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Automotive State of The Union
Paul J Daly and Kyle Mountsier don’t just read headlines, they make the most important connections across car dealerships, general retail, tech, and culture. The goal? To help automotive leaders think clearer and move faster in a world that refuses to slow down.
Whether you’re running a rooftop, building a brand, or just trying to keep up with everything shifting in the business of selling cars, this is your regular stop for a shot of news, insight, and a little bit of chaos…always rooted in people-first thinking.
From the showroom to Silicon Valley.
From Wall Street to Main Street.
Paul and Kyle connect the dots, keep it real, and make it make sense.
Learn more at https://www.asotu.com
Episodes
1286 episodes
Scout Rides The EREV Wave, Atlanta's Car Subscription Boom, UPS Wants Fewer Drivers
Episode #1286: Scout Motors discovers that American truck buyers want a generator backup with their electrons, Flexcar bets big on Atlanta's appetite for flexible wheels, and UPS makes the largest buyout offer in company history as it braces fo...
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11:15
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Record Negative Equity, Dealers Optimistic About Service and Parts, Generational Sales Team Conflict
Episode #1285: Today we unpack record negative equity making deals harder to pencil, service and parts lanes regaining momentum as dealers look for profit stability, and a surprising $56B productivity hit caused by generational friction and AI ...
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13:09
Carvana Buys Another Store, GM Changes Pre-Owned Strategy, Nano Banana 2
Episode #1284: Today we’re looking at Carvana quietly buying franchised dealerships, GM reshaping used-car sales around CarBravo, and Google’s newest AI image model.Carvana is continuing its quiet march into the franchised dea...
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14:53
How The Iran Conflict Will Impact Auto, BYD’s Flash Chargers, Search CarMax On ChatGPT
Episode #1283: Oil markets are on edge as global conflict pressures fuel prices and supply chains. Meanwhile, BYD may have cracked the code on five-minute EV charging, and CarMax becomes the first U.S. auto retailer to launch a shopping app ins...
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15:00
Honda Takes MPG Crown, Destination Fees Climb, What’s Holding Customer Experience Back?
Episode #1282: Honda leads the nation in fuel economy, destination charges quietly climb to $1,600 per vehicle, and a new Gallup report shows staffing shortages may be holding back customer experience across retail.If you had ...
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16:01
Coats For Kids = Impact For Generations
On this final day of February, Paul, Chris and Nathan sit down to talk about The Truth About Car Dealers season 2, why you should attend ASOTU Con, and how the Greater New York Automobile Dealer's Association donated thousands of coats to New Y...
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19:59
Hyundai Tesla Robot Wars, Ford Helps Out In Service, Burger King AI Manager
Episode #1280: Steve Greenfield is back as guest host as Hyundai takes aim at Tesla in the humanoid robot race, Ford pushes dealers toward same-day service with factory-backed AI support, and Burger King launches an always-listening “AI manager...
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19:16
Dealer Transparency Tracker, More Mobile Service Options, Consumer Confidence Up
Episode #1279: Today we break down CarEdge’s new Dealer Transparency Index shaking up pricing accountability, GM’s MobileService+ reboot with lower-cost gas crossovers, and a fresh bump in consumer confidence that could signal steadier showroom...
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14:34
Steve Greenfield on Dealer-Built Tech Products, BYD’s Stock Drop and More
Episode #1278: We’ve got Steve Greenfield joining the show today as a dealership-born AI platform lands a full cash exit and gears up for U.S. expansion—while China’s red-hot EV market hits a margin-crushing price war.A D...
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14:34
Breaking Down The Tariff Situation, Plug-In Lambos, Return of the iPod
Episode #1277: The Supreme Court narrows emergency tariffs—but most auto duties remain, reshaping pricing and payments. Lamborghini shelves its EV plans in favor of hybrids. And Gen Z is ditching smartphones for iPods, chasing simpler tech in a...
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15:27
Dealer Count Down - Throughput Up, Used EV Values Rollercoaster, Consumers Delay Big Purchases
Episode #1276: The 2026 dealer census shows fewer franchise points but stronger per-store sales. Tesla resale values rise while other EVs slide post-tax-credit. And consumers are shifting away from big-ticket purchases, focusing instead on repa...
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15:17
3 Miles, A Snowstorm, Quintuplets and a New Chevy Suburban
Today on the show, Chris Reeves joins Paul J Daly and Kyle Mountsier (with a brief appearance by Producer Nathan Southwick).After they remind Nathan of how many days are in February, they get into the story of how the West Herr Automotiv...
