Now on its 5th printing, with valuable updates, it has become a must-have resource for dealers and managers around the world to gain insight on the steps they need to take to improve their unit production and grow, year after year. The book will be released at the 2012 National Automobile Dealers Association Convention in Las Vegas.

“You have to learn how to improve the processes that generate growth, and improve the skills of the people responsible to follow your processes,” said Verde, president of Joe Verde Sales & Management Training Inc., and the book’s author. “That old saying is correct, ‘You can’t keep doing what you’ve always done and grow’. Growth requires continuous improvement in the key areas I cover in my book.”

He originally wrote this book in the spring of 2009 as dealers and managers in the automotive industry were looking for a recovery plan in the wake of the global economic downturn.

Now, nearly three years later, Verde understands that it’s time for dealers to focus on growth – which is the focus of the second half of his book. In this 5th Edition, he also provides an update for 2012 with a focus on growing a dealership.

“A lot of dealers are focusing on growth in this new economy,” Verde said. “Growth is a process, and that’s what this book is about. Follow my directions step-by-step, and you’ll fully recover to your previous units, gross and net profit. As soon as that happens, you can start to grow again or start to grow for the very first time.”

Joe Verde will continue to assist as many dealers and managers as possible by offering one book free to them, as well as additional copies for their managers, colleagues or friends in the automotive industry.

In January, U.S. auto sales continued their upward surge, rising 11 percent over a year ago to their briskest pace in nearly four years. At the same time, several auto makers showed new confidence in the American economy by disclosing billion-dollar expansions of their U.S. factories, reported The Wall Street Journal.

On the sales front, Chrysler Group LLC and Volkswagen AG reported increases of more than 40 percent apiece from a year ago, and most other auto makers posted solid gains. General Motors Co. was the only major company to report a decline; its sales fell 6 percent from a year ago, when an incentive binge caused a sales spike.

All told, auto makers sold 913,287 cars and light trucks in January, according to Autodata Corp. The annualized sales pace in January was 14.18 million vehicles, up from December’s rate of 13.56 million. It was the highest level since May 2008, when the sales rate hit 14.28 million vehicles a year, and even surpassed the August 2009 pace, when consumers flocked to showrooms for cash-for-clunker rebates, according to figures from Autodata.

The U.S. auto industry was in deep straits in 2009, and two of its largest players filed for bankruptcy. The industry is now one of the leading forces in the U.S.’s economic recovery. Auto makers expressed confidence that sales increases will continue because credit is available to many customers, and the average age of vehicles in use, more than 10 years old, is forcing many consumers to buy new cars.

“The shopping pattern has been much more robust. The availability of credit is much more catering to the buyer than it was 24 months ago,” said Al Castignetti, vice president of sales for the Nissan brand in North America. Nissan Motor Co. reported a 10.4 percent increase in January sales over a year ago.

Nissan is in the process of adding 1,200 jobs in Tennessee to expand its manufacturing operations and has plans to add 1,300 more workers. And in the past week, Chrysler, VW and Honda Motor Co. each announced U.S. expansions that would add nearly 2,000 U.S. jobs over the next year.

Ford Motor Co. has said it will add 7,000 jobs in the U.S. this year alone, GM said it plans to add 6,300 jobs through 2015; and Toyota Motor Corp. recently finished hiring 2,000 workers to staff a new plant in Mississippi.

“The positive momentum should continue in the first quarter. Overall economic growth should continue in the 2 percent to 3 percent range,” said Jenny Lin, a Ford economist, in a conference call on Wednesday.

The brighter outlook for the U.S. auto industry is becoming a campaign plank for President Obama, whose administration steered GM and Chrysler in and out of managed bankruptcy reorganizations.

Chrysler’s January U.S. sales leapt 44 percent to 99,238 cars and trucks, on the strength of its namesake brand. Ford’s sales increased 7.3 percent, to 136,294 vehicles, driven by a 60 percent increase in sales of the Focus compact. Ford added incentives in January to help the Focus, which had been piling up on dealer lots at the end of December.

GM’s January sales fell to 167,962 cars and light trucks, from 178,896. Without the big incentives it offered a year ago, GM’s profitable big pickups lost ground last month and its Cadillac brand declined sharply. Its U.S. market share in January was 18.4 percent, a big drop of 21.8 percent a year ago.

January sales of GM’s battery-powered Chevrolet Volt, at 603 cars, were less than half the December total. GM sales chief Don Johnson blamed slow Volt sales on a high-profile U.S. safety investigation into whether the car’s battery posed a potential fire risk. U.S. safety officials last month cleared the Volt and said the car poses no unusual risk of fire.

