#465 - 🎨 Cracking the Color Code

TOGETHER WITH

“What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?” ― Will Guidara

Walking into a work week can sometimes come with an expectation to maintain the status quo. Status quo can lead to both resentment and average results. Out industry is made of people who are not meant for status quo.

Innovation and change take a willingness to step outside the false boundaries that you or others have put up around you. Take big swings today, fam!

Keep Pushing Back
-Paul, Kyle, & Chris

LOT WALK

• Winning strategies for agility and adaptation with the All Things Used Cars community. 🥇

• The most popular and valuable car colors on the market. 🌈

• AI journalism gets duped.

Reading time: 3 min 36 sec

DAVID LONG’S ALL THINGS USED CARS

Keeping Up > Getting Crushed

Last week, David Long and his All Things Used Cars community welcomed Brian Kramer and Diego Vargas to share their wisdom and practical guidance regarding active management, strategic adaptation, and constant vigilance. Here are some key points from the discussion:

Data-Driven Decision Making: With the automotive industry's constant evolution, using real-time data and leading indicators like 'days on market' are crucial for anticipating shifts and informing decisions. This includes understanding your dealership's key 'vitals' or metrics and proactively maintaining its health. Similarly, looking beyond immediate data and predicting long-term market factors can help avoid unexpected shifts. Remember to use multiple data points to sidestep false positives or negatives and avoid making your Key Performance Indicator (KPI) your sole strategy.

Embracing Technology, but Don't Wholly Rely on It: While AI and technology can level the playing field, human intelligence is vital for navigating real-time changes and market nuances. Technology should be used as a tool to enhance decision-making, not as a complete replacement for human judgment.

Strategic Planning and Risk Management: Establish a well-defined acquisition strategy outlining the vehicles to invest in, the associated risk, and your dealership's target day and dollar supply. Being aware of external factors, such as manufacturer price drops and new model releases, can help in adjusting pricing and buying strategies quickly. It's essential to avoid trying to time the market; instead, rely on your strategic plan backed by the right data.

Adapting to Market Trends: Stay updated with shifting market realities, including fluctuating vehicle values, and adapt your strategies accordingly. Monitor trends in emerging markets like Electric Vehicles (EVs) due to their unique market dynamics, which can impact your acquisition strategy.

Staff Training and Clear Communication: Ensuring your team understands and effectively uses data is crucial, as is clear communication about your dealership's objectives. Also, make your team aware of inherent biases that could influence their decision-making. Implement a 'prevention plan' that acknowledges changes or potential issues and includes actionable steps to mitigate those challenges.

Listen to the full replay on Clubhouse. 

TOGETHER WITH CALLREVU

Maximize Your Marketing Potential

Join us on July 26th at 2:00 PM ET to learn how to use GA4 to measure marketing ROI and its impact on the phones.

We'll talk about Engagement versus Conversion, Events, Parameters, and more in this insightful conversation with our friends at CallRevu. You won’t want to miss it!

AUTOMOTIVE

Color Wheels

iSeeCars.com evaluated millions of cars around the country to find out which ones are most popular and which ones are most valuable. Here’s what they found:

• The average car loses 22.5% of its value after 3 years.

• Less popular car colors tend to depreciate less because they are more scarce in the used car market.

• Yellow, beige, orange, and green cars all lose less than 20% of their value. Yellow cars hold their value best losing only 13.5%.

• Above-average colors for value retention include beige, orange, green, red, white, and blue.

• Gold, brown and black cars drop the most in value.

🏆 Best Color for Resale Value By Type:

• SUV — Yellow

• Pickup Trucks — Beige

• Sedans — Brown

• Convertibles — Yellow

• Coupes — Yellow

• Minivans — Green

• Grayscale cars (white, black, gray, and silver) account for 78.5% of all vehicles on the road.

• White is the most popular car color.

• Blue is the most popular non-grayscale color.

• The most colorful metro area is Harrisburg-Lancaster York, PA. The least colorful is Los Angeles, CA.

We wanna know — Do your preferences follow these trends? What color is your car?

AROUND THE ASOTU-VERSE

CULTURE/TECHNOLOGY/WHAT THE KIDS ARE INTO

Who Wrote Your News?

The eternal journey for truth through journalism took a wrong exit last week when an AI fell for a trick on Reddit.

World of Warcraft fans duped an AI bot into publishing a false article about a non-existent game feature, "Glorbo," on the gaming site Zleague.

The fans, suspecting their Reddit posts were fueling AI-produced news, baited the bot with fabricated features. Zleague has not confirmed AI use, but the incident raises questions about AI's role in journalism.

Hey, using bots to serve your readers is one thing. Using your readers to fuel your bots is another.

Quick Hits

• A newly discovered two-faced white dwarf star is baffling scientists. 🎭🔭

• Seven of the leading AI companies agree to safeguards in the US. 🤖🚧

• The first container ship fueled entirely by food scraps is ready to set sail from South Korea. 🗑️⚓️

History

• 1952: President Harry Truman settles a 53-day steel strike. 🪧

• 1969: Apollo 11 returns to Earth. 🚀

• 1998: "Saving Private Ryan" directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tom Hanks and Matt Damon, is released in theaters. 🎥