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Episode #1289: GM revives the Bolt—but only briefly—as EV strategy shifts again. Scout Motors confirms its rugged Terra and Traveler won’t reach customers until 2028. A new study finds heavy AI tool use may cause “AI brain fry.”

Show Notes with links:

• GM is bringing back the Chevy Bolt—but not for long. The affordable EV is returning to production in Kansas, yet the company already plans to phase it out quickly as market realities, policy shifts, and demand changes reshape the EV strategy.
  • The Bolt is planned as a “limited run.” Analysts expect production could end as early as next year as GM shifts the Kansas plant to build the gasoline-powered Chevrolet Equinox starting in 2027.
  • The Bolt historically brought a huge number of conquest buyers—about 75% of owners were new to GM, and roughly 72% stayed within the brand when buying their next vehicle.
  • Chevy still sees EVs as a key growth channel even as incentives disappear and demand cools. As Chevy VP Scott Bell told dealers: “You worked so hard to freakin’ be No. 2. Why would you let it go?”

• Scout Motors fans hoping to get behind the wheel soon will need a little more patience. The revived off-road brand says its Terra pickup and Traveler SUV are still on track—but real customer deliveries likely won’t start until 2028.
  • Scout CEO Scott Keogh confirmed that while vehicles should begin rolling off the production line in 2027, customer deliveries are expected sometime in 2028.
  • The company plans multiple prototype phases starting in 2026, building successive generations of test vehicles through 2027 to refine the platform, software, and production process.
  • A February report from German outlet Der Spiegel had already flagged technical challenges causing delays, though Keogh pushed back on the framing: "There's no defining 'Oh my God' technical challenge that can't be solved. There are hurdles every minute of every day… Automotive startup business is what I see.”

• As AI tools flood the workplace, researchers are spotting a new side effect: “AI brain fry.” A Harvard Business Review study found that while AI boosts productivity, juggling too many tools at once can lead to mental fog, slower decisions, and cognitive overload for some workers.
  • A study of 1,488 full-time U.S. workers found about 14% report symptoms of “AI brain fry,” including mental fog, headaches, and slower decision-making after heavy AI use.
  • Productivity rises when workers use one or two AI tools, but gains flatten or decline when juggling three or more, as constant switching and verification increase cognitive load.
  • The effect is most common in marketing (25.9%), HR (19.3%), operations (17.9%), and software engineering (17.8%), industries adopting AI tools fastest.
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Episode #1288: Buy-sell activity ramps up as more dealerships and franchises change hands in Q4. Meanwhile, Volkswagen dealers launch a 600-store class action over Scout’s direct-sales plan, and Ford patents a smart door system designed to prevent dents, injuries, and awkward parking lot moments.

The dealership buy-sell market closed 2025 strong. Transaction count only ticked up slightly to 112, but the stores and franchises behind those deals hit multi-year highs — a delayed release from a slower first half shaped by tariff uncertainty and longer deal timelines.

• Dealerships trading hands jumped 19% to 163, while franchises involved surged 35% to 261 year-over-year.
• Stellantis led all brands with 25 CDJR stores changing hands — more than double Q4 2024
• Chevrolet came in second with 24 stores sold, driven by what Kerrigan Advisors calls "tremendous demand" tied to GM's domestic manufacturing position and relatively clean EV write-downs

A group of VW dealers has filed a class-action lawsuit representing roughly 600 U.S. dealers, challenging Scout Motor’s plan to sell vehicles directly to consumers.

• Dealer Fred Ippolito, didn’t hold back, saying: “Volkswagen built their success on the backs of the dealer network, and now they’re putting knives in the backs of the same dealers that helped them grow in this country.”
• Scout CEO Scott Keogh says the direct model is simply more efficient for modern automotive retail: “You can be dramatically more efficient with every single car that you make and exactly where that car goes.”
• VP of Commercial Operations Cody Thacker said the company repeatedly hears customers asking for direct sales, noting: “We have heard over and over again, ‘Please give me an alternative.’ You see that there is very little trust in auto dealers today.”

