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Good morning. It is Thursday, September 3rd. I'm hanging out with Steve Greenfield on the Automotive State of the Union.
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Today, we're talking about dealership saf- satisfaction, Ford betting on Fathom, and dealerships slashing sports costs. Here I go. The people really wanna know. Who I is and who I ain't.
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People slashing prices- They try to stay with me... uh, don't, don't hold a candle to slashing sports costs. I'm, I'm all in on that story, so- [laughs]... uh, 'cause I love, I love some youth sports.
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St- Steve, how you doing this morning, sir? I am great. I'm on my way to- You're-... Is- Istanbul tonight- You're, you're about to roll... with Michael Cirillo. That's right. Michael Cirillo. Yes. Yeah. Oh, man.
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And I'm frozen. That is, that is the most magical thing. I'm hosting the show and I'm frozen. [laughs] Do you wanna, do you wanna jump out and, uh- Nathan, hey, uh, get, get Steve to talk about something cool.
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Like- Cool. Well, yeah. Okay... we're, we're, we're, we're, I'm, I'm going over to, uh, Istanbul, um, uh, Nathan, with, uh, Brian Binstock and, uh, Michael Cirillo, and a whole bunch of other people that you know.
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Uh, Michael Dunns- For sure... will be over there, too. We got a bunch of European dealers coming into Istanbul, so I think we got, you know, 100, 100 dealers coming in. And we've got a couple days with them.
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Um, this will be one of these interesting things where it's translated in real time. Mm-hmm. So I'll be, I'll be up on stage. Uh, Brian Binstock'll be up on stage. We'll have our headphones on.
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We'll be getting translated in real time for the folks out in the audience, which is a, a different experience. Because if anyone knows me, I tend to talk pretty quickly. And, uh- [laughs]...
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you know, every- everyone's motioning me, "Slow down, slow down. And don't, don't use too much technical language so- [laughs]... it gets translated correctly." So- And you-... yeah, it, it, it'll be super fun.
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You did this last year, right? Um, we did Dubai in December with largely the s- the same crew- Okay... of folks. Yeah. Yeah. And, uh, it was re- it's really good.
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And you know, the truth is, um, it's interesting around the world how dealers are effectively, uh, challenged with the same issues. Uh- Mm-hmm... the, the business model more or less is the same.
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The relationships with the OEMs are- Mm-hmm... sometimes strained.
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You know, they're, they're often selling both new and used vehicles, and trying to figure out how they encourage vehicles in operation in their local market to come in for service. They have parts.
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And, um, sometimes depending on the country, the scale of the dealers are significantly smaller than what we would experience in the US. But you know, the, the challenges are the same.
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So, um, the good thing for me is, like the content that I use here when I'm up in front of dealers, I can largely repurpose with just- Mm-hmm... a, a few tweaks. Mm-hmm. That's great.
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Well, Kyle's back, so I'll let you get back to it. All right. Cool. I'm back. I'll tell you what, that, that, uh, that translation in real time, it's a whole vibe.
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Like, the first time you do it, you're like, "What is even happening?" [laughs] Yeah. Right. Exactly right. Yeah. So you, you hear- And it's good. With the, you know, the day before-... it's kind of fun...
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we sit w- yeah, we sit in with, with our headphones on, and we're listening to translators- Yes... for, on our, for our benefit translate whatever's going on on stage. So yeah, it's, it's ki- it's kind of amazing.
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[laughs] You're, you're hearing in one language, and you're hearing English and... I m- like you feel like, I guess, you're, again, i- in the UN, I guess, is, uh, what, how- Yes...
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that works with- What, what is amazing-... people talking in their different languages... is that these translators are able to listen in English and speak in their native language in real time without a break.
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It is, it's quite impressive. So, uh- They're like machines. They're, they're like machines. Yeah. 'Cause they, they gotta keep up with somebody speaking at whatever- Yeah...