Mr. Johnson said Volt sales were “clearly affected” by the probe and that GM made sure to keep Volt production in line with demand and will “take this one day at a time.”

Sales of the Nissan Leaf, a rival electric car, also fell, to 676 in January from 954 in December. Mr. Castignetti attributed the decline to supply constraints.

All three Japanese auto makers reported sales gains as inventories of vehicles finally began to normalize. Toyota and Honda had been struggling for months to restock dealer lots after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan interrupted parts supplies.

Toyota reported a 7.5 percent increase in January as large marketing efforts behind the new Camry sedan paid off. The sedan posted a 56 percent sales increase over a year ago. Honda sales rose 8.8 percent. Hyundai Motor Co. said its U.S. sales rose 15 percent.

Volkswagen’s namesake brand sold 27,209 cars and sport-utility vehicles, up 48 percent. The company said it was the VW brand’s best January for sales since 1974, back when the original Beetle was a favorite of America drivers.

Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz unit said its U.S. sales in January rose 25.8 percent over a year ago, to 21,726 vehicles. Luxury-car rival BMW AG reported its combined U.S. sales of BMW and Mini autos rose 5.8 percent from a year ago to 19,739 in January.

Kristen is a CPCU with over 20 years of product management and underwriting experience working for a major insurance company and general agency.

Kristen joined AAGI in 2007 and has been responsible for the creation of new products and coordinating the related distribution. Kristen’s work with AAGI’s agents, insurers and other business partners has consistently produced quality products across the board, which AAGI is proud to present to the industry.

With over 20 years of experience in the automotive industry, Andrew’s career began in retail and included time as a Salesperson, Sales Manager and F&I Manager.

Andrew has also held a number of training, sales and executive positions within the F&I consulting and vehicle service contract industry. Andrew’s career includes the recruitment, development and leadership of an OEM direct sales force responsible for the eastern US. Additionally, Andrew has been a partner in an F&I consulting firm that focused on helping dealers both drive F&I performance and optimize the returns in their reinsurance ventures.

Andrew joined the AAGI team in January 2012 and is responsible for developing and managing the eastern region of the country.

Chrysler’s U.S. sales increase of 44 percent surpassed eight analysts’ average estimate for a 32-percent sales gain. Affiliates Hyundai and Kia, based in Seoul, sold a combined 78,211 vehicles in January, a 20 percent increase. Honda boosted deliveries 8.8 percent, topping six analysts’ estimates for a 1.2 percent decline, according to Bloomberg.

Toyota Motor Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co. also reported gains from a year earlier, and General Motors Co. posted a smaller decline than analysts estimated. The light- vehicle seasonally adjusted annualized rate was 14.2 million, the fastest since the “cash for clunkers” government incentive program in August 2009. The average estimate of 14 analysts for a 13.4 million rate, up from 12.7 million a year earlier.

“Some people are starting to feel comfortable enough in the economy that they are willing to buy a car,” said Jim Hall, principal of 2953 Analytics Inc., an automotive consulting firm in Birmingham, Michigan. “Others are saying, ‘I’ve got to replace this old car because it’s nickel and diming me to death.’”

With the average age of U.S. cars and trucks rising to a record 10.8 years, according to R.L. Polk & Co., analysts see pent-up demand bolstering sales in January and boosting deliveries to a third straight annual gain, the longest streak since U.S. sales peaked in 2000. An improving job market and available credit may drive up full-year sales more than 6 percent to 13.6 million, the average of 18 analysts’ estimates.

Chrysler, the automaker majority owned by Fiat SpA, sold 101,149 cars and light trucks last month, up from 70,118 a year earlier, the Auburn Hills, Michigan-based company said in a news release. Hyundai and Kia topped the 18 percent sales gain that was the average estimate of four analysts.

Honda, Japan’s third-largest automaker, snapped an eight- month streak of sales declines from a year earlier, boosting deliveries by 8.8 percent, according to an e-mailed statement. The Tokyo-based company was expected to report a 1.2 percent decline, the average of six analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Sales were buoyed by a 50 percent increase in deliveries of Civic compact cars.

GM’s deliveries fell 6.1 percent to 167,962, the Detroit- based automaker said. That beat the 7.3 percent decline estimated by eight analysts. Buyers paid about $30,400 per GM vehicle in January, up about $1,000 from a year earlier, Jim Cain, a company spokesman, said in an e-mail.

