TOGETHER WITH:
Howdy, Fam!
Why does it feel like spycraft when you start a conversation with a new salesperson? Like someone trying to feed a deer, everybody moves slowly and hopes to infer more than they ask.
Just ask, y'all. Ask the basic questions it takes to get me into my new car and back home. Money comes and goes, but my time only comes once, so help me save some of it.
Today's stories all come back to that first conversation: who gets to stand where the buyer already is, and what keeps buyers listening once you're there.
In today's email...
Tennessee tells Scout no
AI rules for whoever writes to your customers
Toyota and Lexus stores hit record prices
Wholesale values firm up in October
Keep Pushing Back,
—Chris with Paul, Kyle & Kristi
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Tennessee just denied Scout Motors a dealer license.
The state's Motor Vehicle Commission took up Scout's application at its quarterly meeting on Oct. 27, and 14 of its 16 members voted no. Many commissioners are franchised dealers or dealership employees. We got into it on today's Automotive State of the Union, because the case raises a question every franchised dealer should be watching.
Is Scout really separate from Volkswagen?
Scout's case: It is 100% funded by Volkswagen AG in Germany and has no ties to VW Group of America. Tennessee bans direct sales only when a manufacturer would compete with a dealer of the same line-make.
The VW dealers' case:
"If Volkswagen is allowed to do this through Scout, where would it end?"
Scout says it remains committed to direct sales and is confident the decision will be overturned.
We love what Scout is building, and dealers would happily sell it. When the same parent funds Scout and owns VW Group of America, though, the money ends up in the same place. Scout would get further by working with the stores where buyers already shop.
Check how your state's franchise law treats a sister brand under the same parent, because this case could become the template.
A lead is only as useful as what comes with it.
A shopper raises their hand. Great. But does your team know what they’re trying to accomplish, what they can afford, what their trade is worth, or which vehicles actually have their attention?
Protomiq’s IQ Advantage turns more of that website activity into buyer intelligence your team can use before the first conversation.
Bosses who handed their teams AI are now writing rules against workslop.
On today's show, we looked at the companies drawing lines around AI writing. Twill's CEO gave her team Claude, then asked them to stop talking to her like a robot. Companies from Clay to Zocdoc now have written AI rules, and one PR firm fired an employee over it.
Where does workslop show up at a dealership?
Who's writing on your store's behalf right now?
Your BDC follow-ups, service texts, and review replies, and AI already drafts plenty of them.
What happens when a message reads like slop?
The customer stops listening, and the next message gets ignored too.
Read your last five customer follow-ups out loud this week, and rewrite any that sound like nobody wrote them.
Toyota and Lexus stores are selling for prices the buy-sell market has never seen.
Ryan Kerrigan told CBT News that multiple Toyota and Lexus stores have traded for several hundred million dollars of blue sky, including Penske's $500 million purchase of two Lexus stores in Orlando. Hybrids hold about 16% of the market, and Toyota sells 45% to 50% of them.
Brand | Days of supply |
|---|---|
Toyota | About 40 |
Honda, Subaru | 50 to 60 |
Some Ram and Jeep products | 130 to 150 |
Wholesale used-vehicle values rose 0.5% in October.
Numbers to know from Cox Automotive's Manheim index:
The index moved from 205.9 in September to 206.8.
Year over year, it's up 2%.
A typical October moves up 0.3%.
Cox's year-end forecast dropped from +2% in July to about +0.2% in October.
Tesla will refund many Cybertruck deposits before the line shuts down.
Orders now exceed what Tesla can build before production ends in mid-2027, and the cheapest Cybertruck went from $69,990 to $92,490 in about 10 weeks.
For dealers, the question is what happens to used values on a discontinued, iconic truck.
You ready for LA? Nine days from now, AutoMobility LA kicks off the LA Auto Show with a full day built for the industry, before the public ever walks in.
This year's stage centers on three forces reshaping the business: energy, autonomy, and entertainment. That means the real economics of how cars get powered, where hands-free driving and AI go next, and how studios, streamers, and creators shape what buyers want long before they reach your showroom.
It all happens Thursday, Nov. 19, at the Los Angeles Convention Center, and we'll already be in town for ASOTU CON West the day before.
Our audience can still get a discount with our exclusive code: MTC149
🔧 Under the Hood
BMW added Samsung SDI and LG Energy Solution as battery suppliers, moving cell production closer to its plants in Europe and the U.S.
CDK named Tim Karaca its chief financial officer.
1903: Mary Anderson receives a patent for the windshield wiper.
1951: The first coast-to-coast direct-dial long-distance call connects Englewood, N.J., to Alameda, Calif.
1983: Microsoft announces Windows.
Thanks for reading, Friend! Getting ready to head west?