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60, 100 words a minute, and translate- And it's not AI. Yeah. It's like a straight up person in the back of the room, and it's incredible. Ag- agreed. Yeah. It, it is, yeah. Yep. Well, there you go. All right.
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Well, there you go. I, I wish you the best out there. I know Michael Cirillo. They've got Danny, Michael Dun. I mean, it's just gonna be a, a, it, it'll be a, a fun one out there. Um- Yes. Agreed...
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ho- hopefully you guys have just a bunch of fun and bring back even some insights from what's happened in, uh, across the pond, so. Yeah. We'll share some things when we get back. Let's get into the show.
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Uh, actually, no. I wanna talk about this. We've got a new Auto Collabs episode, uh, with AJ Magali- uh, AJ McGowan of Reynolds and Reynolds. Your dealership AI is only 90% right. That's the problem.
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It was a great conversation with AJ. Always brings some great insights. And obviously- Yeah...
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uh, you know, the big companies and the small companies, as you and I talked about on Monday, are both trying to figure out what to do with AI.
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Uh, they're doing some cool stuff with like self, self-hosting, um, their, uh, their, their machines, which is something some of these bigger companies can do. Uh, and gives you the ability to, to fine-tune and tweak.
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So check that out anywhere where you can find Auto Collabs. Uh, let's get into it. Dealership employees are broadly happy at work, but the middle of the tenure curve is where satisfaction drops the hardest.
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Uh, CDK's 2026 workplace study found 80% overall satisfaction compared with just 64% among employees with one to three years on the job. So the, obviously it's being swayed by people with much longer. Uh,
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the overall satisfaction only dropped two points year over year. But 91% of employees say they're motivated, and 73% say they're proud of their job, which is a big deal for me.
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I think that's probably a swing from, you know, m- maybe 10, 15 years ago. Work-life balance became a bigger stress factor, rising from 21 to 32%, while difficult customers actually were cited by 48% of Gen Z employees.
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Uh, Gen Z saying, "We don't like that difficult employee." Uh, benefits are becoming a big retention and, uh, issue. 43% saying that benefits were inadequate, up from 32%. Uh, and
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95% of employees who were considering leaving said that benefits were a factor. So if you're- Mm... if you're looking at your benefits plans, this...
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And this is the time that everybody does it, between September and October. Uh, that might be something to think about, uh, when it comes to, uh, the paylet, the pay.
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Uh, although Gen Z, listen to this, is the generation most likely to recommend a career in the inventory. So Gen Z's out there helping bringing new ones in. Oh, wow. Great. Yeah. Yeah.
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It's interesting- How do you get that from, like, your, your... You've, you've been in the industry, what, 30 plus years at this point, right? Or, yeah- Yeah. Well, getting c- getting close. Getting close. Getting close.
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All right. Yeah. I, I think it's, um, it's, it's interesting for, to think about this COVID co- cohort, right?
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You know, the k- the kids that were either in high school or un- undergrad during COVID and never had face-to-face interaction.
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So s- you know, there, there, there's, there's kids that went through their entire four-year undergrad and didn't have any face-to-face interaction. Mm-hmm.
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And, you know, whe- whether you're recruiting out of high school or whether you're recruiting out of a university un- undergrad, it's very interesting times.
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And so, so these folks are entering the, the workforce for the first time, and their expectations are gonna be wacky. Right?
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They're, you know, they not necessarily have the social skills, l- literally, because they haven't had as much, uh, face-to-face time during those- Yeah... formative years.
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So I think that, uh, you know, it would be interesting to talk to some dealers that are managing through all of that. But I, I gotta imagine the expectations are gonna be different, too.
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Whether it's work-life balance, whether it's benefits, whether it's happiness at work and engagement.
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Um, they, they might be, there m- a certain type of person might be thrilled to be back in an environment that's high paced, you know, high workload, high stress.
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But there may be a lot of people that just, like, go, "Whoa, hold on a second.
