🗳️ Americans Waiting On EVs

TOGETHER WITH

Yeah, we have to do it. Around 48 hours ago, Twitter became no longer as it was swallowed up by X. So we decided ASOTU is no longer and is being swallowed up by Y.

Jokes aside, isn't this a wild time to be alive!? Have a great Thursday Y fam (see what we did there 😜)!

Keep Pushing Back-Paul, Kyle, & Chris

DEALERS

Kunes Auto's Big Balloon Build

We know everyone is probably tired of hearing about inflation by now, but hear us out! This story won’t leave you feeling deflated like usual.

Last month, in a small town in Wisconsin, 75 balloon artists floated in from around the country to craft mind-blowing sculptures made of 120K balloons, all while raising over $100K for charity.

Volunteers and major sponsors like Kunes Auto & RV Group donated the money raised to Inspiration Ministries, a local charity that helps elevate the lives of the developmentally disabled.

In honor of the auto group’s contributions, the theme of this year’s Big Balloon Build (BBB) was "Inspired by the Great Outdoors," which meant attendees could find plenty of featherweight furry friends frolicking in fields and camping. Once they made it through the needle-detecting stations at registration, of course.

Telling it like it is - What do you get when you mix ASOTU with an uplifting story about balloons? Puns. A lot of them. Sorry if we got carried away.

AUTOMOTIVE

Poll Finds Americans Hesitant To Go Electric

🗳️ A poll of 5,408 American adults found 47% say they are unlikely to buy an EV as their next car. 🤔

🤩 Only 19% of respondents answered that they are "very" or "extremely" likely to buy an EV next.

🔌🤷‍♀️ Nearly 80% of people cite a lack of charging infrastructure as a primary reason for not going electric. This concern was consistent in cities, suburbs, and rural areas. 🏢🏡🚜

🤑 High EV purchase prices also significantly affected much of the hesitation.

Telling it like it is - Hear that EV makers/Interested Political entities? Make them affordable and put a free home charging setup in the trunk.

TOGETHER WITH QUANTUM5

Spring Cleaning

Spring is here! 💐

Time to open the windows, chase out the chill, and refresh yourself for another year of growth.

Our friends at Quantum5 have done all that and more! To ensure their omni-channel performance automotive training content is more accessible and user-friendly than ever, they spent months redesigning and refreshing their site. New, informative and interactive graphics and videos make learning about Quantum5's app an even more enjoyable experience.

Dive into the fresh blogs, articles, and content to bring your whole team into the future, informed and ready for anything.

Learn more about the redesign, and plan to refresh your business now with Quantum5!

AROUND THE ASOTU-VERSE

More Than Cars

Have you heard? 👂 

We filmed a show! 🎥

"More Than Cars" is a docu-series that dives into the real-world, human experiences that go untold every day in car dealerships. Paul and Kyle get an up-close and personal look at the connections between staff, customers, and the many departments that keep cars and communities running smoothly.

Join us in Tampa on May 2nd for the pilot premiere and happy hour to celebrate!

AUTOMOTIVE

Ford in Canada, Tesla in China, and Volvo in Q1

🍁🇨🇦🥞 Ford's investment plan is heading north to Canada, or depending on which part of Michigan you are in, south-east to Canada. The company will invest $1.3B in converting its Oakville Assembly Plant into a new EV hub.

Introducing. When originally announced, Ford's Canadian investment was attached to five new model EVs to be introduced over the next few years. They scaled that plan back, but rumors suggest the Canadian plant will produce Explorer SUV EVs for the North American market by 2026. 🚙

🔨 Open concept. The plant renovations include merging multiple body shops and adding battery pack assembly using cells produced in Kentucky. 👷‍♀️

🧐💰 Thinkin' 'bout them taxes. While Canada is totally covered by the North American part of the Inflation Reduction Act, Ford's partnership with Chinese material firms may have to find loopier holes to pass through. Investments in Indonesia will go without tax credit eligibility unless used to produce commercial vehicles, which are immune to restrictions and qualify for even larger subsidies. Regardless of material origin, commercial vehicles over 14K lbs can qualify for tax credits up to $40K.

