Used Car News 12/15/14

Home Owners Borrow

To Buy Vehicles

Twenty-seven percent of consumers who have a home equity line of credit used it to purchase a vehicle.

Auction App Available For Apple, Android

AuctionEar, a mobile app developed by XCIRA that adds instantaneous audio and video to the company’s mobile bidding platform, is now available for both Apple and Android devices.

Auto Dealer Goes To Prison for Flood Cars

The operator of a New Jersey used-car dealership was sentenced to three years in prison for using fraudulent vehicle titles to sell cars damaged in Hurricane Sandy.

A suspended Motor Vehicle Commission technician who helped him obtain the fraudulent vehicle titles previously was sentenced in the criminal scheme.

Charges are pending against a former salesman at the dealership.

2014 MOVERS AND SHAKERS

Picard became the fist woman named as general manager of Manheim Pennsylvania, the auction chain’s flagship sale and the largest auto auction in the United States.

Picard was the recipient of the 2013 Laurie Dobberphul Top Achiever Award, from GE Remarketing, presented to women who continuously make a diference and are passionate about the automobile industry.

Manheim has made numerous changes to its auction management in the past year, including seven new general managers put in place this fall.

The executive director of the Georgia Independent Automobile Dealers Association leads a group with approximately 2,400 members, far outpacing any other state. Georgia had 1,200 members in 2002 when John first took over dealer education.

John won the Association Executive of the Year award during this year’s National Independent Automobile Dealers Association annual convention. During his acceptance speech at that convention, he challenged his fellow state executives to grow their groups and membership in the NIADA.

The former Ohio attorney general and Jeopardy champion became one of the auto industry’s least favorite people when he was named director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Cordray and his agency spent most of their first few years dealing with other forms of credit, such as mortgages and credit cards.

This year the CFPB finally set its sites on auto finance.

The main focus has been on claims of unequal treatment of minority groups and the way creditors handle their collections.

CFPB Claims Toyota Financial Discriminated in Auto Credit

Toyota Financial Services became the latest target of federal regulators.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Department of Justice are alleging that TFS’ practices resulted in discriminatory pricing of loans to certain borrowers.

The regulators have informed the captive that they are prepared to initiate an enforcement proceeding unless Toyota Financial agrees to a voluntary resolution satisfactory to them.

TFS received a letter from the agencies indicating they are seeking monetary relief and implementation of changes to its discretionary pricing practices and policies.

TFS said these changes could adversely afect its business but intends to continue to cooperate with the regulators

In related news, the American Financial Services Association has released a comprehensive study of more than 8.2 million auto financing contracts showing that the disparity alleged by the CFPB between the amount of dealer reserve charged to minorities and non-minorities is not supported by data.

The study, “Fair Lending: Implications for the Indirect Auto Finance Market,” examined the proxy methodology used by the CFPB and found significant bias and high error rates.

“I’ll buy a car with an accident, but I need to know how severe it was. CARFAX Reports help me separate cars with minor damage from the wrecks.”

- David Askew Dick Scott Chrysler Dodge Jeep Plymouth, MI

VW Credit, Lincoln Financial Rank Highest in Survey

Automotive finance providers need to ofer comprehensive first-rate service throughout the life of the loan to satisfy their customers,, rather than excelling only in some areas of the auto loan process.

That is the key finding of the recently published J.D. Power 2014 U.S. Consumer Financing Satisfaction Study.

The study was redesigned for 2014 to include used-vehicle transactions as well as new, and to expand the time from the financing origination to four years, compared with one year in previous studies.

The study examines the overall customer experience with the financing of either an automotive loan or lease and measures satisfaction among customers who financed or leased their vehicle indirectly through a dealer, or directly through an auto finance provider.

Four key factors are analyzed: on-boarding process; billing and payment process; website; and phone contact.

The study is conducted in two vehicle segments: luxury and mass market.

The 2014 Consumer Financing Satisfaction Study finds that overall satisfaction in both the luxury and mass market segments is significantly higher for loans on new vehicles (844 on a 1,000-point scale) than on used vehicles (817).

Higher satisfaction in the billing and payment process and website factors are the main drivers of that diference among customers with a new-vehicle loan origination (846 and 840, respectively) than among those with a used-vehicle financing origination (819 and 817, respectively).

Similarly, overall satisfaction with the loan and lease experience difers by segment.

Customer satisfaction in the luxury segment is higher for leases (847) than for loans (840), but the opposite is true in the mass market segment. There, satisfaction is higher for loans

(815) than for leases (807).

Ensuring customer satisfaction is critical for finance providers, as more than 90 percent of customers who rate themselves “highly satisfied” (overall satisfaction scores of more than 800 points) indicate they “definitely will” use their current lender in the future.

Moreover, more than 50 percent of customers indicate that they selected their provider based on inputs other than dealer recommendations.

According to the study, avoidance of billing and payment errors (incorrect payment amounts listed on statements, misapplied payments, or incorrect personal account information) is the most influential key performance indicator impacting satisfaction.

“Satisfying auto financing customers is not contingent on excelling in one area,” said Mike Buckingham, senior director of the automotive finance practice at J.D. Power.

“It’s a continuum across the entire process, with the stage set during the on-boarding process--or the initial discussion with customers--and continuing through the billing and payment process.

“The execution of finance process best practices is more important than the innovation of new tools to complete transactions. All lenders use mostly the same technology, but the ones that execute better across all areas are the ones with the most satisfied customers.”

Buckingham said technology does play a key role during the billing and payment process, which is the factor with the most impact on overall satisfaction.

Many customers seek not only self-service tools to set up an automatic payment system, but they also want tools to confirm that their payments were received and processed and to check the balance of their account, with many preferring to conduct these activities using their computer, tablet or smartphone.

Volkswagen Credit

Ally Financial Bank of America

Capital One Auto Finance

Chase Automotive

Finance

Chrysler Capital

Fifth Third Bank

Ford Credit

Honda Financial Services

Hyundai Motor Finance

Kia Motors Finance

Mazda Capital Services

NMAC

PNC Bank

Santander Auto Finance

Subaru Motors Finance

SunTrust Bank

TD Auto Finance

Toyota Financial Services

US Bank

Wells Fargo Dealer Services

World Omni Financial Corp.

Scoring Legend Among the best

*Please note that jdpower.com Ratings may not include all information used to determine J.D. Power awards. Learn more about how J.D. Power Circle Ratings are calculated.

“Lenders need to make it easy for customers to access their account anytime anywhere,” Buckingham said. “That means providing a website and apps that are reliable and that make the most critical elements of the billing process easily identifiable.”

Lincoln Automotive Financial Services (867) ranks highest in the luxury segment for a second consecutive year, performing highest in the billing and payment process and website factors. Lexus Financial Services (859) ranks second and Audi Financial Services (854) ranks third.

Volkswagen Credit ranks

highest in the mass market segment, with a score of 836, and scores highest in billing and payment process (tied with Ford Credit) and website.

