TOGETHER WITH:
Howdy, Fam!
Before you offer 84 months, ask this one question: does the vehicle and the customer's intent actually support holding it that long?
Leasing is recovering, but the deals aren't as good, and that gap is quietly pushing more buyers into 7-year loans they may not actually need. A quick gut-check at the F&I desk is the difference between a legitimate option and a deferred problem nobody notices until the loyalty numbers show it.
Also in today's email:
Toyota built an AI version of its chairman, and it already got caught making mistakes, here's the line every dealership chatbot should be watching too
Rivian's R2 launch is working. The cash runway is the thing to watch
Tiny electric cars, two new Ferraris, and why the internet turned on Sam Altman's parenting podcast idea
Keep Pushing Back,
—Chris with Paul, Kyle & Kristi
Reading time: 4 mins
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Leasing Is Coming Back. The Deals Aren't as Good, and That's the Opportunity.
Leasing has recovered to just 23% of new-vehicle deals, still well below its pre-pandemic 30% share, as pricier renewals push more buyers into 84-month loans instead. Average lease payments still run cheaper than financing, but many returning customers are seeing renewal quotes $100 to $200 higher than before.
The customer still has a desire to lease. The big challenge is getting the customer to accept the much higher payment.
Want the full conversation?
🎙️ Listen to today's Automotive State of the Union episode for the complete discussion.
Consider this today
Before offering an 84-month term, run a quick gut-check: does the vehicle and the customer's intent actually support holding it that long? If yes, it's a legitimate option. If no, walk them back through what a lease renewal actually costs today, since a $100-200 monthly bump is a smaller loyalty risk than seven years of financing on a car they'll want to trade in three.
The IQ Advantage
A lead is only useful if you understand what the shopper is trying to solve.
The IQ Advantage brings together tradeIQ, paymentsIQ, and offerIQ to give customers clearer answers online—and your team better context when they enter the CRM.
That means more relevant conversations, fewer unnecessary steps, and a smoother path toward the deal.
Toyota Built an AI Version of Its Chairman. Here's the Line It Shouldn't Cross.
Auto News
Toyota created an AI avatar of Chairman Akio Toyoda to teach management philosophy at scale. In its first public interview, it misstated basic facts about Toyota's own U.S. production and sales.
How to use this today:
If your dealership uses AI chat with customers, this is a good prompt to check your own setup.
Customers don't mind talking to a bot (as long as the time getting saved is their own), but they do mind not knowing it's a bot.
Make sure yours discloses itself plainly and hands off to a real person when asked, the same gap that tripped up Toyota's own AI.
Rivian's R2 Bet Is Working. The Cash Clock Is Still Running.
Rivian's R2 launch drove real revenue growth (up 27% year over year to $1.66 billion) and narrower losses, with a record 57,000 demo drives in the quarter. The company still posted an $837 million net loss against $5.3 billion in cash, a runway worth watching as R2 volume ramps.
Nissan's Comeback Bet Is a Hybrid It Doesn't Have Yet
Nissan swung back to profitability this quarter, but CEO Ivan Espinosa called the upcoming Rogue e-Power hybrid the year's most important launch, since Nissan has been losing lease-return customers to Toyota and Honda hybrids it simply doesn't offer yet.
🚘 Car Stuff
A wave of companies, including Stellantis, are betting on tiny electric "low-speed vehicles" starting around $15,000, a fraction of the average new car price, aimed at short-distance, golf-cart-adjacent use cases in places like retirement communities.
Ferrari confirmed two new models arriving by the end of 2026, alongside CEO Benedetto Vigna's comments that carbon-neutral biofuels remain part of the brand's plan alongside electrification.
💰 Not Car Stuff
U.S. manufacturing activity hit its highest level in more than four years in July, with the ISM's manufacturing index climbing to 55.6 and factory employment growing for the first time in 33 months, even as input costs stayed elevated.
Sam Altman suggested a "cool use case" for ChatGPT is a daily AI-generated podcast about your kids' day, and the internet did not hold back, with one popular reply calling it "the worst possible use case" for AI.
"Spider-Man: Brand New Day" set the all-time record for the biggest domestic opening weekend in box office history with $360 million, edging out "Avengers: Endgame" for the top spot.
1790: President George Washington signed legislation establishing the Revenue Marine Service, the forerunner of today's U.S. Coast Guard.
1901: Jazz legend Louis Armstrong was born in New Orleans, Louisiana.
1977: President Jimmy Carter signed legislation creating the U.S. Department of Energy.
Thanks for reading, Friend!