Ford may be trying to save your car door—and your neighbor’s paint job. A newly surfaced patent reveals a smart door system designed to slow or stop a door before it hits nearby objects, combining sensors, software, and a mechanical brake.

• Ford’s patented system uses accelerometers and obstacle sensors to detect how quickly a door is opening and whether something is in its path.
• If a collision is likely, a small mechanical brake with springs and pads engages to slow or stop the door—preventing dents, dings or worse.
• The design intentionally includes mechanical components to avoid the reliability issues sometimes seen with fully electronic systems.
• Door safety is getting more attention across the industry. Kia recalled 51,000 Carnival minivans after sliding doors continued closing on obstacles, causing several injuries.

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Today, Chris joins Paul and Kyle to share how DARCARS Automotive Group donated $230,000 to Montgomery County Public Schools to eliminate two years of outstanding student meal debt for hundreds of families — one of the largest single acts of dealer philanthropy in the region this school year.

• The donation was made through the MCPS Educational Foundation's Dine with Dignity Program, wiping out meal debt for families qualifying for the Free and Reduced-price Meals program.
• Since 2023, total student meal debt in the district has grown to more than $1.36 million — making the contribution a meaningful dent in a persistent problem.
• MCPS Superintendent Dr. Thomas Taylor called it more than a cleared balance: "It removes a barrier to student success."
• Owner Jamie Darvish framed it simply: "No student should have to worry about affording a meal while at school."

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Episode #1286: Scout Motors discovers that American truck buyers want a generator backup with their electrons, Flexcar bets big on Atlanta's appetite for flexible wheels, and UPS makes the largest buyout offer in company history as it braces for life after Amazon.

• Scout Motors set out to be a pure EV brand, but the market had other plans. Of 160,000 reservations for the Terra pickup and Traveler SUV, 87% of buyers chose the EREV version — blowing past CEO Scott Keogh's expected 60/40 split.
  • The EREV pairs a ~63 kWh battery with a four-cylinder generator for roughly 500 miles of total range, compared to about 350 for the BEV — and Scout will launch the EREV version first given the demand, with pricing starting below $60,000.
  • Scout isn't alone in this pivot: Ford, Ram, and Jeep all have EREVs arriving this year, making range-extenders the de facto off-road electrification strategy in the U.S.
  • The brand's direct-to-consumer model is drawing legal fire from VW's existing dealer network

• Flexcar, the subscription-based leasing company, is expanding its footprint in Atlanta.
  • The company’s model offers drivers a middle ground between leasing, renting and owning. The model lets customers pay one monthly fee covering insurance, maintenance, roadside assistance and registration—often with no long-term contract and the option to swap vehicles as needs change
  • They are now expanding its Atlanta footprint with two new locations in Marietta and Morrow, adding more than 25,000 square feet of retail and lot space.
  • The company says Atlanta members have already logged over 150 million miles in Flexcar vehicles, making it one of the platform’s fastest-growing markets.
  • Flexcar offers 200+ vehicle options locally, including popular models like the Jeep Grand Cherokee, Nissan Altima and Volvo XC60.

• UPS just made the largest buyout offer in company history — sending voluntary severance packages worth $150,000 to more than 100,000 van drivers. It's the latest move in a major restructuring plan centered around one uncomfortable truth: Amazon, UPS's biggest customer, is becoming its biggest competitor.
  • UPS announced plans to cut Amazon's package volume by 50% over 18 months, citing Amazon as "not our most profitable customer." Its margin, per CEO Carol Tomé, is "very dilutive to the US domestic business."
  • As one supply chain professor put it: "Just because they lose Amazon doesn't mean there's nobody else out there. There's stuff to move, and there's warehouses that need to be filled."

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Episode #1285: Today we unpack record negative equity making deals harder to pencil, service and parts lanes regaining momentum as dealers look for profit stability, and a surprising $56B productivity hit caused by generational friction and AI adoption inside modern sales teams.

