🥳 See You Soon, Arlington!

TOGETHER WITH

Any day you get to spend in a dealership is a good day. Meaning most of you have great days every day!

Today is a double good day for us. We will be visiting Kia of Frisco and Audi Grapevine to shoot a quasi-secret-project that you only have to wait a month to see! Time to tell the story of this industry.

Keep Pushing Back-Paul, Kyle, & Chris

DEALERS

Loyalty Toyota Forges Future Techs

Loyalty Toyota is committed to ushering in the next generation of technicians and is actively working to funnel that talent back into their dealership.

Last week, they donated a used Toyota Prius Hybrid to Reynolds Community College's automotive technology program. The older car was reconditioned in Loyalty’s service bays before heading off to the college where it will serve as a teaching tool for students learning about hybrid vehicles. 

Loyalty Toyota also provides $200K in scholarship money to train students in the college’s two-year program. Reynolds students work part-time in Loyalty’s service department while studying to be certified, and the dealership offers qualifying candidates employment opportunities and a fancy tool kit once their training is complete.

Telling it like it is - Said Paula Pando, President of Reynolds Community College: “It’s partnerships like these that help our students, our college, and our community grow.” We love to see it and couldn’t agree more.

AUTOMOTIVE

Q1 Reports: Tesla, Rivian, and Li Auto

Like a stone in a snowball fight, Tesla's price cuts are working great. But, at what cost?

The pioneering electric vehicle front-runner had a record quarter with 422,875 deliveries—a 36% increase from Q1 2022 and a 4% increase from Q4 2022.

Sold more, but for less? Yes, some models have been discounted by up to 20% in some markets, but the company's market value is on the mend despite the lower profit per unit. A year ago, a share in the company cost around $360 but hit a low in January 2023 at just $113. Following the news of the record quarter, the company is trading close to $200, a sign the price-cut tactic is working in some regards.

Rivian didn't break any records in Q1, but they did defeat the haters, AKA the "market analysts' estimates."

Q1 deliveries fell short of Q4 by about 100 vehicles but surpassed estimates by nearly 900.

On the other hand… Production fell short of estimates due to supply-chain disruptions (return of the haters).

Company shares fell 0.8% to $15.26 following the news.

Li Auto, one of China's EV brands, is blasting off and making her cousins look bad.

• Xpeng's deliveries dropped 47% to just over 18K for Q1.

• Nio reported a 20% increase to 31K deliveries.

• Li Auto delivered nearly 21K in March alone, with a 66% delivery surge in Q1, totaling over 52K for the year's first three months.

What is Li Auto doing so right? The company only sells SUVs and offers a unique hybrid configuration that runs the vehicle as an EV but has a built-in fuel tank to charge the battery and extend the driving range.

The company says it has nearly 20% of China's SUV market despite being pricier than Tesla's similar SUV Model Y. 

TL; DR - Q1 reports are coming out. Tesla broke its own record, Rivian broke estimates, and Li Auto broke everybody’s understanding of the Chinese EV market. 

TOGETHER WITH CAROFFER

Automotive’s Only Tonight Show

Live Tonight with ASOTU is this week, and we are thrilled to share some time, fun, and a slice of Texas hospitality with you! 

Thanks to our friends at CarOffer, we have everything we need to get guests settled in and answer any questions they may have.

Don't miss out! Grab your tickets here to hang with us in Arlington, or join us from home on Wednesday, April 5th at 6:30PM CST.

AUTOMOTIVE

Better Inventory Boosts US Auto Sales

📈🙌📦

US auto sales are slated to rise for a second straight quarter due in large part to OEMs shipping more vehicles to dealerships on time (hallelujah!).

🧑‍🔧🏭🚚

Thankfully, post-pandemic supply chain snafus are beginning to ease up, thus allowing for faster vehicle production and delivery. However, analysts warn that rising interest rates and plateauing demand may be the next big disrupter to the industry.

🛻🚙🛻

According to J.D. Power, trucks and crossover SUVs accounted for the majority of new car sales in Q1.

Telling it like it is - Inventory shortages are out. Interest rate concerns are in.

CULTURE

The Resident Evil 4 Remake

The ASOTU Crew has a broad collection of skills, talents, and interests – some of which are of the video game variety. Chris, our horror game fan, played the Resident Evil 4 remake, and he has thoughts.

Overall rating: 9/10

From the first moment, the game is somehow a faithful recreation of the original and the exact right amount of upgrade to capture my attention for the full 16-ish hours I played in the week after its release.

9/10 because once the main game was over, there was not much left for me to do. At the new game price of $60 bucks, I typically need more than 16 hours to feel I got my money's worth, no matter how nostalgically delighted I am.

Positive notes: 

• The combat left no crumbs. Essentially, the game moves you from one big terrible fight against monsters to the next as your supplies slowly dwindle. You have to make do with fewer resources and more skills. This is a satisfying experience because the controls and customizability of your character's gear make every action count and every victory feel earned. 

• The graphics and sounds were repulsive (in a good way). Every disgusting mutated enemy and eerie dark forest created the sort of discomfort that forced me to focus all the more on little things like not being eaten, remaining un-eviscerated, and also keeping all the arms and legs attached to my character's body. It's the little things. 

• Campy, like we like it. While the game is firmly fixed in a dark and spooky tone, the main characters don’t seem to understand that and still make wise-cracks and deliver dialogue worthy of an early-90’s action flick starring an actor whose claim to fame is being really good at back flips.

Less positive notes:

• Low replay value. After almost 20 years since the original, I expected a little extra base-game experience. The game's alternative game mode releases next week and may hook me. 

• Still about 45% escort mission. About half the times I saw the game-over screen was because an important non-playable character got stuck between a few zombies and did not possess the AI needed to change directions and escape. This was one of the main complaints about the original game. The curse lives on. 

Telling it like it is: Ultimately, I say it is a must-play for anybody who loved the original, and a fantastic experience if you are new to the series. 

Quick Hits

• The CMT awards rewards the video work of many country artists. None more than country rapper, Jelly Roll.

• Parisians, who are currently protesting against a minimum retirement age increase, came together to defeat a different foe. Electric scooter rentals. 90% of voters approved a ban.

• Oil prices jump following surprise product cuts.

• The WWE and UFC will merge forming a new company under the control of current UFC owner, Endeavor Group.

History

• 1818: The United States Congress, affirming the Second Continental Congress, adopts the flag of the United States with 13 red and white stripes and one star for each state (20 at that time).

• 1968: Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated at a hotel in Memphis.

• 1996: Jaguar introduces the XK8.