Auto volume deficit has affected the economy substantially as produced cars don’t count until they are complete (with chips) and are sold to dealers

Increase in new/used pricing single handedly accounted for 10% of the overall Consumer Price Index increase

Owners holding on to vehicles longer increases repair bills and subsequently insurance rates as well

The reverse is true as well. If output in Nov/Dec stays consistent w/ Oct, it will translate to a 10% quarterly jump which may account for 1-1.5% GDP growth alone 

Also as production normalizes, it will encourage the easing of inflation, which in turn encourages the Fed to relax on interest rate hikes and so on…

“There’s still room to go, but the auto industry is the best reason to hope for an economic growth and inflation surprise over the next several months.”

“In the process, it is more than possible that essential customer engagement skills across the dealership environment have dulled — if not atrophied altogether — while new important competencies have failed to be nurtured.”

He suggests a return to strategy and demand analysis as the customer’s desire to engage digitally has become strikingly clear…as well as their options to do so

He cites similar occurrences after the 2008 ‘Great Recession’ as new behaviors and technology emerged which made the market more transparent and efficient as it served consumers, Dealers, and OEM

Age, interests, usage behaviors, gender splits, interactions with influencers, hashtag interactions, and even device type

From the report: “Audience Insights can help you discover new audiences beyond those that you traditionally target. If any surprising or unexpected interest categories appear, you can try targeting these interest categories to see how they perform. For example, the data may show that the beauty advertiser’s audience is also interested in apparel and accessories, or in-app games. The advertiser may then c

From the release: "We are excited by this announcement from AutoNation, America's leading automotive retailer, as we see their commitment to a great Customer experience as fully aligned with the values of TrueCar and our offerings," said Mike Darrow, TrueCar's President and Chief Executive Officer. "Our companies believe this opens the door to an opportunity to collaborate on ways to provide a superior digital buying and selling experience for consumers."

"We believe that TrueCar, with its leading digital marketplace, is well positioned to enhance the digital car buying experience and provide personal transportation solutions that are easy, transparent, and Customer-centric," said Mike Manley, AutoNation Chief Executive Officer. We also believe the investment will strengthen the relationship between our companies and provides an opportunity for closer commercial collaboration with TrueCar in the future."

When Tesla is excluded, the loyalty number drops to 44%

Tesla alone has a loyalty rate of 86%

Margins will be lower than ICE vehicles as volume efficiencies build

Morningstar Inc. analyst David Whiston said, ““GM won’t sell at the prices of Teslas, so maybe they won’t match the profits, but they should be able to show good margins. If Tesla can do it, there’s no reason GM, Ford and others can’t do it. They’re just behind on product lineup and manufacturing.”

Discreetly applied for an IPO in April of this year

Backed by Vietnam’s richest man, the company has already secured $1.2B in incentives for its EV factory in North Carolina, and intends to start production in 2024

In July that it had signed agreements with banks to raise at least $4 billion to for it’s US expansion and has about 73,000 global reservations for its EVs

The process known as ‘chipping’ trick the device into thinking the vehicle is only going 15 mph while it could be going more than twice that

This is a bigger problem in europe where police aren’t savvy enough to recognize the nuanced differences yet

This shift would allow retailers to move from passive reaction to shopping behavior based on sales to a more active approach to in store behaviors

Behaviors such as response to product packaging, time spent in sections, and how customers move around stores are able to be watched

There are still privacy concerns due to the amount of personal data collection required without consent to understand this type of shopping behavior.

Life expectancy is also up 9 years from 1990 to 2019 when it reached 72.8 yrs but dropped to 71 in 2022

The fertility rate is down to 2.3 births per woman from 5 in the 1950s. 2.1 is the level needed to sustain population

Over the next decades, the UN forecasts that the main driver of population growth in wealthy countries is immigration

It's a big event week in Retail auto as MRC kicked off of CXO/MRC on Saturday in Palm Beach, FL and Used Car Week kicks off today in San Diego, CA

“According to Remy Oktay, the electric plane (a Pipistrel Alpha Electro) comes with a 21 kWh battery pack. As per Federal Aviation Regulations, it must land with a 30-minute reserve, which gives about an hour of usable flight time.”

