🚗 Dealers Are About to Face a Visibility Fight

TOGETHER WITH

Happy Thanksgiving, Fam!

We know you’re either working hard or enjoying the food, family, and endless other reasons to be grateful, but we want to give our sincerest thanks to all our readers.

We know many people in this industry who wake up every day and “get to” do work they love. Because of you, we do too!

So, from the whole team, today, tomorrow, and as often as we can say it:

THANK YOU!

Keep Pushing Back,
-More Than Cars

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THE NEWS

Data: Trends Suggest Growing AI Influence on Car Shopping

AI is quickly becoming the first stop in the car-shopping journey, with new Cars.com data showing how deeply consumers are folding it into research and decision-making.

What shoppers are doing with AI:

• 44% of recent shoppers use AI for model comparisons, pricing clarity, and quick answers.

• 73% say AI saves significant time by narrowing options.

• 30% start and finish their research with AI.

• 59% still treat AI as just the first step.

How much they trust it:

• 71% trust AI at least moderately.

• 63% worry results could be biased (though only 22% verify anything).

• 41% of AI users say they’re likely to visit the dealership or OEM sites the AI recommends.

• 64% remain open to new suggestions once they’re in-store.

How dealers stay visible in AI-driven search:

• AI prioritizes accuracy. Keep your inventory data clean and structured.

• Build rich VDPs with clear specs, options, and payment info.

• Ensure a fast, mobile-first website, since AI often defaults to high-performing pages.

• Add FAQ-style content that answers the questions shoppers already ask AI.

• Keep Google Business Profiles complete and verified.

Dealership: Dealers and Ford’s Amazon Partnership

We read an Autonews editorial this week digging into Ford’s new partnership with Amazon Autos.

The reach is undeniable, giving dealers access to shoppers within 75 miles who are already primed to buy.

But the editorial raises an important caution: dealers must work intentionally to stay visible in the relationship. With Amazon acting as the discovery and transaction layer, it’s easy for the shopper to remember Amazon more than the store actually selling and servicing the vehicle.

The question for all of us:

If more OEMs follow this path, do dealers have a plan today to maintain their identity, loyalty funnel, and customer relationships before this becomes standard?

Big Travel = Big Opportunity

AAA expects 81.8M Americans to travel 50+ miles between November 25th and December 1st—the most Thanksgiving movement ever.

About 73M of them (90%) will do it by car, despite frosty weather across much of the country.

Air travel will be wild, too, with the TSA preparing to screen 17.8M people and projecting one of the busiest days in its history on the Sunday return.

All those cars hitting cold roads? Let’s just say a whole lot of check-engine lights are about to wake up.

Time for the BDC and service lane to grab their helmets.

TOGETHER WITH VEHICLES FOR CHANGE

A Gift That Lit the Path for Destiny

Destiny, a mom of three received a car from Vehicles for Change at their 2024 holiday award. She recently wrote to them with an update:

Destiny still feels “honored and in disbelief” that the car is hers.

It’s reliable, her kids love it, and it’s given her the stability and safety her family needed. She shared that having reliable transportation allowed her to move forward from a difficult situation and build a safer, independent life for her children.

“I don’t know what I would’ve done without it…You may not be changing the entire world, but you’re changing someone’s world.”

Ready to get another family back behind the wheel? Here’s how you can help.

SOMETHING FUN

The History Behind Pardoning Turkeys

Every November, the White House stages what may be America’s weirdest tradition: a presidential pardon for a turkey (or two).

The earliest rumored rescue goes back to Abraham Lincoln in 1863 when his son Tad reportedly begged to spare a turkey from the dinner table, but records are fuzzy.

It actually wasn’t until George H. W. Bush in 1989 that a turkey received an official presidential pardon, and every president since has continued the tradition.

This year, Donald Trump excused two turkeys from the chopping block, Waddle and Gobble.

The feathered friends typically retire to farms, universities, or agricultural centers—living proof that in America, even poultry can get a second chance.

Quick Hits

• 🛒 Retail: The average cost of a Thanksgiving dinner is about 5% less than it was last year. 📉

• 🇺🇸 U.S.: The 99th annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade will feature five new characters.

• 💰 Economy: Gas prices are near the their lowest level in 4 years (hovering just above $3.00/gallon on average).

Today in History

• 1826: John Walker invents friction matches in England. 🔥

• 1885 The first photograph of a meteor is taken by Austro-Hungarian photographer Ladislaus Weinek in Prague. ☄️

• 1895: Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel establishes the Nobel Prizes through his will, dedicating the bulk of his fortune to funding annual awards for those who have conferred the "greatest benefit to humankind." 🕊️

Enjoy the holiday, Friend!