Automotive State of The Union

GM’s Gas-Powered Comeback, 112-Year-Old Dealership Sold, AI Eyes Wall Street

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Episode #1096: We cover GM’s shift away from EVs at Orion, the end of a 112-year family legacy at Ohio’s oldest Ford dealership, and how new AI tools are challenging the finance industry’s most iconic software.

Show Notes with links:


  • General Motors is officially reversing course at its Orion Assembly plant, which had been idled since late 2023 for a planned conversion to electric vehicle production. Instead, the automaker now says the factory will build gas-powered versions of the Escalade, Silverado, and Sierra starting in 2027.
    • Originally, Orion was to build EV versions of the Silverado and Sierra, aligning with GM’s electrification strategy.
    • Production was delayed twice amid shifting consumer sentiment and cost considerations.
    • The move is part of a broader $4 billion investment across three plants to increase output of gasoline-powered vehicles.
    • GM cited “continued strong customer demand” for ICE models as the driver behind the pivot.
    • “These moves will further strengthen our manufacturing footprint,” GM said, reaffirming its commitment to Michigan manufacturing.


  • After 112 years under Chapman family stewardship, Ohio’s oldest Ford dealership has been sold to Coughlin Automotive, marking the end of a storied chapter in Marysville.
    • Originally opened by grocer George Butler Chapman in Plain City in 1913, Bob Chapman Ford was one of the first Ford dealers in Ohio, selling Model Ts
    • Over four generations, the Chapman family expanded: new facilities in 1918, 1935, and 1978, plus ventures into Firestone stores, Chryslers, RVs, even founding local airports 
    • The current 28,000-square-foot facility includes 24 service bays, a Quick Lane center and proudly displays an original Model T on its showroom floor as a nod to its century‑plus legacy
    • Joe Chapman described the sale as “one of the most emotional and important decisions of my life,” praising Coughlin’s deep respect for the dealership’s legacy and community roots.


  • New AI platforms like Claude and Perplexity are digging into the finance world, offering powerful features that could make Bloomberg’s industry standard $25K-a-year terminal feel outdated.
    • Claude now combines real-time market data with internal company info to answer complex questions instantly—no more juggling multiple systems.
    • It can run simulations, build trading models, and handle huge documents without analysts hitting roadblocks.
    • Major firms like Bridgewater, AIG, and Norway’s sovereign wealth fund are already seeing big productivity boosts.
    • Perplexity targets a broader market with tools starting at $0, offering fast research summaries, stock comparisons, and even crypto integrations through Coinbase.

Join Paul J Daly and Kyle Mountsier every morning for the Automotive State of the Union podcast as they connect the dots across car dealerships, retail trends, emerging tech like AI, and cultural shifts—bringing clarity, speed, and people-first insight to automotive leaders navigating a rapidly changing industry.

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Paul J Daly:

I got this, I got this. Good morning. It's Wednesday, July 16. We're okay. We're okay. Back in the saddle, back in our perspective seats, talking about Jeff. I mean, I'm just terrible, everybody. This is the automotive State of the Union. You know, you take one or two days,

Kyle Mountsier:

you get us some sun at a golf course, and you don't even know how to say

Paul J Daly:

words, there's a lot of sun at that golf course.

Kyle Mountsier:

It was hot. We were bad at golf. I only took a few swings. I made a video. You were better at golf than me. Yeah, it was, but it wasn't great. So yeah, the event was great. It was so much fun, and it's a great golf course, and the fact that four charities have 40,000 extra dollars to go serve their community, we're in. Let's go.

Paul J Daly:

We're full on in, yeah, there's nothing like watching watching it in action. I guess I should say there's nothing like watching it in action. But I we're kind of in. Are these considered the are we in the dog days of summer yet? Or is that August? What is that? I don't know. I guess the dog days of summer is like when you're just tired of the oppressive heat. So I think it's like August is kind of think I'm ever tired of the oppressive heat, I get tired of oppressive heat. I'm I get tired of oppressive cold, which is why I live in the south. I get tired of oppressive cold too. I think I just get tired. Anyone gets tired of oppressive weather? Yeah,

Kyle Mountsier:

everybody, and and, and every, every day, every day in San Diego, they just laugh at all the rest of us, until the earthquake hits,