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10:21
How Carvana Will Sell 3M Cars Per Year, Used EV Cost Curve, Gemini 3.1
Episode #1274: Today we unpack Carvana’s push toward 3 million annual sales and what ADESA means for scale, a new study showing used EVs winning on long-term ownership math in a firm wholesale market, and Google’s Gemini 3.1 Pro raising the sta...
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11:09
GM Bets on Lean Inventory, AI Taking Chips From Cars, The Power of Storytelling
Episode #1273: GM is staying lean to outmaneuver the next sales slowdown. AI’s appetite for memory chips could spark a new supply squeeze across autos and tech. Retailers are proving that telling better stories sells.Show Note...
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10:16
Uber Joins The Charging Game, Cybercab Rolls Out, Nuclear Reactor Flies
Episode #1272: Uber drops $100M to power up its autonomous future., Tesla’s first Cybercab rolls off the line with no wheel and no pedals — but is FSD ready? Meanwhile, the U.S. military airlifts a next-gen mini nuclear reactor.<...
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14:17
Winter Slows Sales, Ford’s Battery Pullback Costs Jobs, Amazon In-House AI Agents
Episode #1271: January sales slid as winter storms and shrinking EV credits cooled demand. Ford’s battery pullback shows how policy whiplash hits jobs fast. Amazon is going all-in on its own AI shopping agent.According to...
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11:45
Ford Considers China Joint Venture, Detroit Considers Sedans, Amazon Reconsiders Grocery
Episode #1270: Ford floats ideas to counter China’s EV push, Detroit rethinks sedans as affordability pressures rise and Amazon proves even tech giants can’t crack physical retail that easily.As Chinese automakers creep ...
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10:44
💕 💪🏼 Why There's No Floor and No Ceiling In Automotive
Happy Valentine's Day! Today, Chris joins Paul and Kyle to talk about some of the things we saw this week:WOCAN and NCM gave Colby Sturdivant a full scholarship to NCM's GM development program, the first of its kind.We released th...
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7:57
Lithia Won’t Sell Chinese Cars (At First), Stellantis Brings Back Diesel, AI During Job Interviews
Episode #1268: Today we cover Lithia’s reluctance to sell Chinese brands in the U.S., Stellantis quietly bringing diesel back to Europe as EV demand cools, and how companies like Canva and Meta are now testing job candidates on how well they us...
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11:56
CarMax Leads With Hospitality, Toyota EV Highlander, AI-Embellished Resumes
Episode #1267: CarMax taps a hospitality CEO to sharpen its digital edge, Toyota makes a disciplined move into three-row EVs with the Highlander name, and AI-generated resumes are creating new hiring headaches for retailers and operators. ...
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14:01
Ford Takes $11B Loss, Robotaxi Safety, NADA x Northwood for Dealer Education
Episode #1266: Ford posts its biggest earnings miss in years but bets big on a 2026 rebound. Robotaxis scale nationwide while public trust hangs in the balance. And NADA partners with Northwood to strengthen the next generation of dealership le...
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14:27
Carvana Buys 5th Store In a Year, Solid State Batteries Entering Production, 7-Eleven Hires With AI
Episode #1265: Today we cover Carvana doubling down on franchised dealerships, the solid-state battery arms race heating up as automakers target 2027 launches, and how 7-Eleven is using AI to cut frontline hiring from weeks to days—saving milli...
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13:35
The NADA Takeaway Show, Will Dealers Welcome Chinese OEMs?
Episode #1264: As the NADA Show wraps, we zoom out on what actually mattered, from a shift in how dealers are thinking about AI, to deeper vendor partnerships, to how dealers are thinking about Chinese vehiclesShow Notes with ...
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15:38
Friday AM Live from the 2026 NADA Show, The Rebound is Real, Rubik’s Cubes and Mortal Kombat
As we wrap up the NADA show this morning, we are energized.We’re hearing that this has been record years for a lot of industry partners, and dealers are optimistic and ready to try new things.Our friends at C...
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9:44
Thursday AM Live From the 2026 NADA Show, Retention is More Than Free Oil Changes
We're at the North Hall of the NADA Show today, getting ready for another amazing day.An underlying theme of all our conversations has been the "Year of the Human." Even though AI is a big theme, dealers are asking, "How does this help ...
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6:17