#694 - 🚗 Bopped Into Today

Last Week, Caption Contest, and Some Real Fancy Dogs

Welcome to Saturday, my friend!

How you enter a space and time matters. It sets the tone for how you interact with the day.

It’s a lot like a pool. Were you flung in with your cell phone still in your pocket? Or did you dive in with your little-nose-pinching-thing ready to roll?

One is way more enjoyable than the other.

Keep Pushing Back
-Paul, Kyle, Chris & Kristi

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ICYMI

Bopped Into Last Week

Giphy/Nick

Welcome Back To Saturday!

In the last few weeks, we’ve been so focused on ASOTU CON that we took a break from our usual Saturday recaps. Let us reacquaint ourselves with the present as it reveals a future where looking at the past is normal again.

The Daily Pushback Email

  • On Monday, we looked at a “flying car” (PSST, it’s an EV with a Drone on its back), shared some wholesale price data, and took a peek at Honda’s hydrogen semi-truck. We ended the email with a bonkers little story about 700+ people named Kyle trying to set a world record.

  • Then, on Tuesday, we saw some import issues: the UAW was voted down in Alabama, and VW rolled back some efforts. Check the bottom for a photo dump from ASOTU CON and a bit of windshield-sized tech news.

  • By Wednesday, we turned our attention toward Polestar’s NASDAQ drama, Fisker dropped roadside assistance, and Ford told dealers to take a beat. After that, we shared a story from Hendrick Automotive Group. The group and its 11K associates grabbed a Glassdoor award for being a great place to work.

  • Thursday, we celebrated crossing 10K followers on LinkedIn before sharing about California policies and Chinese tariffs. We shared a short write-up of Will Guidara’s closing keynote from ASOTU CON 2024. It was pretty dope.

  • Finally, on Friday, we had some good news for dealers, slow news from Nissan, and weird news from Pairs (they wanna Facetime drive your car). We ended the day and week with a bit of data showing the average age of personal vehicles has continued to increase.

ASOTU CON 2024 On YouTube

Miss the show? That’s ok; nobody gets left behind. Of course, being there in person is an irreplaceable experience, but we had enough cameras rolling to bring home some of the content for our whole community. Knowledge hoarded is wisdom wasted.

Check out this playlist on YouTube of main stage sessions featuring the brilliant and bold minds of the automotive industry.

CAPTION CONTEST

What Are They Looking At?

We grabbed this picture from ASOTU CON and wanted to know what you think they are looking at.

The lighting, the somber faces, the crossed arms.

Did… did Darth Vader just walk in??

Hit reply and let us know what you think. (our favorite replies may pop up on LinkedIn 😉 )

SOMETHING FUN

Fancy Dogs

Are you, like me, only vaguely aware of what the Met Gala is? It's ok. The Met Gala is a fashion show fundraiser where celebrities dress like comic book convention rejects to raise money for the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. 

ANYWAY, we want to talk about the Pet Gala, where two dozen dogs dressed up like Gala-clad celebrities and went for a walk. (woof) 

Why? Just to make people happy. The designer, Anthony Rubio, said he wanted to bring happiness to people amid global negativity. 

Enjoy the slideshow. 

Quick Hits

  • Elon Musk criticized increased tariffs on Chinese EVs. 🇨🇳

  • Spotify once made and sold “Car Things.” It stopped making them back in 2022, but now they are breaking, and Spotify seems unwilling to talk refunds. ☠️

  • A breakthrough in concrete production could produce carbon-free concrete very soon. Believe it or not, concrete production is a major contributor to Co2. 🧱

History

  • 1947: The history of Hyundai begins with a construction company. 👷

  • 1977: The First Star Wars film opens in theaters across the US. ☄️

  • 2012: The SpaceX Dragon 1 becomes the first commercial spacecraft to rendezvous and berth with the International Space Station successfully. 🌙

Thanks for reading, friend! We hope this email gets your weekend off to a productive start. At work or off the clock, there are good things waiting for you, and we are just happy to be involved with them.