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It’s a busy Thursday in the dealership as stores across the country wake up to CDK Global’s DMS being offline for a second straight day. But it’s not all doom and gloom, as we’re highlighting how Carter Myers Automotive celebrates new apprentice techs with a signing day.

Show Notes with links:

• Yesterday’s cyberattack against CDK Global's DMS disrupted nearly 15,000 dealerships. The attack halted various operations, including parts, service, accounting, finance, insurance, inventory, and cashier tasks, pushing dealers to adapt quickly to maintain sales and operations and apparently, it's not over.
  • In an email to customers, CDK wrote, "We are sorry to inform you that we experienced an additional cyber incident late in the evening on June 19th. Out of continued caution and to protect our customers, we are once again proactively shutting down most of our systems. We are currently assessing the overall impact and consulting with external third-party experts. At this time, we do not have an estimated time frame for resolution and therefore our dealers' systems will not be available at a minimum on Thursday, June 20th."
  • Rita Case, CEO of Rick Case Automotive, resorted to using pencil and paper, comparing it to hurricane-induced power outages. "We'll just have to do it manually. It's not different than when a hurricane comes and we're out of power. We'll just have to do everything by hand, then we'll have to recreate it. …We're following the instructions CDK has given us to protect the integrity of our information. This type of problem hasn't happened before." said Case who’s group has been with CDK since 1979
  • Teddy Morse, CEO of the Ed Morse Auto Group, one of the largest private groups in the country, said, “"That's a fun term to wake up to, by the way," Morse told Automotive News, reading a text from his team that simply said, ‘There has been a cyber event.'
  • Morse continued "CDK systems are an important tool, but my team isn't completely reliant on them because our group will continue to take care of customers, and sell and service cars."  80% of his 50 stores are on CDK
    
    
    
• Carter Myers Automotive celebrates new apprentice technicians with signing ceremonies, similar to college athlete signings, to honor and promote careers in auto repair.
  • Signing ceremonies include family, friends, local media, and politicians, attracting 100-150 attendees to cheer on the new apprentices.
  • Beth Lucchesi, Talent Acquisition Specialist at CMA, emphasizes the benefits of trades, such as no college debt and great earning potential and said, “"We want to celebrate these students as they enter a career path and earn a living wage — with no college debt and great earning potential," said Beth Lucchesi.
  • Apprentices receive hand tools and dealership gear to start their careers.
  • One of the new techs, Danny Medina said "It was really exciting." There was a time when I was really worried about not knowing where I was going to start a career. So it was great finally

Join Paul J Daly and Kyle Mountsier every morning for the Automotive State of the Union podcast as they connect the dots across car dealerships, retail trends, emerging tech like AI, and cultural shifts—bringing clarity, speed, and people-first insight to automotive leaders navigating a rapidly changing industry.

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