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Welcome to The Weekly, a roundup of the top five auto industry headlines of the week.
After 50 years and 31 stores this dealer icon shares his one regret
Fred Beans joined the Daily Dealer Live show this week to share that, after building a 31-store empire over five decades, his biggest regret was waiting too long to start succession planning.
His reasoning: Seven of those stores were acquired from dealers who failed to plan, a lesson that pushed the Beans family to spend more than eight years formalizing leadership roles, governance rules, and OEM-approved successors.
Their approach now includes strict entry requirements for family members, a defined successor track, and a “buy box” that removes emotion from acquisition decisions.
Beans’ POV: Succession planning is slow, personal, and unavoidable, and the longer it’s delayed, the fewer good options remain.
Canada’s Chinese EV tariff deal sets stage for new competition in North America
In the mix of it all, Canada this week slashed tariffs on Chinese EVs from 100% to 6.1%, opening the door to up to 49,000 low-cost imports in year one and as many as 70,000 within five years.
The deal applies to EVs priced under $33,000 and creates a nearby pool of cheaper supply that could quickly reset price expectations, especially in border markets.
Big picture: Critics warn it undercuts North American manufacturing and risks turning Canada into a backdoor reference market ahead of the USMCA review.
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Lindsay CDJR GM boasts 100% rate for videos sent in sales dept.
Meanwhile, at Lindsay CDJR, every sales lead is getting a video. Phone, internet, confirmations — no video, no lead.
Last month alone, the team sent roughly 1,000 videos to 1,000 leads, helping drive a 36% close rate on phone ups and nearly 15% on internet leads.
In F&I, FaceTime is used for off-site deliveries to walk customers through products live, even on long-distance or cash deals.
And while service is not fully there yet, it is on the roadmap, with ~30% of techs currently sending MPI videos.
As this shop sees it: Video marketing is the standard. And stores that operationalize it across departments stand to win more trust, more efficiency, and more deals.
Nationwide dealer lawsuit against Ford claims EV warranty reimbursements are way too low
Also this week, two Ford dealers filed a class action lawsuit alleging the OEM failed to properly reimburse warranty work, particularly high-dollar EV battery replacements that can run $20,000 or more.
The suit claims Ford paid only a fraction of what New York law requires, leaving one store nearly $300K short and another more than $615K underwater on EV battery claims alone.
If these allegations hold: The case highlights a growing EV-era problem, one where warranty volume that looks healthy on paper can quietly bleed cash, technician time, and parts dollars in fixed ops.
Toyota, Honda lead chip supply alliance as automakers brace for next shortage
And finally, news from yesterday detailed how Toyota and Honda are leading a new chip-supply alliance with major semiconductor makers to lock down 80–90% of the chips they rely on, aiming to avoid a repeat of the last production shock.
The effort focuses on early-warning visibility into chip specs, sourcing, and production timing, using shared data systems and blockchain controls to flag problems before plants go dark.
The move is also a direct response to recent disruptions, including the Nexperia standoff that forced production cuts and is expected to cost Honda nearly $1B in profit through 2026.
What we’re watching: Whether or not this will offer dealers more predictable builds, fewer de-contented trims, and less allocation chaos compared to brands still exposed to the next chip squeeze.
Missed yesterday’s episode of Daily Dealer Live?
Presented by:
Nenni on AI Traffic, Maher on Recall ROI, Studebaker on Selling 700 Cars/MO
Featured guests:
George Nenni, Founder of Generations Digital
Ryan Maher, CEO of BizzyCar
Rob Studebaker, General Manager of Treasure Valley Subaru