Paul J Daly:

until it falls into the ocean, but until then. But until then, yeah, I've been looking at my my like, my closet, my wardrobe hangers, and just like looking at all the long sleeve stuff and the dream hoodies and the sweaters, I kind of miss you. It's, I will say it's

Kyle Mountsier:

a lot. All you got to do is come to a restaurant in the south and you can wear your hoodies

Paul J Daly:

and sweaters full icy

Kyle Mountsier:

they're like, they're like, it's 98 degrees outside. Put it at 68 Debbie,

Paul J Daly:

but it's 62 actually, in here feels like 62 because there's like, thanks so much. So it feels like you just stepped in a freezer while you were wet. That's

Kyle Mountsier:

exactly getting into this podcast. We got a so do edge webinar, our 30 minute quick shot webinars with connected dealer services called driving loyalty, with data, with Shane Wilson and Levi bad Beatty. Sorry. It is coming on August 6, at 2pm you're not going to want to miss it. Make sure you go to asotu.com scroll down just a wee bit. Register for that webinar. It's all about loyalty. It's all about retention, which we can't get enough of in this industry.

Paul J Daly:

No, we definitely cannot. Um, oh my gosh, the dog Oh, this note just magically appeared in here. It's magic. The dog days of summer traditionally refers to the hottest and most humid part of the summer, typically between early July and mid August. We're there, right? Done, done. We are in the dog days summer. All right, just lose our minds. Jeff, minds. General Motors is officially reversing course on its Orion assembly plant, which has been idled since late 2023 for a planned conversion to EV assembly. Instead, the automaker now says the factory will build the opposite gas powered versions of the Escalade, Silverado and Sierra starting in 2027 originally it was going to build EV versions of the Silverado and Sierra, aligning with GM electrification strategy, but production was delayed twice amid shifting consumer sentiment and cost considerations. This move is part of a broader $4 billion investment across three plants to increase the output of gas powered vehicles, aka the profitable ones. GM cited quote continuing strong support and customer demand for ice models as the driver behind this pivot. GM said, reaffirming its commitment to Michigan, these moves will further strengthen our manufacturing footprint.

Kyle Mountsier:

This comes a day after we ran the story of Nissan taking out five EVs and putting in SUVs and pickups into a Canton plant. This is shocking to me, honestly, like we haven't reverted to the mean. We've reverted 180 degrees to the opposite thing. And I think that this is actually really bad for our industry. The fact that we've gone from like, Hey, we're going to make EVs in this thing to we're going to make gas guzzling largest trucks and SUVs on the planet in these in these plants, is shocking to me. Why not bring in hybrid, hybrid platforms and like, move steadily over. This is like,

Paul J Daly:

you know that it is wise. I'm thinking about that. Does GM have a hybrid, like truck engine? I don't think so. I don't think they do either. And we watch what Toyota's doing, the success they're having there at hand. You look at the global shift to electrification in general. I. I'm so surprised, because this thing is even going to be live until 2027 which means we're going to be, I hate to say it, but like, even further, well, it also even further behind. But in another election cycle, all right, and in 2028 guess what can

Unknown:

happen? The whole world will flip again. And that

Paul J Daly:

I don't, I don't

Kyle Mountsier:

just going back to this, this the Steve greenfields event, the the existential threat of the Chinese, and you look at the way they're taking over the rest of the world, and so much of the so much, so much of the overall profitability and sales of these big threes comes outside of the US as well. Yeah, right. So like, where are we gonna compete things when the rest of the world is getting taken over by Chinese EVs?

Paul J Daly:

I don't envy their position at all. That's wild. Have to make decisions three years out in this world. I know. I know. Well, speaking your mind getting blown. This is a really, really old, old, old, old, old old after 112 years under the Chapman family stewardship, Ohio's oldest Ford dealership has been sold to the Coughlin Automotive Group, making marking the end to a storied chapter in Marysville, originally opened by a grocer George Butler Chapman in plain city night in 1913 bob chapman four was one of the first four dealers in Ohio selling you know what they look like, Model T, over four generations, Chapman family expanded new facilities in 1918 35 and 78 plus ventures into Firestone stores, Chryslers, RVs, even founding local airports. This sounds like an auto

Unknown:

dealer. Sounds like a dealer hunt. The current

Paul J Daly:

28,000 square foot facility has 24 service bays, a Quick Lane center, and proudly displays an original model T on its showroom floor as a nod to its century, plus legacy. Joe Chapman described the sale as, quote, one of the emotional and most important decisions of my life, praising Coughlin, deep respect for the dealerships legacy and community roots.

