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Hey everyone,
Just had a Ford exec on the pod.
Gotta give them credit—they’re listening to dealers way more than 3 years ago.
Recent marketing campaigns have been very successful.
As long as the franchise model exists, that’s what you want to hear—as a dealer, shareholder, or consumer.
Who should we talk to next?
High-mileage used cars with bulletproof reputations are flying off the lot:
As the average vehicle age on U.S. roads climbs to a record 12.8 years, and 1–5-year-old used cars now average $32K+, buyers are digging deeper to find value.
Here are the top 5 fastest-selling 100K+ mile vehicles priced between $10K–$15K:
Tesla Model 3
Toyota C-HR
Buick Encore
Nissan Sentra
Hyundai Santa Fe Sport
The signal: High-mileage “heroes” could be the next frontier of value. And dealers who source them well are meeting demand others can’t.
(Data source: CarGurus)
Hyundai’s new loyalty program rewards routine, not big-ticket spending
Hyundai’s new loyalty program (Hyundai Rewards) isn’t flashy. And that’s the point.
What we know: It’s free to join through MyHyundai, runs on three tiers—Silver, Gold, and Blue—and rewards customers for behaviors already baked into ownership.
Like showing up for maintenance.
Handling recalls.
Activating Bluelink.
And staying in the brand.
Bottom line: For dealers, it’s a low-lift pitch with real upside in service and sales. And while it’s probably not a traffic magnet, simple, action-based offers (cough, cough, Ford’s tariff campaigns) are landing with customers. This one might, too.
A quick word from our partner
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As dealers ramp up AI adoption, customers have mixed feeling — survey
Dealer enthusiasm for AI is climbing, but customer trust isn’t keeping pace.
New data from Urban Science shows consumer sentiment around AI in the car-buying process is actually down year-over-year, even as awareness grows.
“Dealers have daily, hands-on experience with the operational upgrades happening behind the scenes, such as the integration of AI-powered tools and digital retail solutions. Auto buyers, on the other hand, may only interact with dealerships once every few years,” per Urban Science.
Zooming out: Dealers may be racing toward an AI-powered, electric future, but the ones who win will ground that tech in what buyers care about now: cost, clarity, and trust.
Uber partners with Lucid Motors, Nuro to deploy 20,000 robotaxis
Uber’s latest bet on autonomy comes with a $300M Lucid-sized twist.
The ride-hailing giant is investing $300M to deploy 20,000 Lucid-built robotaxis over six years, using Nuro’s self-driving tech.
Uber plans to roll out the first Lucid robotaxis next year in a major urban hub, then scale up the service as demand grows.
Big picture: It’s a win-win. Lucid gets recurring revenue and mainstream exposure. Uber gets a custom-built EV fleet and a fresh shot at scaling robotaxis.
AutoCanada divests 13 U.S. Dealerships in strategic pullback
AutoCanada has agreed to sell 13 of its U.S. dealerships for $82.7 million, marking a major retreat from the American market after years of struggling to turn a profit.
U.S. rolls back fuel economy penalties for automakers dating back to 2022
President Trump has signed legislation eliminating fuel economy penalties for automakers going back to 2022, wiping out hundreds of millions in potential fines under Corporate Average Fuel Economy rules, reports the Detroit News.
The quiet retreat of incentives—and what dealers are doing about it
Every year, when summer rolls around, the theme of the season is typically incentives, incentives, incentives. But 2025 has been anything but typical.
Here are three dynamics shaping the incentive landscape that explain what I mean...
