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Hey everyone,
Happy Saturday! Here’s a list of our podcast episodes from this week:
Worth checking out this weekend.
— CDG
First time reading a CDG Newsletter?
Welcome to The Weekly, a roundup of the top five auto industry headlines of the week.
Trump threatens EU with 25% tariff on cars, trucks
On his Truth Social site last week, U.S. President Donald Trump posted, “Next week I will be increasing Tariffs charged to the European Union for Cars and Trucks coming into the United States. The Tariff will be increased to 25%.”
Trump said the tariff increase was based “on the fact the European Union is not complying with our fully agreed to trade deal.”
Why this matters: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is pushing back on President Donald Trump’s plan to raise tariffs on EU-made vehicles, making her stance clear: “a deal is a deal.”
How Jason Graciano turned White Plains Honda's lease returns, service drive into a CPO machine
White Plains Honda in New York has purchased exactly zero used cars from auction in the last three years.
That's because partner and general manager Jason Graciano built the dealership's lease-return strategy and service drive into a used-car powerhouse.
Graciano said White Plains Honda ranks in the top 15 in the country for certified pre-owned vehicles. His group sourced 70 used cars from its service drive in April (where they also set all-time records in new and CPO sales).
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EV prices surge in Manheim auction lanes
The Manheim Used Vehicle Index released Thursday showed a 7.2% year-over-year increase in the index for EVs and a 1.4% surge since March, likely driven by high fuel prices and consumers looking for affordable options.
Cox Automotive’s Chief Economist Jeremy Robb told CDG the EV data is defying the usual trends for April after tax refund season.
“Usually, Manheim prices rise some in Q1, then start to fall after tax refund season. And the non-EV group is doing that, but the 3-year-old EV group is not and has now outperformed non-EVs for five weeks in a row,” he said.
Murdock CDJR's Phil Pecoraro is building a dealership with fixed ops leading the way
Six months ago, Phil Pecoraro took over a store with zero used cars on the lot, no functioning DMS for the first two weeks, and no lenders.
Now, Murdock Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram in Bountiful, Utah, grows every month. And Pecoraro, the store’s operating partner, credits process discipline for the growth, not ad spend.
Pecoraro said that every month since the acquisition, the store has added about $10,000 in service gross, with parts tracking along with it. He said they could get close to $300,000 in service gross next month.
Dealer ad spend nears $10 billion as digital marketing dominates
Auto dealers are not letting industry headwinds slow their advertising efforts, with retail marketing spend climbing to nearly $10 billion in 2025.
While the year-over-year increase was modest, last year’s spend reflects steady growth in dealer marketing investment since the pandemic, according to the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA), per Inside Radio.
The increase in ad spending was driven in part by stronger dealership performance in 2025, as the average franchised store saw revenue rise 4.5%, supported by higher sales and rising vehicle prices.
Feldman Automotive Group adds Honda, Toyota brands in four-store acquisition from Firelands Auto Group
