TOGETHER WITH:
Remember the Santa tracker? Local news stations would put him on the weather radar, and kids would stay up watching that little sleigh icon creep closer and closer until their parents finally sent them to bed. Looking back, it's almost funny how easily some kids believed it.
A guy in California just got fooled by the grown-up version. A fake GPS tracker, an AI-generated photo, and a reasonably priced Toyota 4Runner that never actually existed. Check it out below.
Also in today's email...
VW's EV orders just passed gas cars in Germany, and Reddit has a lot to say about what that actually means
Three related reads: CarMax's third round of layoffs, the world's biggest truck makers betting big on hydrogen, and this week's wholesale numbers
Quick hits on Saudi Arabia's new EV brand, Tesla's move into Vietnam, and our take on the iced coffee interview debate
Keep Pushing Back,
—Chris with Paul, Kyle & Kristi
First-time reader? Subscribe Here!
VW's EV Orders Just Passed Gas Cars in Germany, and People Aren't Sure What to Make of It
For the first time, orders for Volkswagen's electric cars have overtaken orders for its gas-powered ones, in Germany, the company's home market. VW is cutting planned shifts at Wolfsburg, where the Golf and Tiguan are built, while adding shifts at its EV plants in Emden and Zwickau. The ID.Polo, its new entry-level EV starting around $29,000, has racked up 40,000 orders since April and is reportedly sold out across every trim.
People’s comments split fast:
"This is likely the real beginning of the end for fossil cars in western Europe, at least."
"These EVs are likely NOT destined to come to the USA."
"The article is about the European market, where people usually don't buy a Hummer to drive their kids to soccer practice."
VW still has real problems, 100,000 planned job cuts, a struggling China business. But its first-generation EVs struggled to sell. This generation is sold out. That's a fast turn, worth remembering next time a customer says they're "just not an EV person," at least not yet.
When Good Trades Get Lost
Join us TODAY at 2:00pm EDT for 30 minutes that just might change how you grade your appraisers.
Patrick Janes from vAuto and Rachel Holloway from Gilchrist Automotive are digging into the blind spots behind Look to Book, including how to measure appraisal quality and catch trades before they walk.
Bring your current appraisal process, and get ready to make some improvements.
An AI Scammer Sold a Fake Toyota to a Real Lender. Your Customers Are the Next Target.
Wil Matthews is a professional photographer, trained to notice when something looks off. He'd already spotted dozens of fake dealer listings on Facebook Marketplace before this summer. None of that stopped him from paying $36,240 for a Toyota 4Runner that never existed.
The fake was a full production: a cloned Texas dealership, a real VIN, a spoofed GPS tracker, an AI-generated photo of the truck on a transport trailer, a synthesized voice playing the delivery driver. Matthews got his money back only because he documented everything and invoked the FTC Holder Rule immediately.
"This is the opportunity for us as dealers... to educate the customer on how to shop, not just in a regular ecosystem, but in an AI-assisted shopping world."
The dealer who tells a customer the truth, even about a deal that isn't theirs, is the one that customer comes back to. That starts with a team that knows what to say when someone walks in nervous about a listing they saw elsewhere.
145 People Just Lost Their Jobs at CarMax
Third round of cuts in under a year, 725 jobs total, as new CEO Keith Barr races to close a real gap with Carvana on reconditioning costs. There are people behind that number, not just a strategy shift.
The World's Biggest Truck Makers Are Betting on a Fuel Nobody's Buying Yet
Daimler, Volvo, and Toyota are pouring money into hydrogen trucks despite no real market today. Daimler's CEO called it "not some side project," but their joint venture has put just five trucks on the road since 2021.
This Week's Wholesale Numbers Keep Telling the Same Story
Full-size pickups just hit 20 straight weeks of depreciation, per Black Book. Auction conversion dropped to 58%, down three points, as buyers get pickier about condition and mileage.
🚘 Car Stuff
New York State Police are launching a six-day “Fall Safe Speed” campaign targeting speeding and aggressive driving. 🚨
California is clearing the way for E15—a 15% ethanol gasoline blend—as it looks for ways to lower fuel costs. ⛽️
AM radio is one Senate vote and a presidential signature away from becoming mandatory in new cars again. 📻
The 1992 Batman Returns Batmobile is headed to auction with a shot at breaking the movie-car sales record. 🦇
It’s Child Passenger Safety Week. Here’s everything you need to know about how to find the proper car-seat to keep your little ones protected. 🐣
💰 Not Car Stuff
It’s also Fat Bear Week. Which chonker gets your vote? 🐻
Ever wish you could eat popcorn right out of your noggin? Wish granted! 🍿
Scottish DJ and producer Calvin Harris just claimed a Guinness World Record after 1.6M people packed São Paulo for his set. 🎶
1387: One of the most extravagant medieval English feasts ever recorded is held for Richard II and John of Gaunt in London, including 14 salted oxen, 120 sheep, 1,200 pigeons, and 11,000 eggs. 🍳
1561: King Philip II of Spain forbids Spanish settlements in Florida. 🏝️
1862: U.S. President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation is published in northern newspapers. 🗞️
Thanks for reading, Friend! Only 57 days until….