GM incentive spending slid by about $700 per vehicle, Cain said. The automaker outspent the industry average by 42 percent in January 2011, according to Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey-based Autodata.

“When the incentives are down and sales are up, it clearly indicates the product is selling itself,” Jesse Toprak, an analyst at Santa Monica, California-based auto-pricing researcher TrueCar.com, said in a phone interview.

“That’s the way it’s supposed to happen in a healthy market environment. The underlying consumer demand continues to improve and prospects for the economy are looking better now than a year ago.”

Ford’s sales of light vehicles increased 7.3 percent to 136,294 in January from 126,981 a year earlier, the automaker said today. The average estimate of eight analysts’ surveyed by Bloomberg was for a 7.9 percent rise.

Sales of Ford’s Focus compact car rose 60 percent to 14,400, while its Fiesta subcompact and Fusion family sedan fell. The Escape small sport-utility vehicle rose 24 percent to 17,259 models, Ford said.

GM rose 1.5 percent to $24.37 at the close in New York. Ford fell 0.7 percent to $12.33.

Nissan’s January sales increased 10 percent to 79,313 cars and trucks, topping the 7.6 percent average estimate of six analysts.

Toyota sales rose 7.5 percent last month to 124,540 cars and light trucks. Asia’s largest automaker exceeded the average of six analysts’ estimates for a 7 percent increase. The gain was led by a 56 percent jump in sales of Camry sedans.

“We’ve sold down to the asphalt for a number of months at my Toyota store,” Gordon Stewart, who also owns four Chevrolet dealerships and has outlets in four states, said in a phone interview. “Given the blowout sales we had in December, we lowered our expectations for January. But we still managed to eke out of good month in January and that’s very promising.”

At Chrysler, models such as the 200 sedan, its top-selling car last year, and the Dodge Durango SUV first arrived at dealerships a year ago. Deliveries of the 200 surged to 7,007 in January from 788 a year ago and Durango more than doubled to 3,021 from 1,199.

Jeep brand sales climbed 37 percent to 31,710 led by the Grand Cherokee and Wrangler SUVs. Ram sales rose 47 percent to 17,909.

“We’re looking at a completely revamped lineup from Chrysler that’s still kicking in, with a lot of models coming up on their first full year of production,” Alec Gutierrez, an analyst for Kelley Blue Book, said in a phone interview before results were disclosed. “A year ago, Chrysler didn’t quite have the product they needed to drive sales.”

Chrysler earned $225 million in net income in the fourth quarter, the company said earlier today, exceeding the $186 million average of four analysts’ estimates. Net income may rise to about $1.5 billion in 2012 as global revenue climbs 18 percent to $65 billion, the U.S. company said. It emerged from a government-financed bankruptcy in 2009 under Fiat management.

Volkswagen AG , which is targeting U.S. sales growth of more than 10 percent this year, increased combined U.S. sales of its Volkswagen and Audi brands by 39 percent last month from a year earlier. The average of three analysts’ estimates was for a 27 percent gain.

Volkswagen plans to sell more than 500,000 cars in the U.S. this year as part of the Wolfsburg, Germany-based automaker’s goal to become the world’s biggest automaker by 2018.

Yazaki agreed to pay $470 million, the second-largest criminal fine for a violation of the Sherman Act antitrust law, and four Japanese executives at the closely held company agreed to serve prison sentences ranging from 15 months to two years, the U.S. Justice Department said yesterday in an e-mailed statement. Denso, which is 23 percent owned by Toyota Motor Corp., agreed to pay $78 million, reported Bloomberg.

The penalties bring the total industry fines in the U.S. and Japan to more $915 million since authorities worldwide said almost two years ago that they began a global investigation. The conspiracy to rig bids and fix prices of auto parts, including instrument panels, electrical systems and heater control panels, had been going on for as long as a decade, according to court filings by the Justice Department.

“This most recent penalty and prison terms for four executives again underscores the risks for Asian companies arising from increased antitrust enforcement efforts by U.S. regulators,” Stephen Crosswell, a lawyer with Clifford Chance LLP, wrote in an e-mail. “Asian companies also need to be aware of the potential exposure they face closer to home.”

The investigation into the auto parts price-rigging scheme is “ongoing,” and the executives who agreed to plead guilty also agreed to cooperate with the probe, according to the statement.

“The antitrust division will continue to work with the FBI and our law enforcement counterparts to root out this kind of pernicious cartel conduct that results in higher prices to American consumers and businesses,” Sharis Pozen, the division’s acting chief, said in the statement.

