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The New York Police Department said thieves made off with over two dozen vehicles from a luxury car dealership in Queens in the middle of the night on Sunday.

Thieves cut the power to the Carsiri car dealership on Queens Boulevard sometime Sunday night, knocking out the surveillance videos before breaking the locks on the security gate, entering the office and taking the keys to the cars, WNYW-TV reported.

In total, the thieves drove off with 26 cars worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, police say.

With inflation cutting into the budgets of Americans, a growing percentage of people with auto loans are struggling to make their monthly payments.

TransUnion, which tracks more than 81 million auto loans in the U.S., said Tuesday the percentage of loans that are at least 60 days delinquent hit 1.65% in the third quarter, the highest rate for 60-day delinquencies in more than a decade

“Consumers still want to stay current as best that they can. It’s just this inflationary environment is making it challenging,” Satyan Merchant, senior vice president of TransUnion, told CNBC. “It leaves fewer dollars in their pocket to make the auto loan payment, because they’ve got to pay more for eggs and milk and other things.”

Wholesale used-vehicle prices (on a mix, mileage, and seasonally adjusted basis) decreased 2.2% in October from September. The Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index declined to 200.0 and is now down 10.6% from a year ago. The non-adjusted price change in October was a decline of 2.1% compared to September, moving the unadjusted average price down 9.3% year over year.

In October, Manheim Market Report (MMR) values saw smaller-than-normal declines that were relatively stable over the month, culminating in a 2.2% total decline in the Three-Year-Old Index over the last four weeks. Over the month of October, daily MMR Retention, which is the average difference in price relative to current MMR, averaged 98.2%

As new-car sales dropped during the last year due to supply-chain disruptions, so did vehicle trade-ins, leaving dealers to face an unprecedented shortage of used-car inventory. But dealers have been extremely resilient in the face of yet another round of adversity. Here Dennis McGinn, the chief executive officer of Rapid Recon, and Cam Hitchcock, the chief executive officer of America’s Group (which owns America’s Auto Auction), explain how dealers keep putting car buyers behind the wheel of used vehicles by adopting new strategies and technologies.

Federal, state, and local law enforcement partners from across the United States executed a nationwide, coordinated takedown today of leaders and associates of a national network of thieves, dealers, and processors for their roles in conspiracies involving stolen catalytic converters sold to a metal refinery for tens of millions of dollars.

Arrests, searches, and seizures took place in California, Oklahoma, Wyoming, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Nevada, North Carolina, and Virginia. In total, 21 individuals in five states have been arrested and/or charged for their roles in the conspiracy.

As expected, the Fed raised the target for the Federal Funds Rate by three-quarters of a percentage point today, which was the fourth straight jumbo increase this year. The biggest news from the Fed’s move was the indication that future increases may be smaller and slower to come.

The Fed has now moved the target rate by 375 basis points (BPs), the most in any year since 1981. By December, the rate moves this year are expected to surpass 1981 and will only be bested by 1980.

The natural level for the short-term rate is widely thought to be 2.5%. With the Fed Funds Rate now at 3.75% – 4.00%, the Fed has tightened the choke on the American economy to the point that the engine is likely to stall out.

The Federal Reserve Bank's recent rate increases to curb inflation have quickly cascaded to the retail US auto industry. In fact, as shown below, average loan rates began climbing before the prime rate moved up. Back in January, the average loan rate increased .2 PP month-over-month to 4.3%, and it has been rising ever since, reaching 5.6% in July. Also, the concurrent increases in the prime rate and the average auto loan rate should not be surprising: the correlation coefficient between the two metrics is a very strong .95.
However, these rate increases have varied depending on the buyer's credit standing. While the most credit-worthy customers (781 - 850) have seen rates more than double from May 2020 to 4.4% this past August, households with the lowest credit scores (300-600) have actually seen a .1 PP rate decline to 10.6%. This lower tier of customers, though, still are paying a rate more than double that of the top tier.

DETROIT — All summer long, Aleen Hudson kept looking for a new minivan or SUV for her growing passenger shuttle service.

She had a good credit rating and enough cash for a down payment. Yet dealerships in the Detroit area didn't have any suitable vehicles. Or they'd demand she pay $3,000 to $6,000 above the sticker price. Months of frustration left her despondent.

“I was depressed,” Hudson said. "I was angry, too.”

A breakthrough arrived in late September, when a dealer called about a 2022 Chrysler Pacifica. At $41,000, it was hardly a bargain. And it wasn’t quite what Hudson wanted. Yet the dealer was asking only slightly above sticker price, and Hudson felt in no position to walk away. She's back in business with her own van.

Ignite Consulting Partners continued its Tip of the Week series by again focusing on the enhanced Safeguards Rule set to be implemented by the Federal Trade Commission.

Ignite said that independent and buy-here, pay-here dealerships should have completed or at least are in the process of compiling their risk assessments and formulated a report mandated by the FTC.

The firm said that these reports should contain details based on your investigation about events where the FTC says pose a foreseeable risk “to the security, confidentiality, and integrity of customer information.”

