The partnership, which is novel to the automobile industry, is the concept of Ben Hensley, VP of Sales at Coastal, and Sergeant Major Dave Francisco, USMC (ret), Director of Vets-Cars. “Our collaboration with Vets-Cars is unique and very exciting,” said Hensley, a United States Air Force veteran, “and, will enable us to provide our dealer customers a powerful level of value and commitment and position us to better serve those who serve.”

Vets-Cars membership, which will include training on properly serving the military auto buyer, will be offered to all qualifying members of Coastal Credit’s vast dealer base. And, Vets-Shield Command Care extended vehicle coverage, a top quality exclusionary product administered by NAC, will be utilized as the preferred VSC on all auto loans made to enlisted military personnel.

As Francisco explained, “The Vets-Shield VSC Program was designed by me, Chris Walsh (Managing Partner for Vets-Cars Group), and fellow Marine Corps Sergeants Major. All of us had had experience with young Marines in our charge getting into trouble trying to buy a vehicle or getting talked into a service contract that was misrepresented and sold at an exorbitant price by some less-than-scrupulous dealer employee,” he said.

“With Vets-Shield, we are able to provide price-regulated, top quality exclusionary coverage that is administered by NAC, renowned for their integrity, professionalism and near flawless customer support within the automotive industry.”

“The concept of providing this level of start-to-finish services for military personnel – from quality vehicle to loan to extended coverage – is innovative, and we’re pleased to play an important role within this new partnership,” said Christina Schrank, Vice President of Marketing at NAC. 

“Our mission”, concluded Hensley, “Is, and always has been, to provide the highest level of service and quality of product to our dealers and their enlisted customers. This partnership will provide all involved new opportunities to grow and continue to ‘Do well by doing good’.”

“Today, dealer demand for more profitable, value-added back-end products is increasing,” said Randy L. Ortiz, LoJack CEO and President. “With that in mind, we are very excited to work with IAS to extend our reach into even more dealerships. IAS’s world-class agent base combining their offerings with our trusted brand-name products will provide dealers with the most robust F&I products available.”

IAS general agents will now market LoJack Stolen Vehicle Recovery Systems plus Early Warning along with a variety of warranty offerings. In addition, IAS agents will offer two of their own IAS reinsured products in conjunction with a LoJack System.

LoJack will provide training for IAS general agents and their agency representatives on the various LoJack offerings and potential dealership presentations.

“We believe that working with a trusted brand such as LoJack is a win-win for everyone,” said Bob Corbin, IAS CEO and President. “Our agent base, LoJack and dealers can sell proven products that help increase profitability. And even more important, more consumers have the opportunity to protect their vehicles—and their pocketbooks—from vehicle theft.”

As the auto industry continues to recover and consumer demand for new vehicles rises, LoJack’s use of Third Party F&I Aftermarket Program Providers has become an increasing focus for the company. Being able to reach more dealerships through these providers that are offering an attractive product suite is fast proving itself an essential part of LoJack’s sales strategy.

“CNA National is heavily investing in our technology architecture and CIO Perspectives is the perfect opportunity to benchmark what we have accomplished,” says Pendergast.

CIOs from Fortune 1000 companies create the agenda and topics that will be discussed in each city. Pendergast will be a participant on the panel, “Balancing Risk with Innovation in Mobility, Social Media and Consumer Technologies.” The panel also features executives from Chevron and Electronic Arts, and is moderated by Maryfran Jonson, editor-in-chief of CIO magazine.

The goal of CIO Perspectives is to empower local CIOs to expand their professional communities and to tap into the knowledge base of their colleagues to solve their most pressing IT/business problems.

“Being able to interact with my peers about best practices, lessons learned, successful strategies and architectures allows CNA National to increase our resources for future developments” says Pendergast. “We value our position as industry leader in providing vehicle service contracts and our technological investments in data analytics, rating automation and infrastructure will ensure we maintain separation from our competitors.”

Last month, CNA National became the first company to be simultaneously named top vehicle service contract provider and top reinsurer by Auto Dealer Monthly’s Dealer’s Choice Awards. CNA National’s technology investments in recent years include creating the CIO position, ongoing hiring within the IT department as well as new “e-business” portal websites for agents and dealerships. CNA National’s attendance at CIO Perspectives is part of its current campaign to increase visibility in the automotive and business industry sectors.