A growing number of buyers are rolling serious negative equity into their next vehicle purchase, creating real challenges for dealers trying to structure deals as lingering pandemic-era pricing continues to ripple through the market.

• Edmunds reports the average negative equity on trade-ins reached a record $7,214 in Q4, more than $1,000 higher than pre-pandemic 2019 levels.
• 29% of new-vehicle buyers with a trade-in are underwater, up four percentage points from a year ago.
• Nearly 27% of underwater buyers carried at least $10,000 in negative equity, making deal structuring increasingly difficult for dealerships.
• Brian Maas of the California New Car Dealers Association summed it up: “At some point… even the most creative dealer can’t figure out a way to help their customer get into a new car.”
• Our very own Chris Reeves did a deep dive in this morning’s ASOTU daily email on how dealers can talk to customers about negative equity and real ownership cost.

After a surprising dip late last year, dealer sentiment around service lanes bounced back in Q1 according to Cox Automotive, even as new-vehicle sales expectations remain flat.

• The Cox Automotive Dealer Sentiment Index for fixed operations rose to 63 in Q1, up from 61 in Q4.
• While improved, the score still trails mid-2025 levels of 65 and 66, showing the service business hasn’t fully returned to peak optimism.
• Dealer expectations for future fixed ops opportunities jumped to 69, up five points from last quarter’s low.
• With Cox forecasting flat new-vehicle sales around 16 million in 2026, service lanes may become even more critical for dealer profitability.

A new report says generational tension inside sales teams isn’t just awkward—it’s expensive. A report from SalesLoft and Clari estimates generational conflict between Boomers, Gen X, and Gen Z is costing companies about $56 billion a year in lost productivity as AI adoption reshapes how teams work.

• Nearly 39% of Gen Z sales reps say they’d rather be managed by AI than a human, while some Boomers say they’d prefer AI over working with Gen Z colleagues.
• The tension is pushing talent out: 28% of Gen Z reps are job hunting to avoid Boomers, while 19% of Boomers are considering early retirement due to frustrations with Gen Z.

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Episode #1284: Today we’re looking at Carvana quietly buying franchised dealerships, GM reshaping used-car sales around CarBravo, and Google’s newest AI image model.

Carvana is continuing its quiet march into the franchised dealer world. The online used-car giant just bought another Stellantis dealership near Boston—its sixth in about a year—raising eyebrows across the industry and hinting at a bigger strategy to capture inventory, service revenue, and customer proximity.

• The company has rapidly built a cluster of CDJR stores across the country including locations in California, Arizona, Georgia, and Texas, spending about $160 million on five of them.
• Stellantis recently added a rule limiting buyers to one CDJR dealership per year, a move some believe may be aimed at slowing consolidation from players like Carvana.
• Analysts say the strategy likely centers on access to trade-ins, parts, service revenue, and more used-car inventory to feed Carvana’s core online business.
• CEO Ernie Garcia hinted at bigger ambitions saying: “The opportunities around us feel really, really, really big.”

In a bid to compete with online disruptors like Carvana, GM is restructuring how its dealers sell pre-owned vehicles. The shift centers on pushing dealers toward GM’s CarBravo platform and dramatically expanding what qualifies for a factory-backed warranty.

• GM is dissolving its long-running certified pre-owned program structure for Chevrolet, Buick, and GMC dealers, asking them to move used vehicle sales under its CarBravo national online marketplace starting in June.
• Dealers must use CarBravo if they want to sell used GM vehicles with factory-backed warranties, while Cadillac will keep its traditional certified pre-owned program.
• The program expands eligibility dramatically—even non-GM vehicles and cars up to 15 years old could qualify for warranties, far beyond today’s typical five-year CPO limit.
• GM says the goal is to increase used-car inventory flowing through dealerships and capture demand in a market where 40M used cars sell annually vs. ~16M new vehicles.
• Mohawk Chevrolet president Andy Guelcher says the platform expanded reach: “I'm talking to people that I've never spoken to before.”