After back-to-back monthly gains, US consumer confidence declined in October by more than expected as uncertainty around the Federal Reserve's interest rate hikes and persistent, high inflation continue to drag on Americans, according to the latest report from the Conference Board.

The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index slumped from 107.8 to 102.5 from the previous month. Bloomberg economists had forecasted a smaller dip to 105.9.

The largest U.S. banks are warning of trouble ahead in auto loans as dropping prices for used vehicles risk leaving borrowers underwater.

Wells Fargo & Co. said that higher loss rates for loans it originated late last year contributed to an increase in write-offs for the period. Ally Financial Inc., the country’s second-largest auto lender, saw charge-offs for retail auto loans quadruple in the third quarter. And Fifth Third Bancorp said it’s pulling back on originations.

The Federal Trade Commission announced today that it is exploring a rule to crack down on junk fees proliferating throughout the economy. Junk fees are unnecessary, unavoidable, or surprise charges that inflate costs while adding little to no value. Consumers can get hit with junk fees at any stage of the purchase or payment process. Companies often harvest junk fees by imposing them on captive consumers or by deploying digital dark patterns and other tricks to hide or mask them. The agency is seeking public comment on the harms caused by junk fees and the unfair or deceptive tactics companies use to impose them.

Many people might feel disgusted when they spot the price of a box of butter, a bag of salad or, frankly, just about anything else at the supermarket. But generally, many can keep spending, especially if they've gotten a raise at work or they're fortunate enough to have some cash sitting on the sidelines.

Yet make no mistake, plenty of people are on edge as they see inflation soar, jobs get cut at some major companies and some homes for sale sit a bit longer on the market than they did just months ago.

The nationwide average price of a gallon of gas has fallen 8 cents in the past week, now sitting at $3.84, according to AAA. The Biden administration has announced plans to release millions of additional barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve this winter, anyway.

Georgians are paying the lowest prices in the nation today, at $3.24 per gallon. California residents see the highest pump prices — $5.88.

Prices briefly flirted with $4 per gallon early this month as the nation’s supply took several hits. A refinery fire in Ohio and seasonal maintenance at some processing centers combined to lower the nationwide stock of gasoline. Then the OPEC+ consortium of oil-exporting countries voted to slow oil production.

The Federal Trade Commission acted against auto dealer Passport Automotive Group for deceiving consumers by tacking hundreds to thousands of dollars in illegal junk fees onto car prices and for discriminating against black and Latino consumers with higher financing costs and fees. Passport, its president, Everett Hellmuth, and its vice president, Jay Klein, will pay more than $3.3 million to settle the FTC’s lawsuit, which will be used to refund consumers harmed by Passport’s conduct.

The Federal Trade Commission at its meeting Thursday voted to publish an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) on “junk fees.”

FTC Chair Lina Khan and Commissioners Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Slaughter voted in favor of publishing the ANPR, and Commissioner Christine Wilson voted against it. GOP Commissioner Noah Phillips stepped down from the FTC this month, according to a news release.

The item considered at the FTC’s open meeting states it will “initiate a rulemaking proceeding addressing junk fees that are charged for goods or services that have little or no added value to the consumer. The ANPR seeks comment on the prevalence of junk fees and the consumer harms arising from junk fee practices, among other questions.”

TAYLORSVILLE — A man who police believe has helped orchestrate catalytic converter thefts across Salt Lake County has been arrested and charged by the Utah Attorney General's Office.

Omar Ernesto Martinez-Gomez, 47, of Salt Lake City, was charged Wednesday in 3rd District Court with money laundering, engaging in a pattern of unlawful activity, and possession of stolen property, all second-degree felonies.

The investigation dates back to at least July 2021 when Taylorsville police arrested a man in possession of a stolen vehicle and two stolen catalytic converters, according to charging documents. The man told investigators he would steal the converters and sell them to a man named "Omar," the charges state.

“Where do we even begin?” It’s a question being asked at car dealerships across the country as they race to comply with updates to the FTC Safeguards Rule released late last year. With the deadline less than two months away, automotive dealers are in a sprint to understand the specific steps they need to take to get into compliance.

Mike Pedrick, VP of Cybersecurity Consulting at Nuspire, and Tony Haux, CISO and Chief Compliance Officer at Accelerate2Compliance, recently hosted a webinar to help auto dealers navigate the complexities of the Rule. Read on to hear their tips.

The Federal Trade Commission is taking action against auto dealer Passport Automotive Group for deceiving consumers by tacking hundreds to thousands of dollars in illegal junk fees onto car prices and for discriminating against Black and Latino consumers with higher financing costs and fees. Passport, its president, Everett Hellmuth, and its vice president, Jay Klein, will pay more than $3.3 million to settle the FTC’s lawsuit, which will be used to refund consumers harmed by Passport’s conduct.

As many dealers are aware, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently issued new requirements to its Safeguards Rule that take effect Dec. 9. The rule requires auto dealerships with more than 5,000 customer records in their database to develop, implement and maintain an information security program to protect customer information.

To help with compliance, many dealers have hired third-party service providers such as a DMS vendor, law firm or information technology (IT) firm to write, implement and supervise the required information security program.