Ford Credit ranks second with a score of 835 and Honda Financial Services ranks third with 829.

“We have worked to improve our processes based on consumer feedback and we will continue to listen to our customers and work diligently to provide the best experience possible” said Christian Dahlheim, CEO of VW Credit Inc.

“Both (Audi and VW) saw an increase in their ranking and we’d like to thank our

team and our dealers for providing a great financing experience to our customers. We are proud of those results; it tells us we are already doing something right in the eyes of our customers.”

Audi Financial Services is ranked No. 3 of 13 compared to 4 of 12 in 2013 in the luxury segment.

The study is based on responses from 20,670 newand used-vehicle purchasers or lessees who obtained a vehicle loan or lease.

The study includes vehicles financed for model years 2010 through 2014. The study was fielded between July and September.

NEWS BRIEFS

TD Auto Honors PAR

ADESA announced that its subsidiary, PAR North America, has been selected as TD Auto Finance’s Repossession Vendor of the Year.

PAR’s selection was based on outstanding ratings on performance, compliance and communication. The company was the segment leader in key performance areas including repossession rate, time to repossession from placement, accuracy and resolution rate.

The award was presented at TD Auto Finance’s annual vendor conference on Oct. 27 at the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Las Vegas, an event held to reward and recognize its outstanding vendors.

Copart Reports Strong Results

Copart Inc. reported financial results for the quarter ended Oct. 31.

For the three months, revenue, gross margin and net income were $290.4 million, $122.3 million and $52.6 million, respectively.

These represent increases in revenue of $10.5 million; in gross margin of $14.5 million; and in net income of $11.2 million, respectively, from the same quarter last year.

Tool Warns of Bad Weather

Risk Point LLC announced the release of its weather alert application

for auto dealers.

Risk Point Alert sends push notifications to a mobile device when severe weather is within 30 miles, 20 miles and 5 miles of a target auto dealership.

This tool provides auto dealers with advanced warning to help them decide how to protect their auto inventory. Protecting autos improves dealer profitability by minimizing damage and controlling insurance costs.

Risk Point Alert is provided free of charge to all Risk Point customers, is customized to the dealers’ locations, and is available on both iPhone and Android Smart platforms.

FTC Seeks Input on Used Car Rule

The Federal Trade Commission is seeking supplemental public comments on proposed changes to the agency’s Used Car Rule and the Used Car Buyers Guide that the rule requires dealers to display.

The commission is not adopting any final amendments to the rule at this time.

In December 2012, the Com-

mission sought public comments on proposed changes to the Buyers Guide as part of its systematic review of all of the agency’s rules and guides.

In response to the comments the commission received, the agency now seeks comments on additional proposed changes as well as the previously proposed amendments to the Used Car Rule, including:

obtained a vehicle history report to indicate that fact in a box on the Buyers Guide, and to provide a copy to consumers upon request;

description of an “As Is” sale to clarify that it means the sale of a used car without a warranty; Placing boxes on the front of the Buyers Guide for dealers to disclose “non-dealer” warranties; Guide encouraging consumers to obtain vehicle history reports, to check for safety recalls, and to visit a proposed FTC website for more information; and Adding a statement, in Spanish, on the front of the Englishlanguage Buyers Guide, advising Spanish-speaking consumers to ask for the guide in Spanish if they cannot read it in English.

USED CAR NEWS (ISSN 1555-7413) is published at

www.usedcarnews.com

Charles M. Thomas

Founder (1947-2002)

Lynda R. Thomas, Publisher Colleen Fitzgerald,

Editorial: Ted Craig, Jefrey Bellant, Staf Writer

Contributing Writers: Ed Fitzgerald, Jenny King, Sheila McGrath

Columnist: Tony Moorby

Advertising: Shannon Colby, Megan Frump, Marie Hingst,

Circulation: Helen Thomas

Production: Josie Godlewski, Tim Montie, Graphic Designer

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Lexus Sees New Model, Used Cars as Youth Magnets

By Jenny King

DETROIT – When Lexus plunged into the U.S. market 25 years ago it targeted baby boomers with its sedans. Today the luxury carmaker is taking aim at younger buyers – members of generations X and Y – with the introduction this month of its NX compact utility vehicle.

Citing responses to Lexus products in such areas as “sexy” and “cool,” Lexus’s Jef Bracker told members of the Automotive Press Association here in November that it is necessary to tweak the Lexus image to attract young buyers who now are entering the luxury market.

“If we don’t take risks we may lose generations X and Y,” said the division’s general manager. That may result in a “sacrifice” of some older owners who aren’t thinking in terms of sexy, edgy and cool.

The all-new NX will be ofered with Lexus’s first turbo-charged engine (2015 NX 200t) or a gaselectric hybrid powerplant

(2015 NX 300h). Both will be available with all-wheel drive. The NX starting price is just under $35,000.

More than 1,000 consumers have entered into advance deals for the new NX at their local dealerships. This total covers nearly all of Lexus’ 234 US dealerships

The carmaker anticipates U.S. sales of 300,000 for 2014. Lexus dealers also will sell some 76,000 certified pre-owned vehicles this year.

“We were the first luxury car maker to ofer a certified pre-owned program,” said Todd Ferguson, Lexus national CPO marketing manager.

The CPO program has grown significantly. All 234 Lexus dealers participate in the program, he said.

CPO sales skew to younger buyers, but in general CPO customers fall into two categories: aspirational buyers and practical buyers. CPO lower price points play a big role.

As with new vehicle sales, the South and West enjoy

higher sales of CPO vehicles than other parts of the country, Ferguson said.

Lexus views certified preowned vehicle sales as a gateway to future new-vehicle purchases. CPO customers receive the same level of treatment at Lexus deal-

erships as new-car buyers, Ferguson said.

That includes special services by individual dealers and the loaner program available to service customers.

“Our CPO parameters have recently changed to include

newer vehicles,” he said. Earlier a Lexus product less than 20 months old was not eligible for the program. Vehicles younger than six years and/or with 70,000 or fewer miles are eligible for a 161-point inspection at a dealership.

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Fast Track Your Cash

EV Drivers Like Leafs Best

ATLANTA (AP) – It’s fall, and the Leafs are turning left and right. The handful of plug-in electric car models available here, led by the Nissan Leaf, has come as a bit of a shock to the Atlanta market. They aren’t underpowered golf cart-like vehicles, for one thing. The coolest and most expensive plug-in, the Tesla Model S, goes from zero to 60 in, well, it was there before you finished reading this. (For the record: 3.2 seconds.)

By the end of 2014, 18,000 to 20,000 all-electric cars will be on the road in Georgia. Although that’s still a relatively minuscule number, it suggests that the vehicles have passed a big milestone: the market has outgrown the hard-core enthusiasts who would have bought the cars no matter what and now takes in people looking for a good deal.

didn’t have great gas mileage. And I get to travel in the HOV lane all by myself.’’

