TOGETHER WITH:
Howdy, Fam!
Dan Gaughan says a bad customer experience can come from something as simple as two people on your team giving different answers to the same question.
I’d go a step further: literally anything that makes doing business with you feel like a chore is going to be remembered as a “meh” experience at best. That’s why his point about keeping trade-in values consistent across your service drive, website, and showroom stuck with me.
Every step a company takes away from “a knowledgeable person answered my call and then helped me” is a risk, especially when you consider how many options shoppers have today.
So here’s a Friday challenge: call your own store this afternoon and ask a simple question. Then ask a teammate in another department the same thing. If the answers match, and you felt helped both times, you’re already ahead of a lot of your competition.
In today’s email...
The RAV4 is down 29% this year while the CR-V and Tucson set records
AI is squeezing the middle of the workforce
GM’s hybrids and eyes-off trucks, and Tesla’s self-driving subscriptions
Keep Pushing Back,
—Chris with Paul, Kyle & Kristi
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The RAV4 Is Down 29% This Year While the CR-V and Tucson Set Records
America’s compact SUV race just got a lot more interesting. Through September, Toyota RAV4 sales are down 29.2% to 253,664, according to Autoblog, while the Honda CR-V and Hyundai Tucson both posted record quarters.
September 2026 | Sales | Change |
|---|---|---|
Honda CR-V | 34,788 | up 21.9% |
Toyota RAV4 | 34,192 | down 6.6% |
Hyundai Tucson | 23,164 | up 32% |
For the full third quarter, the CR-V rose 16.6% to 110,730, and the Tucson climbed 23% to 64,075. At the brand level, Honda grew fastest, up 9.3%, while the Toyota brand was nearly flat, up 0.5%. Toyota didn’t say why RAV4 sales fell.
Why are compact SUV shoppers moving to Honda and Hyundai?
Honda credits affordability and hybrids. Its hybrid sales topped 106,000 in the quarter, a record. Toyota is still selling plenty of electrified vehicles, too: they made up about six in 10 Toyota-brand sales last quarter.
“A winning formula focused on affordability, record sales of hybrid models and a commitment to offer our customers a balanced lineup of passenger cars and light trucks.” Lance Woelfer, American Honda
Even the strongest nameplate can lose ground fast. Know which models your shoppers are cross-shopping, and why.
The Future of Fixed Ops
Every service department has the same ceiling: the number of bays and the number of customers willing to sit in a waiting room.
Curbee raises it. Their techs go to the customer, which means your appointments get kept and your bays stay open for the work that needs a lift.
We’re pumped to have Curbee as a presenting sponsor at ASOTU CON West where CEO Amit Chandarana is joining the mobile service panel to talk about what it takes to make this work in a real store.
And, he took Roadster to 2,000+ dealerships, so he knows what it takes to get a GM to say yes.
Come find him and the team, and bring your numbers. See you in LA!
(Grab a ticket for AutoMobility LA while you’re in town, too. Use our special code MTC149 for a discount.)
AI Is Squeezing the Middle of the Workforce
Luxury Presence CEO Malte Kramer says AI is splitting workers into three groups: deep specialists who know what good work looks like, high-agency generalists who use AI to do the work of several people, and everyone in between. “Value concentrates at the extremes,” he wrote. We broke down what that means for dealerships, which are full of talented people who’ve done one job well for years.
How can dealers help their teams thrive with AI?
Find your experimenters. Look for the people already using AI, and give them room to teach others.
Help everyone else take a step. That might mean going deeper in a craft or broader across the store.
Remember what doesn’t change. Experience earned over years still matters, and it takes people who care about customers to know what the work should accomplish.
Adaptability is a decision you make before the change arrives.
GM’s next moves: hybrids by 2027 and eyes-off trucks
GM CEO Mary Barra said on the company’s earnings call that hybrids could arrive as early as 2027, as versions of existing nameplates rather than all-new models, according to Autoblog. GM is also planning to bring Level 3 eyes-off driving to its best-selling trucks and SUVs, including the next Chevy Silverado, after its 2028 debut on the Cadillac Escalade IQ.
Tesla says customers are buying self-driving with a car attached
Tesla’s car and energy revenue fell last quarter, but its services business grew 33%, and a record 75% of deliveries included a paid self-driving subscription. As cars become software, buyers are splitting into two camps: those who want every new feature, and those who want a simple car they understand.
1915: Tens of thousands of women march in New York City to demand the right to vote.
1946: The United Nations General Assembly convenes in New York for the first time.
2001: Apple introduces the iPod.
