TOGETHER WITH:
Howdy, Fam!
We didn't keep the receipts, but back when everybody jumped into the EV pool and then climbed right back out of it, settling for a happy hybrid/plug-in middle ground, I could have sworn GM and Ford got the memo too. Guess not.
Now they're watching longtime gas-and-truck loyalists warm up to hybrids, and they're stuck without much to sell them. Honestly, it's hard to keep track anymore.
Also in today's email...
The Chinese vehicle ban vote just got delayed, right after we published our take on the whole fight
GM and Ford are both losing market share at the same time loan rates are climbing, and it's the same underlying story
Related: GM's new technician recognition program, and the full story on Honda's $2.5B bet on Ohio
Do you have your ticket for ASOTU CON West yet? It’s a one-day event for automotive leaders in LA. Check it out here!
Keep Pushing Back,
—Chris with Paul, Kyle & Kristi
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China Already Restricts What America Is Still Debating, and the Vote Just Got Delayed
Yesterday, we spoke with John Bozzella from the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, unpacking the fight over Chinese automakers and US market access. That conversation is still the fuller version of what's happening below.
Sens. Bernie Moreno and Elissa Slotkin had planned to push their permanent Chinese vehicle ban through on a fast-track procedure Thursday, the same day Trump sat down with Xi Jinping. Instead, they pumped the brakes.
The holdup is one person: Republican Rand Paul has concerns, and fast-track approval needs a unanimous Senate. Rather than force a vote they might lose, Moreno and Slotkin are spending the weekend trying to bring him around.
"My understanding is it's 99 to 1." — Sen. Elissa Slotkin, on where the Senate actually stands
Two numbers worth knowing:
China is now building nearly four times as many cars as the US, per Moreno
The bill's current language could bar Mercedes-Benz too, since Chinese investors hold close to a 20% stake; Moreno says Mercedes would get until 2030 to comply
For the people this actually touches- dealers, suppliers, the auto workers this bill claims to protect- a delay isn't a defeat. It's two senators choosing patience over a vote they might lose. Worth remembering that democracy, done carefully, is sometimes slower than the headline wants it to be.
What’s Your Retention Plan?
Employee turnover remains one of the biggest workforce challenges for dealerships.
According to the 2026 NADA Dealership Workforce Study, powered by ESiQ, the average annual employee turnover rate is 37.5%
Over one third of every team, gone annually.
The highest-performing dealerships don't react to turnover. They prevent it.
ESiQ gives you a simple way to start with our Pulse Survey.
Turnover requires caring about it enough to measure it and then do something with what you learn.
GM and Ford Are Losing Ground, and Rising Loan Rates Just Made It Harder to Win Back
Click the image to see the rest of Cox’s data
GM | Ford | |
|---|---|---|
Q3 2026 projected market share | 16.7% | 12.5% |
Down from | 17.4% (2025) | ~13.4% (2025) |
Sales decline YTD | -6.2% | -8.8% |
Both are short the one thing customers actually want: fuel efficiency. Cox analyst Erin Keating didn't soften it:
"We see some of these Asian brands coming forward and really taking the industry by storm. Most importantly, they have the hybrids." Hyundai and Kia combined are projected to outsell Ford in Q3 for the first time ever.
Meanwhile, financing is getting more expensive too. Treasury yields hit 20-year highs this week, and auto loan rates follow them closely. A jump from 6.35% to 8.35% on a $43,000 loan adds roughly $41 a month and over $2,900 in total interest.
The person walking onto your lot this week…
is carrying both pressures at once: a brand that might not have the fuel-efficient option they actually want, and a loan that costs more than it did a month ago. Meet both conversations honestly before they have to ask.
GM Wants to Know Who Your Best Young Technician Is
GM North America President Duncan Aldred announced the automaker's Automotive Service Technicians 30 Under 30 program this week, calling the technician shortage "more than a workforce challenge" with real effects on "dealership operations, brand loyalty and ultimately customer experience." Nominees need to be 29 or younger, currently employed at a GM dealership, and show real commitment to training. Nominations are open through October 30, with winners revealed in January.
"If you know an exceptional technician who deserves this recognition, and is passionate about shaping the future of the automotive industry, I encourage you to submit a nomination." — Duncan Aldred
Honda's Building Its First New North American Plant in Two Decades
Honda is in final talks for a $2.5 billion hybrid assembly plant, with Ohio as the clear front-runner, according to reporting from Nikkei and Automotive News.
Scale: roughly 250,000 vehicles annually, Honda's sixth US plant and first new North American assembly site in about 20 years
What it builds: the next-generation Acura MDX (targeted for Q3 2030), plus two new flagship three-row crossovers, an oversized Honda model above the Pilot and an Acura equivalent
Why now: Honda's North American plants are running near max capacity. CEO Toshihiro Mibe put it bluntly: "It's almost in full production. If you don't have a buffer, you can't recover production."
The bigger pivot: this is Honda doubling down on hybrids, not EVs, 15 next-gen hybrid models globally by 2030, most aimed at North America, with part of its Ohio battery joint venture already being converted from EV cells to hybrid battery production
The tariff angle: building here also buffers Honda against import tariffs, the same pressure pushing Toyota to add capacity in Texas
Site consultant John Boyd Jr. called Ohio "the epicenter of the North American supply chain" for exactly this kind of expansion, the kind of safe, roots-first bet that favors doubling down where you're already established over starting fresh somewhere new.
McDonald's unveiled an $8.5B franchisee support plan, rent relief and capital assistance, after admitting it's fallen short on consistent execution lately. 🍔
AI companies are buying used books by the ton, one 50-ton order shipped to the US, just to scan and shred them for training data. 📚
Did you know? Scientists found a way to turn Mars and Moon sand into building-grade bricks, using carbon nanotubes, strong enough to rival granite. 🧱
1924: GM's Milford Proving Ground opens in Michigan, the oldest dedicated vehicle testing facility in the world, and the birthplace of innovations from the first mass-produced automatic transmission to Super Cruise.
1928: Galvin Manufacturing Corporation, later Motorola, is incorporated in Chicago. Its first product wasn't a radio, it was a device that let battery-powered radios run on household electricity.
1992: NASA launches the Mars Observer, its first Mars mission in 17 years, to study the planet's geology and climate.
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