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You know, the last four years I've been on virtual, uh, uh, um, you know, uh, c- calls on Zoom, even with my classmates, and I'm not, I'm just not prepared for this." Yeah. Yeah.
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I think- Obviously, with every new generation, you've got different challenges, different ideas of what work should be, but you can definitely find the Gen Z-ers out there that are looking for that face-to-face interaction.
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That's probably the reason why this Gen Z audience is saying, "Hey, look, this is a good place to work," because there's such a crave for being in person, for being in an environment where they can interact with people every single day.
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Right. Uh, so go find those people out there.
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And look, one of the things that I've constantly seen, especially with the difference between, like, an industry partner and a dealer, uh, is the benefits package, whether that be the time off package or the healthcare packages.
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Um, so figuring out how to structure that correctly- Yeah... especially as we go into that timeline when typically November is open enrollment for many businesses.
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Uh, get with your HR departments and start thinking about maybe hold some cohorts.
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Like, there, there's creative ways to create benefits packages that even if healthcare costs are high, maybe FS- FSAs, HSAs, uh, can, can be leveraged to, uh, create some, like, uh, some care within, within your em- employee community.
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And, and I think it would go a long way if that's, like, the number one trigger, uh, that this study, uh, is, is pointing to. So. Yeah, agreed. All right, let's get, uh, let's keep moving.
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Ford is aiming to make its next EV a mainstream hit targeting more than 100,000 first-year sales for the roughly $30,000 Fathom pickup, uh, before shipping and delivery.
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That would put it in into a territory no EV model outside Tesla has ever reached, uh, in a single year.
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The, the surprising stat is Tesla sold about 357,000 Model Ys last year, and just a little bit more than 190,000 Model 3s last year.
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GM altogether across their entire platform of EVs sold 170,000 in 2025, but that was three brands, uh, that, that we're looking at there. So it would be an aggressive target to hit that 100,000 first-year sales.
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Um, Ford says the Fathom's $30,000 price, passenger space exceeding the size of a Toyota RAV4, and Apple Maps integration and BlueCruise are designed to appeal beyond current EV buyers.
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Executive Andrew Frick said, "Our total addressable market is much bigger than just the EV under $40,000." And it looks kind of cool, too. Like, I think you described it as a, a, as a little bit of a Rivian.
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Uh, I, I described it as like a squished-down Avalanche. So they're definitely appealing to l- more than just a truck buyer.
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Yeah, I mean, I think they, they're, they're gonna need to appeal to somebody who otherwise would've bought an SUV. Yeah.
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Uh, and if they can do that with a $30,000, like, sort of mini, what I would say, like, a mini Rivian. Ford hasn't released, to my knowledge, the actual images of this thing yet.
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All we have is, as sh- as you're showing there, you know, the- these, uh, vehicles driving around with the wraps, uh, that conceal exactly what this thing looks like. But you can go online.
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If you look up, you know, Ford Fathom online, you can see a lot of folks that are, are, are doing the artic- ar- artist renderings.
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And it does look like a, sort of like a mini Rivian, which it could be a sexy little car. And they could get a lot of heat, you know, a lot of interest, especially at that price point.
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But they're gonna have to lure people in who otherwise would buy an SUV. EVs have not been as hot, right, right now. We're, we aren't selling a lot of EVs unless you're Tesla.
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So, um, but it could, it could re- re- re-energize kind of, like, that EV segment 'cause the price point's definitely right. And, uh, you know, the lease payments hopefully are really, really low as well.
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And, um, you know, 100,000 the first year? I don't know. You, you and I could bet a pizza whether or not they actually hit that number.
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[laughs] But if I were them, I'd be, I'd be taking pre-orders now and trying to ramp up as much demand as possible.
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And also, put a cap on the number of, of cars they're gonna sell so you get some scarcity out there- Some scarcity, yeah...