Japan’s Fair Trade Commission this month agreed to fine Yazaki, Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd., Fujikura Ltd. and Furukawa Electric Co. a combined 12.9 billion yen ($169 million) for price-fixing.

“We’re focused on our future and happy to have this chapter closed,” said Misty Matthews, a spokeswoman for Yazaki. In a statement on its website, Yazaki said it has cooperated fully with the Justice Department investigation and would cut the salaries of its chairman and president by 50 percent for three months “as a reflection of remorse.”

Denso, Japan’s biggest supplier of auto parts, said in a statement that its chairman, president and some board members and executive directors will voluntarily return 10 percent to 30 percent of their compensation for three months beginning in February.

Since learning of the investigation in February 2010, the company has cooperated fully with the probe, Denso said. The fine won’t have a material effect on the company’s financial forecast, according to the statement.

“Toyota has consistently asked its suppliers to respect the law,” Toyota spokeswoman Shiori Hashimoto said by phone. “If the parts makers that received orders from the authorities did in fact commit violations of antitrust laws, we would understand this to be a serious issue.”

General Motors Co. spokesman Johan Willems, Mitsuru Yonekawa at Nissan and Hajime Kaneko at Honda Motor Co. declined to comment on the case. Ford Motor Co. spokesman Trevor Hale and Tata Motors Ltd. spokesman Debasis Ray didn’t immediately respond to queries.

Denso fell 2.2 percent, the most since Jan. 6, to 2,265 yen in Tokyo trading, while the benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average climbed 0.1 percent.

Pozen said during a press briefing in Washington that the investigation was the largest criminal probe in terms of the volume of the underlying commerce that the division has ever conducted. The plea agreements with Yazaki and Denso represent the second round of charges in the investigation, which has been continuing for about two years, Pozen said.

Tokyo-based Furukawa Electric Co. pleaded guilty and was sentenced to pay a $200 million fine on Nov. 14, 2011, for its role in an auto parts price-fixing and bid-rigging conspiracy, the Justice Department said.

The largest fine under the Sherman Act was $500 million against F. Hoffmann-LaRoche Ltd. in 1999, according to the Justice Department’s website.

The new “advanced clean cars” regulations, adopted in a unanimous vote by the state Air Resources Board, requires cars and light trucks sold in 2025 to emit 75 percent fewer smog-forming pollutants and reduce carbon dioxide by about a third, reported The Wall Street Journal.

The program envisions that 1.4 million, or one in seven, new cars sold in California in 2025 will run on electricity or hydrogen and produce no emissions, or run on electricity and gasoline to produce much lower emissions than conventional gasoline-fueled cars.

The rules would apply to cars and light trucks for model years 2017 and later.

Auto makers said they are already making electric and hydrogen-fueled vehicles and support the rules. But they worried about whether enough electric and hydrogen fueling stations would be widely available throughout California, which they said is a requirement for widespread consumer adoption of zero- and low-emission vehicles.

“Auto makers have invested massive sums of money to bring these vehicles to market, so we have a huge stake in trying to sell them,” said Gloria Bergquist, a spokeswoman for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, a trade group. “The success depends on the fueling infrastructure being available so consumers will buy them.”

The alliance represents General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co. and other manufacturers, all of whom deferred to the trade group for comment.

Auto makers believe that since the state has mandated that their industry build and sell zero- and low-emission vehicles, it’s only fair for the state to require fuel retailers to make electricity and hydrogen widely available so that consumers will buy and drive the cars, Ms. Bergquist said.

But refiners and service station owners don’t see it that way.

Oil refiners and fuel importers oppose a rule that requires them to put hydrogen-fueling equipment at service stations, most of which are independently owned by other companies, said Cathy Reheis-Boyd, president of the Western States Petroleum Association.

“We refine gasoline and diesel and we do not believe it’s appropriate for refiners and importers to be obligated to put hydrogen infrastructure at retail gas stations that we don’t own,” Ms. Reheis-Boyd said.

Service station owners also don’t want to be required to install hydrogen-fueling equipment, over concerns that they could lose money on the investment.

Instead, both industries have proposed that the government provide subsidies to install hydrogen-fueling equipment, at least in the early years of the clean cars program.

State officials said the clean car rules would be similar to a federal proposal to boost fuel efficiency standards for most cars and trucks. The Obama administration has discussed the proposed rules, but has not formally proposed a set of regulations.

