Kelley Blue Book’s Erin Keating sees rising ATPs as “more like normalization than a new pricing problem” as MSRPs — and incentive spending — ticked upward in February. +

Back at the helm of TrueCar after a 10-year absence, Scott Painter says he is leading the company in a new direction and challenges dealers to consider the car buying process from Captain Kirk’s perspective. +

Analysts say fewer than half of U.S. dealers are optimistic about the auto retail market in Cox Automotive’s latest Dealer Sentiment Index report, but expectations for the spring are notably higher. +

Volvo dealers sold 41.7% fewer new units on a year-over-year basis last month, contributing to a nearly 4% overall decline offset by increased sales for Hyundai, Toyota and Honda. +

Fullpath reports total traffic to dealer websites from AI platforms increased by more than 15 times on a year-over-year basis in January, reflecting a rare combination of trends. +

Reynolds and Reynolds has partnered with Intermedia to add real-time phone call activity to its proprietary unified data layer, enhancing a number of AI-powered tools. +

CarEdge’s newly launched Car Dealer Transparency Index was designed to use verified out-the-door quotes to rate dealerships based on the accuracy of advertised prices with no “pay to play” option. +

Ava AI by Get My Auto promises improved efficiency and customer satisfaction by leveraging AI to move all the functions of a traditional DMS and CRM onto one interface. +

Kelley Blue Book analysts say incentives fell and average prices set records in January, but affordable options abound in the high-volume compact SUV segment. +

Alliance Creative Group has added a new, automated marketing and customer engagement solution that uses AI characters to assist dealership website visitors. +