Presented by:
Hey everyone,
We’re kicking off the week strong with today’s episode of Daily Dealer Live featuring:
Karianne Thomas, director of security at Zeigler Auto Group, who will share how she’s creating education and awareness around information sharing in dealerships.
And Brad Wise, executive manager at Ferman Chevrolet Mazda Tampa, who will discuss how he’s driving growth and performance at his store by focusing on recruiting.
Streaming on all CDG Channels at 1 p.m. EST.
— CDG
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Carmax/Carvana control ~3.5% of 38M total used car sales in the U.S. every year:
And no other organization comes close to their numbers.
Look at these charts from auto finance expert Bill Ploog that compare dollars of used vehicle retail sales and loan originations for each company’s entire history since becoming publicly traded.
The signal: The deepest profits in the used market don’t come from selling cars, but from owning and packaging the loans attached to them.
(Data/group source: Bill Ploog)
Why this Hyundai store sends a video follow-up to every single internet lead
At Hyundai of Cool Springs, every single internet lead gets a personalized video response within five minutes. No exceptions.
When GM Patrick Robertson stepped in, the store already had video software, but it had only produced seven videos in ten months.
Robertson’s change was simple.
Leads route straight to the floor, reps record a quick, name-specific video on their phone, and send it immediately.
The only rule is to actually read the lead and respond to what the customer asked.
As a result: About 75% of leads now get a video within five minutes, nearly 90% of those videos are watched, and engagement has turned into more showroom visits and higher close rates.
A quick word from our partner
ChatGPT can write emails, plan trips, even tell jokes…
But it can’t tell you which VINs are at risk of sitting too long, how your dealer performs against your competition, or how to improve your VDPs.
That’s where LotGPT comes in. It's the only chatbot built exclusively for car dealers. It knows your market, dealership and inventory.
Fueled by Lotlinx’s decades of VIN and Shopper data, plus your live inventory, Google Analytics and CRM, it delivers relevant answers and guidance to help you sell cars faster and more profitably.
LotGPT is free for dealers, but invite-only.
San Francisco power outage exposes Waymo robotaxi limits in real‑world gridlock
When 130,000 San Francisco residents lost power over the weekend, the city got an unexpected stress test of its autonomous vehicle future.
Driving the news: A fire at a PG&E substation knocked out traffic lights across 30% of the city, and Waymo's robotaxis struggled to cope with down traffic lights.
The vehicles hesitated longer than usual while their sensors assessed chaotic, rainy intersections, and many effectively froze in place, some mid-turn or blocking lanes with hazard lights flashing.
Waymo suspended service Saturday evening and didn't fully resume until late Sunday.
Bottom line: No one was hurt, and the chaos was contained, but the outage exposed how far autonomous vehicles still are from the "set it and forget it" reliability.
UAW’s top ranks get rocked after federal monitor report
A federal monitor just dropped another blow on the United Auto Workers leadership team, forcing internal reversals and triggering resignations inside President Shawn Fain’s inner circle.
According to the report, top aides orchestrated the removal of the union’s Secretary-Treasurer after she pushed back on certain expenditures, moves the monitor described as retaliatory.
That finding led to her reinstatement, disciplinary action against senior staff, and the resignation of Fain’s chief of staff.
Big picture: Leadership turmoil and continued federal oversight raise real questions about focus and stability as the UAW heads toward future bargaining and organizing efforts.
