🚗 Robots Rescue Desperate Dealers?

🚙 AV Crackdown, AI.AI, and the Final Oldsmobile

April 29, 2025

TOGETHER WITH

Well, well, well, look who made it to Tuesday!

We’re loving all the conversation going on and are grateful for every Like, comment, share, and Tag on LinkedIn.

We can talk about ASOTU CON all day, but taking a moment to share your thoughts with folks is worth far more.

So, keep the conversation going, friends 🙂 

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

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Tariffs Tighten, Robots Dance, Dealers Prevail

Apparently, some think dealers are "desperate" enough to replace salespeople with blonde-wigged AI robots (yes, seriously). Meanwhile, back in reality, you’re out here navigating tariffs, tech pivots, and supply chain shuffles like the professionals you are.

✅ Tariffs and empty factories

Sure, a quarter of U.S. auto factory space is wide open... but moving production home isn’t like switching lanes on the highway. Think six months minimum, maybe a year, and that’s if suppliers can keep up.

✅ Robot salespeople

Chery rolled out a creepy AI "consultant" to "reimagine" car sales. Spoiler: it just regurgitates 1950s buzzwords... but now with sunglasses! No threat to your team — if anything, a marketing opportunity to show why real relationships matter.

✅ Toyota plotting a $42B buyout

Big moves to tighten their supply chain grip. Translation? Toyota’s getting serious about controlling costs and EV production speed.

✅ EV chargers = $$$

Turns out, sticking a charger in your lot doesn’t just help the planet — it also makes customers linger and spend more. Yes, even your asphalt can hustle.

✅ California's AV crackdown

Self-driving rollouts are about to slow way down. Bad news for robotaxis. Great news for humans who like jobs, car keys, and actual test drives.

➕ More (and GIFs!)

We’ve got more on all these stories on LinkedIn. Also, GIFs. So, so many GIFs.

🥊 Quick Hits

  • Teenagers are using GPT to make stock picks. 🤑

  • China shrugs off threat of U.S. tariffs to economy, says it has tools to protect jobs. 🇨🇳

  • They are saying that 6 hours a day of sedentary behavior leads to neck pain. You know, 2 hours less than an average 8-hour workday at a desk. 🪑

StoneEagleDATA: F&I Offices Post Q1 Profit Record

StoneEagleDATA reveals a powerful milestone in F&I profitability. In March 2025, with average deal counts per dealer rising more than 29% year-to-date, total F&I income hit a record $242,283 per dealer — topping even the post-COVID boom of early 2021.

This insight comes from the most complete dataset in automotive retail: 100% transaction-level data from over 50% of the market. With over three decades of experience connecting dealers, agents, and F&I product providers, StoneEagleDATA delivers data without blind spots — powering smarter decisions through solutions like our StoneEagleMETRICS performance management tool and Industry Insights & Analytics report.

Whether you’re looking to benchmark performance, uncover trends, or fuel smarter strategies, it all starts with StoneEagleDATA.

TECHNOLOGY

AutoIndustry.AI

Artificial Intelligence, Generative AI, Communication Bots, and all the ease and challenges they bring are on center stage for the weekly AutoIndustry.AI email.

This week’s issue:

  • Stay visible in AI-driven Google searches.

  • Use AI to audit dealership bills and uncover hidden savings.

  • Leverage AI tools without losing the human connection that drives customer loyalty.

Sign up now to get the email later today and every Tuesday morning!

AROUND THE ASOTU-VERSE

Move Faster, Sell Smarter, Build Trust

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Born inside a dealership, iPacket gets it.

Their CRM-integrated Digital Vehicle Presentation platform takes all the chaos of paper docs, window stickers, and spec sheets and turns it into one seamless, clickable buyer experience.

From OEM automations to real-time recon insights, they’re helping dealers move faster, sell smarter, and build trust right from the first click.

We’re grateful to have iPacket as a Collaborator for this year’s ASOTU CON.

Come meet them in person this May 13–16th in Hanover, MD to see what they can do for your store!

🔁 Today in History

  • 1945: Dachau concentration camp, the longest running, is liberated by United States troops. 🇺🇸 

  • 2004: The final Oldsmobile is built in Lansing, Michigan, ending 107 years of vehicle production. 🔚 

  • 2015: A baseball game between the Baltimore Orioles and the Chicago White Sox sets the all-time low attendance mark for Major League Baseball. Zero fans were in attendance for the game, as the stadium was officially closed to the public due to the 2015 Baltimore protests. ⚾️ 

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