🚗 Proximity Based Greatness

🚙 Revolutions, Webinars, and Economic Data

November 22, 2024

TOGETHER WITH

Honestly, though, Friday gets a lotta praise just for being CLOSE to the weekend.

Do you know what’s right next to the Great Pyramids of Giza? Fast food shops. Nobody praises them.

So, by all means, be a member of a great team today, but also bring some greatness of your own.

And of course…

Keep Pushing Back
-Paul, Kyle, Chris & Kristi

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Today's Email

👏 Kia Speeds Ahead, Lucid Claps Back, and Tesla Plugs Everyone In

giphy

Kia is zipping ahead with its EV9 GT and refreshed EV6, boasting Tesla compatibility, blistering performance, and tax credit potential—giving dealers plenty to pitch. Honda’s solid-state battery efforts promise a future of longer-range EVs, while a 50% drop in battery prices by 2026 could make EVs as wallet-friendly as gas cars.

Hyundai’s Ioniq 9 is primed to charm families with space, speed, and American-made bragging rights. Tesla’s Supercharger empire keeps growing, now welcoming Nissan Ariya drivers, while Rivian and Scout are carving out their niches in the rugged EV market.

Lastly, the Lucid-Jaguar luxury showdown has begun: Jaguar’s $130K “Copy Nothing” lineup faces Lucid’s $250K “Compromise Nothing” Air Sapphire. High-end EV competition is heating up, and dealerships should gear up for an electrifying year ahead.

Read more on these stories @ Daily.ASOTU.com

Webinar: Smart 5 for 2025

Driving high-intent buyers into your showroom often starts online. In fact, so much of the looking, researching, and deciding what vehicle a buyer wants to purchase happens on your website, before they even step foot inside your dealership.

Therefore, it’s crucial you impress your customers and stand out from your competition by adopting a powerful digital merchandising strategy. Join our webinar on Friday to learn 5 techniques you can implement to improve your customer’s digital experience.

Webinar: The Smart 5 for 2025
Time & Date: TODAY! Friday, November 22nd at 2:00pm EDT
Presented by: Brian Free, AutoNation and Daniel Able, CarCutter

AROUND THE ASOTU-VERSE

🗓️ Coming Soon

🥳  November 29th, 2024 — ASOTU CON Black Friday Ticket Event. Sign up now to get your discount code on Black Friday!

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

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

🐃 Bulls Hold Firm

giphy / Lincoln

Markets pulled back slightly last week, but positive fundamentals appear to be keeping the bull market alive and well as we head into year-end.

  • Market Performance — The S&P 500 dropped 2% for the week but remains up over 23% for the year and 1% since election day.

  • Inflation Update — October’s CPI data met expectations, showing a gradual downward trend. However, costs like shelter, rent, and auto insurance remain elevated, slowing progress toward the Fed’s 2% target. Long-term inflation is expected to settle between 2%-3%.

Edward Jones / FactSet

Fed Chair Jerome Powell signaled a cautious approach to rate cuts last week, highlighting resilience in the U.S. economy and labor market.

  • “No Rush” on Rate Cuts — Powell stated there’s no urgency to lower rates, given the economy’s strength and lack of signals requiring immediate action. This dampened market expectations for a December rate cut, with forecasts now pointing to a gradual decrease to 3.5%-4.0% in 2025.

  • Market Implications — The S&P 500 already outperforming global indexes in 2024. A measured rate cut cycle could support consumers and corporations without stoking inflation fears.

Edward Jones / CME FedWatch

Even with profits cooling from their record highs, dealerships are still earning well above pre-pandemic levels according to the most recent Haig Report.

  • Q3 2024 Earnings — Average pre-tax earnings per publicly owned dealership hit $1.0M for Q3 (down 28% from last year but still 100% higher than Q3 2019).

  • Annual Earnings Per Store — Over the past 12 months, adjusted annual earnings per dealership averaged $4.1M, reflecting a 22.8% drop from 2023 and a 35.5% decline from 2022’s peak, but those sky-high 2022 numbers were always going to be tough to maintain.

Haig Partners / SEC Filings

🥊 Quick Hits: Vs Glitches, Overtime, and Free Tuition

  • Netflix is being hit with $50M class action lawsuit over the platform’s technical glitches during the Mike Tyson-Logan Paul fight. 📺

  • A federal judge in Texas struck down the Department of Labor’s overtime rule, which increased salary thresholds for exemptions. The decision nullifies past increases, halting future raises set for January 2025 and beyond. 🛑

  • Starting in fall 2025, MIT will offer free tuition to families earning under $200K. 🆓

🔁 Today in History: Volcano, Santa, and Kennedy

  • 1842: Mount St Helens in Washington erupts. 🌋

  • 1934: "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" debuts on the Eddie Cantor radio show. 🎅

  • 1963: President John F. Kennedy was assassinated as he rode in a motorcade through the streets of Dallas, Texas. 💔

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