- ASOTU Daily Pushback
- Posts
- 🚗 Wholesale vs Retail?
🚗 Wholesale vs Retail?
🚙 Robots, Resistance, and Real Talk.
In partnership with
Ready or not, it's Monday, my Friend!
Keeping up with the data, news, and truth is a full-time job. Part work, part head game. Today's news is no different.
Wholesale used prices are down, but retail used prices are aok.
Trump and Musk (Tusk?) are having it out, and since each changes stock values each time they sneeze, we imagine no matter who wins the battle, nobody will win the war.
And VW said two things that gave us pause. All their EVs are going to use Rivian bones, and also, their EVs are going to have combustion engines.
Read on to find out more, and let us know where you see this crazy train heading.
Keep Pushing Back
-Paul, Kyle, Chris & Kristi
Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe here!
Reading time: 3 min
Used Cars/New Data, Big Oofs for Tesla, and VW’s EVs
giphy
📉 Used Car Market: A Dip That’s Still a Win
Wholesale values dipped 1.4% in May, but don’t mistake it for a downturn. After April’s tariff-fueled spike, the Manheim Index still sits 4% above last year’s levels. Retail prices haven’t moved much at all—thanks to tight inventory and rising consumer confidence, which just saw its biggest jump since 2021.
Luxury and SUV segments are leading the gains, while EV values dipped just 0.9%, holding stronger than the broader market. Dealer takeaway: This is your acquisition window. Wholesale is soft, but retail margins are still there.
🤖 Tesla’s Robotaxis—and a Musk vs. Trump Smackdown
Tesla’s prepping a robotaxi launch in Austin—but it’s also fighting the city to keep details under wraps. Meanwhile, Elon Musk and President Trump are locked in a public feud over EV incentives.
Musk slammed Trump’s spending bill and resigned from his White House advisory role. Trump fired back with threats to yank Tesla’s subsidies. The result? A 14% Tesla stock drop Thursday, and a 5% rebound Friday.
Why it matters: This isn’t just headlines—it’s consumer sentiment, EV policy, and potential price pressure on your lot.
🔄 VW: EVs with Engines + Rivian Under the Hood
Yes, you read that right. VW’s new EV platform still includes combustion engines… to act as range extenders. Meanwhile, the company is handing its EV software future to Rivian.
From Audi to Porsche, all future VW Group EVs will ride on Rivian’s R2 tech stack. That’s a major pivot—and a bold signal: VW knows software is now the difference-maker.
Dealer insight: Software-defined vehicles are coming fast. Sales, service, and training all need to level up—fast.
➕ More
We’ve got more on these and several other stories in our Daily Digest.
🥊 Quick Hits
We just saw a headline referencing “The Goonies sequel” and shared it here with no additional information. This is important news. 🏴☠️
A DOGE AI with a pretty unencouraging success rate has been tasked with cutting money from VA contracts. 🐕️
U.S. trade deficit dropped by record amount in April, Commerce Dept. says 📉
Try Artisan’s All-in-one Outbound Sales Platform & AI BDR
Ava automates your entire outbound demand generation so you can get leads delivered to your inbox on autopilot. She operates within the Artisan platform, which consolidates every tool you need for outbound:
300M+ High-Quality B2B Prospects, including E-Commerce and Local Business Leads
Automated Lead Enrichment With 10+ Data Sources
Full Email Deliverability Management
Multi-Channel Outreach Across Email & LinkedIn
Human-Level Personalization
Robots, resistance, and real talk.
At ASOTU CON, we kicked things off with a panel that pulled no punches on what it really means to lead through innovation in retail auto. Greg Uland, Ed Roberts, and Alan Brown unpacked how AI, automation, and culture collide—and what separates gimmicks from game-changers. From technician videos to robot pushback, this wasn’t a tech showcase—it was a blueprint for the modern dealership.
If you're serious about staying ahead without losing your people, this is the one to read.
Read the full write-up here.
🔁 Today in History
1959 – The USS George Washington is launched. It is the first nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine. 🌊
1973 – In horse racing, Secretariat wins the U.S. Triple Crown. 🐎
2006 – “Cars” movie franchise begins 🏁
Reply