The electric plane will need 3 charges for a 2 city flight and has to have 30 minutes of charge left to land

A local dealer, Monaco Ford, has stepped up to provide one of the 2 Lightnings needed to power the flight.

Report aggregates data from job posts

Seven out of 10 skills on the list in 2015 don’t appear on the 2021 list like blogging, event planning, and public speaking

New additions include Instagram, graphic design, and Cavna

In 2023 predictions by Social Media Today include Tiktok, video editing, video direction

Brian Deboer, Lithia CEO, stated Driveway sales accounted for 4% of total revenue

Transactions are including test drives less and less

CEO David Hut of Asbury predicts 40-50% of all transactions will be completed through their Clicklane property in the next 2-3 years

Acceleride, Group1’s platform that utilizes the Roadster tool, saw 3 of 4 transactions in the group use some portion of the online journey in Sept.

All groups note that it is not just the online capacity, but also the compelling brand propositions surrounding the transaction.

Small Car performance is now predicated on a new side test crash rating 

Brands like Subaru, typically highly rated, are having trouble keeping up with the new safety standards

Both the CX-5 and the CX-9 also got the “Good” tag, one only given to 2 vehicles in each of those segments

Currently only Mazda has proven it will be able to obtain the IIHS Top Safety Pick+ rating in 2023

Includes 20k sq/ft more space, more open design, and a backroom expansion focused on fulfillment

“Target’s stores are at the heart of how we deliver for our guests, whether they browse the aisles, shop online or stop by for same-day services like Order Pickup and Drive Up,” said John Mulligan, executive vice president and chief operating officer, Target. “Guests and team members tell us they come to Target because they feel inspired, connected and welcomed.

NADA has released its “NADA Guiding Principles on Evolving Business Models and the Dealer Franchise System” which reads like a clear manifesto of what it is for and against

Listings include job titles for operations and engineering positions related to producing the exoskeleton body

Worlds largest casting press was ordered to stamp out the stainless steel body as opposed to the traditional method of a steel frame with panels

The plant has an official capacity of 150k

Initial target for this year was 50k but was cut to 25k

Currently 113k preorders for its RT1 up from 98k last quarter

$14.2B in cash, enough to run through 2025

It is the first of the “Vanguard” line which will transform the brand to all electric by 2030

The company projects the first year’s output will be pre-sold

Gaining subs at a rate of 1M every 5 days is far faster than any other youtuber

Jimmy Donaldson originally joined the platform in 2012 at age 13 and had his first viral video counting to 100,000 which took 40 hours

The 23 year old has a net worth estimated at $56M and was just offered $1B for his business which he turned down

He noted that discussions are still ongoing about the servicing plan

Regarding the sales plan he continued the sentiments that it would be different from Honda’s current way, saying: "It will be something unconventional, not Sony, not Honda, but something new," he said.

Last month Honda and Sony announced deliveries as early as 2026 of the vehicles which will be produced in it’s Ohio plant and exported to Japan

There were many questions from US Dealers who wanted to play a role in the new venture

Honda continues to trim its N.America outlook due to shortages however, Takeuchi noted "The worst of the period is over, but there are still shortages of specific applications."

#TILI: Who wants to come up with the leapfrog plan for “something new”?!

Tom Shortt, Chief Executive Officer of Vroom, commented: “We continued to make progress on our three key objectives and four strategic initiatives as outlined during our Investor Day in May. We are intensely focused on improving the customer experience. 

He also noted 98% of their customers received completed registration before the expiration of temporary ones

Earlier this year, Vroom shifted its focus to trim volume to focus on increasing gross profit per vehicle. .Similarly to the strategy change announced by Carvana last week.

Vroom stock saw a 7.9% increase yesterday but is still down over 90% YoY. Carvana is down over 97%

Justin Lindsey designed and implemented a full-time three-day-a-week work schedule that has eliminated turnover at the restaurant and made it a magnet for new hires

Divided the team of 25 team members and 18 team leaders into two pods who work three regular 13-14 hour shifts each week

They work 2 Saturdays a month and are never on call

Mr Lindsay shared what prompted the move; “Traditionally, we had used the term ‘the gift of time’ to refer to serving our guests in a quick and timely fashion. Bu

Dealer associations across the country are accusing Ford of overburdening their dealer body and breaking franchise laws in a joint letter from over 13 separate state associations in response Ford’s recent required investment of $500k to over $1M on facility upgrades, staff training and new sales standards in order to sell EVs. 

