One dealer's high-stakes CRM switch, Safford Brown's virtual F&I edge, Joel Bassam's centralized playbook

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The share of vehicles traded in toward new-car purchases with negative equity just hit a four-year high.

Edmunds says 26.6% of trade-ins in Q2 were underwater, with buyers owing an average of $6,754 more than their vehicle was worth. Those rolling debt into new loans are now averaging $915 monthly payments.

Nearly a third had between $5K–$10K in negative equity, and 7.7% were upside down by more than $15K.

Big picture: With high prices and elevated interest rates, more buyers are getting stuck in a cycle of debt—and could shrink used inventory if consumers decide to hold onto their vehicles for longer.

(Go deeper: 3 min. read)

Under the direction of sales and finance director Dennis Gingrich, The Niello Company switched CRMs across all 10 stores right in the middle of their busiest stretch—not to cut costs or chase features, but to fix the parts of the customer experience that weren’t good enough.

So they ripped the Band-Aid off.

Bottom line: The switch is already paying off, but the software wasn’t the hard part. The real results came from culture, not code.

(Go deeper: 3 min. read)

What started as a COVID workaround has turned into a high-impact F&I tool for Jesse Hill.

Hill, who oversees F&I for Safford Brown’s 25 stores, uses video calls to handle remote appointments when stores need coverage—and they’re outperforming traditional in-person deals by $300–$500 per transaction.

Customers are brought into a room with an iPad, then connected via Zoom with one of the group’s top finance managers.

The result: Faster deals, better engagement, and a more relaxed experience that feels like a scheduled consult.

(Go deeper: 3 min. read)

Easterns Automotive Group has stripped the traditional dealership model down to the studs. and rebuilt it around speed, simplicity, and centralization.

Across 11 locations, there are no used car managers, no F&I boxes, and no store-level inventory calls. Everything flows through a corporate hub, turning each location into a focused delivery center.

Zooming out: In a market where replacement inventory is scarce, president Joel Bassam is betting that one unified playbook beats a dozen siloed one

(Go deeper: 3 min. read)

BMW is leaning into hydrogen, with plans to launch its first fuel cell vehicle in 2028.

After testing the tech in X5 pilots since 2023, the automaker now sees hydrogen cars as a smart complement to its battery lineup—offering fast refueling, zero emissions, and better performance in extreme conditions.

Looking ahead: BMW isn’t betting everything on hydrogen, but as EV incentives fade and infrastructure challenges persist, the brand is giving itself another path forward.

(Go deeper: 2 min. read)

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