🚗 CDK One Year Later

TOGETHER WITH

Welcome to Friday, Friend!

We’ve got some auto, retail, techy, and economic news for you. We kept it sharp to save you time.

But before you scroll: Did you know Honda was building rockets now?

Fam’s been keeping that one on the down low till they had something to show-show. 😆 

Keep Pushing Back
-Paul, Kyle, Chris & Kristi

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THE NEWS

Today in Car Biz: Robots, Rockets & a Long Summer Ahead

👆 Check out more on the CDK, Waymo, and AI Sales with Paul and Kyle on The Automotive State of the Union.

🚨 CDK: One Year Later

A year after the cyberattack chaos, CDK says it’s stronger than ever. CEO Brian MacDonald cites record customer renewals and major security upgrades. Meanwhile, some dealers still skip MFA (yes, that MFA). Dealer leaders like Joe Shaker say CDK might now be the most secure DMS on the market — but only if you use it right.

🗽 Waymo Wants the Big Apple

Waymo’s back in NYC — this time just to map, test, and look cool with human “safety specialists” behind the wheel. They’re lobbying hard to make Manhattan a robotaxi playground. But legal hurdles, chaotic traffic, and skeptical regulators mean this is more PowerPoint than playbook — for now.

🛍️ China’s AI Hosts Outsell Humans

Baidu’s AI-generated livestream duo racked up $7.6M in sales in 26 minutes. These digital clones did 8,300 actions, typed 97,000 characters, and made real hosts look like amateurs. Over 100K “digital humans” are selling in China now. Your dealership's next BDC hire might not need lunch breaks.

🚀 Honda Launches a Rocket

No, seriously. It flew 890 feet, landed 14 inches from the target, and might eventually carry satellites. And yes, they used self-driving tech to build it.

💸 Senate Floats Car Loan Tax Break (But Not for Used Cars)

GOP lawmakers propose letting buyers deduct up to $10K in new-car loan interest. The catch? It only applies to new vehicles, so if you're selling used, don’t pop the champagne.

📉 Fed Hits Pause (Again)

Interest rates are still sky-high, and the Fed’s watching inflation and job data like a hawk. Translation: Don’t expect relief on auto loan rates this summer.

➕ More

We’ve got more on these and several other stories in our Daily Digest.

🥊 Quick Hits

• US Steel, once America’s biggest company, is now under foreign ownership. ⛏️ 

• Anti-aging drug as good for cell health as dieting or fasting. (Psst, it isn’t Flintstones vitamins) 💊 

• The TikTok “ban” is pushed back again. ⌛️ 

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AROUND THE ASOTU-VERSE

Promptcraft w/ AutoIndustry.AI

Want better results from AI? Start with better prompts. This week’s AutoIndustry.AI breaks down a dead-simple framework from OpenAI’s Greg Brockman that anyone on your team can use:

1. Say exactly what you want. Be specific about the task.

2. Name the return format. Want a checklist? A table? A pitch? Say so.

3. Set guardrails. Tell it what not to include.

4. Give context. Share data, past examples, or known flops.

It’s not magic—it’s just clarity. And when your people get better at asking for what they need, the outputs get sharper, the edits get lighter, and AI actually starts feeling like a teammate, not a tech demo.

If your team is still winging it with prompts like “write a blog post” or “give me ideas,” this is the fix.

There’s more in the AutoIndustry.AI email.

Check it out here. 

🔁 Today in History

• 1782 – The U.S. Congress adopts the Great Seal of the United States. 🦅 

• 1903 – Tom Fetch begins SF to NYC trip in a Packard 🗺️ 

• 1975 – The film Jaws is released in the United States, becoming the highest-grossing film of that time and starting the trend of films known as "summer blockbusters". 🦈 

Speaking of Jaws and Friday, remember if things get tough today…