The survey of 3,012 buyers and 252 dealers found shoppers now spend one to three months researching, with 44% doing more homework before contacting a store.

Buying a vehicle from a traditional dealership still leads with 90% of buyers preferring them. 66% would consider buying through a dealership website and 25% are more open to buying fully online.

Price is beating loyalty. 31% prioritize value over brand, and 59% would travel farther for a better deal.

EV enthusiasm remains uneven: 60% of dealers are excited, while only a third of buyers say they are ready to consider an EV. Meanwhile 47% of buyers say they may never be ready to buy an EV

He has already collaborated with 15 dealerships across New Jersey, New York and Connecticut, offering stores free social media exposure while building relationships with owners and employees who have become mentors.

Peter’s love for cars began with his late father, Brian McKay, who took him to the New York International Auto Show and dealerships before passing away when Peter was 7.

His next goals include learning fixed operations, landing a dealership internship and eventually studying automotive marketing and management at Northwood University.

Peter said, “My end goal is to own my own dealership or, God willing, dealerships. You get that opportunity to make a big impact in your community.”

One survey found 74% of executives trust AI advice more than colleagues or friends, while 44% would favor its reasoning over their own.

Warning signs include sending lightly reviewed AI-written work, producing polished but shallow “workslop,” and mandating AI before establishing clear governance.

The most damaging habit may be using AI to overrule employees. When objections are repeatedly settled by a chatbot, teams eventually stop speaking up.

The article’s central warning: AI should support executive judgment, not replace scrutiny, accountability or healthy disagreement.

CDG News spoke with 40 industry sources, many of whom questioned Carvana’s website standards, service capacity, inventory practices, market reach, and allocation levels.

Dealers pointed to Carvana’s ability to use its own website platform, national pricing, no document fees, and a sales model that actively promotes itself as an alternative to traditional dealerships.

Service is another flashpoint. Some nearby dealers say they are receiving more warranty and recall work from Carvana customers, potentially placing additional pressure on their technicians and service departments.

Carvana’s Casa Grande CDJR store reportedly sold 998 units in June, becoming Stellantis’ top-selling dealership in the country and fueling questions about allocation and out-of-market sales.

Stellantis says all dealers are treated “fairly, consistently, and in accordance” with established agreements, but dealers worry the model could become an indirect path toward direct-to-consumer retail.

The 2027 Rumble Bee starts at $62,790 with 395 hp, while the 777-hp SRT tops the lineup at $97,790. Two 470-hp versions fill the gap.

Ram shortened the wheelbase by 13 inches and paired a quad cab with a short bed, creating a lower, wider truck designed for pavement performance rather than off-road duty.

Dealers say customer interest is already building. The Rumble Bee could bring performance buyers into Ram showrooms who would not normally consider a pickup.

Optional supercharger kits will push output beyond 600 hp on the base truck and above 900 hp on the SRT, adding another $10,995 before installation.

Edmunds’ Ivan Drury summed up the target buyer: “If someone is even contemplating price ... you’re the wrong customer from the get-go.”

Telo says extensive testing raised the MT1’s tow rating from 6,600 to 8,000 pounds, nearly twice the truck’s estimated 4,400-pound weight.

The dual-motor version produces 500 hp, uses a 106-kWh battery, and is expected to deliver around 350 miles of range.

A single-motor MT1 is expected to start at $41,520 with 300 hp and 260 miles of range. The dual-motor version should begin near $50,000.

Telo has connections to Tesla’s earliest days: Forrest North helped engineer the original Roadster’s batteries, while Tesla co-founder Marc Tarpenning serves on Telo’s board.

Production is targeted to begin before the end of 2026, although the company still faces the familiar challenge of turning an ambitious startup truck into a real production vehicle.

All eight top dealer groups posted year-over-year declines in new-vehicle gross profit per unit. Lithia fell $288 to $2,728, while Penske dropped $527 but still led the group at $4,374.

Lithia remained the volume heavyweight, generating $9.8 billion in revenue across 467 stores and retailing more than 104,000 new and 106,000 used vehicles.

Used-vehicle performance held up better. Asbury improved used gross by $281 per unit, while Lithia gained $107.

Dealers are leaning more heavily on street purchases as used demand stays strong, but fewer new sales mean fewer trade-ins and less dependable used inventory.

