👩‍🏭 New Inventory Improves

TOGETHER WITH

Chances are, if you've been around the ASOTU camp a while, you know what you can count on from us.

Daily context, sincere connection, and a little confidence that you aren't in this big wild world alone.

If you know somebody who could use the same, check out the referral link at the bottom of the email and send an invite their way.

Keep Pushing Back.
-Paul, Kyle, & Chris

DEALERS

New Coats for Kids

This year’s 108th Auto Dealers CARing for Kids Golf Tournament raised a record-breaking amount of money for their New Coat Program, with their efforts resulting in over 5K brand-new jackets for underprivileged children in just one day. That’s, like, a mind-boggling amount of coats! 🧥🧥🧥🧥🧥🧥🧥🧥🧥

The program started in 2008 with a simple goal: ensure every child in Philadelphia has a warm winter coat. A local organization, More Than Auto Dealers, challenged their auto community to pledge a new winter coat every time a car was sold that September, and their response was overwhelming — yielding several thousand toasty threads for kiddos.

Since then, the program has given out more than half-a-million new coats thanks to the support of participating dealerships and auto industry partners. Kevin Mazzucola, Executive Director of Auto Dealers CARing for Kids Foundation, expressed his gratitude for the community’s continued engagement by exclaiming, “Driving away the cold, indeed! The dealers and the kids thank our unrelenting [partners] that never say no.”

Telling it like it is - Philly’s auto community is warming our hearts (and our kids!), proving that they’re way more than just dealers, they’re a collective that cares. ❤️‍🔥

AUTOMOTIVE

Used Decreases and New Increases

Used vehicle value and prices have dipped. In April, wholesale used-vehicle prices decreased 3.0% from March, with the Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index dropping to 230.8, down 4.4% YoY. The first month-over-month decline in 2023.

Used vs. New vs. Fleet. Used-vehicle retail sales declined 8% YoY, while new-light-vehicle sales increased 9.0% YoY. Fleet sales experienced significant growth, with nine consecutive months of double-digit increases.

The Black Book's Used Vehicle Retention Index was at 175.6 in April, down 0.1 from March and 5.3% softer than April 2022. Black Book and Cox Automotive indices indicate eight consecutive months of YoY decline.

Does this mean new inventory returning to normal? Production of light vehicles rose 10.5% YoY in North America, with a predicted 10% increase for the year compared to 2022. US light-vehicle sales are expected to reach 14.7 million units in 2023 and 15.3 million units in 2024. Factors such as improved new inventory, OEM incentives, and affordability concerns are putting pressure on wholesale prices, which are expected to decline throughout the year.

Telling it like it is - We’ve been listening to manufacturers talk about production and inventory returning to normal for a year. Still, this time the data seems to be backing up that movement. So, like a storm on the horizon, we see it coming. Are you ready for the market to get squirrelly? 🥜🐿️

TOGETHER WITH QUANTUM5

Knowledge Is Power

Some things are too good to keep to yourself.

"A BDC department is integral to a service department. If they are running properly, one is offense, and the other is defense." -David Blackburn, Service Director for Scott Clark Auto Group and Gastonia Chevy Buick GMC.

In his testimonial, David explains that a well-trained BDC team does more than ring phones; they reach customers on their level and keep the business running smoothly.

Quantum5 helps dealers train and inform their BDC team to increase profits and retain customers by delivering an experience that meets people's professional expectations while not skipping on the personal touch.

Hear more from David and unlock the opportunity Quantum5 has for your team!

AROUND THE ASOTU-VERSE

Word-Ro-Nymns

ROI
Return on Investment
The amount of money made back on an investment or campaign. Typically, this is calculated by dividing the total gross or net profit attributed to a source by the cost of that marketing source and shown as a percentage. I.E. the millions you dreamt of someday possessing thanks to your extensive Beanie Baby collection. 💰

Tell a Friend, Win a Prize

Use the referral link at the bottom of the email for a chance to win some Amazon money!

What can you do with Amazon money, you may ask? To which we reply, what CAN’T you do with Amazon money?

