocketed higher in the first half of the year, a sign of rising consumer distress as the […]

The importance of contributing to your local and state auto dealers associations

July 18, 2024

For the last few months, dealers around the country have been attending their state associations’ annual meetings and conventions. For years, those conventions have brought families together for not only vacation but to highlight the […]

CDK cyberattack expected to cost car dealers more than $1 billion, Michigan study says

July 16, 2024

Jamie L. LaReau, Detroit Free Press The nation’s car dealerships experienced total losses of more than $1 billion as the result of a nationwide hacking and ransomware attack on their software and systems last month, […]

Foreign carmakers outproduce Detroit brands in U.S. for first time

July 10, 2024

By Luke Ramseth | Bloomberg’s Keith Laing contributed Foreign-owned manufacturers built more vehicles in the United States last year than their rivals in Detroit, a first for the market that underscores major shifts in domestic […]

Car prices are declining. Buyers aren’t seeing it.

July 8, 2024

Average price paid is expected to fall this year for first time since 2008, but interest rates keep payments high Many Americans are hitting their breaking point on what they are willing to spend on […]