People like Hines have made Atlanta the No. 1 market in the nation for the Nissan Leaf, which is also the nation’s No. 1 plug-in electric car. A third of the Leafs sold in the United States are sold here, a Nissan spokesman said, and while the Leaf accounts for about 2 percent of Nissan sales nationwide, it adds up to 25 percent of the automaker’s sales in Atlanta.

The biggest concerns about plugins – the range is too limited, the price is too high, charging stations are too few and far between – are still concerns, but there’s progress on every front: range for the typical plug-in is now about 80 miles on a charge (265 miles for that supercharged, $70,000 Tesla); the price is steadily coming down for most models; and charging stations are increasing in number.

And such a deal it is: some people who lease the Nissan Leaf find that, between the state’s $5,000 tax credit for electric cars and the savings on gasoline, the monthly cost of the lease comes out roughly to zero. (Fair warning: the tax credit cost the state $13.6 million in 2013 and may be much more expensive in 2014 because of greater sales of electric vehicles; the credit was nearly repealed earlier this year, and a state legislator has it in his sights again for 2015.)

Leaf buyers tend to be enthusiastic about the cost, the quiet and the total absence of emissions.

Don Francis, the executive director of Clean Cities Georgia, which promotes alternative-fuel vehicles _ compressed natural gas, propane, electricity _ is both a promoter and a believer.

``It’s very inexpensive to operate,’’ said Francis, who is driving his second Leaf. “In addition to that, they’re finding out that it’s a very fun car to drive.’’

Leaf driver Karen Hines, who commutes about 18 miles one-way from her home in Tucker to her job downtown, was driving an old minivan when she got a new lease on Leaf a year ago.

William Cook, who runs the state’s tax credit program for the state Environmental Protection Division, said he has been surprised by the growth in the program this year.

The state approved 132 tax-credit certificates in 2012, he said. The number jumped to 1,372 in 2013. Through September this year, the total was 4,591.

``I think my monthly lease payment is probably just a little bit more than the gas I was buying for my van,’’ Hines said. ``We got a really great deal. The van was big,

He estimated that 90 percent of the plug-in electrics certified are Nissan Leafs. No. 2, though quite a bit lower, is the Tesla.

Dealer Pleads to Hiding Income

A Minnesota dealer pleaded guilty to hiding income from the Internal Revenue Service.

James Francis Volin, pleaded guilty on Nov. 18. He will be sentenced at a future date.

According to his guilty plea and documents filed in court, in 2008 Volin agreed to pay nearly $100,000 in outstanding taxes to the IRS. He still owed the taxes in 2012 and 2013 when he was operating an unlicensed and illegal used-car dealership, which generated substantial income in cash. Instead of paying the back taxes as agreed, Volin hid the income.

He admitted that he did not report the cash income or file tax returns and that he put money into cashier’s checks and used bank accounts opened under another name

and Social Security number to avoid detection.

Volin was originally indicted earlier this year for structuring bank deposits. “Structuring” is a way of depositing money into bank accounts in amounts less than those required by law to be reported by the financial institution to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.

According to that indictment, between April 2012 and April 2013, Volin made structured deposits totaling more than $200,000, in amounts insufcient to trigger mandatory reporting to the government. This case is the result of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigations and the Minnesota State Patrol Vehicle Crimes Unit.

Seller Wins $10,000 Raffle

By Jeffrey Bellant

ROSEVILLE, Mich. – Ray Machasic, owner of Suburban Auto Sales, has a little extra shopping money for the holidays after he won $10,000 from the Eastern Michigan Chapter of the Michigan Independent Automobile Dealers Association.

Machasic, who has been in business since 1987, received his winnings from longtime Michigan IADA member Maurice Van Collie, who runs the rafe.

The annual rafe raises money for the association.

Machasic has two stores in Roseville, Mich., and carries a mix of trucks, sport utility vehicles and imports, though more trucks this time of the year.

“Business could be better,” he said.

Machasic carries about 100 vehicles between his two stores.

He’s been a part of the association since he’s been in business and he’s always purchased tickets for the rafe.

“First time I ever won,” Machasic said. “When I got the call, I saw Van’s number on the caller ID and I looked at my wife, Kimberly, and said, ‘I bet I won the rafe.’”

The day Van Collie brought over the check, Machasic had just returned from the auction, where he had purchased a Land Rover and a couple of pick-up trucks.

“I buy probably 90 percent of my cars through the auctions,” he said.

Machasic works with his son, Derek, and his daughter-in-law, Stacey, at the dealership.

Van Collie said in the past the group has rafed of automobiles, but it’s more work than just handing over a check.

Machasic isn’t complaining.

Wholesale Prices Move Up

After ticking up in October, wholesale used vehicle prices showed a more sizable gain in November.

This pushed the November Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index to a reading of 123.3, which represented an increase of 0.7 percent from a year ago.

The Index adjusts prices at auction for mix, mileage, and seasonality.

Average auction prices for rental risk units (both adjusted and unadjusted for mileage and mix shifts) moved up in November relative to October, but were still down yearover-year.

November’s auction volume of rental risk units was up significantly from a year ago, but due to the normal large seasonal reduction

tNovember was still the lowest-volume month of the year.

Average mileage crossed the 45,000-mile threshold for the first time ever.

Luxury vehicles continued to outperform the overall market in November, but due to weakness earlier in the year they still have a lot ground to make up.

Manheim’s analysis of changes in mileage by price tier suggests that vehicles in the $8,000 to $10,000 price range are showing the weakest demand, whereas vehicles in the $13,000 to $15,000 range are enjoying the strongest relative pricing.

Dealer-consigned units at auction had a 1 percent increase in average selling price despite a 2 percent rise in average mileage.

Reflecting on a Year of Recalls and Regulation

This year was very good for the used-car industry, but numerous clouds hung overhead, ranging from increased regulatory scrutiny to constant talk of bubbles.

Used-car sales in general

closely as part of its settlement with the CFPB, but stopped short of eliminating dealer participation.

BMO Harris, however, changed to a flat fee system on its own to avoid any con-

were strong through the year, with certified sales performing especially well.

CPO sales are on track to break last year’s record of 2.1 million vehicles.

This good news has been overshadowed by regulatory actions that threaten the way most dealers do business.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says it doesn’t want to end dealer compensation for putting together consumer financing, but it does want an end to dealer participation.

Ally Financial Inc. agreed to watch its dealers more

flict with the regulator.

The CFPB also took its first action against a buyhere, pay-here dealer this year, fining DriveTime Inc. $8 million for its collection practices.

Other regulators also put pressure on dealers.

The Federal Trade Commission went after several dealers for misleading ads and fined Consumer Portfolio Services $2 million for its collection practices.

And since this was an election year, many state attorneys general stepped up enforcement actions against dealers.

One area drawing new regulatory attention is the way used-car dealers handle recalls.

New York City is moving forward with an ordinance that bans dealers from selling cars with open recalls. Many see this as a model that others will follow.

Even the good news came with negative spin.

Numerous sources, including one high profile Wall Street analyst, made headlines this year with warnings of a coming collapse in used-car prices as of-lease vehicles and trade-ins flood the market.

