🚗 Reliability on the Rocks

TOGETHER WITH

It’s hard—but important—not to let everything become a product.

Some things are products, exchanged between a provider and a receiver.

Other things produce—relationships, conversations, and interesting ideas.

This email is meant to produce something between you, us, and the industry at large.

Community isn’t a product, but it is produced.

Words are weird.

Keep Pushing Back,
-Paul, Kyle, Chris & Kristi

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THE NEWS

GM, NADA, and BYD

GM’s Subscription Play: Who Really Wins?

🔹 The Goal: GM wants Super Cruise to generate $2B per year in subscription revenue within five years.

🔹 The Current Model: Right now, dealers are the ones getting customers into Super Cruise-equipped vehicles. But…

🔹 The Bigger Question: If automakers can build direct relationships through subscriptions, will they still need dealers to sell them?

🔹 The Takeaway: With direct sales talks never far off, dealers should be watching how GM balances subscription revenue with its franchise partners.

Will dealers be selling more subscriptions—or just getting a front-row seat as automakers sell around them?

NADA 2025: No Smooth Rides, Just Strategy

📌 Remember when we thought 2020 was the tough year?

Well, it’s 2025, and NADA Chairman Tom Castriota is gearing up for another round of battles. Here’s what’s on the docket:

✅ The FTC’s CARS Rule? Vacated.
✅ California’s ZEV mandates? Under scrutiny.
✅ Volkswagen and Honda testing direct sales? Facing major pushback—Castriota calling any attempt to sell vehicles directly or compete with U.S. dealer partners “outrageous and misguided.”

🔹 What It Means for Dealers:
The fight for franchise protections, emissions standards, and tariffs is heating up. A new administration is shifting policies, and NADA is making it clear—dealers won’t be left behind.

Because in retail auto, there’s no such thing as a “calm year”—just a new game plan.

Chinese EVs: Future Tech, Present Problems

🚀 The Claim: BYD’s CEO says Chinese EVs are five years ahead of the competition.

⚡ The Reality:

• 4,700+ complaints in one week.

• Software issues, surprise feature rollouts, and shifting price structures.

• Customers frustrated over unexpected changes after purchase.

🔹 What It Means for Dealers:
The industry is watching for a flood of Chinese EVs into global markets, but right now, even their homegrown customers are hitting roadblocks.

So…would your customers want to field-test the future on their daily commute?

Chris couldn’t bring himself to talk anymore about Honda/Nissan, but…

Paul and Kyle covered how the deal isn’t totally dead yet on The Automotive Troublemaker yesterday morning. Check it out.

🥊 Quick Hits

• Toyota’s $10K Corolla is heading for the junkyard of history. In Japan, budget buyers mourn. In the U.S.? Unfazed. 🇯🇵 

• GROK 3 is here. AutomotiveIndustry.AI gave it a look. 🤖 

• Ford’s latest cost-cutting move? Making managers pick which half of their team gets stock bonuses.🍴 

• The U.S. and India are launching a space-tech partnership they’re calling INDUS. 🚀 

TOGETHER WITH FOUREYES

Smart Texting: It Sells Cars

Any of these sound like your AI texting tool (or why you still don’t have one):

• Repetitive and pushing appointments

• Templated, generic responses

• Steps on your sales team’s toes

Too often, these tools don’t move conversations forward because they're not providing information your shoppers truly care about. 

Foureyes cracks the code on AI texting by providing updates about the inventory on your lot that matches your buyers’ interests. 

Join the webinar TOMORROW to see how Foureyes boosts your long-term close rates by up to 30% – and get 30 days for free!

Register here.

DATA & INSIGHT

J.D. Power Dependability Study Reveals Big Problems

The latest J.D. Power 2025 U.S. Vehicle Dependability Study just dropped, and it's telling us what many have already been hearing in their service bays: we're looking at the highest problem rates in over a decade.

Problems per 100 vehicles jumped 6% from last year, hitting 202 PP100. For those keeping score at home, that's 12 more headaches per 100 vehicles than last year. And for the second year running, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity is the number one complaint, jumping from 6.3 to 8.4 PP100.

Some brands are holding strong, but others are taking a major hit—especially when it comes to software-related issues.

• Lexus and Buick Take the Top Spots: Lexus remains the most dependable brand overall, while Buick leads the mass-market category. Cadillac and Mazda round out the premium and mainstream leaders, respectively.

• EVs Improve, PHEVs Struggle: Battery electric vehicles narrowed the reliability gap with gas-powered cars, improving by 33 PP100. Meanwhile, plug-in hybrids slid 26 PP100, making them the least dependable vehicle type.

• Toyota and GM Dominate: Toyota claimed six wins with models like the Avalon, Camry, and Tacoma, while GM matched that total with strong showings from the Cadillac XT6 and Chevrolet Silverado.

AROUND THE ASOTU-VERSE

🗓️ Coming Soon

• TODAY, February 19th at 1:00 pm CST — Reputation Management Masterclass: Leveraging AI in 2025
  

• 🦀 May 13-16th — ASOTU CON in Baltimore, Maryland. Get the app!

🔁 Today in History

• 1803: The U.S. Congress accepts Ohio's bid for statehood, but neglects to ratify their constitution (an oversight that wasn’t corrected until 1953). 🇺🇸

• 1831: The first practical U.S. coal-burning locomotive makes it’s first trial run in Pennsylvania. 🚂

• 1913: A prize is included in a Cracker Jacks box for the first time. 🍿