You Ever Needed A Reminder To Go Home?

TOGETHER WITH

In true ASOTU fashion, we have decided to announce something in our daily email, because, well, we think you all are the coolest for hanging out with us every morning.

ASOTU.com is now the fastest news and podcast website in automotive. Well, at least as far as we can tell. Some of the content you read every day is there, but we also link out all our social, video, podcast, and alternate articles there. Enjoy!Keep Pushing Back-Paul, Kyle, & Chris

P.S. If you find a faster site, please let us know so we can correct the error of our ways!

DEALERS

Easterns Automotive Win-Win-Wins

Easterns Automotive Group’s generosity warmed our hearts this week. Their local ABC news network shared a story that centered around a surprise donation by the group to a nonprofit called S.A.F.E. DC, whose purpose is to provide sports and educational programs to the youth of DC.

We contacted Joel Bassam, President of Easterns Automotive Group, to fill in some details on this donation as well as on Easterns’ ongoing campaign of giving back to their community.

Each month, the group selects several nonprofits to which they want to help bring awareness. Through well-established relationships with local news network reps, Easterns invites the media to cover a charity group. The selected nonprofit learns about the surprise donation by Easterns Auto only after their story is told. Around five nonprofits a month receive both an average of $2,200 from Easterns and a visibility boost in local news coverage.

Once the story is told on air, the Easterns group then shares the news affiliate’s professionally filmed and edited content around their community.

As Joel put it, it’s a win-win-win.

Telling it like it is - We totally encourage working with your local news stations to increase visibility of nonprofits; however, if they don’t answer, ASOTU is always here to share your story. 😉

AROUND THE ASOTU-VERSE

Pitch Tank by Auto Genius

Pitch Tank is an excellent chance to see what industry partners are working on (and maybe do a little window shopping). Join us today for a quick half-hour session featuring three 3-minute pitches, questions and ratings from our panelists, and hear which pitch will progress to the final round.Would you like to Pitch? Apply now! 

AUTOMOTIVE

Jaguar Leans into Autonomous Tech

Jaguar Land Rover will open three engineering hubs in Europe that will be dedicated to the development of autonomous vehicle tech. The new locations will be additions to the six that are currently operational and working toward the production of the brand's next generation of luxury vehicles.

🤖 Maybe autonomous driving is the missing ingredient Land Rover needs to climb up from placing dead last in Consumer Report's vehicle brand satisfaction rankings.

Telling it like it is - People think you should work on quality? Adding a feature nobody fully understands yet will show them!

TOGETHER WITH SLACK

Communication Is Key

Rome wasn't built in a day, sure, but did the Romans have Slack?

We thought not...

Communication is key to getting (and keeping) your team on the same page. Slack offers organized conversations, easy-to-control permissions, and built-in tools like reminders, voice/video calls, and app integration.

It is reliable and customizable in all the ways you need. Build your empire today.

AUTOMOTIVE

Ford: New Ideas and Old Problems

Ford's recent patent filing suggests the solution to the charging station questions may be piggy-backing. If connected to a charger, the new dual-charge-port would allow Ford EVs to fill up through one port while allowing power to go to a second connected EV through a separate port.

Though the dev team is having a good time, 3000 Louisville Ford workers are entering their second week of lay-off as the company tries to resolve an issue with the 2023 Model Escape SUV. The company's last memo to workers says work will resume on Feb. 27th, which is a weeklong delay of the original return date.

With F-150 Lightning production halted, many see a tough spot and a hard fight ahead for the brand. Ford issued 68 recalls in 2022, more than any other automaker, accounting for 8.7M vehicles. CEO Jim Farley is trying to put quality back at priority number one while pushing forward to new things.

A $3.5B factory in Michigan will turn nearly 2K acres of farmland into an EV and battery production plant, where the company will develop its lithium iron phosphate batteries. This move could dramatically improve the durability and charging speed of Lithium-Ion batteries.

Telling it like it is - Ford is like a spider. If they get a black eye they still have, like, seven more to work with!

AUTOMOTIVE

BYD On The Way

Chinese EV maker BYD will begin working with a new European dealer group in Ireland and add Finland and Iceland to an ongoing relationship with a group based in Norway. Currently, the company has sold 3.5M EVs in 70 countries around the world, with the vast majority in China. Could this push for market expansion bring them to the US? Maybe.

Get fancy. BYD is also looking to pick a fight with Tesla over a share of the luxury market. As part of the plan to sell 2M vehicles this year, BYD will release its off-road SUV and U9 Supercar, each with prices significantly exceeding $100K.

Telling it like it is - This story is less for our readers in Europe with $100K to spend on a EV and more for those who may be wondering when BYD will make a meaningful move toward the US market.

CULTURE

Swimming, Clocking Out, and Finding a New Home

The FlyingFish answers a question we didn't know we had: Can a drone fall from the sky into a body of water and still be fabulous? Apparently, it can. The Chinese-developed quadcopter is only a prototype, but it has successfully switched from flying to submarine travel and back to flying without the need for physical human assistance.

👇👇👇

To guarantee a healthy work-life balance for their employees, a small IT company located in a central Indian city has devised software to send reminders when it’s quittin’ time. The measure was introduced in response to growing concerns over the negative impacts of extended work hours on workers’ health and well-being.

You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here. The program developed by Softgrid Computers displays a notification on the employee’s computer screen once their shift is over. The notifcation warns that the system will shut down automatically in 10 minutes and asks that they “please go home.”

👇👇👇

Flaco officially wins BAMF (Bird Acquiring More Freedom) of the month after the Eurasian eagle owl busted out of the Central Park Zoo on February 2nd. Flaco has since resisted attempts to be lured into captivity. He found himself a sweet spot in the park and he ain’t goin’ back. Zoo staff was no match for Flaco, and they have halted attempts to capture him (but will continue to monitor him for signs of distress).

TL:DR - FlyingFish is free-falling, Flaco is a free bird, and workers in India are free at last (as soon as they get their reminder).

Quick Hits

• Six brave doctors swallowed Lego heads…for science!

• New Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves clip shows the movie’s characters using a classic spell: Speak with Dead.

• A drought has dried up the canals of Venice. More than fish, gondoliers and tourists are bummed as the city’s water ambulances and regular travel methods are also halted.

PODCASTS

15 Minutes a Day and NOT Boring

Imagine yourself driving along the road headed to work each day getting a dose of automotive news you can use and some laughs along the way.

Now imagine no longer! The Automotive Troublemaker is a daily dive into the automotive and culture news that brings context to stories that you can use in your stores and business. Check it out today!

History

• 1959: Lee Petty wins the first Daytona 500.

• 1980: Miracle on Ice: In Lake Placid, New York, the United States hockey team defeats the Soviet Union hockey team 4–3.

• 1997: Scottish scientists from the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh announce they have successfully cloned an adult sheep named Dolly. The sheep was born in July of 1996, and Dolly was the world's first cloned mammal.