🛰 Over The Air Recalls

TOGETHER WITH

Every day is one day closer to ASOTU iCON!

We will be on the ground in Baltimore today, preparing the outstanding space for our amazing community!

Follow ASOTU on your favorite social media app to get a sneak peek at the space...and whatever "antics" we’re sure to get into.

Keep Pushing Back,
-Paul, Kyle, & Chris

DEALERS

Harr Toyota Pumps Up The Jams

Burncoat High School orchestra was $13,000 short to cover performing at the 60th anniversary of Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech in Washington, D.C.

Harr Toyota and others from the community heard about the shortage and stepped in to ensure the students and their talent made it to the celebration.

Motivated by an article in the local news, Owner Michael Gross and the Harr Toyota team donated $10K saying, "It's our backyard and local families, kids looking to go on a very important trip that will mean a tremendous amount to them."

Thanks to community support like Harr's, the students plan to join in-person to witness and support the celebration of this historic moment.

Telling it like it is - Two things that should never be abandoned — dreams and jams. 🎶

AROUND THE ASOTU-VERSE

Tell a Friend, Win a Prize!

There are really only two ways to let people know what you are about:

1. Write it on your shirt. 👕
2. Invite others to join a community of people who are about the same thing. 🙌

Lucky for you, we are such people, and we have the shirt to prove it. 💯

Use the unique referral link at the bottom of this email to invite others to join our Daily Pushback newsletter to share the positivity, spread the information, and pass out these gifs like free vouchers to a slushie shop on the 4th of July. #PureJoy

Whoever has the most referred contacts sign up for the daily email will win their new favorite t-shirt! 🏆

All Things Used Cars

Join us this morning as David Long and the All Things Used Cars community discuss turning insights into actions! What good are our best thoughts and intentions if they don’t move our hands and feet?

Join, listen, and share — let’s take a step together! 👣

TOGETHER WITH CAROFFER

More Than A Platform

Some things can only be learned through experience.

We asked CarOffer's Dealer Sales Managers (DSMs) if dealership experience plays a role in helping their clients succeed.

"Yes. Understanding a dealership's day-to-day operations lets me tailor strategies specific to that dealership. Whether in direct support of buying/selling car, managing leads, or growth opportunities in the finance and service departments."

CarOffer is more than a platform for over 13K dealers who use it to buy, sell, and trade inventory for the best prices in seconds. It is people eager to bring their time and talent to the table for you and your store!

Connect with CarOffer today and learn about their fine-tuned inventory-sourcing experience in just 15 minutes!

AUTOMOTIVE

The Recall Realm

iSeeCars crunched the numbers from a report conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to determine which faulty fleet had the highest recall rates over a 30-year lifespan. The study evaluated vehicles from the last ten model-years to find:

• Tesla was the biggest offender with their Model Y alone estimated to have a staggering 62 recalls over its lifetime.

• Mercedes-Benz lead the least-recalled list, followed closely by Toyota and Lexus.

• 33 models were projected to experience 1 or fewer recalls.

• 25 models were projected to experience at least 10 recalls.

With all these anticipated recalls, it’s a good thing OTA (over-the-air) updates are becoming more common, ‘cause ain’t nobody got time for that. OTA updates will help dealers and automakers alike ensure safer vehicles at a speedier pace.

According to global technology intelligence firm ABI Research, the auto industry will save $1.5B by 2028 using OTA update capabilities to remotely fix recalled vehicles. The cost savings will be essential as software-related recalls become more prevalent due to increased technological complexity and integration into critical safety functions.

In 2022 alone, nearly 10M cars were recalled in the United States with almost half of them requiring in-person updates from a car dealer.

Recall Round-Up:

• Subaru is recalling 4K of its 2023 Imprezas due to dodgy brake lights. Oh, and that teensy issue with the car sometimes shifting out of park without pressing the brake pedal. 😳

• Kia issued a recall for nearly 109K of their 2023 model-year fleet equipped with a digital instrument cluster, as their 4.3-inch screens have been experiencing booting and display complications. 🥾

• Flawed Takata airbags from 19 different automakers are still plaguing car dealers and owners with 11M models still requiring replacement as of 2022.

Telling it like it is - Recalls are never good, but they are a point of connection between consumers and dealers. With fewer recalls bringing people back to the service lane, how can dealerships offer meaningful points of engagement to their community between purchases or even routine services?

AUTOMOTIVE

Motor Morsels: BMW, VW, Alfa Romeo, Ford + Tesla

💪👎✂️

BMW says price cuts are for quitters, and real G's raise their prices. The company's car earnings increased to 12.1% from 8.9% year over year. Still, they say price increases are likely as production prices and competition shift.

📉🤷‍♀️😎

Due to weaker demand in China, VW's operating profits fell 31% through Q1 compared to last year. However, a recovery in the European and American markets increased revenue by 22%. Still, the 14.5% drop in deliveries in China was enough to drag operating profits down. The company remains confident about its 2023 financial targets thanks to a solid Q1 and a 1.8M unit backlog in Europe.

🤺🥊🥋

Alfa Romeo will release its first electric car this year on the path to going all-electric by 2027. The company has plans to take the fight to Tesla, saying "they are kicking everybody's a$$." The Stellantis-owned brand's glove-slap to Musk and his position atop the global EV market will be an all-electric SUV in the North American market.

💻🚗🙅‍♂️

Ford's Jim Farley said the company lost the in-car software battle 10 years ago, and that's ok. While GM, Tesla, and several other brands have other opinions about letting customers use Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Ford has no intention of disrupting services for the 70% of Ford buyers who are also Apple customers.

👍🚀🐦

While they are not seeing eye to eye on the future of in-car software, Tesla CEO Elon Musk did tweet this week in support of Ford's EV strategy, despite over $700M in losses by the brand's electric segment. So, that's nice.

TL; DR - BMW had a good Q1 but sees price increases coming. VW got beat up in China but says things are still okie-dokie. Alfa Romero wants to take the fight to Tesla…in 2027. Ford has no interest in competing for in-car software business or cutting customers off from the apps they already like.

TECHNOLOGY

Luvly: The IKEA of Carmakers?

A bold new electric vehicle start-up called Luvly wants to become the IKEA of small EVs.

The Swedish (of course) company plans to ship its cars as individual components in flat packs to be assembled at their final destination.

The automaker currently only offers a two-seat, urban-only electric car (available for pre-order at an affordable $11K), but they’ve got a sporty trike and a small electric van in the works.

A sigh of relief. Unlike IKEA furniture, the cars are not meant for home assembly. Rather, they will be put together by specialized staff in micro-factories to ensure accurate construction and driver safety. With this innovative shipping method, Luvly hopes to considerably lower transportation costs and offer more wallet-friendly EVs to drivers.

Telling it like it is - Pros: Luvly can ship five times as many vehicles in the same amount of container space saving everyone time and money. Cons: The boxes still only come with one tiny Allen wrench for assembly. 😂

Quick Hits

• Experimental drug slows Alzheimer’s worsening. 🧠

• Oil prices are dropping, but Shell reports a $9.8B Q1 profit. ⛽️

• Court rules Ed Sheeran didn’t rip off Marvin Gaye. We know, we know, you’re thrilled. 🎸

• Tall and smart? Giraffes really got it goin’ on. 🦒

History

• 1862: Cinco de Mayo: Troops led by Ignacio Zaragoza halt a French invasion in the Battle of Puebla in Mexico.

• 1891: Carnegie Hall officially opened in New York.

• 1914: Erwin “Cannonball” Baker starts his first cross-country run.