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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halts sales of eight models while it works to resolve the issue. After nearly shuttering the brand in 2009, GM reaches a deal to sell Saab to Dutch automaker Spyker Cars. MAY GMAC Financial Services posts its first quarterly profit since 2008 and announces a rebrand of its corporate entity GMAC Inc. as Ally Financial Inc. AUGUST Ford confirms it has completed the sale of Volvo to Chinese automaker Geely for $1.5 billion. GM CEO Ed Whitacre Jr. announces he is stepping down. He will be replaced as CEO by Daniel Aker- son, a former CEO of Nex- tel and a GM board member for just more than a year. That same day, GM announces its biggest profit in six years, $1.3 billion. OCTOBER GM closes on the acquisi- tion of AmeriCredit Corp. for $3.5 billion. Ameri- Credit will be renamed General Motors Financial Co. Inc. The 2011 Chevrolet Volt rolls off the production line. Debate ensues as to whether the vehicle is a true electric vehicle after GM discloses that a gasoline engine engages to deliver extra power during moments of peak acceleration. NOVEMBER The last Pontiac manufac- tured rolls off the assem- bly line in Orion, Mich. DECEMBER The first Nissan Leaf, an all-electric, plug-in hatchback, is delivered to a California man who was the first U.S. resident to reserve one of the vehicles. a division of Dominion Enter- prises, announces it has dis- tributed five million online auto finance loan applications to its Carloan.com dealer network. MARCH An 8.9-magnitude earthquake strikes Japan, the largest ever recorded in the country's history, and sets off an equally- devastating tsunami. Asian automakers such as Toyota, Honda, Nissan and Subaru will feel the most direct effect of the disaster in the form of pro- duction stoppage or slowdown and subsequent inventory shortages. Repercussions will also be felt by many domestic automakers for months to come due to a loss of compo- nents provided by Japanese auto parts providers. South Korea's Kia Motors tops 10 million global vehicle exports. 2011 JANUARY Ford's last Mercury—a Grand Marquis—rolls off the production line in St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada. Dealer Specialties intro- duces quick response (QR) codes to promote auto inventory. Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare are just a few examples of social media sites that have changed launched since January 2004 and have changed the way auto dealers interact with customers. 26 FEBRUARY GM posts its largest profit in its 103-year history. Interactive Financial Marketing Group (IFMG), JUNE Used car prices hit a 16-year high. APRIL Ford outsells GM for only the second time since 1998. FEBRUARY Chrysler Group LLC sees a 10 percent increase in sales over May of 2010, its best May results since 2008, and over- takes Toyota for third place in the U.S. market. This is also the first time in five years that Chrysler has outsold Toyota.