| | | WEEKLY REPORT | May 9, 2012 |
| | | | | | | At GM Financial, leasing is off to slow start
 GM dealers waiting for leasing to take off will need to wait a little longer. GM Financial has said growth in leasing is a priority and last week reiterated that goal. However, leasing got off to a slow start in the first quarter. Specifically, leasing was flat for GM Financial as a percent of its total loans and leases originated in the quarter. ...  story
| Q&A
Capital One hunts new-car loans via dealers
Nissan dealer Greg Brown's first loyalty is to Nissan Motor Acceptance Corp. But he says Capital One provides great support to his two greater Los Angeles dealerships. Brown is a dealer council member for Capital One Auto Finance, which is putting more emphasis on new-car loans while pursuing its historically larger business in used cars. ... story
| LoJack strives to win space on F&I menus
After years of competing with independent insurance agents for access to dealership F&I departments -- not always successfully -- LoJack has decided if you can't lick them, join them. ... story
| Ally Auto’s Garroni kicks off F&I Week session on dealers’ best F&I practices
 Ally Auto’s Gabe Garroni, who helps create income-developing services for new-car dealers, will lead a signature session as part of Automotive News F&I Week next month. ... story
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F&I BY THE NUMBERS
GM Financial, GM ties grow
General Motors and captive GM Financial are becoming more dependent on each other. GM Financial is based on the former AmeriCredit, which GM acquired in 2010. Since then the lender has branched out from its specialty in subprime, used-car loans. ($ millions) | | | | | | GM Financial
originations | Q1 2012 | Q1 2011 | Change | | Loans | $1,396 | $1,138 | 23% | | GM leases | $384 | $311 | 23% | | TOTAL | $1,780 | $1,449 | 23% | | | | | | GM-GM Financial ties | Q1 2012 | Q1 2011 | Change | GM new-vehicle loans,
% of total GMF loans | 29% | 22% | 33% | GM new-vehicle
loans and leases,
% of total GMF
loans and leases | 45% | 39% | 15% | | | | | | | Source: GM Financial |
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JAMIE LaREAU
The case for tire plans doesn’t add up
| |  | Jamie LaReau covers auto dealers for Automotive News | |
A small nail or screw seems so harmless until it’s wedged into your car’s tire.
That’s what happened to me last week. I managed to limp to a nearby tire shop and coughed up $130 for a new tire.
The experience upset me and disrupted my life, but it also gave me pause to consider whether I should have bought wheel-and-tire protection in 2008 when I bought the car.
Nah.
I’ve owned my car for four years and this is the first time I’ve had a tire problem.
Convenience and logistics often factor into our decisions. Wheel-and-tire plans do have advantages. Many policies offer roadside assistance. And they can be used at repair locations other than the selling dealership, dealers say.
But I already have roadside assistance with my insurer, and I took my car to a repair shop that was less than two miles from my doorstep. That proximity made it easy for family members to shuttle me while my car was being serviced.
Here’s the deal: Wheel-and-tire protection likely would have cost more than $600 in 2008 for a five-year policy. And it would have yielded a one-time savings of $133. That math doesn’t make sense.
The product probably has been invaluable to some folks, especially those who damage a high-performance tire and wheel rim. That repair could run into the thousands.
But some finance managers might find a challenge to their sales pitch: A customer who’s been through it and done the math.
JIM HENRY
Lenders wax warm on dealer relations
| |  | Jim Henry is a special correspondent for Automotive News | |
Lenders at a conference in Dallas this week paid so many tributes to their dealer relationships that the dealers, had they heard them, probably would have felt all warm and fuzzy.
“A key to our success is actually being in the store,” Brian Switalski, president of Southern Auto Finance Co. in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., said at the Auto Finance Risk Summit hosted by Royal Media Group.
He said his company recently split up some territories, such as Dallas and Fort Worth, in order to increase the number of representatives calling on dealerships in a territory.
Several lenders boasted that their up-close and personal relationships with dealers were what set them apart from other lenders.
But not all the dealer relationships cited by lenders appear to have been made in heaven. There were some references to fraud in which, believe it or not, a few dealers did not sound like angels. Wonder how the dealers would have felt had they heard.
F&I PRESS RELEASES
» GM Financial Reports March Quarter Operating Results
» Mercedes-Benz Financial Services USA LLC Announces Executive Management Changes
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F&I BY THE NUMBERS
Originations climb, pretax profit falls at Ford Credit
Ford Credit originated more loans and leases combined in the first quarter than a year earlier, but pretax profit was down. Fewer lease returns accounted for most of the drop in earnings, since lease returns were a bigger source of profit in the year-ago quarter. | | | | | | Ford Credit | Q1 2012 | Q1 2011 | U.S. originations
(loans and leases) | 236,000 | 199,000 | U.S. share
of Ford, Lincoln financing | 39% | 36% | | Lease returns | 19000 | 30000 | Pretax profit
(worldwide, $ millions) | $452 | $713 | | | | | | Source: Ford Motor Co. |
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