🚗 Used Cars, Fake Voices, and a $2.7B Vanishing Act

TOGETHER WITH

Thursday, July 10th.

Mind the Gap, Fill the Void

The scaffolding is falling away—tax credits, carbon revenue, policy boosts. But where the structure used to be, retail auto is still standing. Still showing up. Still finding the opportunity in the cracks.

From Toyota’s flood response to Carvana’s latest climb to one very expensive Bronco glovebox surprise… this week’s stories remind us: the market may shift, but the mission stays the same.

Nobody’s asking for perfection, which means we’re free to give it our best shot.

Keep Pushing Back
-Paul, Kyle, Chris & Kristi

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THE UNION

Proof, Pressure & the Pivot

From the Automotive State of the Union

This morning on the pod, Paul and Kyle break down three stories showing how action, innovation, and risk are reshaping the ground beneath our feet.

Toyota is showing up for Texas.

After devastating floods in Kerr County, TMNA and its partners pledged $600K (and then some) in disaster relief—including matched dealer donations and doubled employee contributions. It’s more than generosity—it’s a masterclass in brand credibility. When the headlines fade, what your store does is what people remember.

EV batteries get a second act—powering AI.

Redwood Materials, founded by ex-Tesla CTO JB Straubel, just built a 12MW microgrid using repurposed EV batteries and solar power to run an AI data center—completely off the grid. With AI’s energy appetite surging, second-life batteries are quickly becoming big business.

AI fraud is no longer theoretical.

A cloned voice of U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio fooled multiple officials in a coordinated scam. The tech? Readily available. The warning? Clear. Deepfakes are coming for every layer of trust—consumer, corporate, political. What’s your verification process?

From The News w/ ASOTU

CDK’s David Thomas raised a key question: if Tesla’s $2.7B in carbon credit revenue just vanished, what does that mean for the rest of us?

With the rug pulled from tax credits and emissions offsets, the EV scaffolding is gone, and what’s left is the actual business model. Dealers are once again standing where the rubber meets the road.

Meanwhile:

• Carvana is climbing on digital convenience and Cramer’s blessing.

• Tariffs are pushing used values up, fast.

• And a single $7K repair receipt turned a clean Carfax into a trust test.

Margins are one thing. Relationships are another. And the game’s about to reward those who can protect both.

🥊 Quick Hits

• Nvidia hits $4T valuation. 💰️ 

• TSA gives the boot to shoe removal at airports. 🥾

• American power grids are struggling to power AI. ⚡️ 

• Striking sanitation workers in Philadelphia have reached a deal and should be back to work soon. 🗑️ 

TOGETHER WITH MIA

Monsters Belong in Movies, Not in Dealerships

Does your tech stack look like it was stitched together in a lightning storm?

Thuy Adomitis calls them “Franken-systems,” and if that term feels a little too familiar, you’ll want to catch her latest episode on Auto Collabs.

After surviving a 14-hour car-buying saga, Thuy set out to fix what’s broken in dealership communications. Today, as VP of Sales at Mia Labs, she’s helping dealers replace those patchwork systems with a voice AI that actually works.

Mia never sleeps, never calls in sick, and never drops a lead. She answers calls, books service appointments, checks parts availability, and frees your team to focus on what really matters: relationships and revenue.

Ready to slay the monster holding your dealership operations hostage?

Book a demo and mention “Franken-systems” to get your first month with Mia free.

MORE THAN CARS MOMENTS

A Playground Built by Paying Attention

At Place of Hope shelter in St. Cloud, Minnesota, nearly 40 children had no place to play. Just a patch of grass across the street and a basketball court.

St. Cloud Subaru noticed and jumped into action.

After years of supporting the shelter through Subaru’s Share the Love program, the dealership staff realized something simple was missing. So they raised $10K, partnered with a local playground company, and spent last Friday afternoon installing the new play-set themselves. The dealership also presented a $95K check to the Greater St. Cloud Public Safety Foundation, funding neighborhood-based community outposts that connect residents to local resources.

St. Cloud Subaru didn’t wait to be asked. They saw a gap and filled it with their own time, effort, and funds. It is the kind of work that builds trust beyond transactions and puts meaning behind the mission to serve.

AROUND THE ASOTU-VERSE

ICYMI…

We sat down with Luke Morris and Scott Traylor in 30-minute webinar to dig into how Mia seamlessly became a part of the Earnhardt’s CDJR Gilbert team without complexity and chaos.

Catch the replay here.

🔁 Today in History

• 1938: Howard Hughes begins a 91-hour airplane flight around the world that will set a new record. ✈️ 

• 1972: The Honda Civic debuts. 🚗 

• 2019: The final Volkswagen Beetle rolls off the line in Puebla, Mexico; the last of 5,961 "Special Edition" cars will be exhibited in a museum. 🇲🇽 

Thanks for reading…