TOGETHER WITH:
Howdy, Fam!
Have you been playing with Claude lately? It's wild how suddenly the tipping point arrives. One day you're using it to simplify a few repetitive tasks, and the next you're using it to automate the way you automate tasks.
That second step only shows up after a lot of reps, though. You have to know a process cold before you can hand it off, and the same is true for the data underneath it. New numbers from Cox Automotive put a figure on it: dealers who run on data are hitting their profit goals at nearly twice the rate of everyone else.
All this awesome stuff to work with, and Suno still sounds like music you find in the bottom of a cereal box.
So which LLMs are you using? Hit reply and tell us. And if you want more of this, sign up for AutoIndustry.ai before tomorrow's email lands.
In today's email...
Data-driven dealers hit their numbers
AI ground rules that keep people creative
AI for Dealers launches today
Owen Wilson is selling used cars
Keep Pushing Back,
—Chris with Paul, Kyle & Kristi
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Dealers who run on data hit their profit goals nearly twice as often.
In Cox Automotive's 2026 Dealer Success Study, just 22% of franchised dealers strongly agreed that data, rather than gut instinct or experience, drives their decisions. That group reports meeting its profitability goals at 36%, compared with 19% for every other dealer.
What do data-driven dealers do differently with their tech?
Practice | Data-driven | Everyone else |
|---|---|---|
Weigh whether a tool improves data quality before signing | 42% | 22% |
Say their tools are used to full potential | 55% | 39% |
Regularly consult vendor reps to get more from a tool | 76% | 61% |
Cox stops short of saying full use causes better profit, but across all franchised dealers in the study, stores using their tools to full potential also reported better profitability over the past year. As AI gets built into more of your software, that discipline matters more, because a new layer can't fix data your team doesn't trust.
Before you sign for the next AI tool, ask your current vendors which features you're paying for and not using.
NADA Show 2027 Expo Is officially Sold Out!
And the opportunities for dealers are just getting started!
Every booth at the NADA Show 2027 Expo is officially spoken for! Hundreds of exhibitors. Thousands of solutions. Discover what's next for your dealership.
From AI and digital retailing to fixed ops, F&I and emerging technology, the industry's leading solution providers are bringing their latest innovations to Orlando.
But here's what you can't get from a website or webinar: hands-on demonstrations, side-by-side comparisons, and face-to-face conversations that lead to better decisions and stronger partnerships.
Your competitors are looking for their next competitive advantage. Are you?
Explore the exhibitor directory and Expo floor plan to build your must-see list.
The show floor is sold out. The opportunity to be part of it isn't.
Register for NADA Show 2027 and come ready to kick the tires.
Your fixed ops team may already be building its own AI tools.
Daniel Kim, Director of Operations at Barnes Crossing Auto Group, says people across his stores walk up to show him things they've built, often from fixed ops. On Friday's show, he and Kyle laid out how a dealer group can set AI ground rules without killing that energy.
What belongs in a dealership AI framework?
Data access by role. Give people data through the right sources with user rights on top, so a service manager can build reports without pulling sales payroll.
A guide who knows what's being built. When someone heads down a path that won't work, steer them back onto one that will.
A human at the relationship. Decide where a person always picks up, starting with any customer who has a real question.
Pick one role at your store this week and write down what data it actually needs.
Daniel Kim helped launch two auto tech startups without ever being a developer.
Now he hosts AI for Dealers, AutoIndustry.ai's new podcast, and the first episode drops today. Each episode puts a working dealer on screen walking through a real AI workflow and how they measure it. Early guests include Morgan Auto Group's Jim Kosobucki, whose team automated about 75 reports and KPI emails.
"[T]here's so many of us out there, just hiding in the dark corners, trying to figure things out together."
Owen Wilson is the new face of EchoPark.
Sonic Automotive's used-only brand named the actor its spokesperson for the largest single-brand marketing investment in EchoPark's history. Sonic plans to add $5 million to $7 million in EchoPark marketing this quarter, after EchoPark's retail used sales rose 22% to 19,923 units in Q3.
Sonic says the spending will weigh on near-term profit, and it's making the push anyway.
🛞 Monday Pit Stop
VW dropped its popular sign-then-drive lease promotion to close out 2026, and dealers aren't happy about it.
Toyota Motor North America named COO Mark Templin its next president and CEO, effective Jan. 1.
Tesla will end Cybertruck production in mid-2027.
Honda faces a lemon law trial over a California couple's claims that emergency braking engaged without warning.
🌐 Off the Lot
Berkshire Hathaway bought back $9.6 billion of its own stock in the third quarter, more than double its second-quarter pace, even as profits fell.
Moderna raised its 2026 revenue growth outlook from no more than 10% to between 15% and 25%.
Robert McNamara becomes president of Ford Motor Company. (1960)
A patent is issued for the Arrowbile, an early flying car. (1937)
A power failure blacks out much of the northeastern U.S. and parts of Canada. (1965)
Thanks for reading, Friend!