Most industry experts said these fears were overblown, saying prices will soften, but not collapse.

WAS 2014: Clockwise,

National Quality

due to a dispute with the

FLOP OF THE YEAR: TAKATA AIRBAGS

Recalls dominated the

news about the auto industry in 2014.

The year started with General Motors and its massive ignition switch recall. But this was dwarfed at yearend by Japanese supplier Takata and its airbag recall that afected million of units from a wide array of manufacturers going back more than a decade.

The airbag recall is limited, so far, to the Southeast. But the large manufacturers have been pressuring Takata to expand this recall nationwide. The size and frequency of recalls this year reflects increased pressure from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, especially in safety areas, such as airbags.

COUP OF THE YEAR: SUPERSTORES

Used-car superstores were supposed to go the way of grunge music, Beanie Babies and other ‘90s fads.

Instead, the concept has made a comeback this year, more than a decade after AutoNation Inc. shuttered its stores.

Following the huge success of CarMax Inc., Sonic Automotive Inc. and Asbury Automotive Group Inc.

both announced plans for their own chains of usedcar superstores.

Asbury has already opened one Q store and a second is scheduled to launch this month. Sonic is set to open its first store in Denver.

All the action in auto sales drew the attention of wellknown investor, Warren Bufett, who entered the business earlier this year.

Kia, Hyundai Pay for Delivering Lower MPG

WASHINGTON (AP) – Korean automakers Hyundai and Kia will pay the U.S. government a $100 million civil penalty to end a two-year investigation into overstated gas mileage figures on window stickers on 1.2 million vehicles.

The penalty, announced by the Justice Department and the Environmental Protection Agency, is the first under new rules aimed at limiting the amount of heat-trapping gases cars are allowed to emit. Those regulations are a cornerstone of President Barack Obama’s plans to combat global warming and are achieved largely through improving vehicle fuel economy.

The payment could also serve as a precedent for other automakers who overstate mileage in violation of the Clean Air Act. Attorney General Eric Holder said the settlement shows the need for car companies to be forthcoming about their compliance with emissions standards.

Under the settlement, HyundaiKia will forfeit greenhouse gas credits worth more than $200 million because the 13 afected vehicles will emit about 4.75 million more metric tons of greenhouse gases than the automakers originally claimed. The credits could have been sold to other automakers who aren’t meeting emissions standards.

Hyundai-Kia must also audit test results on current models, and set up an independent group to certify future test results, at a cost of around $50 million.

Ofcials said the misrepresentations put other car companies at a competitive disadvantage, especially since fuel economy is the “number one factor that consumers think about when they’re going to buy a car,” said EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy.

“That tilts the market in favor of those who don’t play by the rules and it disadvantages those that actually do play by the rules,” McCarthy said at a news conference. “And that’s simply not fair, and it’s also not legal.”

The companies, which are both owned by Hyundai and generally sell diferent versions of the same models, denied allegations that they violated the law.

Hyundai blamed the inflated mileage on honest misinterpretation of the EPA’s complex rules governing testing. Both companies said they are paying the penalties – $56.8 million for Hyundai and $43.2 million for Kia – to end the probe and potential litigation.

All automakers do their own mileage tests based on EPA guidelines, and the agency does audits to make

sure they are accurate. In the past two years, the EPA has stepped up audits of automaker tests. Just two weeks ago, the agency told BMW to cut mileage estimates on four of its Mini Cooper models. Ford and Mercedes-Benz also had to cut numbers on their window stickers. EPA ofcials wouldn’t comment on whether the agency is investigating other automakers.

In November 2012, the EPA ordered Hyundai and Kia to redo the

window stickers on cars that made up about one-third of their model lineup. Generally, gas mileage was overstated by one or two miles per gallon. But the EPA’s tests found the highway mileage of one vehicle, the boxy Kia Soul, was 6 mpg too high. Both automakers started a program to reimburse automakers for the diference between their mileage tests and the EPA’s lower numbers.

The EPA and Justice said the automakers violated the law.

ADESA Boston January 16, 23, 30

508-626-7000

ADESA Charlotte January 8, 22 704-587-7653

ADESA Cincinnati/Dayton January 20 937-746-4000

ADESA Golden Gate January 6, 20 209-839-8000

ADESA Houston January 7, 21 281-580-1800

ADESA Indianapolis January 6, 20 800-925-1210

ADESA Kansas City January 6, 20 816-525-1100

ADESA Lexington January 8 859-263-5163

ADESA San Diego January 8 619-661-5565

ADESA Tulsa January 9 918-437-9044

America’s AA-Chicago January 21 708-389-4488

Brasher’s Salt Lake AA January 27 801-322-1234

Columbus Fair AA January 21, 28 614-497-2000

Manheim Atlanta January 7, 8, 22 404-762-9211

Manheim BaltimoreWashington January 13 410-796-8899

Manheim Dallas January 14, 28 877-860-1651

Manheim Denver January 14 800-822-1177

Manheim Detroit January 8, 15, 22 734-654-7100

Manheim Fredericksburg January 15, 29 540-368-3400

Manheim Milwaukee January 14, 28 262-835-4436

Manheim Minneapolis January 7 763-425-7653

Manheim Nashville January 21, 28 877-386-5004

Manheim Nevada January 23 702-361-1000

Manheim New Jersey January 7, 14, 28 609-298-3400

Manheim New Orleans January 14, 28

985-643-2061

Manheim Orlando January 6, 13, 20, 27 800-337-8491

Manheim Pennsylvania January 8, 9, 22, 23 800-777-2053

Manheim Phoenix January 8, 15, 22, 29 623-907-7000

Manheim Pittsburgh January 14 724-452-5555

Manheim Riverside January 13, 15 909-689-6000

Manheim Seattle January 7 206-762-1600

Manheim Southern California January 22 909-822-2261

Southern AA January 14 860-292-7500

Choose Chase on ADESA.com and OVE.com for quality bank-sourced vehicles. Contact auctions directly for current sale information.