Stephens analyst Jeff Lick said, “Q2 was a lot better than Q1, and the economy is holding up.”

Lithia reported record consolidated Q2 revenue of $9.8 billion, up 2.2%, although same-store revenue declined 1.6% to $9.2 billion.

New-vehicle gross profit per unit fell 11.1% to $2,718, while used-vehicle gross improved 6.3% to $2,019.

Lithia is preparing to deploy Pinewood.AI’s dealership management system across its U.S. stores and is combining some leadership roles across sales and fixed operations.

Remote F&I is operating in roughly a dozen stores, offering potential labor savings while giving customers and employees more flexibility.

The new option appears in the three-dot menu on every post.

LinkedIn says it is targeting repetitive, low-value content—not AI use itself.

A recent study found LinkedIn accounted for most flagged AI-written long-form posts across several major platforms.

The company says it catches hundreds of thousands of automated comments daily and has blocked billions of automation attempts.

Other platforms are likely to follow with similar tools, giving users more control while creating new moderation challenges.

First-quarter net profit jumped 76% to ¥1.48 trillion, while revenue rose 10% to ¥13.53 trillion.

Toyota now expects a ¥510 billion operating-profit hit from war-related disruptions, down from its previous ¥670 billion estimate.

The company raised its full-year revenue forecast to ¥54 trillion and net profit guidance to ¥3.25 trillion, while maintaining its 11.18 million-unit sales target.

Toyota plans to repurchase up to ¥1 trillion in shares, equal to as much as 4.2% of outstanding stock, over the next year.

The automaker is also expanding U.S. production, including a $3.6 billion investment to bring Tacoma assembly back to San Antonio by 2030. Accounting chief Takanori Azuma said Toyota is establishing alternative routes to shorten vehicle delivery times.

GM announced in 2023 that it would phase out CarPlay and Android Auto, beginning with future EVs, in favor of its native infotainment system.

The 2027 Cadillac Lyriq still shows both services as standard, indicating the phaseout may not apply as broadly or quickly as originally planned.

The shift matters because CarPlay and Android Auto offer customers familiar interfaces, strong voice controls and access to apps they already use.

GM also has strategic reasons to favor its own platform, including subscriptions and driver data, but those opportunities only matter if customers still choose the vehicle.

A Cadillac representative said the brand is “continuing to evolve its infotainment strategy across the EV portfolio, based on customer feedback.”

The University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index rose to 55.2 in July from 49.5 in June, but remained 11% below its year-ago level.

Half of consumers spontaneously mentioned high prices as hurting their finances, down slightly from June but still well above last year.

Lower gasoline prices provided some relief, although Middle East shipping constraints could threaten further improvements in confidence.

AI is becoming a more visible economic concern, with at least 10% of consumers mentioning it during each of the past three months. Negative comments about job losses and electricity costs outweighed optimism about productivity.

Survey director Joanne Hsu said, “Despite this month’s improvement in sentiment, consumers do not feel like they are thriving in the current economy.”

Developed by Woven by Toyota, Akio Toyoda AI is a web-based training tool designed to reflect the chairman’s voice, reasoning patterns, priorities, and management philosophy.

Toyota says the avatar is not meant to replace Toyoda or make decisions. Instead, it helps employees learn how he approaches problems, difficult conversations, talent development, and organizational leadership.

Around 100 regular users are already testing the system, while developers continue refining it with direct input from the real Akio Toyoda.

Stefan Thomke, a professor at the Harvard Business School said, "Digital twins have been used in engineering and production systems for years. Extending the concept to people isn’t surprising but also raises interesting issues. How will people use it? How do they interact with the model?”

The AI still has limitations. During the Automotive News interview, it misstated basic facts about Toyota’s U.S. production and sales, requiring human spokespeople to correct the record.

Leasing made up about 30% of new-vehicle deals before the pandemic, fell to 17%, and recovered to just 23% in the first half of 2026.

Automakers have reduced subsidized lease offers, while higher interest rates have made remaining deals more expensive.

Average lease payments are about $650 versus $800 to finance, but many returning customers are seeing increases of $100 to $200 per month.

Fewer affordable leases are pushing shoppers into longer terms, with 23% of second-quarter purchases using 84-month loans.

Dealers are also losing repeat customers and off-lease inventory. GM dealer David Ferraez said, “The customer still has a desire to lease. The big challenge is getting the customer to accept the much higher payment.”

