TOGETHER WITH:
Howdy, Fam!
We hope your weekend had some rest in it, because this week on Auto Collabs brings two conversations we can’t wait for you to hear.
Photo: Accrual Equity Partners
Tomorrow, Nov. 3: Jack Hollis. Jack rose to EVP and COO of Toyota Motor North America and now serves as managing partner at Accrual Equity Partners. Paul ranked it as “one of probably the two best conversations we’ve ever had,” so save it for a drive when you can really listen. If it leaves you wanting more, Jack is one of our keynotes at ASOTU CON West on Nov. 18 in LA.
Thursday, Nov. 5: Tomi Mikula. Tomi owns Deliverd, and he sat down with Paul and Kyle in person, in a garage full of cars up on lifts. They asked him questions he’d never been asked before.
Subscribe to Auto Collabs wherever you listen, and both episodes will be waiting for you when they drop.
In today’s email...
Honda’s dealer network goes dark after a cybersecurity incident
What GM’s $220 million privacy settlement means at delivery
Our takes on Binance and GM hybrids, plus a rough Friday for tech stocks
Keep Pushing Back,
—Chris with Paul, Kyle & Kristi
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Honda took its dealer network offline after a cybersecurity incident last week.
Picture a Honda service advisor with a customer at the counter, a part to order and a system that won’t load. Honda pulled its Interactive Network, known as iN, offline as a precaution while it investigated, and a dealership email to a collision shop said more than 1,100 stores couldn’t check parts inventory or place new parts orders.
The portal handles far more than parts. Without it, dealers couldn’t submit finance applications, see recall alerts or new incentives, or work on more complicated repair orders, CDG News reported.
What has Honda said about the iN incident so far?
Customer data: Honda says it hasn’t found evidence that customer information was accessed.
Investigation: Still ongoing.
Service: Restoration has been bumpy, and Honda’s updates have shifted along the way, so your district rep is the best source on where things stand for your store.
If your OEM portal went dark tomorrow, could your team keep writing deals and ordering parts? Put the workaround on paper this week, and make sure every manager knows where it lives.
The Dealer Advantage at AutoMobility LA
Andy Steinhauser spent nearly nine years on cruise ships learning how to turn a crowd into an experience.
Now he's bringing that same hospitality mindset to AutoMobility LA.
In our recent conversation, Andy breaks down why November 19th is worth a dealer's time: see new product before the public, walk your competitors' booths, meet OEM leaders and product specialists, and have conversations that usually take a lot more than one email to land.
Heading to ASOTU CON West on November 18th? Your dealer ticket includes FREE admission to AutoMobility LA the next day.
Can't make ACW? Dealers can still get discounted AutoMobility LA tickets with our exclusive code: MTC149.
GM will pay $220 million to 35 states and D.C. over claims it sold drivers’ data without permission.
One of us bought a car this year that starts from a phone app, and nobody at the store ever explained what else it knows about him. Plenty of your customers drive off the lot the same way, and we dug into why it matters on Friday’s show.
The claims center on Smart Driver, a GM program whose driving data allegedly went to brokers and then to insurers, who used it to set rates. GM now has to limit the driving data it collects and get express consent before collecting or sharing it.
Who answers for customer data when a partner’s system leaks?
Often, the dealer. A dealer attorney told Auto Remarketing that under the federal Safeguards Rule, dealers are still responsible when their vendors get hacked.
Make sure someone at every delivery can explain the app, connected services and consent screens in plain language.
ASOTU CON West is 16 days away.
It’s our first ASOTU CON on the West Coast: one day in LA, 200 seats, built so dealers can fly in and fly home. Here’s a taste of who you’ll hear from on Nov. 18:
Jack Hollis, former EVP and COO of Toyota Motor North America, on leadership
Scott Traylor, VP of Sales at Mia, on letting AI own the beginning and end of the process so your people get more time in the middle
Jimmy Douglas, who led used-vehicle remarketing at Tesla before founding Plug, on buying and moving used EVs as off-lease volume grows
Grab your seat at ASOTUCONWest.com and come spend the day with us.
How did the biggest heist in crypto history start?
Binance says one compromised engineer’s laptop may have opened the door to an estimated $6.3 billion hit. On Friday’s show, we called it a heist more than a hack, and a reminder that the boring gaps, like shared passwords and logins nobody shut off, still do the most damage.
“Just please talk to an IT professional at minimum before you start running rampant on this stuff.” Kyle Mountsier
Which GM hybrids should come after the three-rows?
We want a hybrid Yukon and a hybrid Escalade. A full-size SUV getting something closer to 40 mpg instead of about 18 would change the cost-of-ownership conversation on every GM lot, and with payments climbing, fuel savings only get more persuasive.
🔧 Under the Hood
Cox says the VinSolutions incident hit a limited subset of dealers and that it will notify them directly. About 7,000 stores use the CRM, so ask your rep.
Hyundai is investing nearly $450 million in its Montgomery, Alabama plant to prepare for the all-new Tucson and the refreshed Santa Fe.
Li Auto’s October deliveries fell 8.63% to 29,025, its lowest month since February and its second straight year-over-year decline.
📉 Wall Street’s Rough Friday
The Nasdaq fell 2.86% on Friday, its worst day since June, and closed out its worst month since March 2025.
Intel shares fell about 30%, their worst day since 1974, after weak guidance tied to a softer PC market.
Reddit dropped about 25% after beating third-quarter estimates but issuing a softer fourth-quarter revenue outlook.
1920: Pittsburgh’s KDKA airs the first commercial radio broadcast, reading the Harding-Cox presidential election returns.
1947: Howard Hughes flies the H-4 Hercules, better known as the “Spruce Goose,” on its only flight, about a mile over Long Beach Harbor.
1988: The Morris worm spreads across the early internet, one of the first computer worms to draw national attention.
Thanks for reading, Friend!