Net income may increase to 760 billion yen ($9.5 billion) in the fiscal year ending March 2013, after falling to 283.6 billion yen, the Toyota City, Japan-based carmaker said today. The profit forecast was 7 percent below the average analyst estimate compiled by Bloomberg, while the company projected higher-than-expected revenue growth.

Chief Executive Officer Akio Toyoda, 56, is rolling out new Prius hybrids, Corolla compacts and Lexus sedans to regain lost ground in what may be his first crisis-free year since becoming president in 2009. While production has returned to normal, the grandson of the founder now faces a reborn General Motors Co. that’s leading the industry in global sales, a rising Hyundai Motor Co. and a growing Volkswagen AG that’s dominating luxury- car sales in China.

The earnings show “they have strong confidence of improving profits and regaining market share, mainly in the U.S. but other markets as well,” said Kunihiko Shiohara, an analyst at Credit Suisse Group AG in Tokyo. “It’s going to give quite a favorable impression on the auto industry as a whole, as well as impressions on the Japanese economy.”

Toyota rose as much as 0.8 percent in Frankfurt trading after the revenue forecast of 22 trillion yen was 6 percent higher than the average analyst estimate compiled by Bloomberg. The projection for operating profit of 1 trillion yen was in line with expectations.

The company reported results after the close of trading in Tokyo, where Toyota shares have gained 23 percent this year, outperforming Nissan Motor Co., Honda Motor Co. and GM.

The maker of Corolla and Camry sedans said that deliveries — including those of its Daihatsu Motor Co. and Hino Motors Ltd. subsidiaries — will increase 18 percent to 8.7 million vehicles this fiscal year, led by North America, where sales will climb 26 percent to 2.35 million units. They’ll increase 6.2 percent in Japan, 34 percent in the rest of Asia and 10 percent in Europe Toyota said.

The recovery began last quarter, with net income more than quadrupling to 121 billion yen as Toyota cranked up production 36 percent and the Japanese market became profitable for the first time in more than two years. The yen, which appreciated and eroded the value of Japanese exports during 2010 and 2011, became this year’s worst performer by the end of March.

The rebound wasn’t enough to keep full-year income from tumbling 31 percent as the March 11 Japanese disaster and subsequent floods in Thailand crippled automotive output. Toyota wasn’t alone as Tokyo-based Honda last month reported annual profit fell 60 percent and Yokohama, Japan-based Nissan, which reports May 11, has said since February that net income would slide 7.9 percent in the year ended March 2012.

Toyota, saddled with the highest proportion of Japanese production among the nation’s three largest carmakers, is slower than Nissan and Honda in recovering. While Toyota is forecasting it’s operating profit margin to reach 4.5 percent this fiscal year, Honda expects to reach 6 percent and analysts estimate Nissan to hit 7.2 percent.

“We know Toyota is slow in taking action but it’s about time for them to answer how long they will stick to Japanese production at the expense of being profitable and globally competitive,” said Yuuki Sakurai, chief executive officer at Fukoku Capital Management Inc. in Tokyo. “It’s one lap behind other carmakers.”

Still, Toyota’s projections indicate it will earn more than GM, which last week reported net income fell 61 percent to $1.32 billion on losses and restructuring costs in Europe. Analysts estimate the Detroit-based company will earn $7.38 billion over the next four quarters, excluding preferred dividends, which last year totaled $1.61 billion.

After ceding its title as the world’s largest automaker to GM in 2011, not much is going wrong for Toyota in its two biggest markets this year.

Pent-up demand and government subsidies, which last until January, have helped Japan grow faster than any other major auto market this year. Passenger-vehicle sales in the country have jumped 57 percent during the first four months of 2012, led by Toyota’s Prius hybrids, according to the Japan Automobile Dealers Association. That benefited Toyota as it generated 60 percent of its revenue from Japan last fiscal year.