ARB Chair Mary Nichols said California’s clean-car rules would be essentially the same as the expected federal rules, with possible slight differences.

“We’re not seeing any fundamental differences with the federal government in fundamental philosophies,” Ms. Nichols told reporters on Friday. “I don’t think the delay will have a negative impact on the auto industry at all.”

The rules are the latest version of regulations originally adopted in 1990 to improve air quality in California, which has some of the nation’s dirtiest air.

This time, the clean car rules include limits on greenhouse-gas emissions, in line with the state’s 2006 plan to combat climate change.

Consumer groups, environmental groups and local government agencies that oversee air quality lauded the new rules.

“ARB’s decision is a victory for California residents, where 90 percent of the public still live in areas of unhealthy air,” Simon Mui, a scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Council, wrote in a blog post. “With all major auto makers already launching or planning to offer in total 30 to 40 plug-in electric vehicle models, these standards will help scale-up and pull forward technologies already available today.”

The regulations include a provision under which the ARB would take another look at how the rules were working and whether changes might be needed to reach the goals of the program.

The Air Resources Board has estimated that the rules will add an average of $1,900 to vehicle prices, which the agency said would be offset by savings on fuel purchases that would average about $6,000 over the life of the car.

Auto dealers have countered that the rules could boost the car prices nearly double what the ARB estimates, and hurt growth in the market.

The partnership includes processing credit application and contract data within the dealer management system (DMS) as part of VCI’s FinanceSource™ dealer program. The FinanceSource program allows VCI and various dealer service providers (DSPs)—like ADP Dealer Services, Inc. and The Reynolds and Reynolds Company—to streamline the F&I process within the DMS to expedite application processing and ensure accurate and validated contracts.

“This integrated solution will help our dealers improve profitability and the overall sales experience by creating a more efficient and smooth funding process,” said David Wicks, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for VCI.

Successful pilot programs with Audi and Volkswagen dealers using ADP and Reynolds and Reynolds systems in California and Massachusetts have showed promising results. Full dealer rollouts will continue on a state-by-state basis over the next 24 months.

“Open Dealer Exchange is proud to partner with an industry leader like VCI to provide technology solutions that allow the dealer and lender to interact seamlessly within the DMS. There’s no need for their dealers to ever leave the DMS in the first place,” said Steve Luyckx, General Manager for Open Dealer Exchange.

“And, with our solutions, a dealer doesn’t have to worry about the integration costs associated with third-party portals that go outside their normal workflow.”

Open Dealer Exchange, founded in 2009 as a joint venture between ADP Dealer Services and Reynolds and Reynolds, integrates a finance source or F&I product provider directly within an auto dealership’s DMS.

By eliminating the need for dealers to log into multiple systems or re-key data into various applications during a vehicle sale, this innovative process results in increased operational efficiencies, reduced contract errors and a more streamlined process with a lender or provider’s franchised dealerships.

Known in the automobile dealer industry as a provider of vehicle service contracts, CNA National was established as Western National Warranty Corporation in January 1982 as a family-owned business operated by Paul and Judy Askos.

“Every day we feel entrusted to continue the dream that Paul and Judy started three decades ago,” says Joe Becker, president and chief executive officer of CNA National.

“We have gone through many transitions and trends in the industry, but our commitment to providing the highest quality product and customer service has never changed. We enjoy the financial stability provided to us by CNA, while valuing the family-owned roots that built the foundation for our enduring success.”

On August 31, 1995, Western National Warranty Corporation was sold to CNA Financial Corporation and eventually renamed CNA National Warranty Corporation. The company has seen exponential growth over the years, with nearly 2 million contracts in force today.

“Our goal was never to be the biggest, but to be the best,” says Alan Miller, senior vice president of sales for CNA National. “We are proud to have achieved this goal and have implemented a strategy to continue our success as we expand in the future.”

The 30th anniversary is being celebrated with employees, sales agents and strategic partners to provide CNAN stakeholders unique opportunities to interact with each other. This year, CNAN will also introduce new advertising, marketing and media outreach campaigns.

Meet this innovator and ambassador of basketball at Safe-Guard Products’ booth 2-3:30 p.m. Feb. 4 and 10 a.m.-noon Feb. 5. Safe-Guard is a provider of F&I products, training and administration, and turn-key solutions for its OEM and national consolidator partners in the automotive industry.

“Dr. J personified determination, professionalism and a commitment to excellence in the sport – values that are at the core of Safe-Guard’s service-oriented culture and industry-leading products,” Safe-Guard Chairman Doug Duncan said.