ADESA Boston January 23

508-626-7000

ADESA Golden Gate January 6 209-839-8000

Manheim Atlanta January 7 404-762-9211

Manheim Dallas January 14 877-860-1651

Manheim Milwaukee January 14 262-835-4436

Manheim Nashville January 21 877-386-5004

Mazda Capital Services

ADESA Boston January 16, 30 508-626-7000

ADESA Golden Gate January 20 209-839-8000

ADESA Kansas City January 6 816-525-1100

Columbus Fair AA January 28 614-497-2000

Manheim Atlanta January 8 404-762-9211

Manheim Detroit January 8, 22 734-654-7100

Manheim Fredericksburg January 29 540-368-3400

Manheim Milwaukee January 14, 28 262-835-4436

Manheim Nashville January 21 877-386-5004

Manheim New Jersey January 14, 28 609-298-3400

Subaru Motors Finance

ADESA Boston January 16, 30 508-626-7000

Brasher’s Salt Lake January 27 801-322-1234

Columbus Fair AA January 21 614-497-2000

Manheim Dallas January 14, 28 877-860-1651

Manheim Denver January 14 800-822-1177

Manheim Detroit January 8, 22 734-654-7100

Manheim Fredericksburg January 15 540-368-3400

Manheim Milwaukee January 14 262-835-4436

Manheim New Jersey January 7, 28 609-298-3400

Manheim Orlando January 13 800-337-8491

Manheim Orlando January 13 800-337-8491

Manheim Pennsylvania *January 8, 22 800-777-2053

Manheim Riverside January 15 909-689-6000

Manheim Orlando January 6, 20 800-337-8491

Manheim Pennsylvania January 9, 23 800-777-2053

Manheim Pittsburgh January 14 724-452-5555

Manheim Riverside January 13 909-689-6000

Manheim Seattle January 7 206-762-1600

Manheim Pennsylvania January 23 800-777-2053

Manheim Pittsburgh January 14 724-452-5555

Manheim Seattle January 7 206-762-1600

Manheim Southern CA January 22 909-822-2261

Southern AA January 14 860-292-7500

GM Says Parts Ready for Repairs

General Motors reports enough parts are available to fix all the faulty ignition switches that are covered by its recent recall of more than two million vehicles.

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration urges owners of unrepaired GM vehicles to immediately contact their local dealer to arrange a service appointment.

GM reports that many dealers will help owners get their vehicles remedied after work and on the weekends.

There are nearly 1 million vehicles with these faulty ignition switches still in the vehicle, creating a danger of the airbags not deploying in the event of a crash. The involved vehicles are all 2003-2007 Saturn Ion, 2005-2010 Chevrolet Cobalt, 2006-2011 Chevrolet HHR, 20072010 Pontiac G5, 2006-2010 Pontiac Solstice and 2007-2010 Saturn Sky. Owners can also confirm whether their individual vehicle needs to be repaired under this recall or any other GM recall by using NHTSA’s free VIN look-up tool on safercar. gov.

Vehicle owners should contact their local dealers immediately to schedule an appointment to get the final remedy.

Until the afected vehicle is fixed, owners should follow all of the interim safety steps advised by GM and keep in mind that the use of a single key is not a long-term solution to this serious safety problem.

At NHTSA’s direction, GM ramped up its production of replacement ignition switches in order to complete production of replacement parts ahead of its original goal of early November.

NHTSA also pushed the automaker to take steps to maximize the number of vehicle owners who bring in their vehicles for repair, including targeted outreach to nonEnglish speakers, maintaining upto-date information on its website

as required by the consent order, and a combination of traditional and social media outreach, financial or other incentives, phone calls, and other approaches.

GM has repaired nearly 60 percent of the afected vehicle population covered under the recall, but many others remain.

Moving forward, NHTSA will continue to push the automaker to keep up the momentum and get the remaining vehicles fixed promptly. in other recall news, Ferrari will pay a $3.5 million civil penalty and has been ordered to comply with NHTSA oversight requirements as set forth in a consent order for failing to submit early warning reports identifying potential or actual safety issues.

Federal law requires large manufacturers and afliates of large manufacturers to submit comprehensive EWR reports on a quarterly basis, in order to provide notice to the department of potential safety concerns.

Ferrari, an afliate of Chrysler, admitted that it violated the law when it failed to submit required reports to NHTSA over a three-year period, and failed to report three fatal incidents.

Until Fiat (which includes Ferrari since 2011) acquired Chrysler, Ferrari qualified as a small volume manufacturer and was not required to file quarterly EWR reports. However, while Ferrari was not required to file quarterly reports, it must report fatal incidents nonetheless.

In addition to the civil penalty, the consent order requires the automaker to improve its processes for EWR reporting, to train personnel on the EWR requirements, to communicate these improvements to NHTSA, and to retroactively submit all EWR reports.

The consent order is immediately enforceable in federal court if any terms are violated.

ENTEK

Monthly Payments Hit High

Auto finance and auto delinquencies rose again in the third quarter as monthly payments reached an all-time high.

Auto loan delinquency rates jumped nearly 13 percent in the last year to close the third quarter at 1.16 percent.

At the same time, auto loan debt rose for the 14th straight quarter to $17,352. The latest TransUnion auto loan report also found that delinquency rates increased most for the youngest population subset with those under the age of 30 seeing a nearly 18 percent rise.

The data provided are gathered from TransUnion’s proprietary Industry Insights Report (IIR), a quarterly overview summarizing data, trends and perspectives on the U.S. consumer lending industry. The report is based on anonymized credit data from virtually every credit-active consumer in the United States.

The auto loan delinquency rate (the ratio of borrowers 60 days or more delinquent on their auto loans) increased to 1.16 percent in the third quarter, up from 1.02 percent in the third quarter of 2013. Auto loan delinquencies also experienced a quarterly increase due to seasonality from 0.98 percent in the second quarter.

that auto loan delinquency rates increased across all age groups.

According to its latest State of the Automotive Finance Market report, the average loan amount for a new vehicle was $27,799 in the third quarter, up $1,080 from the previous year. Used vehicle loans increased $676, reaching $18,576 over the same time period.

With the continued growth in loan amounts, the quarterly findings also showed consumers leasing at a higher rate, as well as taking out longer loans. The report found that leasing accounted for 29.1 percent of all new-vehicle financing in the third quarter, up 7.1 percent from a year ago.

New vehicle loans in the 73- to 84-month range grew by 23.7 percent compared with the previous year, while used loans in the same range grew by 18 percent from a year ago.

Furthermore, the report found that the average monthly payment for new and used vehicle loans increased from the previous year. The monthly payment for a new loan reached $470, up $12 from a year ago, while the monthly payment for a used loan reached an all-time high of $358, an increase of $8 over the same time period.

All but two states - Hawaii and Oklahoma - experienced an increase in their auto loan delinquency rates between the third quarter and the third quarter of 2013. The largest delinquency increases occurred in Nebraska, South Carolina and New Mexico.

TransUnion’s analysis also found

Additional findings from the report showed that interest rates for new vehicle loans increased slightly in the third quarter, climbing 4.7 percent from a year ago. However, despite the growth, these rates have decreased each quarter in 2014. Interest rates for used vehicle loans decreased to 8.5 percent in the quarter.

New Models Affect Used Prices

NADA Used Car Guide analysts have determined what key factors will push down the value of some used vehicles steeply in 2015.

The number of years since the last redesign, amount of competition within the vehicle’s segment, and the quality of the design are all factors in determining used values.

New vehicle redesigns have a substantial impact on used vehicle prices; 1-year-old vehicles are typically 15-20 percent more expensive than a 2-year-old vehicle, but redesigned 1-year-old vehicles add an additional 15-20 percent premium on top of those figures.

Secondary criteria that also influence the value of redesigned used vehicles include horsepower, torque and fuel economy. Surprisingly, reliability, warranty and safety characteristics are dwarfed by the power and fuel economy traits previously mentioned.

