#542 -🛢🤷🔋Hemi Hits The Highway

TOGETHER WITH

If you make your living in a dealership, you are at the front of a long procession of people’s time and energy.

From mines to material processing, design to manufacturing, with transportation specialists between each step, your job is the meeting point between all that work and the wonderful freedom, opportunities, and stability of car ownership.

Everybody involved is critical to keeping this whole thing going, friends.

Keep Pushing Back
-Paul, Kyle, Chris & Kristi

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Stellantis is phasing out the iconic Hemi V-8 engines for Ram pickups, transitioning to electrified options, including a new plug-in hybrid named Ramcharger and more efficient six-cylinder engines. Facing fines for emissions standards, the company is embracing hybrids and EVs for regulation compliance. The Ramcharger, expected by 2025, will alleviate range anxiety with a gas engine-powered generator for extended driving.

GM's Cruise has paused its autonomous operations after a collision, prompting safety concerns and a suspended license by California regulators. The Cruise Origin van production is halted, with human remote assistance needed every 4-5 miles. Despite this, hundreds of Origin vans are ready for future deployment.

Tesla aims to produce a $27,000 budget-friendly EV at its Giga Berlin amidst growing unionization and wage pressures. The Tesla North American Charging Standard is gaining industry support, with companies like Lucid adopting it, which may impact the Combined Charging System's prevalence.

The Kia EV6 GT has been named one of Time Magazine's Best Inventions of 2023 and Road & Track's 2024 Performance EV of the Year Under $100,000. Kia urges dealers to adhere to MSRP, especially for the upcoming, uniquely designed EV9.

Japan welcomes the debut of the ultra-luxurious Aspark Owl EV, a hypercar with roots in its conceptual birthplace. Crafted in Italy, the Owl is among the fastest electric hypercars, and with a multi-million dollar price tag, only 50 units will be produced for Japan's wealthy clientele.

Join us and our friends at Invoca for a 30-minute webinar that will pump up your phone call management AND respect your most valuable commodity: time. 

How we manage phone calls in retail auto is often the first impression our clients have of us. We'll discuss the real challenges consumers face and how some dealerships are reinvigorating their relationship with call data to give their customers a next-level experience.

Invoca will share how they help dealers bridge the online-offline gap and improve their day-to-day operations.

It's gonna be fun! Register now, make friends, learn stuff. 

John H. Tapper, nominated for the prestigious TIME Dealer of the Year, is celebrated for combining exceptional dealership management with profound community service.

A Michigan Automobile Dealers Association representative, Tapper is among 49 chosen from over 16,000 dealers.

An advocate for education through scholarship contributions and a veteran, he's upheld his family's legacy since 1961. His dealerships are community hubs, reflecting his commitment to industry and societal advancement.

Nominated by Terry Burns, Tapper's work extends beyond business to impactful community engagement.

Congratulations and good luck from the ASOTU Team, John! 👏

Hybrid and electric vehicles typically have a higher initial purchase price compared to their gasoline counterparts, but they can also offer significant savings over time.

For those contemplating a change, our pals over at Experian help break down whether an electric or hybrid vehicle can really save you money. And, if so, how much.

Upfront Costs:

Across all vehicle types, the average monthly car payment is $729 for new cars and $528 for used cars.

Finance folks typically recommend car buyers spend less than 10% of their take-home pay a month on a vehicle purchase. So, if we use that as a rule of thumb, car buyers would need to net about $7K a month to afford the average new vehicle these days. That assumes a gross income of about $110K a year.

But, EVs are typically more expensive purchases leading to even higher monthly payments – around $1034/month for EVs and $771/month for hybrids. 

You don’t exactly have to be Scrooge McDuck to buy an EV these days, but they likely won’t fit into the budget of most US household incomes which bring in around $65K annually. Which means that only about 15% of US drivers can even afford a new set of wheels, let alone a new EV or hybrid.

Long-Term Expenses:

The cost of owning a vehicle goes beyond a monthly car note, so it’s important to consider fuel prices, maintenance, insurance, and all that other boring stuff that costs money.

And don’t forget – where you gonna charge that bad boy? Consider the costs of installing a personal charging station if you’re looking to get your juice from home.

Tax Breaks:

On top of the $7,500 federal tax credit, some states offer additional incentives that could help drive down the cost of an EV or hybrid purchase, including rebates, income tax credits, and excise or sales tax exemptions.

At the End of the Day:

Electric and hybrid vehicles may save you money over time, but the financial aspects aren’t necessarily the only ones to consider.

Consumers can use various online calculators, such as one from the U.S. Energy Department to estimate their total EV ownership costs and carbon emissions based on various car models and travel habits.

👉 Read the full article on ASOTU.com. 👀

Suggested Soundtrack: Glen Campbell - Rhinestone Cowboy

In an unusual twist that could be mistaken for a fashion faux pas, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is waving a red flag at rhinestone steering wheel decorations. 🚩

What's the Risk?

Accessorizing your steering wheel with stick-on rhinestones might elevate your interior's style. Still, it also boosts the risk of injury. In a collision, these glamorous decals can detach and take flight, potentially causing serious harm.

A Real Concern

This isn't hypothetical—adorned airbags have already turned into inadvertent projectile launchers, with one driver suffering vision loss from an airborne gem.

We’re slightly surprised the government needs to step in and say this. Next, NASA will announce that Wal-Mart bags should not be used as pillowcases despite their soothing scronchy sound.