🧮 Tallying Q1 Reports

TOGETHER WITH

Yesterday we heard stories of varying kinds from every type of dealership employee. For so many that we talked to, the car business has completely changed their life. New careers are being birthed, long time careers boast powerful legacies, and communities are being formed by these dealerships.

We can't wait to share the stories with you. Good news!

Tonight at 7:30p EST/4:30p PST, we will be coming to you live from Arlington Music Hall with some of those stories. Join us in person or on the live stream!

Keep Pushing Back-Paul, Kyle, & Chris

DEALERS

Swansway’s Easter Patrol

Not everything translates to our brothers and sisters in the UK. We spell "Color," and they spell "Colour." They say "Chips," and we say "French Fry." We have the "Easter Bunny," and they have "Nigel Fluffytail, Fanciest Bunny Alive” (we assume). 🐇

🐰But dealers on both sides of the Atlantic share the commitment to giving back to their communities!

As part of their Easter Patrol, the Swansway Motor Group has donated over $4000 to various charities across their region of England. 🥚

🍬The 13 charities received Easter-themed crafts, gardening supplies, essential household items, and food.

"As always, our aim is to support our charity partners in a way that best suits them; tailoring our donations is one way that we can achieve this." said David Smyth, Director of the group, adding, 'What's most important to us is seeing the smiles on the faces of those we have helped." 💚

Telling it like it is - We think Nigel would be proud, Swansway! We know we are!

AUTOMOTIVE

Recycling with Redwood

With Earth Day on its way, Redwood Materials is partnering with several OEMs to add collection bins to recyle old batteries at local dealerships.

The battery-recycling company (founded by ex-Tesla CTO JB Straubel in 2017) has signed agreements with the likes of Ford, Volvo, and VW to help them close production loops and recycle materials from old batteries into new ones.

Redwood was recently awarded a $2B loan by the US Department of Energy to expand its battery-recycling capacity and the company has even received significant backing from Bezos.

Collection bins will be available for not just car batteries, but welcome cell phone and laptop varieties as well. The program will begin rolling out on, you guessed it, April 22nd.

Telling it like it is - Every time a battery doesn’t end up in a landfill, it’s a win. Though, if they’d just make some easy at-home battery recycling kits already, it’d really make this whole process a lot easier.

TOGETHER WITH TRUECAR

Tune In Live!

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AUTOMOTIVE

Q1: GM, Chevy, Toyota

General Motors' Q1 was less general and closer to exceptional. 🎩

The company's deliveries increased by 18% YOY to just over 600K. The increase was beefed up by a 38% increase in commercial fleet sales. 🐮

⚡️Electrification? Along with the Q1 reports, GM announced it will build 50K EVs in the first half of 2023 and plans to ramp that number up to 100K in the second half of the year. Which is a weird way to say 150K in 2023, but they get to decide how they talk, just like the rest of us. 🤔

🧅Tucked into GM's good quarter like a bonus onion ring in your order of tots is our good friend, Chevy. More specifically, their BEV sales. 💍

The brand's Q1 had a 15.7% increase in deliveries compared to 2022 but didn't quite hit 2021 numbers. 📈

🪫Of the 398K delivered, almost 20K were BEVs. Around 5% of total deliveries isn't an impressive stat on its own, but compared to Q1 2022's 358 deliveries, it tells a story. 🔋

💰Since both the Bolt and the Bolt EUV are among the most affordable EVs in the US and are covered by $7,500 tax credits, Q2 2023 could be another record quarter for the brand's EV deliveries. 🏆

🛶Unfortunately, Toyota North America didn't catch the rising tide with other automakers. 🌊

The company reported an 8.8% decrease in sales volume in Q1, with a 9.1% decline in March alone.📉

Despite a drop for the quarter, Toyota North America still sold almost 470K vehicles, placing units sold above some companies reporting increased quarters. 🌋

Brand leadership says they will continue to improve inventory while introducing move EV options through 2023. 👩‍🏭🧑‍🏭👨‍🏭

TL: DR - GM’s Q1 was good, but its Q2, 3, and 4 plans are buzzing. Chevy’s really doing the EV thing. Toyota had a rough Q1 but still outsold people having a celebratory Q1 showing it really is all about perspective.

TECHNOLOGY

Deepfake Detection

On the heels of Aprils Fools Day, and a slew of newly popularized AI-generated images like Trump’s arrest and Pope-in-a-coat, we thought we’d dig into some ways to stay vigilant in easily spotting some of these deceptive images.

HOW TO DETECT A DEEPFAKE:

Oddities. Something just seems out of place in the picture or video. It can be little things like mismatched shoes or earrings, or easier-to-spot irregularities like a misshapen jaw or extra legs. AI seems to have a particularly difficult time generating hands and fingers accurately, so it’s always a good idea to look there first.

Eye movement. Deepfake videos often portray people with weird blinking patterns, or making unusual eye movements. Like fingers, AI still struggles to make these actions look natural.

Audio/video quality. Many deepfake videos have an out-of-sync audio and video match, so pay attention to how the two align. It could be a dead giveaway that it’s a phony. 

Check your sources. As deepfakes get more convincing, one of the best ways to spot if they’re fake is to check their sourcing (though admittedly social media makes it difficult as anyone can share videos and pictures). For example, the original source of a video of President Biden would either come from the White House or an official government agency.

The devil’s in the details. AI still struggles with many of the nuances of the human body like exactly how fabric drapes on a person, button/zipper placement, and facial symmetry. So, if you think an image is real, give a closer look at the details.

Sharpen your skills. There are plenty of websites dedicated to helping the general population better hone their deepfake spotting skills. For example, MIT’s Detect Fakes is a short quiz that allows users to compare two videos to decide which is real, and Microsoft’s Spot the Deepfake is a short quiz that has users detect signs like eye movement and emotional reaction to determine deepfakes.

Telling it like it is - This is the worst AI technology will ever be. It’s only going to get better from here. So, stay skeptical and pay attention to the details so you don’t get deepfake duped.

Quick Hits

• NBA removes penalization for player cannabis use.

• Home prices across US tick up following 8 months of decline.

• Data shows just 37% of people who started Amazon’s “Rings of Power,” finished the show.

• NASA has picked the four astronauts for its first moon mission in 50 years.

History

• 1621: The Mayflower sets sail from Plymouth, Massachusetts on a return trip to England.

• 1923: Firestone begins balloon tire production.

• 1940: The Buick Y-Job makes its press debut.

• 1987: Fox Broadcasting Co. makes its prime-time TV debut.