🚗 The HEMI is Back

🚙 Real Solutions for Real Dealerships

June 06, 2025

TOGETHER WITH

Welcome Back to Friday, Fam!

Read all you want, but don't stop here; the world is covered with words. And if you look extra hard, some of them may even be true!

Ram is throwing their ambition in a little reverse, which is still pretty fast since they've got a V8 Hemi in that bad boy.
We found two headlines with conflicting implications, so we looked deeper and have decided we need (even more) words to distinguish powertrains. We propose: Bat only, Gas Only, Gas-Bat, and Bat-Gas. It was way less confusing before I (chris) typed it out.
It's looking like we will be adding "The Chinese Chokehold" to our list of words we use too often. Or maybe China will drop this silly rare earth war before any more effects are felt. Maybe.

There is more below, so read on, my friend!

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

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HEMI Hooray, EV vs EV, and the Chinese Chokehold

🚨 Ram Just Un-Did the Thing

Ram is throwing their ambition in a little reverse, which is still pretty dang fast when there’s a 5.7-liter HEMI V8 under the hood.

After dropping the beloved engine for a six-cylinder lineup last year, the brand fully owned the misstep and brought the HEMI back with a vengeance for 2026.

Now, every V8 model gets a “Symbol of Protest” badge.

⚡ EVs Stall, Hybrids Surge, and We Need New Words

Two stories, opposite vibes. One says EV launches are getting slashed in half. The other says hybrids are selling like hotcakes.

All we know is Toyota’s up 39% in hybrid sales, Ford’s up 29%, and Honda’s promising the world’s most efficient hybrid setup yet.

Put your chips where the movement’s happening—and that’s hybrid.

🌏 China’s Chokehold Gets Real

Rare earths. Again. But now it’s no longer theoretical. China’s new export controls are jamming up EV and hybrid supply chains across the globe.

A literal handful of bureaucrats in Beijing now hold the keys to essential motor parts. Approvals are slow, red tape is thick, and delays are stacking up.

Ask your OEM partners what’s at risk—it could impact your pipeline sooner than you think.

➕ More

We’ve got more on these and several other stories in our Daily Digest.

🥊 Quick Hits

Samsung phones are getting a weird AI shopping platform nobody asked for. 🛍️
Imports were dramatically down in April. 😓
Dollar General is attracting higher-income shoppers, but will it continue? 🤑

Real Solutions for Real Dealerships

Ever feel just plain overwhelmed trying to handle everything there is to do in a day?

Let RevDojo take some of the tough stuff off your plate.

Their proven BDC team picks up the slack on both the sales and service sides so you can keep conversations moving even when your in-store staff can’t.

Need more team members to bridge that gap? RevDojo helped dealers bring 172 new hires on board in the last month alone.

And when it comes to training, they’ve got more than a thousand videos on everything from appraisals and appointments to strategy and sales. The Three-Call Rule is one of their favorites—a dead-simple method for follow-up that actually works.

Watch the video to add this technique to your toolbox and see what RevDojo can do for your dealership.

AROUND THE ASOTU-VERSE

Paul’s First Ever Detroit-Style Pizza

A little over a week ago, Steve Greenfield was shocked to learn that Paul had never had a Detroit-style pizza. What followed on social media was a hotly debated post by Steve where the comments raged about which Detroit-style pizza was best. In the end, Buddy’s won.

True to his word, Steve sent Paul a pizza from Buddy’s so he could eat his first bite live while he and Kyle wish they were eating pizza too. Will Paul like it? Tune in to find out.

(Don’t forget to check out Steve’s main stage discussion at ASOTU CON 2025 where he breaks down where retail auto stands and where it’s headed—and fast. Watch the full replay here).

🔁 Today in History

1844: The Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) is founded in London. 👮
1925: Chrysler is founded. 🙌
1944: Allied forces launch the D-Day invasion of Normandy, marking the beginning of the end of World War II in Europe. Nearly 160K troops cross the English Channel in the largest seaborne invasion in history, supported by over 5,000 landing craft, 289 escort vessels, and 277 minesweepers. By day’s end, the Allies had secured five beaches and began pushing inland. 🪖

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