The reliance on its home market may decline as Toyota forecast its deliveries to North America will overtake those of Japan this fiscal year. Toyota’s sales in the U.S. have increased 12 percent this year — outpacing GM, Ford Motor Co., Nissan and Honda — on demand for the Camry sedan and the Prius hybrids, as buyers who put off purchases returned to dealerships to find more fuel-efficient models.

Total U.S. light-vehicle sales, which rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 14.4 million in April, have exceeded analysts’ estimates three out of four months this year.
In Europe and China, where auto sales fell during the first quarter, Toyota has been less vulnerable to slumping demand because it is less reliant on those markets than companies such as PSA Peugeot Citroen and GM. Toyota, which had a global market share of about 10 percent in 2011, accounted for 3.2 percent of Europe’s market and 4.3 percent in China, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Toyota made about half of its vehicles in Japan in the year ended March, making it more vulnerable to a stronger yen than its nearest rivals. Nissan Motor Co., Japan’s second-biggest carmaker, built a quarter of its vehicles in Japan and Honda Motor Co. about 30 percent.

Toyota is basing this year’s profit forecasts on an exchange rate of 80 yen to the dollar and 105 yen to the euro. The stronger yen cut operating profit by 250 billion yen in the year ended March 31, Toyota said today. The company plans to increase research and development spending 3.9 percent to 810 billion yen and capital expenditure 16 percent.

For Toyoda, the natural disasters followed the crisis he oversaw during 2009 and 2010, when defects related to unintended acceleration led to the recall of more than 10 million vehicles — more than Toyota has sold in its best year.

“We want this year to be a calm year,” Toyoda said today. “It’s only been five months, but we expect everyone’s efforts to shine this year.”

“Following on from the best first quarter in the company’s history, we have just reported our most successful April sales ever,” said Ian Robertson, head of sales and marketing for the BMW brand, in a statement.

“We are well on course to achieving a record year in 2012,” he added.

By comparison, sales growth at Daimler’s luxury car brand Mercedes-Benz dropped off its double-digit monthly pace, slowing in April to its lowest rate with just 3.6 percent more cars sold over the previous year’s month, according to Reuters.

Much of that was due to an 11 percent decline in volumes in China, which Mercedes blamed on limited product availability due to model changeovers.

Last week, BMW reported first-quarter profits that hit a new record high and surpassed even the most bullish analyst estimates thanks in large part to China, now it’s single biggest market. It also forecast April volumes would rise about 6 percent.

A rising class of affluent Chinese eagerly snap up luxury brands and have a particular affinity for German luxury cars, which amassed an 80 percent share of the premium market. Virtually every second 7 Series limousine, BMW’s top-of-the-line flagship, is sold in China.

This is the first group of dealers to be recognized under the new Dealer ECO (Environmentally Conscious Operations) Program launched last year by the Chrysler Group Network Development organization and the Corporate Sustainability Office. The new program provides Chrysler Group dealers with the opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to ECO business practices and to be recognized for their efforts, reported F&I and Showroom magazine.

Tim Parker Chrysler, located adjacent to the Hot Springs National Park in central Arkansas, installed a 2,000-square-foot solar panel system on the dealership’s roof, one of the largest, privately owned solar panel systems in the state. More than 100 solar panels enable the dealership to dramatically reduce its electricity usage and carbon dioxide emissions.

Eight of the 30 Chrysler Group dealers implemented one or more major ECO initiatives. For example, Hunter Dodge Chrysler Jeep in Lancaster, Calif., has solar panels on carports that produce energy while providing protective cover for customers’ vehicles in for service. Milosch’s Palace Chrysler Jeep Dodge in Lake Orion, Mich., heats the dealership and separate new body shop with used motor oil from customer oil changes, while Williams Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram in Stigler, Okla., collects and recycles rainwater.

“The Dealer ECO Program is a vital initiative that supports Chrysler Group’s commitment to creating a sustainable enterprise,” said Peter Grady, Vice President of Network Development & Fleet, Chrysler Group LLC. “We commend these dealerships for their efforts and look forward to sharing their examples with others in order to expand and strengthen our shared commitment to sustainability.”