Rivian produced 12,613 vehicles and delivered 12,194, while revenue rose 27% year over year to $1.66 billion.

Consolidated gross profit reached $179 million, improving by $385 million. Automotive losses narrowed sharply, though the R2 ramp added about $100 million in costs.

Rivian began external R2 deliveries June 9 and hosted a record 57,000 demo drives. Its Georgia plant could eventually add 300,000 units of annual capacity.

The company still posted an $837 million net loss and used $849 million in free cash flow, but ended the quarter with $5.3 billion in cash and investments.

CEO RJ Scaringe said, “I believe R2 will be a game changer for our customers and a driver of Rivian’s long-term growth and profitability.”

The first Upstate Chevy Dealers Racers 4 Autism Charity Golf Outing raised $18,612. The funding is already supporting inclusive employment.

The organization can retain Naome, a team member who has worked there for more than a year, while also hiring Emma, a high school student with autism seeking her first meaningful job experience.

What began as a 2022 awareness race grew into a major Pro Stock event, a nonprofit foundation, multiple fundraisers and direct local hiring.

For dealers, it is a strong reminder that community partnerships can do more than put a logo on a banner—they can create jobs, open doors and demonstrate measurable impact.

Jordan Modiano summed it up: “Individuals with autism and other special needs don’t just deserve opportunities—they thrive when they’re given them.”

Standard hybrids captured 22.1% of California registrations, compared with 15.9% for EVs and 2.3% for plug-in hybrids.

The shift favors franchised retailers because direct-sales brands such as Tesla and Rivian do not offer hybrids.

Toyota led California with 19% market share, followed by Honda at 10.9% and Tesla at 9%. The Model Y remained the top individual model, with the hybrid Camry second.

Dealers say smaller price gaps are making hybrids easier to sell, while EV demand remains solid where incentives and inventory are strong.

“It’s not like EVs are going away in California. It’s just that with hybrids, there are so many more options,” said analyst Brian Moody.

Tesla has reportedly structured its U.S. and China operations so they can be separated through a sale, spinoff or other restructuring.

A split could create a firewall between Tesla’s Chinese factories and SpaceX, a major U.S. defense contractor handling classified and national-security work.

China represented about 18% of Tesla’s sales in the first half of 2026 and operates major Shanghai vehicle and battery plants.

Beijing could scrutinize any merger over vehicle data, supply chains and the potential transfer of dual-use technology or materials.

Musk denied the report on X, calling it “fake news,” and Tesla did not provide an official response.

Average positive equity has grown by nearly $4,000 since early 2021 and extends well beyond luxury or late-model vehicles.

Examples include nearly $17,900 on a 2018 Ford F-150, about $10,500 on a 2019 Honda CR-V and $8,800 on a 2017 Toyota Camry.

With average APRs near 6% and monthly payments up sharply, trade equity can become the customer’s built-in down payment.

Dealers are retaining about 87% of trade-ins, but strong demand may require more aggressive appraisals to improve closing rates.

“They might already have that down payment right there in their driveway,” Drury said.

Q2 sales jumped 38% year over year to 197,325 units, nearly double the company’s volume from two years ago.

Carvana is now pacing toward roughly 800,000 vehicles this year, while reaffirming its goal of reaching 3 million annual sales sometime between 2030 and 2035.

Three more ADESA sites joined Carvana’s retail production network, bringing the total to 19. Current capacity supports 1.5 million units, with room to eventually reach 3 million.

Higher-income shoppers are becoming a bigger growth engine. Customers earning more than $100,000 increased more than 60% year over year as Carvana expanded its mix of higher-priced vehicles.

CEO Ernie Garcia summed up the opportunity: “That sales volume puts us at just 2% market share of the used car market, and 1.5% of the auto retail market as a whole.”

NHTSA approved Zoox to commercially deploy up to 2,500 purpose-built robotaxis per year for the next two years.

Unlike Waymo’s modified passenger vehicles, Zoox uses a fully electric, carriage-style design with inward-facing seats and no traditional human controls.

Zoox already carries test passengers in Las Vegas and San Francisco. The exemption allows it to charge fares, pending state and local approvals.

The approval comes with added reporting requirements covering crashes, improper stops, and other unusual behavior. NHTSA says it can revoke the exemption if major safety problems emerge.

NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison said, “We have the ability to pull the exemption if we see major safety issues.”

Fourteen students ages 12 to 15 learned how to change oil, jump-start vehicles, remove batteries, and rebuild small engines.

Campers also experienced ride-alongs in electric and self-driving vehicles, connecting traditional shop skills with emerging automotive technology.

Voss Auto Group sponsors the camp as part of its long-running partnership with Sinclair and sees the program as an early technician recruiting pipeline.

Sinclair says roughly 110 students work in local repair shops during any given semester, and 95% of graduates find industry employment within one month.

Voss service manager Tim Whelan said, “We like to bring young people in and help them become a professional technician.”

Revenue slipped 4% in Q2 as U.S. sales fell nearly 10% in the first half, driven by the Novelis supplier fire and the phaseout of models like the Escape.

Ford raised its full-year EBIT forecast to $10–11 billion, beating expectations and sending shares up about 7% after earnings.

CFO Sherry House says customers remain resilient, with off-road truck and SUV trims now making up nearly one-quarter of U.S. sales despite inflation and high interest rates.

Looking ahead, Ford is targeting affordability with a $30,000 all-electric pickup expected in 2027 on its new Universal EV Platform while also expanding into battery energy storage and defense projects.

Jim Farley on Ford's capital strategy: "Every dollar must earn durable returns and drive profitable growth."

GM's new AI-powered design platform lets designers and engineers collaborate in real time, instantly evaluating changes using decades of company testing and development data.

The system simulates everything from aerodynamic performance to virtual road testing, reducing the need for physical prototypes and helping cut development costs.

Chief Product Officer Sterling Anderson says AI could reduce vehicle development cycles from four to five years down to roughly two, accelerating product improvements.

The first major beneficiary will be the 2027 Chevrolet Silverado, where AI-driven engine simulations reportedly reduced prototype costs by 20% while reaching performance and emissions targets in one-third the usual time.

Quote: Sterling Anderson: "The next generation of any vehicle is typically better than the last. And when you can cut that period in between more than in half, you're getting just better vehicles evolutionarily."

A Caimera survey found 70% of consumers are neutral or open to AI-generated marketing images, while only 10% view them as harmful.

Consumers are comfortable with AI improving backgrounds, lighting, or staging, but using AI to alter a product's appearance, fit, color, or effectiveness quickly erodes trust.

Transparency matters: 79% of shoppers say they're more likely to trust a brand that clearly discloses its use of AI, and 75% want that disclosure.

AI is most accepted in categories where accuracy is easy to verify, like furniture and electronics, while shoppers remain much more skeptical of AI imagery for beauty, wellness, and health products.

The quake triggered fires, damaged infrastructure, disrupted transportation, and prompted a small tsunami in southern Japan.

Toyota and Nissan assembly plants are about 93 miles from the epicenter. Nissan reports no injuries or major damage and plans to continue production while monitoring conditions.

Even if assembly plants stay online, supplier disruptions could create parts shortages in the coming days, as Kyushu is home to a dense network of powertrain and component manufacturers.

Toyota’s Kyushu plant builds Lexus models for export to 80 countries, while Nissan’s nearby plants produce vehicles including the Infiniti QX80, Armada, Patrol, Kicks e-Power, and Serena.

The Army awarded prototype contracts to Ford, GM, and BC Customs as it looks to build about 600 of the new vehicles.

Ford will build 3 prototypes based on theSuper Duty that will transport troops while serving as mobile power sources for drones, communications equipment, and other military systems.

The bid marks Ford's biggest defense push in decades and reflects the Pentagon's effort to leverage commercial automakers for military production.

GM is also competing after field-testing its ISV-Heavy prototype and securing a potential $1 billion contract for 10,000 infantry squad vehicles.

Ford said it looks forward to "delivering several incredibly capable vehicle prototypes that demonstrate the value Ford can provide to the Army and soldiers."

Nearly one-third of buyers plan to delay their next purchase, while 45% are considering a less expensive vehicle because of financial pressure.

About one in four shoppers would switch brands for better driver-assistance technology, with younger buyers far more willing to leave their favorite brand behind.

Premium brands face the biggest challenge, as their traditional advantages in design and prestige are losing ground to software, ADAS, and digital features.

The study also found EV owners remain committed to electrification, with nearly 90% planning to replace their current EV with another plug-in vehicle.