#456 - 🍦 Cone of Shame

TOGETHER WITH

If you missed the Auto News 40 Under 40 list that came out this weekend, make sure and check it out!

We have some pretty epic people in auto and you may know one or 2 😁. Shoot them all a message of congratulations and join in the celebration of highlighting the people that make this industry so great. We know, it really is more than just cars 😜!

Keep Pushing Back
-Paul, Kyle, & Chris

DEALERS

Praise Where Praise Is Due

Rita Case, President and CEO of Rick Case Automotive Group was honored at the 16th annual Women In Distress Starfish Luncheon. The event raised over $260K for the non-profit, which will go to providing free, confidential, and multi-lingual services to families overcoming domestic violence.

Rita was honored for her charitable work with WID and other philanthropic causes; work that she and her husband, Rick Case, made a constant part of the business.

Boys & Girls Clubs, scholarship funds, Habitat for Humanity, United Way, Humane Society, food security groups, and many other non-profits are better off thanks to Rita and the Rick Case Automotive team's work.

Telling it like it is - Give so hard that people wonder when you have time to sell cars. That’s loving people more than you love cars, if we’ve ever seen it!

/Positivity

Do you have a story showing the positive impact dealerships have on their community? Let us share it!

AUTOMOTIVE

Market Watch

John Ellis’ Automotive Advisor Team recaps the latest market trends for us every week. Here’s what we’ve learned from the most recent data:

🕵️‍♂️ Used Car Outlook:

• Days' supply dropped in June, indicating a faster acquisition rate compared to the rate of cars being sold.

• Used-vehicle retail sales in June declined by 4.0% compared to May but showed overall improvement compared to last year.

🕵️‍♂️ Wholesale Outlook:

• The Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index (MUVVI) dropped 10.3% from a year ago.

• Prices decreased 4.2% in June from May, marking one of the largest declines in MUVVI history.

• Manheim Market Report (MMR) values experienced consistent declines, with the Three-Year-Old Index falling by 3.8% over four weeks.

🕵️‍♂️ New Car Outlook:

• Retail days' supply decreased to 45 days, while wholesale supply remained at 24 days.

• June's new light-vehicle sales increased by 19.9% YOY.

• Last month’s sales reached 15.7M (up 20.2% from last year, and 4.0% from May).

• Combined sales in rental, commercial, and government fleets surged by 45% YOY.

🕵️‍♂️ Customer Outlook:

• Consumers are prioritizing debt repayment and rebuilding savings, marking hesitation in large purchases.

• The average US monthly payment for a new car is $730. 17% of Americans are paying $1000 or more per month.

• Gas prices fell by 1% in June to $3.54/gallon, down 27% YOY.

• The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index rose by 11.5% YOY.

• The market remains steady but sluggish. Acquisition market values are declining ~50% faster than the retail market which is good news for both dealers and buyers.

Telling it like it is — It’s easy to navigate the ever-changing market with confidence when you have buddies like John to keep you in the loop.

TOGETHER WITH UPSTART

Savvy and Succinct

Join us and our friends at Upstart tomorrow, July 12th at 2 pm EST, for a half-hour dive into a revolutionary approach to the car-buying experience.

✅ Be where they need you! Combine your online and in-store capabilities to provide an omni-channel solution that is more than a buzzword.

✅ Reclaim your time. Improve CSI, achieve higher PVR, and save time.

✅ Level up. Know when, where, and how to upgrade the experience you provide customers in person or online.

This fast-paced webinar will send everybody home with something valuable.

AUTOMOTIVE

Motor Morsels: GM Discounts, Tesla in Mexico, and Diesel Vs. Diesel Vs. Diesel

✂️💰🇨🇳 As market pressures in China intensify, General Motors (GM) has reduced the Cadillac Lyriq's price by almost 14% to 379,700 yuan ($52,466), mirroring Volkswagen's recent EV price cuts. This response is to remain competitive in a market witnessing surges in locally-produced EV brands. Despite increasing EV sales, industry-wide profitability could be at risk due to price competition. The trend follows Tesla's price cut in January, resulting in a domino effect across nearly two dozen automakers.

👷‍♀️👍🇲🇽 Tesla has received approval to begin constructing its new Gigafactory in Mexico, according to Nuevo León Governor Samuel García. Located near Monterrey, the factory is expected to produce Tesla's next-generation entry-level electric vehicle. Despite no construction start date, all essential permits are in place, indicating an imminent launch.

🛻🏁🧑‍🔬 We all know diesel engines got oomph, but which one gots the most zoom? A YouTube group called The Fast Lane Truck pitted three new diesel trucks against one another to find out.

The video is a fun watch, but in case you got places to be (or, uh, cars to sell?), we dropped in the above graphic from TFLTruck as a summary of the experiment's findings. Congratulations, Ford F-350, you fast.

TL; DR – GM cuts prices in China despite a price war truce reported last week, Tesla gets permission to build its Mexico factory, and a diesel truck drag race.

CULTURE

Robots Vs. Traffic Cones

🤖 San Francisco's Safe Street Rebel group is causing a ruckus by foiling self-driving cars using traffic cones, notably Google's Waymo and GM's Cruise. 🍦

🦾 Their unique protest condemns autonomous vehicles for causing congestion, mishaps, and accountability issues. Waymo decries these acts as misunderstandings, marking a brewing debate. As the controversy heats up, all eyes turn to the upcoming California Public Utilities Commission meeting. 🦺

🚗 The rebellious activists, unwilling to embrace an autonomous future, rally others with a bold cry, "Hell no, we do not consent to this!" 🙅‍♀️

Telling it like it is – We are far from “anti-car” but can totally vibe with not wanting to share the road with 10,000-pound test products. What do you think about this? Hit reply and let us know.

Quick Hits

• Multiple authors, including comedian Sarah Silverman, are suing OpenAI for using their books to train ChatGPT. 🤖

• Zoos are asking visitors to stop showing gorillas videos on their phones. 🦍

• Ridley Scott’s “Napoleon” starring Joaquin Phoenix drops a trailer, and it looks as epic as you’d expect. 🎬

History

• 1899: Fiat is founded by Giovanni Agnelli in Turin, Italy. 🇮🇹

• 1914: Babe Ruth makes his debut in Major League Baseball. ⚾️

• 1955: President Eisenhower signs a bill requiring the inscription 'In God We Trust' on all paper money. 💵