GM's 30 Under 30 Puts Young Technicians in the Spotlight
The industry runs an annual shortfall of about 37,000 trained service technicians, according to NADA, even as service and parts revenue has grown 33% since 2018, per Cox Automotive. GM's new program aims to help close that gap.
Small Cars and Sedans Are Winning Back Budget-Conscious Buyers
GM's overall sales fell 5.5%, though it held the top spot, and full-size pickup sales rose. Stellantis sales were flat, and CEO Antonio Filosa said Chrysler will soon add cheaper vehicles, since Stellantis has few models under $40,000. "We have a huge opportunity below $40,000," he said.
Toyota Is Rewriting Its Marketing Playbook for AI Shoppers
Toyota marketing chief Mike Tripp says AI agents are rapidly replacing traditional search for early vehicle research. Traffic to Toyota.com and other top-of-funnel sites is down about 20%, which Tripp says matches the broader industry.
🚗 Q3 Sales Preview: Hybrids Are Set to Push Detroit's Share to a Record Low
🚙 The Detroit 3 have few hybrids to offer. Ford sells hybrid versions of the Maverick and F-150, GM has almost none for mainstream buyers, and Stellantis is just now rolling out its first in the new Jeep Cherokee.
Ionna Doubled Its EV Charging Network by Removing the Hassle
Few EVs on the market today can charge above 350 kW, even briefly, so the hardware is built ahead of the cars. Ionna is also expanding Plug & Charge, which bills a driver's account automatically when the vehicle plugs in. Volvo, Toyota, and Lexus drivers get access in October, joining Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and GM. A new Driver's Dashboard shows real-time session details with no downloads, subscriptions, or logins.
More EV Owners Are Switching Back to Gas, and Choice Is the Reason
Through June 2026, 52,154 US EV households returned to the market and bought a gasoline vehicle, excluding hybrids and plug-ins. That's up 15.9% from a year earlier, according to Mobility Global data reported by Car Dealership Guy.
CarMax's Turnaround Plan Is Already Showing Up in the Numbers
CEO Keith Barr, a former hotel industry executive, took over in March after the board fired longtime CEO Bill Nash. His four-part plan has been in place since June:
🚗 Dealers Are Moving Fast on AI, With Guardrails Built In
🚙 Himanshu Khandelwal of AlixPartners suggests three: assign an employee to approve AI recommendations on pricing or repair diagnoses before they reach customers, audit AI outputs regularly, and know exactly who's accountable when the tool gets something wrong.
America.gov Just Put an AI Front Door on the Federal Government
Launched Tuesday, America.gov puts a generative AI chat interface in front of federal information and services. It says it pulls answers from 29,000 government websites, with links back to the original sources.
This month, GM began building EVs with battery cells made from 100% recycled nickel, cobalt, and manganese, all recovered from its own end-of-life battery packs. Those vehicles, built at Factory Zero in Detroit and Spring Hill Assembly in Tennessee, are now headed to customers.
Farley and Reuss Say Patience Wins, but the Clock Keeps Speeding Up
Paul is pretty sure he puts more thought into his outfit every morning than Jim Farley does. That's about where the comparison ends, though. On Wednesday's show, we dug into what Farley and GM's Mark Reuss told the Automotive News Congress, and both leaders made the same case: stay the course, even when the ground keeps moving.
