New CEO vows to restore Search Capital. (Search Capital Group Inc. CEO George Evans)

George Evans has been at the helm of such well-known consumer lenders as Irving-based Associates Corp. of North America and Kansas City, Mo.-based Century Acceptance Corp. Now he's trying to steer ailing Dallas-based auto financier Search Capital Group Inc. into the black and back on the Nasdaq.

Search Capital offers loans to used-car buyers with substandard credit, charging a higher interest rate than conventional lending sources would. But the company has run into trouble in the past year or so, losing $8.8 million on $35 million in contracts last year and being delisted recently from the Nasdaq stock trading system.

Evans, who took over as president and chief executive officer in January, feels his experience in the finance business can turn Search Capital around, bringing in profits and the cheerful support of shareholders.

"This will be a tremendous challenge, but a long-term challenge," Evans said in …