🚗 Amazon Replaces Dealers?

TOGETHER WITH

Christmas is almost here, and with it, an uptick in the wonderful More Than Cars Moments we get to share here in the email.

Don’t be shy, let us know how you and your team are making the season bright for the people you love, serve, and share life with.

Keep Pushing Back
-Paul, Kyle, Chris & Kristi

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BUSINESS

💥 Amazon’s Car Grab, Toyota’s Paint Power, and Musk’s Crash Pass

Amazon’s sliding into dealership territory with Hyundai sales that are just a few clicks away—pickups happen at your local dealer, who’s now basically a glorified valet. Meanwhile, dealers ponder their next move: evolve or embrace their new life as service hubs.

Toyota’s painting Kentucky green with a $922M eco-friendly facility while Europe gets a fun-sized EV SUV. Call it big moves in Bluegrass and bite-sized in Brussels.

Mercedes is teasing luxury vans for 2026 that aim to be as electric as they are posh. Think road trips with Wi-Fi, not awkward gas station stops.

Over at Nissan, Jeep’s ex-CEO Christian Meunier tries to revive a struggling brand that reportedly has a year to turn it all around. Big shoes, tight timeline.

Rivian powers up Michigan’s first NEVI-funded chargers, while Nikola clings to life, burning cash like it’s going out of style. And Musk? He’s thrilled Trump might kill crash reporting rules that Tesla really doesn’t like.

TOGETHER WITH AUTOMOTIVEMASTERMIND

Webinar: Data-Driven Strategies for Service-to-Sales Success

Tired of hearing that “data is king” without seeing the throne?

On December 18, we’re cutting through the buzzwords. At 2PM EST, ASOTU and automotiveMastermind are hosting a conversation that’s all steak, no sizzle. It’s about driving more revenue from your service lane, not just talking about it.

Chapman BMW Chandler’s GM, Shane O’Hanrahan, will share how he turned a good intention—making the service drive a reliable sales pipeline—into actual, recurring results. With a boost from automotiveMastermind’s predictive analytics and guidance from Regional Group Manager Wendy Engelhardt, Shane built a process that’s generating 35-45 extra deals each month. No gimmicks, no fluff.

Learn how identifying hidden opportunities, communicating smarter, and embracing a data-driven culture makes all the difference.

Click here to join us and see how real innovation works.

MORE THAN CARS MOMENTS

Food Bank Backup

Blair County dealerships rolled up their sleeves—and their trunks—for the fourth annual Stuckey Automotive Food Bank Challenge, proving that competition can be the ultimate gift.

Stuckey Automotive, Blaise Alexander, Zeigler Chevrolet, Five Star Mitsubishi, and Courtesy Motors joined forces to support St. Vincent de Paul’s “Food for Families” soup kitchen in Altoona. The final tally took place on Thursday, where dealership teams gathered to count thousands of donated non-perishables.

“This generosity reminds us how much people care,” said Sister Paula DelGrosso, the soup kitchen’s director. Keith Zeigler of Zeigler Chevrolet added, “It feels great to give back, knowing it’s truly appreciated by our community.”

With the holiday spirit in high gear, these dealerships showed that collaboration—not just competition—fuels their drive to make a difference. Because in retail auto, serving the community is always in season.

AROUND THE ASOTU-VERSE

🗓️ Coming Soon

🍾 Thursday, December 19th — ASOTU’s Year End Extravaganza: Details are here!

⚜️ January 23-26th, 2025 — NADA Show in New Orleans

• Psst…

  • Are you planning a party for NADA and want more people to know?

  • Are you looking for a party at NADA?

  • OR, would you like to party with ASOTU at NADA?

    • Check out NADAParties.com 

🦀 May 13-16th, 2025 — ASOTU CON in Baltimore, Maryland

🥊 Quick Hits: Games, Fines, and Drones

• The yearly game awards had some big announcements of tech and games coming in 2025. 🏆️ 

• Elon Musk says SEC orders him to pay fine over Twitter purchase or face charges 🤑 

• 'Multiple' drones entered airspace at New Jersey naval station: Official 🧭 

🔁 Today in History: Virginia, Tea, and Saab

• 1777 – Virginia becomes the first state to ratify the Articles of Confederation. 🖋️ 

• 1773 – American Revolution: Boston Tea Party: Members of the Sons of Liberty disguised as Mohawk Indians dump hundreds of crates of tea into Boston harbor as a protest against the Tea Act. 🍵 

• 1949 – The first Saab car ☝️ 

Thanks for reading, friend!