Marketing

A California dealership group and a former customer have agreed to a $2.5 million class-action settlement in a case surrounding ringless voicemails — a practice that is popular among auto dealers. The allegations against Moss Bros. Auto Group, based in Riverside, Calif., claim the company continuously used ringless voicemails that amounted to “aggressive unsolicited marketing”

Vietnamese automaker VinFast is opening its first U.S. showrooms in California shopping centers next week on its way to 30 company-run retail locations in the state by year end. VinFast has chosen Santa Monica, San Diego, San Mateo, Corte Madera, Commerce and Berkeley for its first six showrooms, the company said in an email invitation

Volkswagen of America’s head of marketing, Kimberley Gardiner, is leaving the automaker after less than two years on the job, VW dealers were told Wednesday. Gardiner, 54, one of Automotive News’ 100 Leading Women in the North American Auto Industry in 2020, was hired away from Mitsubishi Motors North America in November 2020 as VW’s

DETROIT — Beset by increasing competition, Tesla Inc.’s electric vehicle market share is expected to plummet from a dominating 70 percent today to just 11 percent by 2025 as incumbents such as General Motors and Ford overtake it, according to the annual ‘Car Wars’ study. John Murphy, a senior auto analyst at Bank of America

NEWARK, Calif. — Lucid Motors, the direct-to-consumer electric vehicle startup, is expanding its “studio” store locations to major U.S. cities, including recent openings in Seattle and Denver. But there are still current and future reservation holders who are too far away to easily test drive the Air sedan and its new Grand Touring trim. So

Dealership technology giant CDK Global is getting out of the cookie business. CDK is closing Fresh Beginnings, a bakery that Hugh Hathcock and his wife, Judy, started in 1985 as a source of gourmet gifts to help his dealership clients build relationships with their customers. CDK acquired the bakery in 2018 when it bought eLead1One,

Dodge says it’s going to be an electric summer. The Stellantis performance brand plans to preview future products in August during what it calls Speed Week. It kicks off Aug. 12 with a press preview for the MotorTrend Presents Roadkill Nights Powered by Dodge event that takes place the next day. Roadkill Nights spotlights muscle

Matt VanDyke, a longtime Ford Motor Co. marketing executive who last year became CEO of the company’s FordDirect joint venture with dealers, is leaving the automaker to become president of Shift Digital, a digital marketing vendor. VanDyke will assume the new role June 28. “Consumer purchasing habits are dramatically changing as more individuals embrace the

Chevrolet is auctioning off a unique piece of Corvette artwork that comes with a rather valuable bonus: an actual car painted to look like the image. The “Own the Color” auction, which runs June 20-24, is for a non-fungible token of the upcoming 2023 Corvette Z06 created by the artist Xsullo. An NFT is a

Vehicles in rarer colors such as yellow, orange and purple retain their value at a better rate than cars in traditionally dominant colors such as silver, black and white, auto research website iSeeCars.com said in a study. Karl Brauer, executive analyst at iSeeCars.com, said he hopes the study released last week will persuade people to

The Jeep Wrangler zoomed its way into Jurassic Park lore in 1993 when it sped away from a charging Tyrannosaurus rex in one of the highest-grossing films of all time. Jeep is leveraging that prehistoric stage again nearly 30 years later in Jurassic World Dominion, the sixth and purportedly final film of the series. The

Jeep is getting some screen time in the upcoming Jurassic World: Dominion. The Gladiator, Wrangler and a vintage Grand Wagoneer will appear in the dinosaur-packed epic in continuation of a relationship that began with the first Jurassic Park film in 1993. In the first entry, a T. rex chased a Wrangler in one of its

Comedian Jay Leno loves cars but says driving the Ford F-150 Lightning converted him into “a truck guy.” Leno tested one of Ford’s new electric pickups — with CEO Jim Farley riding along — for an episode of his CNBC show, “Jay Leno’s Garage,” that will air this fall. “As much as I love my

The nation’s largest new-vehicle retailer has begun a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign aimed not at car shoppers, but at potential employees. AutoNation’s “Go Be Great” campaign began airing on TV networks including ESPN, CNBC and NBC last week, ahead of the Indianapolis 500 race on Sunday, May 29. AutoNation is a sponsor of Indy 500 driver

WASHINGTON — Ford Motor Co. has agreed to pay $19.2 million to resolve allegations it falsely advertised real-world fuel economy and payload capacity for some hybrids and pickup trucks, the Iowa Attorney General’s Office said Tuesday. The multi-state settlement covers 2013–2014 C-Max hybrids and 2011–2014 Super Duty pickups. In 2013, Ford lowered the advertised fuel

Jimmy Car Car” is taking his show on the road. Or rather, the man who still answers to that childhood nickname — Ford Motor Co. CEO Jim Farley — is now doing a show about the road. Farley has taken on podcast hosting in addition to his role leading America’s second-biggest automaker. His weekly show

Audi’s China joint venture, FAW-Volkswagen Sales, apologized for text in an advertisement that allegedly infringed copyright and said it would remove the videos from all company platforms. The JV between VW, Audi and China FAW Group, said in a statement on Sunday that the video was produced by advertising agent M&C Saatchi. Audi has ordered

The troubled, ever-evolving Tokyo Motor Show will rebrand itself yet again in an attempt to breathe life, energy and attendance into Asia’s onetime premier auto expo. When the show returns in 2023, it will open under a “Japan All-Industry” banner, said the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, which has hosted the event since its inception in