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so people are fearful that, "Hey, I'm not even gonna be able to hit the, the allocation unless I get my pre-order in." You know, it's like selling, selling watches or Ferraris, right?
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So they can take a playbook out of some of the other folks that have executed this strategy. But, uh, yeah, it'll, it'll be, it'll be a hot car, I would imagine. Uh, 100,000, I... This, it would be a challenge.
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Yeah, I'm, uh, you know, I m- I was reading through a couple of, uh, Michael Dunne's posts this morning and, and just his, his purview is that Chinese brands are going to make it into the US sometime in the next couple years.
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And Jim Farley has gone on record stating he's seen these vehicles that are lower priced. The $30,000 price point is something that the American manufacturers have to hit. Mm-hmm.
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You've been in, uh, these, these foreign countries looking at some of these vehicles, getting inside of them, whether they're ICE or EV vehicles, and they are, they are advanced tech at a low price. Um, so- Yep, yep...
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I think this is like, this is one of those must-hit moments, uh, for an auto, for a US manufacturer.
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And, and, uh, I think if, if the, the look and feel of this truck is right, they'll win some of those crossover buyers and, and, um, that, that'd be a good play, so. Yep, agreed. Speaking of playing. Stop. Segway. Time.
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Nailed it. An Alabama dealership this is a feel, feel-good story, is making youth sports dramatically cheaper for local families.
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Howard Bentley Buick GMC is partnering with the city of Albertville to cut registration for baseball, football, and other recreational sports down to 25 bucks.
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Previously, the cost for football in this, uh, city was 150 bucks, uh, for a season, uh, and $110 for soccer, um, basketball, softball, baseball, and T-ball for all the local sports.
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So this will allow families to get in at the $25 range, and the dealership intends the, what they're calling the Drive to Play program, to continue beyond the upcoming year.
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The program started after Sand Mountain Park and Amphitheater asked area businesses about ways to lower costs. Dealer Principal Taylor Bentley Conner agreed to fund the inv- uh, fund the entire investment needed.
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He said, "Our family has been blessed by this community for nearly 40 years, and this is simply one way we can meaningfully give back. Youth sports teach lessons that extend far beyond the game.
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They build confidence, character, teamwork, and lifelong friendships. If together we can help more children experience everything youth sports have to offer, then we know we've made a real difference."
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I'm pumped on this one. [laughs] No, this is great and, and, and a great example of how dealers give back to the local community. But p- put my business hat on for a minute, right?
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The t- the total cost of this initiative is gonna be very, very low for the dealer. Right. And look, they're already getting press here on, on this segment.
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They're gonna get press in a lot of areas around the country and give back to the community.
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A, a dealer would much rather sell a car into the local community where they have the opportunity to service that car and build a lifetime customer.
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And, and one of the best ways to do is cost-effectively establish these kinds of relationships. So this is, you know, te- textbook, kind of like how to give back to your community cost-effectively.
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Um, and definitely the ROI on this initiative is gonna be huge from a marketing standpoint.
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Yeah, when you think about hitting every single youth sport, the number of families that you're getting a mention in, like, top of, top of mind brand awareness, especially for smaller cities, um, this is a no-brainer play.
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And so I would go the other way. Instead of having, waiting for the amphitheater and the, and the city to reach out to local businesses, go reach out to them.
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Uh, and, and it's different than, like, sponsoring an entire team. Uh, this is a lower cost way to make sure that you're in for an entire league. Um, and like you said, the R- the ROI on that is, is paintable all day.
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Um, there's a human and a business ROI. So kudos to them. Agreed. They are leaning into the people. We started with the people. We're ending with the people. That's the way we do it around here.
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Hey, go check out your, your healthcare plans with your HR department, and go give back to the community in a way that only dealers can. We'll see you tomorrow. [upbeat music] Keep winning. Keep winning. Keep winning.
