#730 - 🚗 12 Meters Tall

Good morning, and happy Saturday, Friend!

Today, we review the emails from this week, have an on-site chat with some dealer friends, and take one step closer to a future where private giant robot ownership is possible.

What’s your favorite part of your work?

Keep Pushing Back
-Paul, Kyle, Chris & Kristi

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Reading time: 5 mins}

ICYMI

Let’s Review

• Monday, JD Powered showed us about EV quality and we looked closer at VW’s $5B investment into Riviain.

• Tuesday, the US took steps to dig its own minerals. We reported on Truck and SUV insurance affordability, and we enjoyed Mohawk Chevrolet’s “The Office” parody.

• Wednesday, we looked at some phone tips, Toyota made pizza, and learned about the next bit piece of mobility tech: smart roads.

• Thursday, we enjoyed a July 4th story from a Ford team, caught wind of Fisker’s going-out-of-business sale, and read about Audi’s AI plans.

• Friday, we looked at the ongoing talks between China and the EU regarding tariffs, with Germany taking China’s side in the whole mess. Then, we started the long process of looking into Q2 data from auto brands.

PODCAST

Visiting Rohrman Toyota

Zac Kinch (General Manager) and Austin Conroy (Director of Fixed Operations) share on the creative marketing and sales campaigns for Rohrman Toyota in Lafayette, Indiana.

When they sold a Toyota Corolla for $99 during a Black Friday Sale, people drove to their store from all over the region.

Rohrman has created community engagement events like Halloween Trunk or Treat, the Purdue Final Four Championship meet and greet, and more!

Listen to In The Dirt w/ ASOTU on Spotify or Apple.

SOMETHING FUN

Train-Bot: Friend

West Japan Railway has introduced a 12-meter-tall humanoid robot for rail maintenance to address worker shortages and enhance safety.

Resembling a robot from 1980s sci-fi, it features large arms with various attachments for tasks like trimming tree branches and painting metal frames.

Mounted on a truck that can drive on rails, the robot is operated remotely by an operator in a cockpit, who "sees" through the robot’s cameras.

The technology aims to reduce accidents and could become a model for future maintenance operations, according to company president Kazuaki Hasegawa.

Quick Hits

• Amazon shut down its Wall-E-looking robot business less than a year after launch. 🤖 

• Clothes may be recyclable as soon as the process of dissolving polyester becomes accessible. ♻️ 

• Nintendo’s Wii U has reached the end of its support. RIP 🕹️ 

History

• 1942: Anne Frank and her family take refuge in a secret sealed-off area of an Amsterdam warehouse 📖 

• 1947L The AK-47, the most famous movie bad guy gun, goes into production in the Soviet Union. 🔫 

• 1961: The last Renault CV4 is built 🔚 

Thanks for reading, friend! We hope you enjoyed it and are staying hydrated. No coffee doesn't hydrate you, even with ice in it. Tea, neither, in case you think we forgot tea exists.