GM to list entire U.S. inventory on eBay Motors
Detroit, Michigan - GM Certified Used Vehicles has announced it has reached an agreement with eBay Motors to collaborate in a variety of areas to support its network of more than 3,900 dealers in the U.S. As a first step, GM Certified Used Vehicles has committed to listing its entire national inventory on eBay Motors, at no cost to dealers. The agreement will expose the inventory in a classified listings format to more than 11 million unique eBay Motors visitors each month. Together, the two companies will develop marketing and other offerings design to drive leads and sales to dealers. There are also future plans to allow dealers to opt in with additional packages and features, such as eBay Motors Local Market, during the second quarter of this year. "The eBay Motors agreement means that GM Certified dealers will have millions more eyeballs looking at their inventory, and more traffic drives sales," said Mark Mathews, director, GM Used Vehicle Activities. "Teaming with eBay Motors provides shoppers with convenient access to all GM Certified inventory and continues GM Certified's commitment to interactive marketing. We now offer our dealers the most comprehensive program in the industry, listing their inventory on more than 300 Web sites."

Dealership Lawsuit Pits Father Against Daughter

In a case of Succession Planning gone bad, testimony in the case provides a rare glimpse into a dealership's financial arrangements. A trial underway in Michigan pits the former owner of a leading car dealership against his daughter and her husband, accusing them of reneging on promises to take care of her parents in retirement and driving the business into bankruptcy, according to a report in the Macomb (MI) Daily. Richard Duncan, who founded Jerome Duncan Ford in 1956, is suing Gail Duncan and her husband, alleging that after he left the business, they began taking actions in 1999 that led to the dealership's downfall and the loss of millions of dollars of retirement income from Mr. Duncan and his wife. Jerome Duncan Ford declared bankruptcy in 2005. At one time the store was a perennial top five Ford dealership nationally. Mr. Duncan's attorney, said in opening arguments that Gail Duncan and her husband ran the dealership into bankruptcy, eliminating Richard Duncan's $240,000 annual salary as a semi-retired consultant and hundreds of thousands of dollars in annual commissions from credit life insurance policies sold to car buyers. Gail Duncan's attorney said, "The company went into bankruptcy because Ford Motor Credit stopped financing the dealership." The lawsuit accuses Gail Duncan of violating a 1993 agreement in which she gained majority control of the dealership at a reduced cost in exchange for her promise to take care of her parents, Richard and Barbara Duncan, until they died. Barbara Duncan was to collect commissions from the insurance sales, and regularly received them until 2000, less than a year after Gail Duncan offered her a lump-sum buyout of $440,000. The commissions had started to increase dramatically in 1999, when they rose to $685,000 from $40,000 in 1998 and $99,000 in 1997. Barbara Duncan asserts that she would have received at least $2 million had the commission payments continued as agreed. Richard Duncan stopped received the $20,000 per month consulting salary about the time Jerome Duncan filed for bankruptcy in June 2005 so has lost about $640,000 since then, he claims. Under Gail Duncan's management Jerome Duncan in the early 2000s began pursuing other businesses, purchasing three car dealerships. They invested in other ventures, such as a hotel and apartment complex in Laguna Beach, Calif., and bagel shop. In early 2005, Ford Motor Credit discovered that Jerome Duncan Ford was out of trust by $5.4 million for vehicles that had been sold but not paid for. Jerome Duncan soon went into bankruptcy. Richard Duncan said in October 2002 he offered to buy 51 percent of the dealership's stock and its land for $11.5 million from Gail Duncan but didn't get a response.

Honda sells three-millionth vehicle in Canada

Toronto, Ontario - Honda Canada Inc. has celebrated the retail sale of its three millionth passenger vehicle in Canada. This year also marks the 35th anniversary of cars and trucks sold in Canada by Honda and Acura. "This is a significant milestone for Honda in Canada," said Jim Miller, executive vice-president of Honda Canada Inc. "We began selling cars in 1973 with a handful of dealers, selling only 747 Honda Civics that first year. Today we sell in excess of 170,000 cars and trucks per year through our 215 Honda and 48 Acura dealerships across Canada." Honda also achieved another milestone recently when, at the end of the 2007 calendar year, the Honda Civic earned the title of Canada's best-selling car for a tenth consecutive year.