The 30 Chrysler Group dealerships are located in 19 states, more than a third of them in California, New York and Michigan. To commemorate their achievements, Chrysler Group recently presented each dealership with a bamboo display plaque and dealership employees with flash drives encased in bamboo.

The 30 dealerships were chosen for recognition by Network Development and the Corporate Sustainability Office based on data gleaned from dealership online surveys and in-dealership photos. Seventy-five dealerships entered this inaugural Dealer ECO Program.

Selection was based on a dealership’s major ECO initiatives, energy efficiency, waste recycling, wastewater control, bulk oil containment, vehicle lift maintenance and community relations program.

The 30 dealerships and locations are:

Milosch’s Palace Chrysler Jeep Dodge, Lake Orion, Mich.

Sterling Heights Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram, Sterling Heights, Mich.

Harold Zeigler Chrysler Dodge Jeep, Grandville, Mich.

Golling Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram, Bloomfield Hills, Mich.

Wayland Chrysler, Wayland, Mich.

L. T. Begnal Motor Co., Kingston, N.Y.

Lessord Chrysler Products, Sodus, N.Y.

Rockland Chrysler Jeep Dodge, Nanuet, N.Y.

Glendora Chrysler Jeep Dodge, Glendora, Calif.

Swift Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram, Davis, Calif.

Hunter Dodge Chrysler Jeep, Lancaster, Calif.

Berthod Motors, Glenwood Springs, Colo.

Pro Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram, Denver, Colo.

Tacoma Dodge Chrysler Jeep, Tacoma, Wash.

Enumclaw Chrysler Jeep Dodge, Enumclaw, Wash.

Westport Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram, Lawrenceville, Ill.

Cavanaughs’ Motors, Monmouth, Ill.

Tom O’Brien Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram, Indianapolis, Ind.

Spitzer Motor City, Cleveland, Ohio

Fury Motors Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram, South St. Paul, Minn.

Jones Chrysler, Bel Air, Md.

Foster Motors, Middlebury, Vt.

Iowa County Chrysler, Barneveld, Wis.

Safford Chrysler Jeep Dodge of Fredericksburg, Fredericksburg, Va.

Deluxe Motors, Miles City, Mont.

Larry H. Miller Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram, Sandy, Utah

Dadeland Dodge Chrysler Jeep, Miami, Fla.

Tim Parker Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram, Hot Springs, Ark.

Mack Massey Chrysler Jeep Dodge, El Paso, Texas

Williams Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram, Stigler, Okla.

GM earned $1 billion in the first three months, down 69 percent from the $3.2 billion profit a year ago that benefited from one-time gains. Revenue climbed 4.3 percent to $37.76 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The profitability was certainly an improvement from the losses that plagued GM before its 2009 bankruptcy. But in many ways, GM is still feeling the effects of the financial crisis. Amid that turmoil, GM halted development of its next generation of big trucks and SUVs and put off efforts to streamline its global manufacturing operations.

“We’re still addressing the consequences of decisions made in and around that time,” finance chief Dan Ammann said in an interview.

Shares in GM, which is still more than a quarter owned by the U.S. Treasury, fell 2.4 percent.

GM on average made $1,962 on every vehicle it produced in North America during the first quarter. Ford made $3,150 a vehicle, 60 percent more than GM in the quarter.

Meantime, Ford is far ahead of GM in its global effort to reduce auto “platforms” used across the globe. Major auto makers are moving to build vehicles from the same basic parts and assembled in plants that use the same tooling—wringing savings from engineering budgets.

Big global auto platforms, those used to build a million or more vehicles a year, comprise about 54 percent of GM’s current volume, according to IHS Global Insight. At Ford, global platforms account for close to 70 percent of the company’s volume.

Against that backdrop, each of GM’s international units posted weaker profit than a year ago, with its European operation suffering a $256 million loss, compared with a $5 million profit a year ago, on a 15 percent decline in vehicles sold. GM also took a $590 million charge to goodwill for Europe.

GM’s core North American unit, though solidly profitable and improved from a year ago, fell short of forecasts and trailed Ford, which is benefiting from its new line of high-margin pickup trucks and more efficient global manufacturing operations.

