Ford salaried workers will receive both merit raises and bonuses this spring for the first time since 2008, reflecting the automaker’s growing financial strength. Letters went out last week to about 20,000 salaried workers around the world with the good news, spokeswoman Marcey Evans confirmed. The 2.7 percent base salary increases will take effect April … Read More »

A two-year study looking for possible causes behind Toyota’s rash of unintended acceleration issues has put primary blame on driver error — but the review by the National Academy of Sciences also cautioned that some problems may have been caused by inadvertent interactions involving vehicle electronics — an issue frequently cited by the automaker’s critics. … Read More »

Toyota Motor Corp. scored a victory in 2011 as U.S. deliveries of its Prius v wagon in 10 weeks topped sales of General Motors Co.’s Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid that was available all year. Toyota sold 8,399 of the hybrid wagon, which didn’t arrive at U.S. dealerships until the last week of October, said Carly … Read More »

AUSTIN – IAS announced that Matt Nowicki has been promoted to Vice President of Retail Software. Nowicki has served as the company’s Director of Technology since 1999 and in his new role will continue to direct innovation with responsibility for the technology development of the company’s flagship software suite, SmartDealerProducts.   “Matt has spent the … Read More »

SANTA MONICA — TrueCar Inc. announced a nationwide strategy to tackle regulatory compliance issues in an effort to demonstrate its commitment to state regulators, state dealer associations and its dealer partners. The company also implemented a new flat-fee billing model in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It has also introduced a new billing model in certain … Read More »

January is off to a solid start, with new-vehicle floor traffic up more than 12 percent, reported CNW Research. Other key indicators showed that consumers are feeling a lot better about their financial position and might be ready to act on their pent-up demand. Closing ratios also improved during the opening half of January, increasing … Read More »