🚗 We're Making the Data Speak

Howdy, Fam!

JD Power dropped its annual quality rankings, and usually folks will stop at, "Here's who won."

We're more interested in what you can do with it.

This morning, we're turning fresh industry data into customer conversations you can have today. Plus, one dealer builds a better wholesale mousetrap, Starbucks reminds us that coaching beats correcting, and a few other stories worth knowing before your second cup of coffee.

Keep Pushing Back,
—Paul, Kyle, Chris & Kristi

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JD Power's 2026 Initial Quality Study found the biggest year-over-year improvement in new vehicle quality since 1997. Reported problems dropped from 192 to 175 per 100 vehicles across the industry, with improvements in nine of the study's ten categories.

Connectivity issues with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and touchscreen systems remain the biggest source of owner frustration. Nearly half of drivers who reported distracted driving concerns pointed to infotainment as the culprit.

Porsche ranked highest among premium brands, while Ford topped the mass-market rankings after years of investing heavily in quality improvements.

This is encouraging news for every dealer.

For years, quality headlines have focused on recalls, software bugs, and production issues. Today's study tells a different story. Vehicles are getting better.

At the same time, they're getting more complicated.

Customers don't expect you to write the software. They do expect you to help them understand it.

The stores that treat delivery as the beginning of the ownership experience, not the end of the sales process, are the ones that turn technology into confidence instead of frustration.

If your brand ranked well, celebrate it.

Don't just repost the press release. Translate it for your community.

Try something like:

Or make it personal:

The study is about quality. The opportunity is trust.

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If today's JD Power story tells us anything, it's that technology alone doesn't create a better ownership experience.

Tom McGeachy and Casey Goodnight explain why the best dealerships aren't winning because they have the biggest tech stack. They're winning because their people know how to make that technology feel simple for customers.

Dealer Defender is trying to make arbitration less painful by giving dealers one place to file claims, track updates, and see prior arbitration history.

If dealers can see prior issues, repairs, seller responses, and fraud alerts before buying, the lane gets a little less mysterious. For stores buying heavy at auction, this is worth watching or beta testing.

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Starbucks is adding thousands of “coffeehouse coach” roles after pilot stores saw stronger execution and more consistent customer experiences.

Dealers can use the same idea immediately. Put experienced leaders closer to the work. Coach conversations as they happen.

GM revealed the 2027 GMC Sierra 1500 with new V-8 options, updated styling, more available screen space, and a simplified trim lineup. The move puts more focus on high-profit Denali and AT4 models, which already make up about half of Sierra sales.

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Polestar says it will be blocked from selling 2027 model-year vehicles in the U.S. under connected-vehicle rules tied to Chinese ownership and technology concerns. Existing Polestar 3 and 4 inventory can still be sold, but the decision raises bigger questions about ownership, software, data, and market access.

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Amazon-owned Zoox is moving its purpose-built robotaxi from prototype toward production, with plans to build up to 100 vehicles per week pending regulatory approval. It probably will not change dealership operations tomorrow, but it shows autonomous mobility is moving from experiment to business model.

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Ford ranked highest among mass-market brands in JD Power’s 2026 IQS after years of quality struggles. The company credits more rigorous testing, daily problem-solving, supplier accountability, AI-assisted inspections, and more technical specialists.

The twist: Ford also had to bring back experienced engineers to help correct what automated systems missed.