Somewhere this week, a candidate walked into a job interview holding an iced coffee, and TikTok turned it into a referendum on an entire generation. It's a small thing. The reason people can't stop arguing about it isn't small at all.
Wil Matthews Bought a Toyota That Never Existed. Here's What He Wants Every Buyer to Know.
Wil Matthews is a professional photographer. He knows what a real photo looks like, and what a real dealership listing looks like too, he'd already spotted dozens of fake ones on Facebook Marketplace before this summer. None of that saved him from paying $36,240 for a Toyota 4Runner that was never sitting on any lot, anywhere.
145 people got a piece of hard news this week that had nothing to do with how well they did their job. CarMax cut 4% of its corporate staff, hitting Richmond, Dallas, Atlanta, and its Edmunds team, the third round of cuts in less than a year after 350 jobs in October and 230 more in January. That's 725 people in twelve months, and it's worth sitting with that number as people before we get to strategy.
🚗 Nissan's New Hybrid Just Launched, and the Internet Is Already Arguing About It
🚙 The all-new 2027 Rogue Hybrid debuted Monday with Nissan's e-Power system, a series hybrid where the gas engine only ever charges a battery, never touches the wheels directly. No plug required. Pricing runs $35,490 to $43,490.
Target Gave Employees a Fashion Line. It Should Have Given Them a Stipend.
Target's Collection186, a red-and-khaki apparel line named for the retailer's signature Pantone 186 red, launched in June and expands with a 16-piece October drop, T-shirts, polos, track jackets, blazers, cardigans, all designed for associates to actually want to wear.
This Columbus Dealer Grows Its Own Technicians. That's Not a Nice-to-Have Anymore.
A Ford F-150 runs on more than 100 million lines of code, more than a Boeing 787 or an F-35 fighter jet. That comparison, offered by Ricart Automotive CEO Jared Ricart, isn't really about which machine is better engineered. It's about what a modern service technician is now actually being asked to do.
Stellantis Is About to Make Your Advertised Price Less of a Race to the Bottom
Starting with 2027 models, Stellantis is joining GM, Mazda, Toyota, Kia, and Hyundai in setting a floor under how low dealers can advertise a new vehicle. The stated goal is transparency. The practical effect is a meaningful shift in how price competition actually works.
🚗 Toyota Says Automating Its Factories Could Cost $6.4 Billion a Year.
🚙 Capital investment at this scale rarely just disappears into a manufacturer's margin forever. It shows up eventually, in production costs, in pricing strategy, or in the affordability conversation dealers are already having with customers this month.
Warren Buffett Just Modeled the Succession Plan Most Dealer Groups Never Write Down
Warren Buffett is stepping down as Berkshire Hathaway's chairman at 96, handing the role to his son Howard immediately, and closing out a transition that started when Greg Abel took the CEO title last year.
Ford Wants Dealers Selling Software. It Should Also Let Them Get Paid For It.
Ford now has 1.6 million paid subscribers across its connected-services business, and Mike Aragon, the executive running it, made clear this week that dealers are the plan, not an afterthought.
Volkswagen Wins the Service-Scheduling Fight Nobody's Watching
Pied Piper's second annual Service Scheduling Effectiveness study checked something most dealerships assume works fine until a customer proves otherwise: can someone actually book a service appointment without giving up?