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And live the ride. Uh. Keep winning. Keep winning. Keep winning. And live the ride. Uh
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Good morning. It is Thursday, September 3rd. I'm hanging out with Steve Greenfield on the Automotive State of the Union.
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Today, we're talking about dealership saf- satisfaction, Ford betting on Fathom, and dealerships slashing sports costs. Here I go. The people really wanna know. Who I is and who I ain't.
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People slashing prices- They try to stay with me... uh, don't, don't hold a candle to slashing sports costs. I'm, I'm all in on that story, so- [laughs]... uh, 'cause I love, I love some youth sports.
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St- Steve, how you doing this morning, sir? I am great. I'm on my way to- You're-... Is- Istanbul tonight- You're, you're about to roll... with Michael Cirillo. That's right. Michael Cirillo. Yes. Yeah. Oh, man.
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And I'm frozen. That is, that is the most magical thing. I'm hosting the show and I'm frozen. [laughs] Do you wanna, do you wanna jump out and, uh- Nathan, hey, uh, get, get Steve to talk about something cool.
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Like- Cool. Well, yeah. Okay... we're, we're, we're, we're, I'm, I'm going over to, uh, Istanbul, um, uh, Nathan, with, uh, Brian Binstock and, uh, Michael Cirillo, and a whole bunch of other people that you know.
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Uh, Michael Dunns- For sure... will be over there, too. We got a bunch of European dealers coming into Istanbul, so I think we got, you know, 100, 100 dealers coming in. And we've got a couple days with them.
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Um, this will be one of these interesting things where it's translated in real time. Mm-hmm. So I'll be, I'll be up on stage. Uh, Brian Binstock'll be up on stage. We'll have our headphones on.
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We'll be getting translated in real time for the folks out in the audience, which is a, a different experience. Because if anyone knows me, I tend to talk pretty quickly. And, uh- [laughs]...
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you know, every- everyone's motioning me, "Slow down, slow down. And don't, don't use too much technical language so- [laughs]... it gets translated correctly." So- And you-... yeah, it, it, it'll be super fun.
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You did this last year, right? Um, we did Dubai in December with largely the s- the same crew- Okay... of folks. Yeah. Yeah. And, uh, it was re- it's really good.
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And you know, the truth is, um, it's interesting around the world how dealers are effectively, uh, challenged with the same issues. Uh- Mm-hmm... the, the business model more or less is the same.
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The relationships with the OEMs are- Mm-hmm... sometimes strained.
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You know, they're, they're often selling both new and used vehicles, and trying to figure out how they encourage vehicles in operation in their local market to come in for service. They have parts.
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And, um, sometimes depending on the country, the scale of the dealers are significantly smaller than what we would experience in the US. But you know, the, the challenges are the same.
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So, um, the good thing for me is, like the content that I use here when I'm up in front of dealers, I can largely repurpose with just- Mm-hmm... a, a few tweaks. Mm-hmm. That's great.
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Well, Kyle's back, so I'll let you get back to it. All right. Cool. I'm back. I'll tell you what, that, that, uh, that translation in real time, it's a whole vibe.
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Like, the first time you do it, you're like, "What is even happening?" [laughs] Yeah. Right. Exactly right. Yeah. So you, you hear- And it's good. With the, you know, the day before-... it's kind of fun...
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we sit w- yeah, we sit in with, with our headphones on, and we're listening to translators- Yes... for, on our, for our benefit translate whatever's going on on stage. So yeah, it's, it's ki- it's kind of amazing.
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[laughs] You're, you're hearing in one language, and you're hearing English and... I m- like you feel like, I guess, you're, again, i- in the UN, I guess, is, uh, what, how- Yes...
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that works with- What, what is amazing-... people talking in their different languages... is that these translators are able to listen in English and speak in their native language in real time without a break.
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It is, it's quite impressive. So, uh- They're like machines. They're, they're like machines. Yeah. 'Cause they, they gotta keep up with somebody speaking at whatever- Yeah...
