🚗 Ford Hits Affordable

TOGETHER WITH

August 13th.

Today, we’re thinking about waiting rooms.

I was in a waiting room for an hour yesterday, and the TV was an endless stream of people making and then cutting up cakes. Why?

Anyway, if you’ve got a waiting room with a TV in it, put something cool on. Check out More than Cars: The Truth about Car Dealers and show the folks waiting for their service to conclude, what’s really going on behind the scenes of dealerships.

Let us know what you think, what you’re watching lately, or what you think people should stop watching forever (like cake-cutting clips on YouTube).

Keep Pushing Back,
-Chris

_{Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe here!
Reading time: 4 min and 31 sec}

THE UNION

From the Automotive State of the Union

Ford’s $2B Swing at Affordable EVs

Ford will invest $2B to turn its Louisville, KY, plant into a high-efficiency hub for a $30K midsize electric pickup launching in 2027. The overhaul reduces parts by 20%, utilizes parallel assembly for 15% higher efficiency, and enhances ergonomics. Ford also cut EV losses per vehicle in half last quarter—a big step toward profitability.

GM Reboots Autonomous Ambitions

After shuttering its Cruise robotaxi unit, GM is aiming driverless tech at personal vehicles. Early stages will keep a human in the seat, progressing to fully autonomous capability. Former Tesla Autopilot chief Sterling Anderson is leading the effort, with lidar-equipped test cars collecting data for the next phase.

AI Finds Its Place in Classrooms

Three years after the debut of ChatGPT, many K-12 educators are embracing AI as a tool, rather than a threat. Teachers use it for lesson planning, accessibility, and personalized learning, saving hours weekly. Concerns about bias and privacy remain, but adoption is growing with thoughtful guardrails.

From The News w/ ASOTU

Trump Gives China Tariff Hike a 90-Day Timeout.

President Trump delayed a planned spike in tariffs on Chinese imports, keeping rates at 30% until mid-November. Without the pause, some tariffs would have surged to 145%. Talks in Stockholm are “progressing nicely,” according to Trump, with a push for China to ramp up U.S. soybean purchases.

Mercedes CEO Wants a “Reality Check” on Gas-Car Ban

Ola Källenius warns the EU’s 2035 gas-vehicle ban could “collapse” the market if not reconsidered. He identifies EV mandates, supply chain challenges, and misalignment of consumer demand as significant risks.

Also in the mix:

• Automakers still guessing on U.S.-EU auto tariffs.

• The great price transparency debate is lighting up Reddit.

Challenges? Always. But that’s what makes this story worth following—and worth being part of.

🥊 Quick Hits

• Reddit blocked the Wayback Machine to prevent AI companies from scraping user-generated content through archived pages, limiting the tool to only capturing Reddit’s homepage (for now). ⌛️ 

• An AI company wants to buy Google Chrome. Wonder what they’ll do with all that user data… 🤔 

• Alien: Earth reboots the classic sci-fi horror, but it looks retro and in my humble opinion, hella-cool. 👽️ 

TOGETHER WITH WIDEWAIL

Where Does Your Dealership Stand?

Half the year is gone and it is time to see how your dealership stacks up in the eyes of customers.

On Wednesday, August 20 at 2pm ET, Widewail and ASOTU are pulling receipts from millions of Google reviews to show exactly where dealers are winning, losing, and quietly bleeding reputation points in 2025.

We will talk tariffs showing up in feedback, shifts in the sales and service experience, and what the best stores are doing to keep the lead.

Get the playbook the top stores are already using. Save your spot today!

SOMETHING ELSE

Dial-up Hangs Up The Crown

AOL is finally shutting down its dial-up internet on September 30.

Yes—it’s still been around. Once the king of the early internet with 18M subscribers in 1999, AOL’s dial-up user base had dwindled to a few thousand, mostly in rural areas without broadband.

The bigger thought? Some tech lasts decades (dial-up survived nearly 30 years), while other tech seems to reinvent itself every week. In retail auto, that shift means customers may arrive with knowledge from “last generation” tools, while the store is already three software updates ahead. Somebody has to keep up, so the customer can catch up.

AROUND THE ASOTU-VERSE

Matt Murray from Widewail has read eight million Google reviews so you don’t have to—and what he found will make you rethink your CSI strategy.

In this Auto Collabs episode, Matt breaks down the 20% jump in negative, staff-related reviews and why tech isn’t the magic fix. Spoiler: it’s still all about people.

Hit play on the full convo and get the backstory ahead of the Widewail webinar next week.

🔁 Today in History

• 1724: Johann Sebastian Bach leads the first performance of Nimm von uns, Herr, du treuer Gott, BWV 101, a chorale cantata on a famous tune. 🎵 

• 1898: James Packard buys a Winton. Dislikes it and starts Packard. 🚜 

• 1913: First production in the UK of stainless steel by Harry Brearley. 🤘 

Thanks for reading, Friend!