If all else fails, you could just ship a couple thousand tons of North American soil anywhere in the world and build a factory on it. #CheckmateCongress

Tesla also has news about factories and China. No Canada this time though, sorry, eh. 🇨🇳

To the lifted eyebrows of US policymakers, the EV leader says its second megafactory will be in Shanghai, China. When completed, the facility will produce 10K Megapack battery storage units annually. 🔋🏠

Megafactory vs. Gigafactiory? Currently, gigafactories produce Tesla cars and home/commercial energy products. Megafactories will exclusively produce home and business energy storage batteries, allowing Tesla to venture further into its solar power aspirations and plans for a widescale shift to renewable energy for businesses. ☀️🚗

Got too much shade for a solar set up? Way ahead of you. Musk’s Boring company’s Flamethrower clears any pesky flora… or fauna if the need arises. #FireSolvesLotsOfProblems 🔥🔥🔥

🚛 Truck maker AB Volvo had a Q1 as big as its trucks.

• Earnings jumped 45%

• Reported ~$887M vs. Forecasted ~$608M

• Shares jumped 9.6% following the preliminary report, with full data expected on April 20th

🙋 Why tho? Volvo predicted the supply bottleneck to play a disturbing role in the quarter and did not explain the surprisingly good period OR set any new full-year expectations.

🙋‍♂️🙋‍♀️ But for real, why tho?? One analyst with JPMorgan says price increases and a much better supply chain situation allowed the company to do better than expected.

🤖⚠️ Robots are not above the law! A major US transportation union is opposing a joint application by Waymo and Aurora to exempt its driverless semi trucks from the use of crash prevention measures in case the truck is stopped.

If the application is accepted, the driverless trucks will not need flairs or reflective triangles around stopped trucks for at least five years. An idea safety and transportation workers say should be rejected with vigor. 👎

Somewhere right now a gas-powered truck is delivering parts to build more EV trucks. Like when Internet Explorer downloads Chrome. #DoTrucksFearTheDieselReaper??

CULTURE

Mischief and Mayhem

Get ready to rock! Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem are finally getting a chance to record their debut album in the upcoming series Muppets: Mayhem.

The show revolves around The Muppets’ longtime backing band made up of Dr. Teeth on vocals and keyboard, Animal on drums, Floyd Pepper on vocals and bass, Janice on vocals and lead guitar, Zoot on saxophone, and Lips on trumpet.

The trailer promises plenty of the gang’s trademark brand of chaos and celebrity guest stars galore — including an appearance by Weird Al in Heaven (because, of course).

Disney+ strikes up the band for the 10-part series beginning May 10th.

Telling it like Chris - Finally something my inner 9-year-old and my outer 35-year-old can agree on: drums, Muppets, and TV. Add pizza and we got ourselves a party! —Chris

Quick Hits

• Wind and solar reached a record high of 12% global energy production in 2022. 🌬️

• Amazon starts charging for some UPS returns. 📦

• YouTube’s NFL Sunday Ticket starts at $249 for the 2023 season, which is the price of about 12 Wilson NFL footballs on Amazon. So choose wisely. 🏈

• Walmart is closing four stores in the Chicago area saying they have never been profitable in the 17 years since the first one opened. 🚫

• China eyes a lunar base within five years to investigate and harvest waste-free nuclear material that could meet global energy demand for 250 years. 🌛

• NPR ditches Twitter. ✌️

• The next generation of AirPods may have a tiny touchscreen. 🍎 

History

• 1870: The New York City Metropolitan Museum of Art is founded.

• 1964: At the Academy Awards, Sidney Poitier becomes the first African-American male to win the Best Actor Award for the 1963 film Lilies of the Field.

• 1976: USA issues $2.00 bill.

• 1997: At 21, Tiger Woods becomes the youngest golfer to win the Masters.