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60, 100 words a minute, and translate- And it's not AI. Yeah. It's like a straight up person in the back of the room, and it's incredible. Ag- agreed. Yeah. It, it is, yeah. Yep. Well, there you go. All right.
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Well, there you go. I, I wish you the best out there. I know Michael Cirillo. They've got Danny, Michael Dun. I mean, it's just gonna be a, a, it, it'll be a, a fun one out there. Um- Yes. Agreed...
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ho- hopefully you guys have just a bunch of fun and bring back even some insights from what's happened in, uh, across the pond, so. Yeah. We'll share some things when we get back. Let's get into the show.
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Uh, actually, no. I wanna talk about this. We've got a new Auto Collabs episode, uh, with AJ Magali- uh, AJ McGowan of Reynolds and Reynolds. Your dealership AI is only 90% right. That's the problem.
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It was a great conversation with AJ. Always brings some great insights. And obviously- Yeah...
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uh, you know, the big companies and the small companies, as you and I talked about on Monday, are both trying to figure out what to do with AI.
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Uh, they're doing some cool stuff with like self, self-hosting, um, their, uh, their, their machines, which is something some of these bigger companies can do. Uh, and gives you the ability to, to fine-tune and tweak.
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So check that out anywhere where you can find Auto Collabs. Uh, let's get into it. Dealership employees are broadly happy at work, but the middle of the tenure curve is where satisfaction drops the hardest.
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Uh, CDK's 2026 workplace study found 80% overall satisfaction compared with just 64% among employees with one to three years on the job. So the, obviously it's being swayed by people with much longer. Uh,
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the overall satisfaction only dropped two points year over year. But 91% of employees say they're motivated, and 73% say they're proud of their job, which is a big deal for me.
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I think that's probably a swing from, you know, m- maybe 10, 15 years ago. Work-life balance became a bigger stress factor, rising from 21 to 32%, while difficult customers actually were cited by 48% of Gen Z employees.
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Uh, Gen Z saying, "We don't like that difficult employee." Uh, benefits are becoming a big retention and, uh, issue. 43% saying that benefits were inadequate, up from 32%. Uh, and
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95% of employees who were considering leaving said that benefits were a factor. So if you're- Mm... if you're looking at your benefits plans, this...
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And this is the time that everybody does it, between September and October. Uh, that might be something to think about, uh, when it comes to, uh, the paylet, the pay.
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Uh, although Gen Z, listen to this, is the generation most likely to recommend a career in the inventory. So Gen Z's out there helping bringing new ones in. Oh, wow. Great. Yeah. Yeah.
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It's interesting- How do you get that from, like, your, your... You've, you've been in the industry, what, 30 plus years at this point, right? Or, yeah- Yeah. Well, getting c- getting close. Getting close. Getting close.
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All right. Yeah. I, I think it's, um, it's, it's interesting for, to think about this COVID co- cohort, right?
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You know, the k- the kids that were either in high school or un- undergrad during COVID and never had face-to-face interaction.
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So s- you know, there, there, there's, there's kids that went through their entire four-year undergrad and didn't have any face-to-face interaction. Mm-hmm.
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And, you know, whe- whether you're recruiting out of high school or whether you're recruiting out of a university un- undergrad, it's very interesting times.
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And so, so these folks are entering the, the workforce for the first time, and their expectations are gonna be wacky. Right?
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They're, you know, they not necessarily have the social skills, l- literally, because they haven't had as much, uh, face-to-face time during those- Yeah... formative years.
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So I think that, uh, you know, it would be interesting to talk to some dealers that are managing through all of that. But I, I gotta imagine the expectations are gonna be different, too.
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Whether it's work-life balance, whether it's benefits, whether it's happiness at work and engagement.
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Um, they, they might be, there m- a certain type of person might be thrilled to be back in an environment that's high paced, you know, high workload, high stress.
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But there may be a lot of people that just, like, go, "Whoa, hold on a second.
