🔋 US EV Accessibility Climbs

TOGETHER WITH

You never know what craziness you will find in auto retail!

Yesterday, we hosted a webinar where we learned that Spitzer Auto Group started as a local hardware store in Ohio over 110 years ago and now has 27 stores over 7 states!

Seems like auto is a staple in American culture!Keep Pushing Back-Paul, Kyle, & Chris

DEALERS

NADA Supports East Palestine Employees

In February, the tragic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio released over a million gallons of hazardous materials into the surrounding area. The community is still reeling from the contamination.

While there has been a major focus on the environmental impacts of the tragedy, much less attention has been paid to the human impacts.

Thanks to the generous support of dealers and industry partners, NADA’s Foundation Emergency Relief Fund was able to donate $6K in gift cards to twenty employees of Brittain Motors in East Palestine. The money is intended to provide relief in the wake of the disaster by helping staff pay for clean water and other resources necessary to protect themselves and their families from the pollution.

Telling it like it is - NADA is continuously raising funds to support our dealership families in need. Want to help their cause? You can donate here!

AUTOMOTIVE

BYD's Big Q4, Lucid’s Layoffs, and Lambo’s New Flagship

BYD may stand for "Big Year, Dude" since their Q4 profit rocketed 400%. The company says despite a "price war" in the Chinese market, its effort to expand its range of products helped it not only shake off ill effects but also overtake VW as the region's top-selling brand.

In January and February of 2023, BYD accounted for 41% of new-energy vehicle sales in China, while rival Tesla only captured 8%.

"There's an app for that." The company also launched its EV control app in Australia. The 3000 Atto 3 owners in the country can check tire pressure, monitor power level, range, and see how much time is needed to finish charging. The app users can also control in-car settings, such as seat comfort. It's like sitting in the driver's seat looking at the dash, but from the other side of the planet, if you require such a thing.

Lucid announced an 18% cut in its workforce this week. The 1300 layoffs will come from each level of the organization, including executives. Workers will have access to severance packages, career resources, and health insurance.

The cuts are part of a cost-cutting strategy following some softening demand and a recent recall.

Company shares closed about 7% down following the news.

Lamborghini is replacing its flagship vehicle, the Aventador, with its first plug-in electric hypercar, the Revuelto.

The legendary Italian brand and its parent company, VW, are working on going electric along with most other OEMs. The 1000 hp Revuelto has a v12 engine backed up by three electric motors, enabling fully electric mode for a whopping 6.2 miles before the gas engine will need to kick on and recharge the battery - in about 6 minutes.

As The Verge points out, the name could mean "unruly,” or it could refer to a creamy scrambled egg dish. When we try to synthesize the two ideas, we can only imagine trying to eat scrambled eggs in a 1000-hp car would become quite unruly quite rapidly. So it checks out.

TL; DR - BYD’s good Q4 keeps going, Lucid is cutting people’s jobs as “non-critical spending,” and Lambo tiptoes toward electrification.

TOGETHER WITH AUTOMOTIVE TITLING COMPANY

Speed Wins!

Patience may be a virtue, but speed wins trophies. Have you ever seen somebody with a trophy for being patient? Us neither.

ATC is the fastest and most reliable provider of processing and data for out-of-state tax, title, and registration. The service is fast for you and your customer, with a 48-hour turnaround time on file auditing, so you know that the customer's processing is in good hands quickly.

The correct title is guaranteed for a fixed passthrough fee since ATC will resolve any DMV errors and ship the plates directly to the dealer or customer.

Contact ATC today and experience the speed!

AROUND THE ASOTU-VERSE

Pitch Tank By Auto Genius

Congratulations to Ron Smith and STELLA Automotive AI on winning this month's Pitch Tank final!

Join us on Auto Collabs soon to find out more about what STELLA has going on!

Have a product, platform, service, or strategy that you'd like to pitch to our panel and audience of dealer and automotive industry leaders? Apply now.

AUTOMOTIVE

EV Accessibility

According to a new report by JD Power, about 50% of car buyers should be able to afford an EV that meets their needs by the end of the year. These results reflect more and more brands bringing affordable electric models to the market.

The average price of EVs has dropped significantly with some models reaching price parity with their gas-powered counterparts. New incentives and tax credits are also making EVs more accessible financially, while the expansion in types of EVs being offered is attracting buyers with larger and more practical options.

Despite the increased attainability, JD Power predicts that only about one in ten car shoppers will actually purchase a new EV by the end of 2023, but says that number is on the rise.

Telling it like it is - EVs are becoming more accessible and affordable. Can we please work on eggs next?

CULTURE

Dinner, Drinks, and Dessert

A startup in the Netherlands has made and unveiled a massive hunk of lab-grown mammoth meat. We know you have questions, so let's take a bite.

How? Welp, apparently, they knew enough about mammoth genetics to create it from scratch. They started with sheep cells and added their homemade mammoth genetics. The missing parts were replaced with the mammoth's closest living relative, the African elephant.

Ok, but why?? To get people talking about the possibilities of food available now and on the horizon as technology like this continues to innovate.

Finally, what does it taste like? Nobody knows. Because the protein is 4,000 years old, it is unknown how the human body will react to it. Like any product heading to market, a gauntlet of tests will be conducted before anybody gets a taste.

For the first time in 14 years, Pepsi is refreshing its look. This is the only kind of refreshing it can be (Coke fans know what we're saying).

The new logo's black and electric blue color palette will also be part of the brand's new visual identity and reinforce the company's commitment to its zero-sugar option.

The new cans will launch in the fall ahead of Pepsi's 125th-anniversary celebration.

California has a simple proposition for Skittles, Nerds, and other candy using red dye No. 3: “Get rid of the dye, or get ready to die."

Ok, they didn't say that, we just liked the way it sounds, but they are moving to ban the red dye over potential risks. Risks include carcinogenic effects, memory loss, behavioral issues, and reproductive problems.

The dye is used in over 2,900 food products and some medications. The dye was banned from cosmetics and external applications in 1990 due to its links to thyroid cancer.

Needless to say, all our favorite red candy may be less bright soon.

Telling it like it is - You’re stuck at home and can’t order out. You only have one mammoth-mammoth meatball, three bags of Skittles, and a can of Pepsi at your disposal. What are you making?

Quick Hits

• A new luxury accessories brand is taking e-waste from the landfill to the runway.

• Disney starts its round of layoffs by completely eliminating its Metaverse unit. Humanity has taken a large step away from a real Tron experience.

• Move over, Muse. An ultramassive black hole has been discovered that's 33 billion times the size of the sun. 

History

• 1867: The United States government purchases Alaska. The purchase of the land from Russia for $7.2M means the US paid roughly two cents per acre.

• 1968: Mid Engine Corvette prototype debuts.

• 1998: Porsche delivers its final air-cooled car to Seinfeld.

• 2017: SpaceX conducts the world's first re-flight of an orbital class rocket. 

Motor Madness