Mr. Ammann said GM’s North American results won’t likely improve in the second and third quarters this year as the company transitions to a new line of light trucks, thus building fewer of the high-margin vehicles throughout most of the year.

GM’s North American operating profit rose 31 percent to $1.7 billion, with margins improving to 7 percent, from 5.6 percent a year ago. That is better than the 5 percent figure that U.S. auto makers once considered acceptable, but far from GM’s goal of 10 percent globally.

Ford’s operating profit rose 16 percent to $2.1 billion, giving it a profit margin of 11.5 percent for the region. However, Ford said it is unlikely to maintain that margin level for the rest of 2012.

Ford’s new line of F-series pickup trucks are driving up profits for the auto maker. In comparison, GM’s Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups are dated and redesigned models aren’t out until 2013.

GM aims to improve its margin this year with the launch of some important new vehicles, including luxury Cadillacs and its next-generation Chevrolet Malibu midsize sedan.

It has vowed to resist the urge to pile on discounts or unload vehicles into rental fleets to bolster volume at the expense of margins.

While U.S. sales rose 2.7 percent in the first quarter, its market share dropped nearly 2 percentage points to 17.2 percent as rivals notched bigger gains. Ford’s sales rose 8.5 percent in the quarter and Chrysler’s were up 35.9 percent.

Outside of North America, GM’s results fell from a year ago, hurt by economic turmoil in Europe and increasing competition in South America. Its unit including China reported operating profit of $529 million, down 9.7 percent.

Mr. Ammann said it was “too soon to tell” when losses in Europe will bottom out. The company is preparing a restructuring plan for the region and has its sights set on closing one or two factories amid overcapacity throughout the region, people familiar with the matter have said.

Investors, labor unions and regional governments are eagerly awaiting GM’s plan, which Mr. Ammann said could be rolled out gradually in the months ahead.

“Everybody is waiting for a big bang,” he said. “I am not sure there is going to be a big bang.”

Excluding charges of 33 cents a share for goodwill impairment on its international operations, GM’s earnings fell to 93 cents a share. Analysts had forecast earnings of 85 cents a share. A year ago, the company’s earnings were lifted by $1.5 billion in gains on sale of its holdings in former units Delphi Automotive LLP and Ally Financial. “We making solid progress, but it’s a long-term path that we are on to get to the [margin] levels we want to be at,” Mr. Ammann said.

Because the Treasury Department still owns a 26 percent stake in the company, G.M. remains saddled with pay restrictions that limit its ability to recruit new talent, a ban on corporate jets, and lingering image problems in the eyes of some consumers, reported The New York Times.

Company executives usually deflect questions about the effect of government ownership on their business, or their frustration with it. But in a rare interview on the topic, G.M.’s chief executive, Daniel F. Akerson, said he longs for the day that G.M. can finally say goodbye to its biggest shareholder.

“I try not to let it bother me,” Mr. Akerson said. “But the fact is it does bother me.”

The farewell celebration won’t be happening anytime soon. Based on G.M.’s current stock price of $22.37, taxpayers would lose an estimated $15 billion if the government’s shares were sold today. Unless the stock rose quite significantly, the chances are slim that the Obama administration would sell its 500 million shares before the November election and invite criticism from Republicans about the wisdom of the auto industry bailout.

Mr. Akerson said he has regular conversations with Treasury officials, but has never gotten guidance on when they intend to divest. “I don’t know what the government’s plan is,” he said. “I think it would be helpful if they would publicly state it.”

After pumping in nearly $50 billion to save G.M., American taxpayers owned about 60 percent of the company when it emerged from Chapter 11 in the summer of 2009. The government sold the bulk of its holdings at $33 a share in the company’s public stock offering a year later.

But the administration is not eager to sell the rest at a loss. “As with all of our investments, we try to balance the goals of maximizing taxpayer recoveries and exiting as soon as practicable,” said Timothy G. Massad, the assistant Treasury secretary overseeing the Troubled Asset Relief Program. “We don’t have a specific timetable, but we’ll continue to watch the market closely.”

Like partners in a three-legged foot race, both the company and the government are hobbled by their connection. Unless G.M. improves its performance and gets the stock price up, the government can’t sell without losing billions. At the same time, uncertainty about the government’s stake worries some investors and hurts consumer perceptions of G.M. cars.