Several State association leaders including John Devlin of PAAA, Don Hall VADA, and Robert Glaser of NCADA all signed the provision as well as sending a separate letter on behalf of their states Dealers arguing the same 

Tim Hovik, chairman of Ford's National Dealer Council says the the company were aware of the state associations position and communicated they are still able to make changes while noting the dealer council is on board with the where things are heading but said the word ‘supportive’ might be too strong a word.

The Fed’s intention of raising the borrowing rates to more than 4% substantially changes the way businesses will operate. By comparison, in March 2020, interest rates were at around 0 to 0.25%. The access to cheap money enabled companies to go on a hiring binge

 the company . The first broad scale layoffs in the companies history

One factor is the avian flu’s effect on turkey prices and a turkey shortage. The traditional Thanksgiving main dish is expected to cost $1.99/lb compared to $1.15/lb on average.

The cost of sides has increased by 18.8% and pies are up by 20.3%

Some relief is in sight, as Walmart announced they would offer \

"It's finally happening," said Matt Thorington, engineering manager of fuel cells for global supplier Bosch, which said this year it will invest as much as $591 million in hydrogen production technology by the end of the decade.

"There are things that don't work well with batteries," said Kristin Ringland, a global mobility analyst at Ernst & Young.

Amazons full fleet consists of about 30,000 vans

Starting in July, the EDVs first rolled out in Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, Nashville, San Diego, and Seattle. Since then, they’ve been put into service in a bunch of new cities, including Austin, Boston, Denver, Houston, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Madison, Newark, New York, Oakland, Pittsburgh, Portland, Provo, and Salt Lake City.

The program was announced in 2019 w the goal of purchasing 100k vans and having them on the road by 2024 but that has been adjusted to the year 2030 citing supply chain blah blah blahRestaurants are considering taking a page out of the Dealer and Airline playbook by trying their hand at ‘dynamic pricing’ due to the mass adoption of online ordering and digital menu systems.

This could include lowering prices during slow times to maximize staff, etc, and raising prices during peak demand times to maximize profits

“The low-hanging fruit here is to use all of that data to figure out, when things are busy, how can I make more money from that?” Ashwin Kamlani, co-founder of Juicer, told Food On Demand. “If I own a pizzeria and I’m on a college campus and have a line out the door at 1 AM because all the kids have been out partying, are they really going to care that the pizza’s now $11 instead of 10? Probably not, but that’s 10 percent more I can make on every pizza and that’s a big deal.”

AutoNation Inc., Lithia Motors Inc., Penske Automotive Group Inc., Group 1 Automotive Inc., Asbury Automotive Group Inc. and Sonic Automotive Inc. 

Gross profit per vehicle ranged from $1,588 to $2,478 for the quarter 

Penske’s CarShop and Sonic’s EchoPark stand alone used car stores have also been brake-tapped as both companies announce they won’t be opening any more stores this year due to the slowdown

A combination of higher acquisition costs and softening demand

Stephens analyst Daniel Imbro told Automotive News; While there is demand for used vehicles at a price point of $15,000 or less, Imbro said, there aren't many vehicles available in that range…But I think the used market will be a weaker profit stream relative to the new-vehicle side

CEO Ernie Garcia and CFO Mark Jenkins, wrote in a letter to shareholders.“The environment has continued to get increasingly difficult since the end of the quarter and it is probable things will continue to get more difficult before they get easier,” as the company shifts its strategy from focusing on growth to focus on profit.

On a call w/ analysts Garcia also noted: “Cars are extremely expensive, and they’re extremely sensitive to interest rates.” He added he was hopeful rates might be close to peaking. “Interest rates have moved up materially, and most customers use financing to buy a car.”

Profit per vehicle retailed dropped to $3,500 down $1,172 from $4,672 in Q3 2021

There will be no outlook for 2023 provided

Color can help you increase or decrease appetite, Enhance mood, increase memory, boost attention spans, calm down customers, reduce perceptions of wait time, encourage sales or conversations

60% of people who sleep in blue rooms wake up happy

75% prefer purple over other colors

White paint reflects 98% make rooms look bigger

Pink reduces aggression in children