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- #612 -🔌🇲🇽📱 Plans, Plants, and Peeks
#612 -🔌🇲🇽📱 Plans, Plants, and Peeks
GM's Hybrids, Ciocca's Corvette, and Radio Flyer's New Ventures
TOGETHER WITH
There is magic in tone setting.
Walk through a library door and the silence feels right. Walk into a comedy club, and everything is a little funnier.
What tone are you setting when somebody looks at your dealership from across the street, pulls in off the highway, or spends an hour in the service department’s waiting room?
Set the tone today, and as always…
Keep Pushing Back
-Paul, Kyle, Chris & Kristi
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BUSINESS
Fast News
Giphy/DEFY
Today, we look at GM’s hybrid plans, BYD eyes North America, Ford has a new labor fire, and Rivian’s app guy is in trouble.
Be sure to check out below the fold (A newspaper term that now means “scroll down” instead) to grab a spot in our upcoming webinar with Upstart. We have come to Baltimore this May for ASOTU CON 2024.
General Motors at NADA
GM announced at the NADA show that they will shift toward reintroducing plug-in hybrid electric vehicles in the US. The plan is to bridge the gap between traditional ICE and the brand's goal of an all-electric future.
Seems like everybody can be happy with the news: dealers, GM, the EPA, and consumers.
More on this topic from Paul and Kyle on The Automotive Troublemaker. Listen on Apple, Google, Spotify, or YouTube.
BYD in Mexico
BYD continues to push into international markets.
They just announced an EV factory in Mexico to become an export hub to the US. They've already taken Tesla's top EV sales crown, so they may as well take their strategy, too.
This could bring BYD’s cheap EVs to the US market with Clean Energy Tax credit eligibility driving their cost even lower. Suddenly, China isn't so far away.
We all want affordable, but who hasn’t found out too late that they settled for “cheap?” Looking forward to getting a look at some of these vehicles up close.
Ford in the UK
Out of the frying pan and into the fire?
Ford is facing a potential strike in the UK. 3,000 union white-collar workers rejected a pay offer and said Ford has not engaged in negotiations. The pay offer includes a one-off payment for salaried staff and performance-related bonuses for managers but no guarantee for cost-of-living raises.
The union says its demands are fair and that greed is the issue.
Rivian in Apps
Loose lips sink ships, and loose apps tell everybody your business.
Riviain's latest app update inadvertently leaked details about its upcoming NACS adapter. The adapter would allow the company's EVs to use any of Tesla's chargers, including DC fast chargers. This would simplify the process for Rivian drivers.
The company is already topping the Consumer Report annual owner satisfaction survey. The brand, not a specific model, won the top spot despite some customers expressing dissatisfaction with the R1S throttle response.
Maybe they can update that too?
--
Taking a bite is quick, but chewing takes time.
Take some time to chew these developments in the industry, and let us know what you think. How do dealers keep delivering solid experiences in a shifting environment?
TOGETHER WITH UPSTART
Survey Says: Webinar
2023 was a whirlwind year for dealers — from high rates to automakers’ strikes to continued supply chain issues. So, Upstart surveyed 100 dealers across the country for a quick recap on 2023, their outlook for 2024, and just how tech-savvy they are with their online, in-store, and financing processes.
You’ll hear:
Dealers’ outlook for car sales in 2024
How advanced dealers’ online and in-store processes are today
The biggest pain points in the financing process
How to effectively bridge the online and in-store gap
Join us on February 21st at 1:00pm EST to hear all about the data Upstart collected and the insights they’ve gleaned.
MORE THAN CARS MOMENTS
Corvettes for a Cause
Ciocca Corvette
The South Jersey Region of the Sports Car Club of America has partnered with Ciocca Corvette of Atlantic City to organize a sweepstakes that has car enthusiasts and philanthropists alike buzzing.
Benefiting the Atlantic-Cape Marine Corps Toys for Tots, this could be your chance to get behind the wheel of the groundbreaking 2025 Corvette E-Ray.
This isn’t just any sports car — this is Chevrolet's fastest and first-ever electrified Corvette with all-wheel drive, promising a blistering 0 to 60 mph in 2.5 seconds.
And the cherry on top? You can make it cherry if you’d like! Or, cacti green or amplify orange or snooze white, it’s totally up to you. The winner gets to choose from 14 paint colors and various customizable interior options to make the ride perfectly tailor-made.
Here's the scoop: donate by February 29th, and not only do you get a chance to win this beast of a car, but you're also helping kids through Toys for Tots. It's a total win-win!
AROUND THE ASOTU-VERSE
NADA Coverage
Did you miss the NADA show?
OR were you there, and now you MISS the NADA Show?
We got coverage. Each live stream, every in-person conversation, and three days of industry-moving content are ready when you are.
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CULTURE
More Than Wagons
Instagram / @two.busy.babies
Radio Flyer, the brand synonymous with childhood joy via a little red wagon, has just opened its first physical store in Chicago's Woodfield Mall, offering a hands-on haven for both kids and adults. This innovative spot features a test track for trying out products and an adult-sized wagon, promising an antidote to online shopping fatigue by blending retail with pure, unadulterated fun.
With the help of some heavy hitters from the world of kids' media, they're also making plans to churn out digital content through their new family entertainment studio that's sure to keep both kids and adults flying high.
Quick Hits
History
1965: Queen Elizabeth II of England proclaims that the maple leaf will become Canada's new national flag symbol. 🍁
2001: The first draft of the complete human genome is published in Nature. 🧬
2002: The last Plymouth Prowler. 🦹♀️
Thanks for reading. From the whole ASOTU Crew, we are grateful you keep inviting us into your morning and work day.