🚗 The New Trend is Anti-Trend

TOGETHER WITH

Welcome to National Stretching Day, Friend!

It might sound silly, but honestly? A little leaning, reaching, and deep breathing never hurt anybody.

So, take five. Uncrunch your shoulders. Unclench your jaw. Touch your toes. Let your brain catch up to your body.

Stretch it out.

Then, let’s go dominate this day.

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

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THE UNION

From the Automotive State of the Union

Car Payments Keep Climbing

New-vehicle payments hit $760 in November, but buyers might catch a break soon.

Interest rates are dipping, trade-in values are holding strong, and dealers are still seeing stable profit margins. Incentives in the back half of December could determine how 2025 closes out.

VinFast is Cooling It in the U.S.

VinFast’s U.S. footprint is shrinking fast. Its first U.S. dealer is ending sales by year-end, and others are showing little or no inventory.

Leadership says they’re hitting pause while the EV market stabilizes, but it’s hard to win if you’re only half-in.

Anti-Trend is the Latest Trend

VaynerMedia’s Anti-Trend report says chasing trends is a lost cause.

Social patterns are burning out fast, and audiences want real engagement, not copycat content.

TOGETHER WITH VAUTO

Vehicle Transfers: Every Dealer Group’s Profit Improvement Opportunity

Here’s a way dealer groups can offset market-driven pressures on your gross profit: Re-think when and why you typically transfer vehicles between stores.

For many groups, vehicle transfers happen around 45 days, when someone decides a vehicle sat too long without selling. The vehicles then spend another 30 days for sale at the receiving store, often with less-than-optimal results.

But top-performing groups have flipped this traditional script, using insights from their vAuto solutions to move vehicles to the right store faster, helping turn potential losses into profits.

Discover how your group can turn vehicle transfers into operational advantage.

From The News w/ ASOTU

Tesla’s Seasonal Update

Tesla’s 2025 Holiday Update is one of its stronger mixes of practical upgrades and holiday flair. The standout is Grok-powered navigation, which now lets drivers adjust routes with cleaner, more conversational voice commands. Navigation also gets smarter HOV routing, easier map favorites, and better trip suggestions.

Charging sees improvements too, with location-based charge limits and early tests of 3D Supercharger site maps so drivers can pick a stall before pulling in.

And yes, the playful stuff is back: Santa Mode, virtual wraps, the Photobooth camera, new light shows, and a space-docking game. Not essential, but very on-brand.

Apps Still Aren’t App-ing

According to a new J.D. Power study, nearly 80% of owners say they use their OEM app, yet very few use it often and even fewer feel good about the experience.

The biggest culprits remain the same: slow connections, unreliable remote functions, and interfaces that make simple commands weirdly complicated.

The study also highlights an odd mismatch. Owners overwhelmingly want basic, everyday features front and center (think lock and unlock, climate control, and garage access) yet many apps still bury them behind extra clicks, sign ups, or missing integrations.

For dealers, it’s another reminder that digital convenience is now a firm part of how customers judge their ownership experience.

A Holiday Waymo-racle?

A San Francisco mom welcomed her baby into the world this week with an unexpected assist from a Waymo robotaxi.

She was en route to the hospital when the little one decided it was go time. Waymo’s support team flagged the unusual activity and alerted emergency services while the autonomous ride carried them safely the rest of the way.

Both mom and baby arrived safely.

Waymo says this isn’t the first newborn to make a debut in one of its vehicles, and as they put it, they’re proud to serve riders from “just seconds old to many years young.”

EVERYTHING ELSE

Quick Hits

• 🤖 Tech: Nearly 1 in 5 teens in America admit to using social media apps constantly.

• 🛒 Retail: Don’t be naughty, be nice. AP’s guide to good manners at the retail counter this holiday season.

• 💰 Economy: Yesterday, the U.S. Federal Reserve cut interest rates for the third time this year.

AROUND THE ASOTU-VERSE

A Perspective Shift Worth Sharing

We were chopping it up with our friends at Curbee during the LA Auto Show, and CEO Amit Chandarana dropped a stat that has stuck with us.

There are about 300K independent repair shops out there and only around 18K franchised dealerships. Do the math and that means your customer drives past roughly sixteen other options before they ever hit your service lane.

Curbee calls it The16, and honestly, it explains a lot about why retention feels like running uphill.

They were a great partner at the show, and the convo left us thinking a little differently about what “service convenience” should actually look like.

If you want to learn how Curbee’s setup would work in your market, grab a few minutes with them here.

Today in History

• 1816: Indiana becomes 19th state of the Union. 🇺🇸

• 1913: "Mona Lisa" is recovered two years after it was stolen from the Louvre Museum. 🖼️

• 1992: President George H. W. Bush awards actress and humanitarian Audrey Hepburn the Presidential Medal of Freedom. 👑

A Moment of Clarity