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You know, the last four years I've been on virtual, uh, uh, um, you know, uh, c- calls on Zoom, even with my classmates, and I'm not, I'm just not prepared for this." Yeah. Yeah.
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I think- Obviously, with every new generation, you've got different challenges, different ideas of what work should be, but you can definitely find the Gen Z-ers out there that are looking for that face-to-face interaction.
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That's probably the reason why this Gen Z audience is saying, "Hey, look, this is a good place to work," because there's such a crave for being in person, for being in an environment where they can interact with people every single day.
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Right. Uh, so go find those people out there.
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And look, one of the things that I've constantly seen, especially with the difference between, like, an industry partner and a dealer, uh, is the benefits package, whether that be the time off package or the healthcare packages.
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Um, so figuring out how to structure that correctly- Yeah... especially as we go into that timeline when typically November is open enrollment for many businesses.
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Uh, get with your HR departments and start thinking about maybe hold some cohorts.
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Like, there, there's creative ways to create benefits packages that even if healthcare costs are high, maybe FS- FSAs, HSAs, uh, can, can be leveraged to, uh, create some, like, uh, some care within, within your em- employee community.
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And, and I think it would go a long way if that's, like, the number one trigger, uh, that this study, uh, is, is pointing to. So. Yeah, agreed. All right, let's get, uh, let's keep moving.
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Ford is aiming to make its next EV a mainstream hit targeting more than 100,000 first-year sales for the roughly $30,000 Fathom pickup, uh, before shipping and delivery.
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That would put it in into a territory no EV model outside Tesla has ever reached, uh, in a single year.
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The, the surprising stat is Tesla sold about 357,000 Model Ys last year, and just a little bit more than 190,000 Model 3s last year.
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GM altogether across their entire platform of EVs sold 170,000 in 2025, but that was three brands, uh, that, that we're looking at there. So it would be an aggressive target to hit that 100,000 first-year sales.
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Um, Ford says the Fathom's $30,000 price, passenger space exceeding the size of a Toyota RAV4, and Apple Maps integration and BlueCruise are designed to appeal beyond current EV buyers.
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Executive Andrew Frick said, "Our total addressable market is much bigger than just the EV under $40,000." And it looks kind of cool, too. Like, I think you described it as a, a, as a little bit of a Rivian.
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Uh, I, I described it as like a squished-down Avalanche. So they're definitely appealing to l- more than just a truck buyer.
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Yeah, I mean, I think they, they're, they're gonna need to appeal to somebody who otherwise would've bought an SUV. Yeah.
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Uh, and if they can do that with a $30,000, like, sort of mini, what I would say, like, a mini Rivian. Ford hasn't released, to my knowledge, the actual images of this thing yet.
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All we have is, as sh- as you're showing there, you know, the- these, uh, vehicles driving around with the wraps, uh, that conceal exactly what this thing looks like. But you can go online.
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If you look up, you know, Ford Fathom online, you can see a lot of folks that are, are, are doing the artic- ar- artist renderings.
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And it does look like a, sort of like a mini Rivian, which it could be a sexy little car. And they could get a lot of heat, you know, a lot of interest, especially at that price point.
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But they're gonna have to lure people in who otherwise would buy an SUV. EVs have not been as hot, right, right now. We're, we aren't selling a lot of EVs unless you're Tesla.
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So, um, but it could, it could re- re- re-energize kind of, like, that EV segment 'cause the price point's definitely right. And, uh, you know, the lease payments hopefully are really, really low as well.
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And, um, you know, 100,000 the first year? I don't know. You, you and I could bet a pizza whether or not they actually hit that number.
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[laughs] But if I were them, I'd be, I'd be taking pre-orders now and trying to ramp up as much demand as possible.
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And also, put a cap on the number of, of cars they're gonna sell so you get some scarcity out there- Some scarcity, yeah...
