TOGETHER WITH:
Howdy, Fam!
Halloween is tomorrow, so let’s talk showroom spirit. Do you decorate the showroom? Do you dress up for the day? We assume everybody is going as a kickflipping car this year.
Yesterday we asked for pictures of your spooky decorations. Today we’re raising the stakes: if your team shows up in costume, send us the photo.
In today’s email...
Group 1 sells stores to pay down its $1.3 billion Hennessy deal
Lithia’s AI asks the service questions busy advisors skip
Our takes on Carvana, Ford and AI car shoppers, plus Q3 news from VW, Renault and Google
Keep Pushing Back,
—Chris with Paul, Kyle & Kristi
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Group 1 has sold three stores and agreed to sell four more to pay for its Hennessy deal.
The $1.3 billion purchase of 10 Hennessy stores in Atlanta closed Oct. 19, financed in part with $1.25 billion in debt. Here’s where the stores have gone so far:
Oct. 5: Group 1 Honda Gulfport to Cannon Motor Co., now Cannon Honda Gulfport
Oct. 26: Acura and Lexus of Fort Myers to Anderson Automotive Group
Pending: Four more U.S. stores, for an expected $125 million
The three completed sales brought in $235 million on $305 million in annualized revenue.
Which stores is Group 1 letting go?
CFO Daniel McHenry was direct about it on the earnings call:
“The dispositions that we’re making generally are poorer-performing stores, sometimes with less-profitable brands.”
By mid-2027, Group 1 expects $625 million to $675 million from selling stores that generate $1.1 billion to $1.2 billion in revenue, roughly half the Hennessy price. Analysts have warned that the debt could still weigh on the group if the economy weakens.
One group’s underperformer is another group’s growth plan. Anderson and Cannon just proved it.
If you’re looking to buy, watch the public groups trimming their portfolios. That’s where the next stores are coming from.
No Tricks, Only Treats with Protomiq
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Most of your website traffic shows up in a mask.
Protomiq’s Trade and Payments experiences take it off by turning anonymous shoppers into real leads, capturing buying signals about their finances and shopping behavior along the way.
Then the IQ advantage delivers the candy: adding those signals to the lead in your CRM, so your team has the full picture before the first call. Making your team scary good at delivering for the customer and your dealership.
Lithia’s AI agents ask about wiper blades on every service booking.
One of us asks about coolant at every service visit and usually gets a blank stare. Lithia CEO Bryan DeBoer knows why: “We get busy in our business, and our people get busy.”
What changed?
Lithia’s U.K. stores book service through an AI agent in their Pinewood.AI DMS, and it offers add-ons like wipers, fluids and tires every time.
What happened?
DeBoer estimates 10% to 11% in additional pre-sales on AI-booked appointments, up from what he guesses was close to zero.
Where does your service lane depend on someone remembering to ask?
Lithia wants the AI in U.S. stores before its full Pinewood rollout wraps up in 2028. The agent makes the ask consistent at booking, but customers still need a technician who actually checked.
Walk through your service booking script and mark every question that only gets asked when someone remembers.
🎙️ Our Jack Hollis episode drops Tuesday, and Paul is calling it one of the best conversations we’ve ever had.
Paul has sat across from a lot of guests, and here’s how he ranked this one on yesterday’s show:
“One of probably the two best conversations we’ve ever had.”
Jack Hollis rose to EVP and COO of Toyota Motor North America. Now he’s managing partner at Accrual Equity Partners, and on Tuesday, Nov. 3, he sits down with us on Auto Collabs.
Clear your Tuesday commute. Subscribe to Auto Collabs wherever you listen so it lands in your feed the moment it drops.
Want the full Jack Hollis experience? He’s one of our keynotes at ASOTU CON West on Nov. 18 in LA.
What do Carvana’s record quarter and Ford’s lean trucks have in common?
Both depend on discipline in places customers never see.
When Carvana explained its move into new cars, it pointed to back-office systems: financing, checkout, fulfillment and title work.
That list is plumbing, and the plumbing is what keeps the promises. Ford’s tight F-150 supply does the same for dealers’ floorplan costs, and we think Ford should keep it there for good.
Why do AI car shoppers still want a person at the end of the deal?
On Auto Collabs, Conversica CEO Mike Gilson described top salespeople doing AI’s job by hand, with five screens open across the CRM, DMS and call logs.
Hand that assembly to AI, and those salespeople get their time back for the part shoppers still want from a person: trust.
“[I]f we just shorten the distance to that and meet them where they’re at, people will slow down enough to look us in the eye.”
🎃 Tricks, Treats and Earnings
Volkswagen posted a €5.9 billion Q3 operating loss, its worst since Dieselgate, driven by €8 billion in one-off charges that include a Porsche writedown.
Renault’s revenue rose 1.4% to €11.6 billion as EVs reached 25.8% of sales, and its shares jumped 7.8%.
Alphabet’s Other Bets unit, which includes Waymo, lost $2.05 billion in Q3, up from $1.43 billion, even as Waymo expands to 15 U.S. cities.
🍬 Fun-Size, Not Car
Google’s search ad revenue grew 12% to $63.3 billion, but Google says its AI Mode makes less money per search. Alphabet shares fell nearly 10%.
ServiceNow shares fell about 25%, the company’s worst day ever, as its Q3 results revived fears that AI will upend traditional software businesses.
The European Central Bank held its rates and warned that rising energy prices are pushing up inflation risk, hours after Christine Lagarde said she’ll step down early.
1888: John J. Loud receives a U.S. patent for the ballpoint pen.
1938: Orson Welles’ The War of the Worlds radio broadcast airs and famously rattles listeners the night before Halloween.
1963: Lamborghini unveils its first car, the 350 GTV prototype, at the Turin Motor Show.
Thanks for reading, Friend! Did you see that we’ve added a new Speaker to our already incredible ASOTU CON West line-up?! ⬇️