The year 2015 is already set to go down as one of the most important

in automotive history when viewed through the eyes of the consumer. Manufacturers will churn out 34 redesigns of existing models by yearend, beating the 22 vehicle average since 1989. To compound spending matters for consumers trying to decide between buying new versus used, buyers will have 283 new models to choose from in 2015, up 99 percent since the 1990s.

With new model debuts outpacing model exits consistently over the last 25 years, 2015 marks the second highest number of redesigns in a year since 1989; only 2007 had more, with 41 revisions.

In related news, the NADA Used Car Guide provided a group of figures on the one-year value retention of all new or heavily revised luxury model vehicles within the U.S. market.

Of the 10 luxury vehicles making the report, the 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA 250 had the lowest typicallyequipped MSRP ($35,305).

PEOPLE IN THE NEWS

Auction Group

Names Sales VP

XLerate Group (formerly American Auto Auction Group) announced that Pat Dudash has joined XLerate as its senior vice president of sales.

XLerate operates physical and satellite sales in California, Texas, Florida, South Carolina, Mississippi and Wisconsin.

Dudash received both his bachelor’s degree and his MBA from Florida State University.

Industry Vet Joins Sale

Wayne DeLoach, CEO of Southeastern Auto Auction, announced that Bill McCready was brought on in November to fill the newly created position of vice president of operations.

McCready, an IARA certified automotive remarketer, has more than 10 years of experience in the automotive industry, most recently holding a leadership role with Charleston Auto Auction in South Carolina.

At Southeastern Auto Auction, McCready will be responsible for driving business efciencies and overseeing all auction operations.

Recon Firm Hires Hall of Famers

Capital Automotive Reconditioning Services announced the appointment of two National Auto Auction Association Hall of Fame members to its board of directors –Tom Cunningham and Tony Moorby Cunningham retired from his position as director of remarketing strategy for Ford Motor Co. in 2002.

Prior to that, Cunningham was a U.S. Air Force ofcer who flew combat missions during the Vietnam War and served as an instructor pilot. Additionally, he served on staf at the U.S. Air Force Academy and the Pentagon.

In addition to his new duties at CARS Recon, he serves on the boards of several small non-profit organizations and foundations, including the Youth Crisis Center of Jacksonville.

Moorby arrived in the U.S. from his native England in 1982. Upon his arrival, and at the direction of Mike Richardson, he along with Nick Snow and Richardson, formed Anglo American Auto Auctions, a sister company to British Car Auctions.

The business later became known as ADT Automotive. Moorby served in various leadership capacities, including CEO from January 1997 to October 2000.

Upon the sale of ADT Automotive, Moorby served as executive vice president of ADESA Corp., where he was responsible for corporate development. He has been a member of the board of trustees of the National Independent Automotive Dealers Association since June 2006.

Manheim Creates New Position

Manheim has selected Shane O’Dell as senior vice president of wholesale services, a new role within the company. Manheim’s wholesale services include vehicle transportation, reconditioning, condition reporting, export and more. He will report to Janet Barnard, chief operating ofcer of Manheim North America.

O’Dell will be responsible for key business strategies around Manheim’s third-party logistics.

This includes focusing on Ready Auto Transport, the company’s transportation business. In addition, O’Dell will lead and develop a multi-year plan to strengthen and grow wholesale services revenue. Jerry Tassone, president of Ready Auto Transport, will report to O’Dell.

In 2013, O’Dell became chief operating officer of NextGear Capital, the world’s leading independent inventory finance company. He was a key member of the team that led the integration of Dealer Services Corporation (DSC) and Manheim Auto Finance Solutions (MAFS) that formed NextGear Capital. A veteran with 20 years in the industry, O’Dell oversaw execution of day-to-day operating activities and provided strategic direction on revenue growth and risk mitigation at NextGear Capital. He also directed short-term and long-range planning and budget development to support strategic initiatives through established performance goals and metrics.

O’Dell began his career with Automotive Finance Corporation (AFC) in 1995. At AFC, he served as branch manager and regional manager. He was a founding member of DSC and served as both regional vice president of operations and chief operating officer.

IOWA

Merrill Hitchcock, owner, Merrill’s Motors, Winterset, Iowa:

“I deal mostly with (vehicles) $10,000 and under and I don’t do buy-here, pay-here. I just do regular financing.

“I have a lot on the highway and a service department a few blocks away. The shop business is what (gives us) our cash flow.

“I’ve been in business – in one form or another – about 36 years.

“Normally, I try to keep 20 to 25 cars in stock. I like to sell two a week, or eight a month. Ten would be a great month.

“I get my vehicles mostly from the two auctions in the Des Moines area, the Des Moines Auto Auction and ADESA Des Moines. The idea is that you know all the players. You know whom you’re buying from. I try to strictly buy from dealers that I know.

“Starting in September and through October and November, things have been really slow.

“The big thing (in this area) is four-wheel drives this time of the year. So I stocked up a bunch back in September, but I’m sitting here thinking I did the wrong thing.

“I’ve been on the board of the Iowa Independent Automobile Dealers Association for 10 years and I talk to a lot of people. I keep up on this stuf. The biggest problem regular dealers have is that about one out of every three people can’t get financing.

“Our other issue is that people have sticker shock. They haven’t purchased any car for three or four years and the $3,000 cars we had three years ago are now $6,000. That’s just the honest truth.

“Our average model year is about a 2004. I try to keep them under 130,000 miles.

“Pickups sell year-round. I’m going to guess I run 60 percent pickups and sport utility vehicles and 40 percent cars.

“The last vehicle I sold was a 2001 Chevrolet Silverado extended cab four-

wheel drive. It had one owner and 124,000 miles. I sold it for $8,995.

“Every car I buy goes through an inspection and repair before it goes out on the lot. I probably average $700 a car.

“For advertising, I use Cars4Sale.com and I use a local shopper that goes to most of southern Iowa.

“People say the economy’s bad and maybe it is, but people still have to get back and forth to work. So I still think 2015 will be better than this year. You always have to do things to make your business better.”

MICHIGAN

Terry Wolfgang, sales manager, S&S Auto Sales, Hudsonville, Mich.:

“We’ve been in business 22 years. The owner still does a lot of wholesale business, too.

“We have a small operation, carrying about 35 to 40 cars. We average about 15 sales per month.

“But people are more conservative with their dollars here in West Michigan.

They usually don’t replace a car unless they need one. I think people have withdrawn a bit since the last recession and are reevaluating how they spend their money.

“We buy our cars primarily from auctions, though we will buy some of the street. We’ll buy some of-lease vehicles and some rental cars.

“We have our own shop for our own use, but we don’t really do any outside work.

“(Reconditioning costs) per unit is probably a little less. The reason is that we went to a little better vehicle over the last year-anda-half.

“I think the biggest thing dealers have to do is adjust for the market. It’s constantly changing – always has, always will. So right now, with gas prices down, the prices of bigger vehicles and trucks are up. Our small-car sales have slowed. You just have to analyze the market. What are people asking for and what do you stock?