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so people are fearful that, "Hey, I'm not even gonna be able to hit the, the allocation unless I get my pre-order in." You know, it's like selling, selling watches or Ferraris, right?
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So they can take a playbook out of some of the other folks that have executed this strategy. But, uh, yeah, it'll, it'll be, it'll be a hot car, I would imagine. Uh, 100,000, I... This, it would be a challenge.
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Yeah, I'm, uh, you know, I m- I was reading through a couple of, uh, Michael Dunne's posts this morning and, and just his, his purview is that Chinese brands are going to make it into the US sometime in the next couple years.
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And Jim Farley has gone on record stating he's seen these vehicles that are lower priced. The $30,000 price point is something that the American manufacturers have to hit. Mm-hmm.
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You've been in, uh, these, these foreign countries looking at some of these vehicles, getting inside of them, whether they're ICE or EV vehicles, and they are, they are advanced tech at a low price. Um, so- Yep, yep...
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I think this is like, this is one of those must-hit moments, uh, for an auto, for a US manufacturer.
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And, and, uh, I think if, if the, the look and feel of this truck is right, they'll win some of those crossover buyers and, and, um, that, that'd be a good play, so. Yep, agreed. Speaking of playing. Stop. Segway. Time.
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Nailed it. An Alabama dealership this is a feel, feel-good story, is making youth sports dramatically cheaper for local families.
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Howard Bentley Buick GMC is partnering with the city of Albertville to cut registration for baseball, football, and other recreational sports down to 25 bucks.
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Previously, the cost for football in this, uh, city was 150 bucks, uh, for a season, uh, and $110 for soccer, um, basketball, softball, baseball, and T-ball for all the local sports.
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So this will allow families to get in at the $25 range, and the dealership intends the, what they're calling the Drive to Play program, to continue beyond the upcoming year.
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The program started after Sand Mountain Park and Amphitheater asked area businesses about ways to lower costs. Dealer Principal Taylor Bentley Conner agreed to fund the inv- uh, fund the entire investment needed.
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He said, "Our family has been blessed by this community for nearly 40 years, and this is simply one way we can meaningfully give back. Youth sports teach lessons that extend far beyond the game.
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They build confidence, character, teamwork, and lifelong friendships. If together we can help more children experience everything youth sports have to offer, then we know we've made a real difference."
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I'm pumped on this one. [laughs] No, this is great and, and, and a great example of how dealers give back to the local community. But p- put my business hat on for a minute, right?
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The t- the total cost of this initiative is gonna be very, very low for the dealer. Right. And look, they're already getting press here on, on this segment.
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They're gonna get press in a lot of areas around the country and give back to the community.
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A, a dealer would much rather sell a car into the local community where they have the opportunity to service that car and build a lifetime customer.
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And, and one of the best ways to do is cost-effectively establish these kinds of relationships. So this is, you know, te- textbook, kind of like how to give back to your community cost-effectively.
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Um, and definitely the ROI on this initiative is gonna be huge from a marketing standpoint.
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Yeah, when you think about hitting every single youth sport, the number of families that you're getting a mention in, like, top of, top of mind brand awareness, especially for smaller cities, um, this is a no-brainer play.
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And so I would go the other way. Instead of having, waiting for the amphitheater and the, and the city to reach out to local businesses, go reach out to them.
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Uh, and, and it's different than, like, sponsoring an entire team. Uh, this is a lower cost way to make sure that you're in for an entire league. Um, and like you said, the R- the ROI on that is, is paintable all day.
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Um, there's a human and a business ROI. So kudos to them. Agreed. They are leaning into the people. We started with the people. We're ending with the people. That's the way we do it around here.
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Hey, go check out your, your healthcare plans with your HR department, and go give back to the community in a way that only dealers can. We'll see you tomorrow. [upbeat music] Keep winning. Keep winning. Keep winning.
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And live the ride. Uh. Keep winning. Keep winning. Keep winning. And live the ride. Uh