Google just rolled out Gemini 3.1 Flash Image—aka Nano Banana 2—combining faster generation with the consistency needed for real production use.

• Google’s Gemini 3.1 Flash Image merges the intelligence of its Pro image model with the speed of its Flash architecture, making high-quality image generation fast enough for everyday workflows.
• The model pulls real-time knowledge from the web, meaning generated images can reflect current information rather than static training data.
• It can maintain consistent characters across five people and track up to 14 objects, enabling multi-frame campaigns and repeatable branded assets.

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Episode #1283: Oil markets are on edge as global conflict pressures fuel prices and supply chains. Meanwhile, BYD may have cracked the code on five-minute EV charging, and CarMax becomes the first U.S. auto retailer to launch a shopping app inside ChatGPT.

Oil markets are on edge after military action involving the U.S. and Israel disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. While automakers aren’t seeing immediate shutdowns, rising energy prices and potential shipping reroutes are adding another variable to an already complex year.

• Roughly 20 million barrels of crude flow through the strait daily, along with LNG, aluminum, steel inputs and key plastics used in vehicle production.
• Oil briefly jumped nearly 7%, with analysts warning prices could top $100 a barrel if the conflict drags on.
• Automakers rely heavily on Asia–Europe sea lanes for semiconductors, battery materials and electronics—any expansion into the Red Sea or Suez would be “significantly disruptive.”
• “It certainly adds risk [for OEMs] and you’ve got to be thinking about rerouting anything that’s going to go through that part of the world,” said AlixPartners’ Dan Hearsch.

If range anxiety has been the headline problem for EV adoption, BYD may be attacking it at the source. The Chinese automaker is testing a 1,500 kW “flash charging” network that looks less like a parking lot and more like a traditional gas station.

• The demo site in Shenzhen features liquid-cooled charging guns and pull-through lanes, allowing drivers to plug in and roll out—no backing into stalls required.
• Leaked specs suggest up to 1,500 kW on a 1,000V architecture—potentially adding 249 miles in about 5 minutes. For context, most U.S. and European fast chargers top out at 350 kW.
• Testing is currently limited to select BYD models with a “Flash Charge” badge, with charging reportedly starting within 10 seconds of plug-in.
• Pricing at the demo site is around $0.18 per kWh, a fraction of many Western public charging rates.

CarMax just became the first U.S. auto retailer to launch a car-shopping app inside ChatGPT, bringing both buying and selling tools directly into the AI platform. It’s another signal that conversational commerce isn’t coming—it’s here.

• Customers can browse CarMax’s 45,000+ vehicle inventory using natural prompts like “SUV with third row under $25,000” or “small AWD car with good tech.”
• The app also allows sellers to check their vehicle’s value and connect directly to CarMax’s online offer tool.
• CarMax says the goal is to reduce the overwhelm of used-car shopping by meeting customers on a platform they’re already using.

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Episode #1282: Honda leads the nation in fuel economy, destination charges quietly climb to $1,600 per vehicle, and a new Gallup report shows staffing shortages may be holding back customer experience across retail.

If you had to guess the most fuel-efficient automaker in America, who would you pick? According to the EPA’s newly released 2025 Automotive Trends Report, Honda just claimed the top spot—blending hybrids, smart engineering, and affordability into a winning formula.

• Honda posted a 31.0 mpg “real-world” fleet average for 2024—3.8 mpg higher than the industry average among full-line brands.
• The EPA ranking looks at automakers offering a complete mix of gas and electrified vehicles
• Honda’s efficiency dominance isn’t new. The Civic topped the EPA’s very first fuel economy rankings back in 1976.
• The average Honda transaction price in 2025 was $35,060—roughly $10,000 below the industry average.
• Honda also set a third straight annual electrified sales record, surpassing 400,000 units, led by CR-V, Accord, and Civic hybrids.