Kyle Mountsier:

Yeah. I mean, I really hope. And Coughlin still not, you know, a massive group, so they're probably going to keep so many, so much of the family roots. You know, some of these oldest four dealerships in the country have started to sell over the last four or five years. And, you know, there's so much legacy built in there. You know, I just like, it's so so much a part of the fabric of the US economy. And when you look at these families that have been deeply ingrained and started out as dealers, or started out as something else and then turned dealers and then built their way into the Firestone stores, RVs, local airports, right? They've, they've built their way into these communities. It's so cool to see. I can't imagine that level of emotion that has to go into this after that many generations being in in the family. I can't

Paul J Daly:

even get my wrap my head around 112 years. It's unbelievable. That is, I mean, talk about, like, all the things early, 1900s auto industry, taking care of communities, doing business, growing, expanding, building, legacy building, airports. That's why I'm talking about. So I'm talking about, all right, speaking about wild. Oh. Segue, this, this.

Kyle Mountsier:

This one's crazy new AI platforms like Claude and perplexity are digging into the finance world, offering powerful features that can make Bloomberg industry standard 25k a year terminal feel outdated. So Yikes, here it comes. So Claude now combines real time market data with internal company info to answer complex questions instantly, no more juggling multiple systems that can run simulations, build trading models and handle huge documents without analysts hitting roadblocks. Major firms like Bridgewater, AIG and Norway sovereign wealth fund are already seeing big productivity boosts. Perplexity, on the other hand, targets a broader market with tools starting at $0 offering offering fast research summaries, stock comparisons and even crypto integrations through Coinbase. As one expert puts it, this isn't about replacing humans. It's about giving them superpowers. I

Paul J Daly:

mean, it's not about that. It will certainly do that. And we're seeing a lot of this across the board, with companies like McKinsey, leaning into AI, because now you can, like, we've, we've developed some deep research articles and documents based on a lot of kind of first hand inputs, right? Like things we've heard, things we see, and what it can generate on a deep research article. It's like people. The first time I saw one, I was like, people used to pay McKinsey, like, $250,000 for this thing, or more, actually, for sure, or more. And so I think this is going to the integration in the coin base is wild. If you look into it, it can actually execute purchases. What could possibly go wrong?

Kyle Mountsier:

Oh, it is, I mean, it's agentic. Ai leaning into like, like, Okay. Model it out, okay. Now, now act on that. Yep, yep. Buy and Sell. And I think people trade just just AI trading money in the background. So

Paul J Daly:

I think that this is really a precursor to what is we're going to be seeing in the auto industry, of aggregating all these data points, aggregating all these information and making financial model sense out of what's happening, out of trends, out of your your efficiency internally. And I think this is going to be just a barrage. Imagine having a full analysis like right now. You have CFOs doing analysis. You get it once a month, right? And they but imagine that analysis happening real time analysis basis, and you can look at your weeklies without aggregating everything, without all the work. So you can spend your time and energy making decisions and pivots based on real time information. So I think this is just a precursor, and which is why we put the story in here, right? It's a$25,000 a year terminal that Bloomberg has been offering now replaced with a $0 a month offering. If that isn't going to shake things up in the finance world, you just think this is on its way to automotive. We just, you know, haven't seen it. Know the applications, but on the finance side, there's nothing safe.

Kyle Mountsier:

Yeah, yeah. This is, this is what I know is there will be more and more companies that come into auto that are name plates for the rest of the world that we never even expected. Finally, like you will not like the NADA for in three years, will look dramatically different than it does now. They would. These will not be purpose built solutions. These will be name plates that we see at the CES and the other the other places across the world, and they will be vying for autos attention in a direct sales manner and not, not, not a resold manner, and white labeled solutions or anything

Paul J Daly:

like that. It's kind of fun world, isn't it? I'm excited. I am too, all right. Well, look, we're excited to get going. We were excited before we started the show. We're even more excited now we're ending the show. We get to get out there. Work in the best industry on the planet, serve people, sell some cars, take care of one another. We'll see you here tomorrow morning.

Unknown:

You.

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Kyle Mountsier

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Paul J Daly

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