“Three years ago, we were

selling a ton of minivans. Right now, minivan sales have gone back down.

“Our average price range on the lot is $6,000 to $12,000.

“It’s about a 50-50 split between trucks and cars.

“We primarily sell domestics. We would probably handle more imports, but they are hard to come by and they are pricier.

“For marketing, we have our own website like most dealers. We also advertise on AutoTrader.com, Craigslist and some local smalltown newspapers.

“(One big challenge) is finding used pickups that are two to six years old. The prices of new trucks are so high that many people, especially people who use them for work, aren’t willing to pay those prices.

“One recent truck we sold was a 2011 Ford F-250 Super Duty diesel, with 97,000 miles. We sold that for $27,000.

“I think we’ll see some improvement in 2015. A lot will depend on the optimism of the people.”

WHOLESALE MARKETS

ALABAMA

Kelly Terrell, general manager, Deanco Auto Auction, Dothan, Ala.:

“We’ve been in business 12 years, going on 13.

“We’re running three to four lanes, but we have six.

“We’re running probably around 350 cars. We’re up a little bit from this time last year.

“Sales percentages are somewhere between 55 and 60.

“The number of buyers fluctuates, but we’re up slightly from last year.

“We draw buyers from Alabama, Georgia, Florida – the surrounding areas.

“The year seemed to be going really well for dealers, then October hit and it kind of stalled.

“Usually, during an election season, this happens. But it seems to be picking up.

“We are mostly a dealer (consignment) sale, so tax season is a good time.

“Everybody’s asking if this is going to be a good tax season.

“Our non-dealer consignment is from local credit unions, title pawn (companies) and finance companies.

“We have in-op sales every other week. On average, we’re running 40 to 50.

“It’s a little weaker than I’d like, but I think the price of metal is down a little.

“Online activity is steady.

“We do really well in trucks.

“The age of the trucks does not necessarily matter and the mileage doesn’t necessarily matter.

“Trucks are just really strong at our sale.

“The lower-dollar stuff has just been steady. It hasn’t been going crazy.

“With the mid-range, if the dealers need it, they will pay all the money for it.

“Our average price overall – with in-op – is about $5,000.

“But without in-op, it’s probably $6,000 to $6,500.”

TEXAS

Lori Pidgeon, general manager, El Paso Independent (EPI) Auto Auction, El Paso, Texas:

“We’ll be in business four years as of Feb. 1, 2015.

“We have four lanes and we’ll run three or four lanes (depending on volumes).

“Our volumes have been consistent. There haven’t been any huge spikes (or dips).

“So we’ve been running 350 to 420, depending on the week.

“For the whole year, our sales percentages have been averaging 55 percent. They are a little higher toward the end of this year.

“We started out slower this year than we did last year. There were some government contracts that were delayed. So that slowed us down at the start of the year.

“But it’s been a lot better and we’re picking up steam.

“We average between 190 and 230 dealers in the lanes. That’s about the

Compiled by Jeffrey Bellant

same as this time last year.

“We get buyers from all over Texas. We get some from Denver, New Mexico and some regular buyers from Phoenix. We also get a lot of buyers from Juarez (Mexico). But Mexico has (limited) the number of cars that can be imported into Mexico. They even shrank the port of entries down, so here in El Paso, there’s only one port of entry, Santa Teresa. But it seems to be loosening up a little bit.

“There has been a changing of the guard in some of the new-car stores. General managers or the ownerships have changed because some of the oldschool dealerships were bought out by other people. There’s been a transition that way.

“So it’s been steady, but I’d like it to grow a little faster.

“We’re a 70-30 split between dealer consignment and commercial consignment.

“We don’t have any rentals to speak of. (Our commercial units) are mostly

repossessions. But we have U.S. Bank, Santander and PAR. GM Financial just came on board. Not only do we have repos, we’re also starting to see some off-lease units come in.

“Since we’re a border town I have a government contract, too. We run a sale once a month for GSA. We run about 100 each sale. We get a little bit of everything. We get passenger vehicles, a lot of buses, ambulances, etc. Those are highdollar sales.

“We also run about 20 salvage units every week.

“Our average price per car is $6,100, when everything’s said and done.

“I think it’s going to be a good year (coming up). People are anticipating the upcoming lease returns and being able to handle those volumes without flooding the market. A lot of the consignors are saying they want to spread the cars out and not stick them in one area or flood a market.”

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ACTUAL WHOLESALE AND PROJECTED RESIDUAL VALUES

DECEMBER 2014

2013 MODEL S

SOURCE: BLACK BOOK

2012 MODEL S

Acura

Lexus ES 350 4D Luxury Sedan $33000 $32600 $30100 $23950 $20575

Mercedes-Benz E Class E350 4D Luxury Sedan $39400 $36900 $30400 $26825 $22725

Mitsubishi Lancer ES 4D Sedan

Nissan Altima base 4D Sedan

S 4D Sedan 3.5 $17850 $17500 $14600 $12575

2011 MODEL S

2010 MODEL S

$15600 $13900 $10450 $8850

Chrysler 200 Touring 4D Sedan $9950 $11550 $9300 $7300 $6125

Ford Focus SE 4D Sedan $9700 $9650 $7800 $6475 $5525

Ford Mustang base 2D Coupe $13200 $14000 $11700 $10125 $9025

Ford Taurus SEL 4D Sedan $14000 $14500 $12350 $10175 $8575

Lincoln Town Car Signature Limited 4D Sedan $21600 $22100 $19350 $14800 $12225

Import Cars Dec-13 Jun-14 Dec-14 Dec-15 Dec-16

Acura TL base 4D Sedan $20700 $19300 $17400 $14350 $12300

BMW 3-Series 328i 4D Sedan $20450 $19500 $18200 $13725 $11575

BMW 7-Series 750Li 4D Sedan $44600 $40700 $35400 $30600 $25875

Honda Accord LX 4D Sedan $13200 $13150 $10200 $9500 $8350

Hyundai Sonata GLS 4D Sedan 2.4 $11150 $11750 $9550 $7750 $6450

Lexus ES 350 4D Luxury Sedan $24400 $22500 $19650 $16775 $14825

Mercedes-Benz E Class E350 4D Luxury Sedan $29800 $27400 $22600 $18850 $15525

Mitsubishi Lancer ES 4D Sedan $10250 $9750 $8300 $6500 $5475

Nissan Altima base 4D Sedan $9900 $10700 $8650 $7625 $6550

Nissan Altima S 4D Sedan

Compiled By Jeffrey Bellant

CEO WINS ENTREPRENEUR AWARD

Jim Hallett, CEO of KAR Auction Services, has been named the EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2014 National Services Award winner.

The EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Award, a business award for entrepreneurs, encourages entrepreneurial activity and recognizes leaders and visionaries who demonstrate innovation, financial success and personal commitment as they create and build worldclass businesses.

