#464 - 🪲 Snug as a Bug

TOGETHER WITH

This week in auto saw Carvana stock boom again, the ASOTU team crash a company party, and a potential for VR glasses to be worn while driving!

What a world we live in!? Good news is, there are still thousands of you in the dirt serving customers every day. Thanks for keeping this industry moving forward!

Keep Pushing Back
-Paul, Kyle, & Chris

LOT WALK

In Today’s Email

• Valley-Hi Toyota’s Team keep the good times (and content) coming.

• What’s going on with Tesla, Ford, and Classic VWs?

• Peeping the exciting automotive Colors, Sizes, and Styles going around.

Reading time: 3 min 50 sec

DEALERS

Valley-Hi’s Content Continues

The new in-house commercial by Brian Ortega and the talented folks at Valley-Hi Toyota combines two things everybody loves: dope new rides and jump scares. 😱

The 30-second clip features the new Toyota Tundra without feeling like an ad for the new Toyota Tundra. It's a sweet spot that Valley-Hi's content manages to occupy.

Honestly, watch it for yourself, then get out your iPhone and put some stuff on YouTube. We're sure Brian won't get jealous about it. 📱

Telling it like it is – DIY is the TRUTH. It’s one of the only things Punks and Grandparents agree on.

TOGETHER WITH VELOCITY

Window Stickers You Can Count On

Stop us if you’ve heard this one: “I have all the information I need and have no further questions. Where do I sign?”

Oh, you haven’t?

That’s okay. Between customers and salespeople, inquiries are inevitable. What if you could save time searching for answers by having a car’s most important information readily available?

Velocity Automotive offers just that! Dealers can use their Window Stickers during appraising, buying, and merchandising to streamline processes accurately and efficiently.

Velocity Automotive’s Window Stickers integrate seamlessly with the websites you use every day, including your IMS, DMS, CRM, and even your competitor’s website.

Leverage the power of Velocity Automotive’s Window Stickers today!

AUTOMOTIVE

What’s Up: Tesla, Ford, and Classic Bugs

What’s up with Tesla?

Haters gonna hate! Despite posting record quarterly revenue, Tesla's shares fell 4% as margins shrank, and no details for the Cybertruck and a robotaxi-ready vehicle were provided.

Elon gonna Elon? Musk remains optimistic about the company's AI, including progress in self-driving technology and humanoid robots. He hinted at potential licensing of Tesla's FSD technology to a major automaker and plans to invest over $1 billion in their AI supercomputer, Dojo.

Minor setback. Musk seems to believe sacrificing short-term profitability will pay off when FSD is fully integrated. While more automakers, including Nissan, adopt Tesla charging tech, no matter what happens, Tesla will be part of the electrification conversation as long as batteries and wires.

What’s up with Ford?

What? Canadian auto parts manufacturer Magna International Inc will invest $790 million to build three factories to produce parts for Ford's electric truck.

Where? Two facilities, manufacturing battery enclosures, polyurethane foam, and seats, will be located at Ford's BlueOval City campus in Tennessee. A third facility, producing vehicle frames, will be based in Lawrenceburg.

Who? This investment will create up to 1,300 jobs by 2025.

Wanna make a battery bug?

A $2,000 kit from China's Alibaba converts a 65'-75' VW Beetle into an EV. The kit includes a 15 kW electric motor, electronic speed controller, and digital dashboard. Notably, it does NOT include the 96V battery.

Why so specific? Older air-cooled vehicles are ideal for electric conversion thanks to their massive engine compartments. The VW bug is specifically ideal because its engine is in the back, granting the proud new owner access to a range of cliches about "junk in the trunk."

AROUND THE ASOTU-VERSE

DAVID LONG’S ALL THINGS USED CARS

Psst. Hey - you should join us Tomorrow, 9:00 am, for Values Are Changing Quick, Don’t Get Crushed.

David Long and the All Things Used Cars Community will crush the topic, so the topic don’t crush you. 😉

See you on Clubhouse!

CULTURE/TECH

Electric Avenue and Fancy Finishes

VW revealed the perfect festival partner with a one-off Glamper Van — a colorful revamp of their electric minibus giving major Woodstock vibes. ☮️

This radiant ride comes fully loaded with props like decorative plants and flowers, colorful signs, and even an Instagram-ready photo booth to document your new influencer lifestyle (probably). 📸

The Glamper Van will appropriately debut at a music festival today in the UK alongside its plainer sibling, the ID.Buzz. 🐝

One of the cutest four-wheeled EVs in Europe, the Microlino, is charging into uncharted territory — France. 🇫🇷

Interestingly, the itty-bitty EV technically isn’t a car at all but rather a L7e quadricycle. Quadricycles are similar to the LSV category of motor vehicles in the US, but they’re allowed to reach much higher speeds in Europe. 🚙💨

The Microlino may not be a “real” car, but it still uses automotive-grade construction and components, claiming to be the first in its category to use steel and aluminum unibody construction, similar to how full-size cars are produced. 🏭

Jeeps scream Summer, but some of the refreshed 2024 models are taking it up a notch with limited-edition finishes — “Bikini” (a bright, bold teal) and “Punk’n” (a vibrant punchy orange). 👙🎃

Jeep is known for making unique color collections for their Wrangler and Gladiator stans who appreciate the personalization (and reason to talk more about their Jeeps). 🥰

Can you put a price on self-expression? Yes, and it’s $795 – the cost that these specialty hues will run you on the MSRP. 💸

Quick Hits

• A survey found people in the US would rather NASA figure out asteroid defense than check out Mars up close. 🧑‍🚀

• A rare fossil find suggests mammals hunted dinosaurs. 🦕

• Samsung is working on a smart ring to collect health data, but we hope it shoots lasers. 💍

• Amazon is opening palm scanning to all five hundred Whole Foods locations. 🖐️

History

• 1974: The last VW Karmann Ghia is produced. ✌️

• 1987: The Ferrari F40 debuts. 🏎️

• 2012: Erden Eruç completes the first solo human-powered circumnavigation of the world. 🌍

#464