Can 81% of Americans Be Wrong?

TOGETHER WITH

Until you have been in automotive on the last day of the month, you never really assume that day is different than any other. It is simply a marker for most of our culture.

But for us today, it is all about the energy. The combination of Saturday’s energy and that final whistle of the championship game. For some reason, it just never gets old. No matter how many ‘last day of the month’s’ you have been a part of, make this one count. 

Keep Pushing Back,-Paul, Kyle, & Chris

DEALERS

New Wheels With West Herr

The Boys & Girls Club of Rochester serves 1,400 underserved teens and children in Greater Rochester. Their mission of propelling students toward academic, athletic, artistic, and social health and excellence does not stop with access, but takes on a broad spectrum of services that ensure total wellness and opportunity. 

Through community support, the club provides healthy snacks, hot meals, computer-based STEM and literacy programs, and even a teen-run store that collects funds for future club needs, like field trips. 

Inspired by all the club and its members were doing, West Herr Automotive Group President and CEO Scott Bieler and his team decided to help! 

The dealer group proudly announced a gift to the club of a 12-passenger Ford Transit Van this week. The van will enable the club to broaden its commitment to serving youth.

We spoke with Mary Wright of the auto group, who shared how personal this story is for her. She was a Club Kid growing up and is proud of her company supporting a group that helps kids learn, feel safe, and have fun. 

Telling it like it is - Thank you for sharing Mary, Matt, and the whole West Herr team. This is not the only time we have seen you work to ensure humans feel seen, safe, and worthy of respect. We know they will not forget it.

AUTOMOTIVE

IIHS Announces Top Safest Vehicles in 2023

Every year, the IIHS (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety) announces its list of award winners for outstanding car safety. Here is a short list of the OEMs who were commended most within their “Top Safety Pick +” selections (the best of the best):

Acura – Inegra, MDX, RDXHonda – CR-V, HR-V, OdysseyLexus – UX, NX, RXSubaru – Solterra, Outback, AscentToyota – Camry, Tundra, Sienna, Highlander

Overall:-Toyota and Lexus racked up the most awards.-100% of Mazdas tested made the list.-Small SUVs and midsize luxury SUVs took home the most Ws.

Check out IIHS’s full list here.

Telling it like it is - Thanks for all your hard work out there, Crash Test Dummies. You’re the real MVPs.

TOGETHER WITH IMPEL

Customers Don’t Keep Office Hours

Jeremy Nowling with Rohrman Automotive Group recently spoke about his experience using Impel's Sales AI to capture and convert more leads while giving salespeople the space to focus on the customer in front of them.

Even after hours, Sales AI replies to phone and internet leads with meaningful, personalized messages that lead to scheduled appointments and, ultimately, sales.

Numbers from one of Rohrman Automotive's stores saw a 43% jump in showroom appointments from online leads, many of which were made after-hours when nobody was working at the dealership.

Hear more from Jeremy in his own words, and then check out Impel to offer exceptionally engaging experiences to your customers!

Quick Hits

• Home Depot commits $1B towards increasing pay and benefits for it’s hourly staff.

• One Stanford professor traces tech layoffs to copycat behavior. 

• Move aside solar, steam, geothermal, and fossil fuels! Physicists are teleporting energy from nothing (we don’t understand it either).  

• Michelle Yeoh became the first Asian to win Best Actress at the SAG Awards for her work in “Everything Everywhere All at Once.”  Brendan Fraiser wins best actor for his work in “The Whale.”

PODCASTS

A Daily Dose of Laughs & Learning

We get it, you can't possibly read ALL the news every day. That is why we like to compliment this little email compilation with a daily show of our own. Check out The Automotive Troublemaker for 15 minutes of insights around the world of automotive, retail, and culture.

AUTOMOTIVE

Production: Toyota, Fisker, Tesla

​​Toyota's January production was up 8.8% year over year despite lingering chip challenges. The 689K vehicles produced was short of its target of 700K, but is the first YOY production growth in 2 months. Peers Nissan and Honda had 21%-25% output drops in the same month. 

More than production. Toyota is also getting mentioned in some interesting BMW news. The German carmaker is creating its hydrogen-powered iX5 using Toyota fuel cells. Vehicles in the pilot fleet have a top speed of over 110 MPH and a 313-mile range on each 4-minute refill. 

Fisker says deliveries will begin this spring. The EV maker expects to build about 40K Ocean SUVs this year and already has about 65K reservations. The company's stock jumped 24% following the announcement and reports that the company spent less than expected in 2022. 

Living up to the announcements? To date, the startup has produced just 56 Ocean SUVs. 

Tesla's German plant hit 4K cars a week ahead of schedule. Still shy of its eventual 10K vehicles a week goal, the gigafactory is about three weeks ahead of schedule producing about 1/3 the number of Model Ys of the company's Shanghai plant. Shares were up 1.9% before the US market opened following the news. 

Keep the hype train rolling. Each week Elon Musk reminds people they are still excited about the Cybertruck release. Last week he revealed the stainless steel-looking body was made with a new "ultra-hard cold-worked steel alloy" that does not require additional corrosion treatment. 

TL: DR - Toyota is producing more cars (and hydrogen fuel cells), EV startup Fisker says it will produce 40K SUVs this year, and Tesla is ahead of schedule in Germany. 

TECHNOLOGY

The Future of Pilot-Free Skies

We could all be saying “bon voyage” to pilots sooner than you think as various manufacturers work toward self-flying commercial airplanes. “It’s going to take time. Everyone’s got to build confidence,” says Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun, but the autonomous future of aviation is very real. Forbes breaks down the fast-paced timeline:

2023: Various aircraft manufacturers working with the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) to certify autonomous flight. 🧑‍✈️👨‍✈️🧑‍✈️✈️

2025-2026: The first self-flying cargo planes will enter civil aviation, sharing the skies with piloted airplanes. 🧑‍✈️👩‍✈️🤖✈️

2030-2035: Small, self-flying planes will begin carrying passengers on short, regional flights. 🧑‍✈️🤖🤖✈️

2040-2050: Larger passenger jets to begin testing and finalizing autonomous flight (firstly with a pilot on board to monitor, and eventually moving into operating fully without a pilot onboard). 🤖🤖🤖✈️

YIKES! No thank you very much. If this too was your first thought, you’re not alone. A 2018 study found that 81% of Americans would not feel comfortable flying with Captain AI alone. 

Telling it like it is - What would it take to get you on a pilot-less flight? Free bags? Twice the leg-room? Complimentary parachute? Hit reply and let us know!

History

• 1940: One of the most decorated American racers, Mario Andretti, is born.

• 1954: U.S.A. DNA Double Helix Discovered

• 1975: AMC Introduces the “first wide small car” the Pacer to showrooms. 

• 1983: M*A*S*H Final Episode becomes the most watched television episode in US history with an estimated 106M US viewers.