TOGETHER WITH:
Howdy, Fam!
Remember yesterday’s story about the Beaver Toyota & Mazda Charity Golf Tournament? The final number is in: the team raised more than $126,000 for four Forsyth County charities. Five years ago, they half-jokingly called it an experiment.
But the part that really got us came from general manager Patrick Abad on the show. This year, Beaver started paying every one of its 330 employees for up to 40 hours a year to volunteer for a cause they care about. That took the store from zero dedicated volunteer hours to as many as 13,200.
Why would a dealership pay people to be away from the store? Patrick has watched service, sales, finance, and accounting bond while serving side by side in ways no meeting ever could.
“There is no dollar you’re going to spend on training and developing your people that will impact as much as that will,” he said.
Now that’s an investment.
In today’s email...
Credit is getting easier to get, and loans are getting longer
How dealer ads have changed since the FTC got serious about price
Related: why transparency is now table stakes, and Paris goes retro and affordable
Quick hits on GM’s hands-off driving timeline and sliding small pickup values
Keep Pushing Back,
—Chris with Paul, Kyle & Kristi
First-time reader? Subscribe Here!
Credit Is Getting Easier to Get, and Loans Are Getting Longer
Auto credit access rose for a fifth straight month in September, reaching its highest level since April 2015, according to the Dealertrack Credit Availability Index. But the way lenders are loosening tells the real story: loans are stretching longer, down payments are shrinking, and more borrowers are carrying negative equity.
Measure | September 2026 | A year ago |
|---|---|---|
Loans longer than 72 months | 31.8%, a record | 26.9% |
Loans with negative equity | 57.8% | 52.4% |
Subprime share of loans | 17.4% | 15.1% |
Average down payment | 12.8%, lowest since September 2022 | 13.5% |
Approval rate | 73.9% | 73.7% |
Meanwhile, the 5-year Treasury yield climbed to 4.80%, its highest level since July 2007, while the average contract rate rose to 11.22%. Because contract rates are rising more slowly than Treasury yields, lenders are earning a thinner margin while taking on more risk.
What looser credit means for dealers and F&I
In the short term, easier credit helps more customers fit a vehicle into their budget. But Cox warns that the trade-off shows up later.
“The flexibility borrowers gain up front comes at the cost of flexibility later.” Cox Automotive
If lenders tighten up, or contract rates catch up to Treasury yields and push payments higher, customers with long terms and negative equity will have the hardest time trading in or getting approved.
Today’s approval is tomorrow’s trade-in. Structure deals that keep customers in a position to come back.
Good Cars Get Stuck Behind Bad Prices
How many vehicles on your lot are priced off yesterday's market?
Join us October 21 at 2pm EST as Kyle Pisani of Drive Point Auto Group and Josh Gonsenhauser from vAuto break down how automated pricing keeps inventory moving with dealer-set rules, current market data, and a workflow built to catch exceptions.
They'll show how vehicles get priced higher, lower, or held steady, what the dealer still controls, and how the team handles the outliers.
If you're still relying on someone to remember every price adjustment, put this one on the calendar.
How Dealer Ads Have Changed Since the FTC Got Serious About Price
We asked More Than Cars’ own creative team what’s changed since the FTC put price transparency at the top of its list. Under the agency’s guidance, the all-in price now has to be the most prominent number in any dealer ad, including doc fees. That’s a much tougher number to sell. “I’d rather see $350 a month for 36 months than $47,000,” said Alannah Gallagher-Nat. “It’s a much harder sell.”
How dealers can advertise price and still stand out
“For the first time in probably four or five years, we have no choice. Affordability has to be the message.” Alannah Gallagher-Nat, More Than Cars
When everyone has to show an honest price, the brand behind that price is what sets a store apart.
Transparency is table stakes, and community is the edge.
$126K Back Into the Community
Beaver Toyota GM Patrick Abad says dealers still advertising transparency as their big differentiator are missing the point. “If you’re gonna get on TV or radio or in social right now and say, ‘Buy from us, we’re transparent,’ you’re like three years behind,” he said.
Online retailers can copy transparent pricing and easy buying, but they can’t copy years of showing up at kids’ football games, county fairs, and charity golf tournaments.
Paris goes retro, and affordable.
Volkswagen CEO Thomas Schäfer confirmed a next-generation ID. Buzz is coming on a new platform that could bring more range and a lower price, admitting the current model “is on the wrong cost base.”
Meanwhile, Citroen’s reborn 2CV concept became one of the most photographed vehicles at the Paris show, with a promised starting price under €15,000 when it joins Stellantis’s budget EV lineup in 2028.
🔧 Quick Turns
GM’s “eyes-off, hands-off” driving is on track for 2028, starting with the Cadillac Escalade IQ, says CEO Mary Barra. “We’re not in the taxi business,” she said of GM’s focus on personal vehicles.
Small pickup values are sliding faster. Black Book says depreciation accelerated across every age group last week, with 2- to 8-year-old models falling 0.78%, double the prior week’s drop.
1926: A.A. Milne’s “Winnie-the-Pooh” is first published.
1947: Chuck Yeager becomes the first pilot to break the sound barrier.
1964: Martin Luther King Jr. is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Thanks for reading, Friend!