In a survey last quarter of 30,000 Americans shopping for new vehicles, 32 percent of those who rejected a G.M. model said they would not consider buying from the carmaker because of the bailout.

While that is down from 59 percent in 2009, “G.M. still has quite a hangover,” said Art Spinella, president of the firm that conducted the survey, CNW Marketing Research of Bandon, Ore. “That’s a significant number of people who will buy something else because of the bailout.”

Chrysler, the other Detroit automaker to receive government aid, fared better in the most recent survey. The company paid off its federal loans last year, and just 22 percent of shoppers said they had avoided a Chrysler product because of the bailout.

Mr. Akerson said the negative feelings about G.M. were an unfortunate byproduct of the past struggles that led the company to seek government assistance.

“All we can do is put numbers on the board and hope people start to believe in our story,” he said.

Government ownership is also affecting G.M. internally. Mr. Akerson said the company has lost a half-dozen candidates for management jobs because of salary restrictions on companies getting TARP financing. G.M.’s search for a new head of human resources lasted months because several promising contenders balked at the uncertain time frame for the government’s exit.

The government’s ban on corporate aircraft is mostly a matter of inconvenience for Mr. Akerson and his senior staff members. He was stuck in a Paris airport for five hours last year after missing a connecting flight to China, and often spends an entire day traveling to remote factories for visits that last two or three hours.

“It is part of the deal,” Mr. Akerson said. “There’s no use complaining about it.”

He was more troubled by how G.M. had become, in his words, “a political football.” He still seethes about being called to testify before Congress in January about the safety of the Chevrolet Volt, which experienced battery fires after government crash tests. “I think the whole thing was politically driven,” he said.

Mr. Akerson also said he believed that politics were affecting the government’s decision to hang on to its G.M. stock. President Obama has been pointing to the turnaround at G.M. as a bright spot in the nation’s economy. But if Washington were to sell G.M. shares at a loss, the comeback story would be eclipsed by the cost to taxpayers for its rescue, he said.

“That’s why I don’t think they are going to sell in an election year,” Mr. Akerson said. “Right now, this is a positive for the current administration. If they sell it this year and don’t get all the money back, it’s not a positive.”

The presumed Republican presidential nominee, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, said in a Feb. 14 opinion article in The Detroit News that the Obama administration needed to “act now to divest itself of its ownership position in G.M.” But in the same article, he said the shares should be “sold in a responsible fashion,” without elaborating.

G.M. is not the only automaker with a lagging stock price. Shares in Ford, which weathered the recession without a bailout, have dropped almost as much as G.M.’s in the last year because of increased competition in the domestic auto market and economic troubles in Europe.

Still, if G.M. improved its sales and earnings, its share price might rise and hasten the government’s exit.

The company said Thursday that it earned $1 billion in the first quarter, a 69 percent decline from the year-ago period, when it benefited from one-time gains from asset sales.

Its earnings in North America improved 30 percent during the quarter, but continued struggles in Europe dragged down overall results. While the company is introducing 20 new models worldwide this year, industry analysts say G.M. has yet to match Ford’s pace in globalizing vehicle platforms to save money on product development, parts and manufacturing costs.

“It’s important for people to realize that they are not done transforming themselves,” said David Whiston, an analyst with the Morningstar investment firm. “It is going to take more time to right the ship.”

The skepticism is not lost on Mr. Akerson, a former executive with the Carlyle Group private equity firm who took over as G.M.’s chief in mid-2010.

“We have a good company,” he said. “It’s our job to make it great again. We know we have a lot of work to do.”

Losing the distinction of Government Motors could help it get there faster. “But we’re in a situation we can’t control,” Mr. Akerson said. “So we have to wait.”

TrueCar also estimated the average incentive for light vehicles was $2,446 last month, up $129 or 5.6 percent from April 2011 and down $120 or 4.7 percent from March 2012, reported The Wall Street Journal.

“Incentives continued to decline for most automakers with the exception of Honda and Toyota as both are vying for recapturing their lost market share from last year,” said Jesse Toprak, an analyst with TrueCar. “Ford is now spending less on incentives as a percentage of their average transaction price than Honda.”

