Tesla Just Showed Every Automaker What Focus Actually Looks Like
As rivals retreat and the overall EV market keeps shrinking, Tesla just grabbed 61.5% of June's EV registrations, and the more interesting story might be what's happening to everyone else around it.
🚙 The franchise system exists because manufacturers couldn't afford national retail networks themselves; independent owners took on that risk, which is why franchise protection isn't unique to cars, it's true of Subway and 1-800-Flowers too. Dealerships are often among the highest local taxpayers in their metro areas.
Don Hall has spent nearly five decades in and around the car business, the last several as president of the Virginia Automobile Dealers Association. He joined Paul Daly, Kyle Mountsier, and Michael Cirillo on Auto Collabs for a conversation that started with association work and ended up somewhere much more personal.
Car Dealerships Aren't a Scam. But the Industry Has Earned Some of the Criticism.
On episode two of The Pushback, our own Paul Daly and Kyle Mountsier respond to a viral TikTok arguing that dealerships are unnecessary middlemen padding prices for no reason. Their answer isn't a simple defense. It's a "this, but that" breakdown of where the criticism holds up and where it falls apart.
NAMAD and Mobility Global Honor Toyota RAV4 as Top Vehicle Among America's Growth Consumers at 2026 Diversity Volume Leadership Awards
Ford F-Series Remains the Overall Sales Leader Across All Buyers, Underscoring a Widening Gap Between Growth-Consumer Preference and Total Market Volume
🚙 The question was whether AI creates a permanent step up from the historical 1.5%-2.5% profit range, or whether the industry just drifts back toward the mean like always.
Your Customer Relationship Doesn't Start at Delivery. It Starts After.
Live from NAMAD 2026 in Miami, Shane Wilson, president of CarRx, made a simple case to Paul and Kyle that's easy to agree with and even easier to ignore: the sale isn't the finish line, it's the opening handshake on a relationship that can run seven years.
Dealers Have Never Lost Money in 50 Years. AI Might Be the Reason That Streak Gets Even Better.
Our own Michael Cirillo sat in the room this week at Reynolds and Reynolds' Amplify 2026, where Automotive Ventures' Steve Greenfield opened a keynote panel with a fifty-year chart that made the whole room go quiet: the average American dealer has not lost money in any year over the last five decades.
AI Ranked S Tier on The Pushback. The Reason Might Surprise You.
The real opportunity,is operational. AI belongs in every part of the business where it makes sense, not just the front-facing customer touchpoints. Getting that right requires the right partners and the right tools, integrated deeply rather than bolted on.
One Price Selling Isn't a Trend. It's Where the Market Is Headed.
It takes conviction that most stores don't have the stomach for. Paul pointed out the failure pattern directly: dealerships that try one price and bail usually bail too early, or they were never fully committed in the first place. Half-committing to one price is worse than not trying at all, because it confuses the customer without delivering the trust payoff.
🚙 That grade drop is the real headline here, and it's not about product quality. It's about a brand whose trucks now sit near six figures pricing out the exact customer who used to be Ford's on-ramp into the family.
