The Fed Just Went Hawkish. Wholesale Just Got Worse. Your Buyers Are Still Stretching to the Limit.
Three signals moved in the same direction this week: rate cuts just got less likely, wholesale depreciation accelerated, and financing is still running at record extremes. None of them is good news alone. Together, they're the story.
He Bet the Farm, Literally, to Buy His First Dealership. Now He Owns the One Where He Started.
Missouri dealer Eric Gentry just bought the dealership where he sold his first car in 1994. His approach to growing it is a clean blueprint for small-group growth.
Japan's Automakers Are Learning to Cooperate on the Boring Stuff to Compete on Everything Else
Toyota's Koji Sato is pushing all seven Japanese automakers to standardize commodity parts like wire harnesses and steel, freeing resources to compete harder on software and EVs against China.
California's New EV Rebate Is Smaller Than the Last One. Here's Why That Might Matter More.
California just revived a $3,500 EV rebate for first-time buyers. The price caps and first-time-buyer restriction make this a much more targeted tool than the program it replaces.
🚙 Dealership websites are handling service scheduling better than phone calls, averaging 71 out of 100 versus 61, according to Pied Piper's study of 4,100+ requests across 31 dealer groups.
Europe Wants Your Car to Physically Refuse to Speed. Here's Why That's Harder Than It Sounds.
The EU wants new cars electronically capped at the posted speed limit by 2030. The technology behind it is currently wrong about one in every four times the limit changes.
CarMax Just Got National Recognition for Something Most Dealers Already Do Better
CarMax made a national list honoring the country's most community-minded companies. Per capita, your dealership is probably already outgiving nearly everyone else on that list.
Your Website Beats Your Phone at Service Scheduling. Here's the Number That Actually Moves It.
A new study shows dealership websites outscore phone calls at booking service appointments by 10 full points. The real story isn't the gap. It's what one dealer group did to close it.
JB Burnett tore out the desks, the computers, and the negotiation altogether at one of the world's first Ford Signature 2.0 stores. The real story isn't the furniture. It's who's actually in control of the sale now.
🚙 A federal judge dismissed a proposed class-action lawsuit accusing AutoNation of using AI to record, transcribe, and analyze customer calls without consent. The plaintiff argued the practice violated California's strict privacy laws.