• Spider-Man comic books

• A new bathing suit

• Ninja Stars

• Weird French candy you’ve never tried before

• Books about raising goats

The list goes on! You can get anything you want on Amazon these days, and for the small expense of getting a few friends to sign up for our fun daily email, you may be getting anything you want by the end of this week!

AUTOMOTIVE

Motor Morsels: BYD, Tesla, GM, and VW

🗺️🏭🎈

China's BYD is expanding operations in Vietnam. Previously the company said it would build part in Vietnam to assemble in Thailand. Now the company says it will invest in a local supply chain and challenge native VinFast for a share of the nation's EV market.

🤖📀📉

Tesla is releasing FSD version 11.4, which promises to bring many significant improvements. However, addressing questions about the numbering of the incremental updates, CEO Elon Musk says he is waiting for the implementation of end-to-end AI before he updates to Version 12. Of course, with a 60% drop in Autonomous Vehicle investments in 2022, it seems not even version 12 can rescue American faith in gigantic pieces of metal with nobody at the wheel.

🐜🚙🍕

GM is releasing a mini Bronco-like EV in China that, honestly, reminds us of power wheels. The joint venture fun-size SUV will also come with a pickup truck option in case you need to transport a pizza home or want to let your guinea pig ride with you on the weekend.

📈🗓️🚀

VW's Czech carmaker, Skoda Auto, reported a 60.8% profit jump in Q1 2023. Global deliveries increased by 12.6%, with deliveries for its all-electric Enyaq increasing by 40.7% simultaneously. The company says that after three years of external influences negatively impacting the company, it can finally reverse the trend and correct course.

TL: DR - BYD is spreading in Asia, Tesla’s FSD is still right around the corner, GM’s littlest electric SUV can also be a truck, and VW’s Skoda brand is finding its feet!

TECHNOLOGY

US Government Addresses AI Uncertainty

In recent weeks, the White House has taken some bigger steps to address the potential risks and rewards of AI and set some rules in place. Here are a few of the things that they’ve got in the works:

• An AI Bill of Rights — For now, we only have a blueprint, but it’s better than nothing. In the approximately 2000-word document, it outlines a short set of guidelines that every American should be entitled to, such as the right to data privacy and security when dealing with AI, protection from faulty or unsafe AI, and the ability to opt out of experiences that employ AI.

• Meetings, Meetings, and More Meetings — The White House is no stranger to sessions with tech giants these days, but last week’s schedule was especially booked up with AI alphas. Vice President Kamala Harris and half a dozen representatives from across the administration's tech, policy, and national security organizations met with some of the biggest players currently in the AI sector including the CEOs of Open AI, Microsoft, and Google to discuss how best to mitigate the current and potential risk of AI.

• Helpful Hackers — The government is partnering with AI Village at this year’s DEF CON 31 hacker convention to host the largest-ever, public red team event where digital experts will “attack” AI platforms in an attempt to find security vulnerabilities and bugs.

• Training — White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters that President Biden has been "extensively briefed" on ChatGPT and had experimented a bit with the bot. Anyone else dying to know what was his first prompt??

• R&D — The National Science Foundation is allocating a budget of $140M to launch seven new National AI Research Institutes in support of developing fair, secure, and trustworthy AI systems.

• Agency-Specific Efforts — The top dogs aren’t the only ones with their focus on AI. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is investigating surveillance and data security practices, the Department of Education is finalizing its recommendations on AI in education, and the Department of Health and Human Services is proposing a rule against discriminatory clinical algorithms.

Telling it like it is - Constructing rules for something as new and nebulous as AI is kind of like trying to catch smoke with a net. But, committing to first fully understanding the thing itself is a pretty good place to start. 🧠

Quick Hits

• The White House pushes airlines to do a little more than refund customers following delays and cancellations. ✈️

• A breakthrough in desalination could turn salty sea water into hydration for an increasingly thirsty global population. 🔫

• Guardians of the Galaxy 3 grabs $118M+ in opening weekend. 💰

History

• 1662: The figure who later became Mr. Punch (of Punch and Judy) makes his first recorded appearance in England.

• 1974: Nixon impeachment hearing begins against President Richard M. Nixon for his involvement in the Watergate cover-up.

• 1994: Nelson Mandela is chosen as South Africa’s first Black president.