Rafih Auto Group, has purchased Alberta-based Go Auto’s Mississauga FCA dealership.

The tech gadget, which was first introduced in the United States in 2018, has the same capabilities as the Echo, providing information by commanding the computer-generated voice Alexa.

Go Auto owner Jared Priestner says the dealer group "just swung and missed" on both FCA locations in the GTA, but it will still own and operate two Ford dealerships with an eye on Ontario expansion.

Honda’s online approach will become more common among manufacturers, but will not replace buying cars at dealerships, the company says.

After two years of golfing and "walkingthe dog every two hours," David McQuilkin is back in the car business because, well, he missed it.

"You could offer personal protective equipment and everything else, but we don’t have PPE. All we have is cars,” says Tony Del Gobbo, who is a dealer principal or co-owner of six stores in the province and loaning the vehicles free of charge.

Canadian auto dealers say they are employing protocols to ensure the safety of their customers and employees against the coronavirus, while also looking at alternative means to do business.

The coronavirus pandemic is expected to have a negative impact on new-vehicle sales in Canada, with the luxury segment taking the biggest hit in the short term, says industry forecaster Dennis DesRosiers. He said a critical element of a luxury purchase is "the wealth effect,” and after the stock market crash, many people won't feel too wealthy in the coming months.

After the company fell from fifth to 21st spot in a dealer satisfaction survey between 2016 and 2018, Volvo Canada Managing Director Matt Girgis took a logical but rare approach for a solution. One dealer calls the automaker’s outreach and  two-way dialogue on goals and expectations "uplifting.”

Citing the most recent data, the  Canadian Automobile Dealers’ Association estimated that in 2018, men made up  78 per cent of the dealer workforce, while only about five per cent of dealer principals were women. "We need to get fresh new faces," says 2020 CIAS President Susan Gubasta.

Nav Bhatia, Hyundai Canada's top dealer, has become popular in the basketball world as the Toronto Raptors’ Superfan. The native of New Delhi, India, is being honoured by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in a new wing devoted to National Basketball Association super fans.

The Jaguar I-Pace, a finalist for utility vehicle of the year, has a chance to record an unprecedented back-to-back victory.

The provincial government is committing $550,000 to Sheridan College’s Brampton Campus pre-apprenticeship programs. Earlier this week, the province unveiled a plan to create 4,000 paid job placements by pumping $14 million in the automotive and advance manufacturing sector.

As Volvo readies its plan to introduce a new electric vehicle each year through 2025, company executives say they’re confident Canadians — especially in major cities — will embrace EVs, saying "there are pockets around Canada that are extremely hot."

Autonomous Transportation Canada, which gets some funding from Transport Canada, focuses on issues such as the socio-economic impacts on emerging autonomous transportation, mobility, data and a vision of autonomous transportation.