Auto Dealer Monthly Magazine is the daily operations publication serving the retail automotive industry. This automotive publication serves dealer principals, officers and general managers with the latest best practices.
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Computer Systems, Inc. NOVEMBER Facing financial disaster, Ford mortgages its assets—including the company's headquarters and factories, its iconic blue oval logo and the F-150 and Mustang trademarks—to se- cure a $23.5 billion loan. Exeter Finance Corp. a non-prime auto finance company specializing in purchasing and servicing of auto finance contracts from select franchised auto dealers throughout the United States was founded. 2007 MARCH Ford announces it will sell its Aston Martin luxury car brand to the founder of an auto racing company and other investors in a deal valued at $925 million. APRIL KAR Holdings Inc. acquires ADESA, a leading provider of vehicle remarketing services. DealerTrack Holdings, Inc. and Arkona, Inc. signed a definitive agreement for DealerTrack to acquire Arkona for $1.38 per share of common stock. The total purchase price of the transaction is approximately $58.9 million. JUNE The first signs of trouble in the Three makes of vehicles rolled off the assembly line for the final time between April 2004 and January 2011 – Mercury, Oldsmobile and Pontiac. SEPTEMBER Auto Dealer Monthly launches the 1st Special Finance Convention NOVEMBER Automotive live chat provider ActivEngage is founded, offering dealers a managed chat solution. subprime mortgage mar- ket are seen as two hedge funds at Bear Stearns Cos. Inc. begin to collapse. The hedge funds would file for Chapter 15 bankruptcy the following month. CRM provider Autobase Inc. is acquired by Domin- ion Enterprises. OCTOBER vAuto, announced the release of its new vAuto Pricing Tool, which allows used car dealerships for the first time to view up-to-the-minute retail pricing of every used vehicle in their market. DECEMBER The Great Recession officially begins, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research. 2008 FEBRUARY Autobase Inc., a division of Dominion Enterprises, releases its book, "Seven Months to CRM Greatness." MARCH Ford announces the sale of its Jaguar and Land Rover brands to India's Tata Group for $2.3 billion. On the verge of bankruptcy, Bear Stearns is sold to JPMorgan Chase & Co. for a shocking $2 per share, less than one-tenth of the troubled firm's market price. APRIL eBay Motors announced that its three millionth passenger vehicle has sold in the U.S.The milestone vehicle is a 2002 Ford F-250 pickup truck pur- chased by Patricia Weidler of Otego, N.Y., to help her husband, Dan, start his own construction business. MAY Toyota Motor Co. announces its one-millionth sale worldwide of the Prius, the first mass-pro- duced hybrid. 23