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Toyota, Top-Ranked Used Cars, and Cruise.
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Toyota

Sometimes, it is hard to admit we are wrong. For instance, I will pronounce "GIF" as "GIF" forever, and nobody can stop me. Toyota is doing a 180 regarding its Super Bowl plans and will pay for ad space after all.

  • While several automakers have announced intentions to skip this year, Toyota skipped last year's big game but will participate this year.
  • The Super Bowl LVIII ad will tie to the launch of the 2024 Tacoma and highlight the vehicle's off-road ability.

BMW, VW, and Kia are also all set to run ads on Super Bowl Sunday, but only Toyota is the official partner of the NFL, so they could make use of league trademarks to cozy up to the NFL a bit closer.

Used Inventory Rankings

CarGuru announced its pick for "Used Car of the Year" along with its list of top picks for used buyers. While most rankings would count what has been sold, this one suggests to people what they should buy using seven years of pricing and inventory data, trends, and test driving over 1000 vehicles.

  • The 10th-generation Honda Accord wins the top spot.
  • The announcement is aligned with the optimal period for used buyers in 2024 — the week of February 12. Based on the data, prices are expected to be 2.8% lower, an average of $800 in savings.

🏆 Other category winners:
⭐️ Best midsize crossover/SUV: Hyundai Santa Fe (4th Generation)
⭐️ Best large pickup truck: Ford F-150 (14th Generation)
⭐️ Best luxury sedan: Audi A4 (5th Generation)
⭐️ Best family car: Kia Telluride (1st Generation)
⭐️ Best sports car: Porsche 911 (992 Series, 8th Generation)
⭐️ Small crossover/SUV: Toyota RAV4 Hybrid (5th Generation)
⭐️ Large SUV: Ford Expedition (4th Generation)
⭐️ Luxury crossover/SUV: Mercedes-Benz GLS-Class (3rd Generation)
⭐️ Small pickup truck: Honda Ridgeline (2nd Generation)

Sometimes, you listen to the market, and sometimes, you intercept messages from the market. Either way, do you have some of these winners in your inventory, or is CarGuru missing the mark here?

Cruise

If it wasn't for all the injured people, the robot driving issues at GM's Cruise would be kinda funny. How many times does a robot crash a car before somebody takes the robot's car away?

That's actually the story right now. A while back, a Cruise driverless taxi hit and dragged a person 20 feet before stopping. Now, the investigation has uncovered a lack of transparency, accountability, and communication with regulators at the subsidiary's top levels.

GM has already cut part of its funding for the group, which led to layoffs, and this new development may lead to further legal actions.  

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