TOGETHER WITH:
Howdy, Fam!
Catch Paul and Kyle live today on CBT Live, noon ET. We'll be there talking with our friends at CBT about ASOTU CON West and more, and we’d love to see some familiar faces dropping comments.
Also in today's email...
VW dealers are winning on service scheduling. VW corporate is having a much rougher week.
Toyota just put a real number on factory automation, and it's a number that eventually shows up somewhere else too.
Three related reads: a Haddad Auto Group charity win, the industry's united ask on Chinese automakers, and a Ford follow-up.
Quick hits on Buffett's exit, the tariff-and-rate squeeze hitting manufacturers, and Washington's new AI push.
Keep Pushing Back,
—Chris with Paul, Kyle & Kristi
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VW Dealers Are Winning the Service Fight While Corporate Is Losing Nearly Everything Else
Friday's Pied Piper study put Volkswagen dealers at the top of the industry for service scheduling effectiveness, a 73 out of 100, best of any brand measured. That's real, hard-won execution at the store level.
🎙️ Full breakdown on Friday's Automotive State of the Union episode.
The Same Week, a Very Different VW Story
Volkswagen Group slashed its 2026 profit outlook to a 1% margin, after booking $11.5 billion in charges tied to its Porsche stake, worker buyouts, and a collapsing Chinese market.
Line Item | Figure |
|---|---|
Porsche stake write-down | $6.9 billion |
Total 2026 charges | $11.5 billion |
Previous margin guidance | 4% – 5.5% |
New margin guidance | 1% |
Global job cuts (total) | 100,000 |
CFO Arno Antlitz didn't soften it: "The financial development shows: we have no time to lose."
Consider this today: don't assume corporate turmoil automatically shows up at the counter, your dealers just proved it doesn't have to. But don't assume the reverse either. Plant closures and portfolio cuts happening at the corporate level can still hit your future product pipeline, even while your service department is doing everything right.
Chevrolet Dealer of the Year
By pairing their Business Development Center (BDC) with automotiveMastermind, Ray Chevrolet achieved results that place them among top-performing dealerships in Northern Illinois.
In fact, this dealership earned General Motors’ Chevrolet Dealer of the Year award in 2025🏆, something fewer than 2% of Chevrolet dealers can claim.
Over a three-year period beginning in July 2023, Ray Chevrolet saw:
$2.18 million in total profit generated
Average 14.9x ROI including trade-ins (and 9.1x ROI on vehicle sales alone)
1,099 total attributed sales
$1.4M in trade-in profit
Average $1,984 profit per sale
Toyota Says Automating Its Factories Could Cost $6.4 Billion a Year. Somebody Pays for That.
Toyota estimates it could cost 1 trillion yen, about $6.4 billion, annually starting in 2028 to modernize its factories with robotics. The company told investors it would need roughly 400,000 robots across Toyota, its group companies, and major suppliers.
Where That Number Eventually Lands
Hyundai's already committed to deploying humanoid robots, via Boston Dynamics, at its Georgia plant by 2028
Bernstein analysts expect robotics announcements from Toyota to "become more frequent" from here
This is framed as infrastructure modernization, not a one-time expense
Capital investment at this scale rarely just disappears into a manufacturer's margin forever. It shows up eventually, in production costs, in pricing strategy, or in the affordability conversation dealers are already having with customers this month.
The ownership-cost anxiety we've covered recently, insurance, gas, maintenance, all climbing, has a manufacturing-side cousin. When a $6.4 billion annual automation bill starts working its way through the supply chain, it eventually becomes a number you have to explain at the desk, the same way you already explain everything else driving the sticker price.
Haddad Auto Group Turned Two Events Into Real Money for Pediatric Cancer Families
Listen to Paul, Kyle, and Chris talk about this one on our Saturday Automotive State of the Union here.
Haddad Subaru donated $11,500 to Strong Little Souls through its Subaru Share the Love program, then followed it with a golf tournament that raised over $40,000 more, including $10,000 from Haddad Auto Group and Hyundai Hope on Wheels. More than 30 families affected by pediatric cancer were part of the celebration.
The Entire US Auto Industry Just Asked Trump to Keep Chinese Automakers Out
A coalition including NADA, the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, and MEMA sent a joint letter asking the administration to keep the door "firmly shut" on Chinese vehicle imports, manufacturing, and sales, warning of data collection risks and unfair competition. It comes as Trump has signaled openness to Chinese automakers building in the US, ahead of a meeting with Xi Jinping next week.
Ford Wants Dealers Selling Software. It Should Let Them Get Paid For It.
Friday's editorial dug into Ford's 1.6 million paid software subscribers and the gap between what dealers are asked to do (the in-person demos, the education) and what they actually get paid for it. Worth a full read if you missed it Friday.
🚘 Stuff
Warren Buffett stepped down as Berkshire Hathaway chairman at 96, handing the role to his son Howard after three decades of board preparation.
Tariffs, fuel costs, and rising rates are squeezing American manufacturers from three directions at once, per CNBC, with smaller, less-cushioned suppliers absorbing the worst of it.
President Trump announced plans to form an "AI Force" and name an AI czar, saying his administration won't move to slow the technology's growth.
1888: The first issue of National Geographic Magazine is published, launching what would become one of the most recognized publishing brands in the world.
1893: The first American-built automobile, constructed by the Duryea brothers, is publicly displayed.
1924: Ford Motor Company's capital reaches $1 billion, a milestone in the young auto industry's rapid growth.
Thanks for reading, Friend!