Hallett was recognized for transforming a traditional auction company that uses technology into a technology company that runs auctions, while nearly tripling its market cap. Today, the company provides everything wholesale-used car sellers and buyers might need, from salvage and used-car auctions to support services.

He was honored at the Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards gala, the culminating event of the EY Strategic Growth Forum in Palm Springs, Calif.

The winners were selected by an independent panel of judges from more than 250 regional award recipients.

Auction Donates $14,500 to Feed

Owners of Corry Auto Dealers Exchange, Corry, Pa., stepped in with a donation of $14,500 to make possible a Thanksgiving efort by a local church to provide more than 50,000 meals through the international charity, Stop Hunger Now.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, one in nine people in the world go to bed hungry. Corry ADE and members of Park United Methodist Church made possible this real-time expression of giving thanks through giving back to those in need.

“We set a goal we knew exceeded our budget,” said Rick King, mission chair for Park United Meth-

Hungry

odist Church. “Corry Auto Dealers Exchange wrote a check to sponsor this event for us. It was a fantastic blessing for the congregation of Park Church and the community of North East.”

Stop Hunger Now’s goal is to end hunger by providing food and lifesaving aid to the most vulnerable.

Disconnected Jottings From Tony Moorby...

Eating “fast food” is not a common indulgence of mine. Maybe traveling on the interstates and stopping of at a known entity of one of the major chains takes the mystery and potential risk

out of a visit to an E.coli café.

Recent surgery has caused a two-month hiatus from my usual culinary indulgencies and Terry has taken up the slack with an artful aplomb befitting something between a sous chef and a short-order cook. Not bad for someone having difculty boiling water just a few short years ago. She’s made spaghetti sauces from scratch – and I mean picking the tomatoes and herbs from our own garden to the full Monty of our Thanksgiving turkey dinner

with all the usual accouterments.

Our family comes and goes at all hours, starting with breakfast, an elongated lunch service and ending in dinner, sporadically served

esoteric than a hamburger or grilled chicken sandwich tickles the communal fancy. We’ve even stretched convenience to match trips elsewhere – taking or picking our grandson up from school or a return trip from the hospital -- with grabbing a quick bite on the fly.

ter when the cascade of cola and ice nestles neatly in your crotch. The only thing worse is the cofee.

to whomever is present at the time and she’ll start over for anyone arriving late. In my day, the meal was put on the table to great familial fanfare and if you missed it you had it cold or went hungry until the next mealtime with no accommodations in between.

To ease the burden, however, we’ve taken the easy route of drive-thru, take out, home delivery or sending the kids out on a mission of mercy to the sushi joint if something a little more

Mind you, I’m not happy eating in the car. It requires as many arms as one of those Hindu deities like Durga. Two hands prove to be grossly inefcient unless you have the skills of a three-ring circus juggler. Bite hamburger – lettuce and tomato do backflips into your lap while the mustard or mayo adjusts the pattern of your shirt. The subsequent jerking action sends French fries in all directions like Pick-a-Sticks. Five-second rule or not, they are gone and lost forever in the cleats and folds of your Corinthian leather and Berber carpet. Our small dog (yes, we still have it) finds all kinds of orts and aged nourishment for months after.

Shoddily attached drinks lids spell all kinds of disas-

CR R O O S S W D Sponsored by

By Miles Mellor

27. Steering ____

28. Rolls Royce Silver _____

30. Indicates the manufacturer

31. Measure of electric resistance

34. Football position, for short

1. XC90 maker

5. Oldsmobile 2-door from the 60s

9. Wood for classy interiors

11. Jaguar founder, Sir William

12. Mercedes ___ Shooting Brake

13. Dodge Ram ___ 3500

14. Go ninety miles per hour, e.g.

16. Ghibli, for one

20. Change, to improve

21. Motorhome

22. V-___ engine

36. FR-S or iQ

37. Comanche or Liberty

39. Jiffy fuid

41. Defrost

42. Mercury from the 60s

43. Starting mechanism

46. “____ a beauty!”

47. Studebaker ____

48. Check out Down

1. Hyundai compact

2. Needing tightening

3. Delivery vehicle

6. Open-bodied antique auto

7. Not as old as

8. Like a lot, in the 60’s

10. Modern “fngerprint”

15. 280ZX makers

17. Police announcement, for short

18. Wheel groove

19. Creeping plant

23. Metro or Prizm

25. Noticed

26. Bad sound from an engine

27. Baseball Trophy frst name

29. “Pick a number from ___ ten”

30. Cars featuring a trishield logo

32. Welcome

33. ____ Aero 8

And people do this while driving! Imagine a girl with a chicken biscuit, Gatorade Slushy and Tater Tots, applying make-up and sending Facebook photos of her breakfast to her myriad friends while occupying the HOV lane. I prefer to stop and go inside or take it home.

Talking of cofee, who’d have thought you would be prepared to wait in a drivethru line of some 20 vehicles while people order concoctions I can’t even imagine, some for the rest of the office, at prices that deserve a mortgage application.

For an all-round experience, with polite people, great food and spick-andspan restaurants, Chick-filA takes a lot of beating. It’s very laudable that they close on Sundays. Guess when my chicken yearnings kick in?

Then there are the voices, the voices! I’ve yet to make up my mind as to whether it’s the quality of the speakers or the lack of command of clearly spoken (American) English by the people at the other end of the order station speaking through a wet sponge. A lot of establishments have acknowledged this deficiency by the installation of screens that confirm your order so that mutual understanding is accomplished. Heaven forbid there’s a mistake – it could cause an international incident.

INSURANCE AUTO AUCTION S

24. Brooklands or Azure

4. Approves 5. Toyota ____ Base

34. GPS lays it out

35. Oversized

37. Saab made these type of engines

38. Lotus sports-car model

40. Test site

44. SSW’s opposite 45. 4 to a Roman Across

41. Cooper Paceman, for one

USED CAR LOT for sale or lease includes license. 2 buildings. Located on main highway in Antioch, Illinois on Wisconsin border. Owner will finance. Floor planning available. Temporary partnership possibility. For more details, call Dave, 847-395-4641

For Sale Owner Retiring Building and property, has been in business for 30 years as an auto transport, trucking, auto sales and wholesaling company. Large building with 4 to 5 acres, 500 ft of frontage on a 4 lane highway, 10 min from Ohio Turnpike in Clyde,OH. Email Midwesttransportation@ outlook.com for more info.

Used Car Dealership Located on high traffic corner in south Minneapolis. 50 years in business. 23 car capacity and 1 service bay. 340k. Call 612-250-0855

Health Forces Sale. Autobodyand small retail/showroom i n Marion NC for sale. Currently rented, very busy location on 4 lane highway next to the Blue Ridge Mountains. Shop holds about 6 cars. Sacrifice for 149,000. Also for sale right across the street is a working used car lot with office a detail garage on about a third of an acre flat; sacrifice this for 159,000, sales license not included but will negotiate it. Living quarters available also. Call 201-757-8388 or in NC call 828-442-0099