TOGETHER WITH :
Speaker announcements have begun, Fam!
ICYMI: ASOTU CON 2026 is coming to Hanover, MD, this May 12-15th. In past years, we’ve enjoyed practical, innovative, and authoritative messages from folks who don’t live in theory but know that value for dealers is measured by connecting with more shoppers.
This year will be the same, but with another year of experience and a new set of topics to gather around and find the best path through.
Catch more speaker announcements on LinkedIn!
Keep Pushing Back,
- Chris with Paul, Kyle & Kristi
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Tesla’s “Full Self-Driving” Gets the Federal Side-Eye
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NHTSA just escalated its Tesla FSD probe to an engineering analysis, covering 3.2 million vehicles.
Fog. Glare. Low visibility.
Moments where drivers need clarity, not confusion.
The concern? The system may not reliably detect or warn when conditions break down. That keeps trust front and center. Not just for Tesla, but for every dealer explaining driver-assist features to a cautious customer.
Buyers are Sending AI Shopping, Not Just Emails
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Some customers are not just researching.
They are deploying.
AI agents are now finding cars, comparing prices, and kicking off deals. Cox says 25% of buyers used AI tools last year.
If your inventory is hard to find,
your pricing hard to follow,
your process hard to finish…
the bot moves on before the human ever shows up.
Xpeng and BYD Keep Pushing Past Home Turf
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Xpeng is heading to Mexico, aiming to double overseas sales.
BYD is riding fuel-price pressure into global demand spikes.
Two brands. Same direction.
Outward. Faster.
They are not waiting for permission, and they are not slowing down. This is less about today’s competition and more about tomorrow’s expectations.
Luxury Brands Tap the Brakes on All-EV Dreams
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Rolls-Royce is keeping the V12 alive a little longer.
Bentley and Lamborghini are easing timelines too.
Turns out even high-end buyers are not rushing to go fully electric. Demand is real, but it is uneven. Translation for dealers: the EV story still needs nuance, not assumptions.
P.S. Tiny Cars, Big Question
A $20K electric microcar is gaining traction in the US.
But it is cheap(ish), simple, and aimed straight at short-trip reality.
And unlike Rolls-Royce news, most people can actually afford to pay attention to this one.
Speed Without Context is Just Confusion
A lot of dealerships think speed to lead is the whole game.
But if your team calls a lead with zero context…it’s basically speed to confusion. HeyGreenlight enriches inbound leads in under a minute so your team knows who they’re talking to before they pick up the phone.
And it goes deeper than just contact data.
It builds a psychological buying profile around each lead.How they prefer to buy, what matters most in their decision, where friction is likely to show up.
So, your team doesn’t just call faster. They communicate smarter.
Turns out guessing was never the strategy.
Better context. Better conversations. HeyGreenlight.
“We either have one system, or we don’t.”
Washington passed a law allowing Rivian and Lucid to sell direct to consumers, joining Tesla and creating a narrow exception to the franchise system.
On the surface, it looks contained. It’s not.
As John Bozzella put it on Automotive State of the Union: “We either have one system or we don’t.”
The concern is precedent. Once exceptions exist, others will push through the same opening, including global players looking for a faster path into the U.S.
So, what should dealers do now?
1. Get aligned locally.
Fragmentation creates opportunity for others. When dealers and OEMs are not on the same page, policy decisions get made without a clear line of defense.
2. Double down on visible value.
The best protection is not policy alone. It’s proving daily why the dealer model works better for customers through service, trust, and local presence.
3. Pay attention to state-level moves.
This is not a one-state story. It’s happening market by market. What passes quietly in one state becomes a template in another.
Because small exceptions have a way of becoming big shifts if nobody is paying attention.
March 31: NY Auto Forum
April 6: NADA Webinar - Hear Directly from a Senior FTC Official on the Recent Warning Letters and Dealer Advertising
May 12: AutoIndustry.AI Summit
May 13-15: ASOTU CON 2026—get ready for the Year of the Human
🤖 AI: Bezos is getting into AI investment.
🛒 Retail: The National Retail Federation says retail sales will increase 4.4% this year. But also that nothing is for sure, and everything is nuts-oh right now.
👽 Weird: Sharks in a popular tourist destination are all hopped up on drugs and coffee. Wonder why?
1775 – Patrick Henry delivers his iconic speech—"Give me liberty or give me death!”—at St. John's Episcopal Church in Richmond, Virginia.
1957 – Chevrolet Corvette SS makes only racing appearance.
1968 – The Lincoln Continental Mark III is introduced.
Thanks for reading, Friend. Let’s rock n’ roll this Monday!
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