The following charts show average prices and incentives for the top eight car makers.

In addition, TrueCar.com estimated that the average incentive for light-vehicles was $2,446 in April 2012, down $120 (4.7 percent) from March 2012 and up $129 (5.6 percent) from April 2011.

The promotion, which was developed in collaboration with The VIA Agency, Ad Age’s 2011 Small Agency of the Year, includes online, on-the-street and at-the-dealership components, and features a suite of prizes, including a technology makeover grand prize.

“We are holding this promotion to illustrate just how effective the LoJack Stolen Vehicle Recovery System is in helping police to find a stolen vehicle that is equipped with the system,” said Sarah Cook, Director of Marketing, LoJack Corporation. “It underscores our better than 90 percent success rate in finding stolen cars, trucks and SUVs that are armed with our system, which far exceeds the declining national recovery rate of 56 percent.

In addition to a fun, on-the-streets campaign in key cities, dealer promotions nationwide and an online component, the initiative will feature a suite of great prizes and has educational elements to help consumers understand how to protect their vehicles from theft.”

Here’s how the promotion works:

ONLINE: Visit www.BigLoJackArrow.com and follow the directions to submit the online registration. This element of the program runs from April 30 – June 30.

ON-THE-STREETS: Four LoJack “Arrow Cars” will be driving around the streets of four cities on select dates from April 30 – May 27 (see schedule below). Consumers should track down these highly visible vehicles, take a picture of the vehicle and upload it to the microsite www.BigLoJackArrow.com. Or, they can use their mobile device to text the picture and the keyword LOJACK to short code 60856 to submit an entry.

Arrow Cars will be in the following cities during May:

• Boston from 4/30 – 5/3
• Miami from 5/8 – 5/11
• San Diego from 5/16 – 5/19
• Las Vegas from 5/24 – 5/27

Consumers can visit www.BigLoJackArrow.com or follow LoJack on Twitter (www.twitter.com/LoJackCorp or #BIGREDARROW) or Facebook (www.facebook.com/LoJackCorp) to find the exact locations of the Arrow Cars in each of the four cities.

AT-THE-DEALERSHIPS: Consumers can also go to a participating LoJack auto dealership (listed onwww.BigLoJackArrow.com) and check out the promotional display. Take a picture of the promotional display and upload it to LoJack’s microsite, www.BigLoJackArrow.com. Or, use a mobile device to text the picture and the keyword LOJACK to short code 60856 to submit an entry. This component of the program runs from April 30 – June 30.

LoJack is awarding a suite of prizes as part of the promotion, including the following:

• Daily (62): Samsung WB150F 14 Megapixel SMART Camera
• Second Prizes (10): LoJack Total Extended Recovery Warranty Package, plus a 32GB Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0, plus a Samsung WB150F 14 Megapixel SMART Camera
• First Prizes (2): LoJack Total Extended Recovery Warranty Package, plus a Samsung 60” LED 6400 Series Smart TV, plus a Samsung 7.1 Channel Blu-Ray 3D Home Theater System
• Grand Prize (1): LoJack Total Extended Recovery Warranty Package, plus a Samsung 60” LED 6400 Series Smart TV, plus a Samsung 7.1 Channel Blu-Ray 3D Home Theater System, plus a 32 GB Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0, plus a Samsung WB150F 14 Megapixel SMART Camera

Earn Maximum Entries:
A consumer can earn 11 entries by taking a photo of one of the four specially-outfitted promotional LoJack “Arrow Cars,” or the promotional display in any participating LoJack dealership, and uploading the photo to www.BigLoJackArrow.com or texting it to the short code 60856.

Upon completing an online or text message entry, a consumer can earn up to 10 additional entries by sharing the promotion on Twitter and Facebook via www.BigLoJackArrow.com. And, a consumer can earn one (1) additional entry by completing an online entry or texting – without a photo – the keyword LOJACK to short code 60856. Total entries earned may not exceed 22 entries per person.

* See “The LoJack Arrow Campaign Sweepstakes” official rules at www.BigLoJackArrow.com