There’s a new line on the Monroney that’s getting a second look: destination charges. These once-overlooked shipping fees are quietly adding billions to vehicle costs without technically raising MSRP.

• Buyers spent more than $26 billion on destination charges this year, an average of $1,600, according to Edmunds.
• Some increases are steep: F-150 fees jumped to $2,595, Tahoe rose to nearly $2,000; Toyota Sequoia’s fee is up more than 50%.
• Automakers say the hikes reflect higher fuel, logistics, heavier SUVs and trucks—and now tariffs. Stellantis alone expects $1.9B in tariff costs in 2026.
• The charge is the same whether the vehicle traveled 10 miles or 1,000, and courts have ruled consumers shouldn’t be surprised that it includes profit.
• John Morrill, Massachusetts dealer: “It’s a way to raise prices that is, shall we say, less transparent to the consumer. Carmakers have raised them a lot, certainly faster than they’ve raised prices.”

A new Gallup report highlights a growing gap in retail and beyond: employees feel deeply responsible for customer experience—but don’t believe their companies can actually deliver on promises. And staffing cuts appear to be the biggest culprit.

• 43% of workers strongly agree they feel responsible for customer experience (up from 38% last year), but only 23% believe their organization consistently delivers on its promises.
• Leadership is 10 points more confident than frontline employees that promises are being kept.
• Staffing is the top barrier to service, cited by 37% of workers—more than training, tools, or unclear standards combined.
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On this final day of February, Paul, Chris and Nathan sit down to talk about The Truth About Car Dealers season 2, why you should attend ASOTU Con, and how the Greater New York Automobile Dealer's Association donated thousands of coats to New York's Annual Coat Drive.

It's a reminder that focusing on the people is always the right option.

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Episode #1280: Steve Greenfield is back as guest host as Hyundai takes aim at Tesla in the humanoid robot race, Ford pushes dealers toward same-day service with factory-backed AI support, and Burger King launches an always-listening “AI manager”.

The EV race may be evolving into a robotics race. Hyundai is positioning its Atlas humanoid robot directly against Tesla’s Optimus, signaling that the next competitive edge for OEMs could be autonomous labor inside the plant.

• Both Atlas and Optimus are built on EV fundamentals: batteries, electric motors, advanced sensors, and AI. 
• Hyundai’s Atlas boasts a 50kg payload—more than double Optimus’ cited 20kg—making it viable for heavier automotive assembly tasks.
• Hyundai plans plant deployment by 2028, starting with repetitive work like parts kitting before scaling into full assembly integration. Tesla is targeting similar in-house factory use for Optimus.
• Hyundai is investing $6.3B into a robotics factory and AI infrastructure, while Tesla maintains a cost advantage through vertical integration and in-house AI.

Ford wants its franchised dealers fixing most vehicles the same day they arrive. Through a new initiative called Uptime Assist, the OEM is stepping deeper into service operations—targeting faster repairs, better parts flow, and stronger uptime for retail and fleet customers.

• Uptime Assist monitors every repair order opened by enrolled dealers. If a repair stretches beyond two days, Ford proactively reaches out with technical or parts support.
• 70% of Ford repairs take less than 48 hours, but the network average repair time is still about five days. Since launching, the program has reduced repair times by 10–15%.
• Dedicated hardware and software hotlines now route dealers directly to specialists, cutting some diagnostic resolution times from eight hours to 20 minutes.

Burger King is rolling out an AI-powered platform called BK Assistant that monitors nearly every aspect of restaurant operations—from inventory levels to employee-customer interactions—raising big questions about how AI oversight may reshape frontline work.

• The system aggregates POS data, inventory, equipment status, scheduling, and even drive-thru conversations into one dashboard for managers.
• A voice-enabled AI named “Patty” lives inside employee headsets, answering questions and flagging issues in real time.
• The platform generates a “friendliness score” by listening for phrases like “welcome to Burger King,” “please,” and “thank you.”

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