TOGETHER WITH:
Howdy, Fam!
Polestar just confirmed it won't even appeal a federal ban on its future U.S. sales. 32 dealers who invested millions in facilities and staff are now finding out what their franchise protections actually cover.
We'll also break down what the new ACSI rankings mean for how you talk to customers today, no matter which way your brand's score moved.
Also in today's email:
The retail-minded new CEOs Stellantis just handed Jeep and Ram
What actually changed with the new Canada tariffs, and what didn't
An elephant seal named Neil who's been terrorizing Tasmania for five years straight
Keep Pushing Back,
—Chris with Paul, Kyle & Kristi
Reading time: 4 mins
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Polestar Isn't Even Appealing Its U.S. Ban. Its Own Dealers Are Left Holding the Bag.
Polestar confirmed it won't appeal a federal ban on future U.S. sales. 32 dealers who invested millions in facilities and staff are now navigating an exit they had no say in.
Polestar is officially hitting the brakes on the U.S. market. The Commerce Department banned the brand from selling future models over connected-vehicle national security concerns, and Polestar has decided not to fight it.
Not appealing a ban on your own future sales is one way to end a market. It's not usually the first one companies try.
📊 What Dealers Are Actually Facing
32 U.S. dealers with facilities, staff, and training investments already made
Up to $25,000 in discounts now clearing remaining inventory, pressuring resale values
State franchise laws that may still require dealer compensation, government ban or not
We deserve some answers.
Volvo Got Approved. Polestar Didn't. Nobody's Saying Why.
Volvo, majority-owned by the same Chinese parent company, Geely, got approval to keep selling in the U.S. Polestar, under the same ownership structure, didn't.
Why would you not appeal? Like, what's going on here?
One possibility worth naming: the ban may have simply given Polestar convenient cover to exit a U.S. EV market that's already gotten brutally competitive, regardless of the national security ruling itself.
What This Means for Your Store
If you carry a single-owner or foreign-backed niche brand, this is worth a real look at your own state's franchise termination rules before you ever need them. "A termination is a termination," as one attorney representing dealers put it. These state statutes tend to apply regardless of why the brand is leaving.
Your Website Isn't Slow. It’s Overloaded.
Analytics, digital retail, chat, ads, OEM requirements. Every single one earned its spot on your site. Together, they're fighting each other for the browser's attention before a shopper ever sees a car.
That's not a design problem. That's a loading-order problem.
Auto Genius's Speed Layer doesn't ask you to rip out tools, replatform, or gamble your stack to fix it. It just changes what loads first, so your site feels instant instead of overloaded, and the moment a shopper decides to trust you doesn't get buried under six other scripts fighting for the same second.
No replatform. No removed tools. No vendor lock-in. Reversible if you ever want out.
Check your site speed, then book a conversation to see what's actually slowing you down.
Toyota Leads, Buick Just Had the Worst Year in the Industry
The 2026 ACSI just reshuffled the auto industry's pecking order.
📊 The Big Movers
Toyota: up to 83, the industry's clear #1
Buick: down 16 points to 68, the steepest drop in the survey
Cadillac: down 15 to 69, last among luxury brands
Ram, Kia, Jeep: biggest gainers, up 3-7 points each
Hybrids scored 80, holding flat while gas fell to 78 and pure EVs dropped to 72, a genuine, independently measured shift in consumer preference.
🎯 Do This Today
Scored well? Cite the actual number in customer conversations; "independently ranked #1 in satisfaction" beats any internal claim.
Slipped? Know your number and have an honest answer ready before a customer brings it up first.
Sell hybrids? Lean into that inventory now. The data finally backs the pitch.
Stellantis Just Brought in Two Retail-Minded CEOs to Fix Jeep and Ram.
Matt VanDyke (former Ford, FordDirect) now runs Ram. Branden Coté (former AutoNation) takes over Jeep August 3.
Neither is a pure corporate hire, both have real dealer-floor backgrounds. Worth watching whether that translates into a faster fix on Jeep's 160-day inventory problem we flagged yesterday.
The U.S. Just Hit Canada with 50% Tariffs. It's Not About Vehicles Directly.
New Section 338 tariffs target building materials, alcohol, and dairy, not cars or parts. But the dispute traces back to a real $5.6 billion hit to U.S. vehicle exports after Canada's counter-tariffs.
Automakers already shifted sourcing in response; Hyundai and Subaru moved Canadian production elsewhere, while Ford, GM, Honda, Stellantis, and Toyota kept tariff-free status by maintaining Canadian plants.
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Cars and Car Accessories
GM raised its profit guidance for the second time this year, to $14-16 billion, as North American profits jumped 43% on strong truck and SUV demand, even while taking another $2.3 billion in EV-related charges.
EV prices are actually falling, real prices are down 18% since 2020 once you control for the shift toward bigger, nicer models, and battery costs still have another 35-37% of savings not yet passed on to buyers.
Back-to-school spending is up nearly 12% this year, but families are consolidating trips and rewarding retailers that remove friction over just cutting price, a real signal for how buyers may approach big purchases the rest of the summer.
💡 Wow Wee
A 2,200-pound elephant seal named Neil has been visiting Tasmania every year for five years, knocking over poles, breaking fences, and generally terrorizing small towns. Officials are still tallying the damage.
Astronomers caught a sun-like star in the act of devouring one of its own planets, leaving behind a telltale chemical fingerprint. Solar systems: not always friendly.
A 1,600-year-old Egyptian mummy turned out to be wrapped with a fragment of Homer's Iliad, apparently repurposed for embalming. Ancient recycling at its finest.
Two climbers scaled the Empire State Building's spire, some 1,454 feet up, and got engaged at the top before being arrested. Bold way to pop the question.
1796: General Moses Cleaveland founded the city of Cleveland, Ohio.
1933: Aviator Wiley Post landed in New York, completing the first solo flight around the world, covering over 15,000 miles in 7 days, 18 hours, and 49 minutes.
2017: The first World Drive Electric Day launched, an annual event created to showcase and promote electric vehicles worldwide.
