Latest / CBT Live / Can Chinese Carmakers Break Into the U.S.? Porsche Slides, Kain Ford Sold (10.09.26)

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Can Chinese Carmakers Break Into the U.S.? Porsche Slides, Kain Ford Sold (10.09.26) · CBT Live

0:01
SPEAKER_03: Hello everyone and welcome back to CBT Live.
0:03
SPEAKER_03: Today is Friday, October 9th.
0:05
SPEAKER_03: I'm Bridget Fitzpatrick.
0:06
SPEAKER_06: And I'm Jim Fitzpatrick.
0:08
SPEAKER_03: Yes, thank you all for being here today.
0:09
SPEAKER_06: That's right.
0:10
SPEAKER_06: It's gonna be a big show.
0:10
SPEAKER_03: It is gonna be a big show.
0:11
SPEAKER_03: We've got a lot to talk about.
0:12
SPEAKER_03: We do and a couple great guests coming up.
0:15
SPEAKER_06: We've got that's right, Michael Dunn.
0:17
SPEAKER_06: It's always great having Michael Dunn in the house.
0:19
SPEAKER_03: It really is.
0:20
SPEAKER_03: It really is.
0:20
SPEAKER_06: He uh he's giving us all the information we need to make an informed decision as a as the U.S.
0:26
SPEAKER_06: uh navigates through this Chinese situation with Chinese automobiles.
0:30
SPEAKER_06: We're gonna talk he literally wrote the book on it.
0:33
SPEAKER_06: This is the guy, folks, that wrote the book on it.
0:35
SPEAKER_06: So uh we're gonna talk to him about his new book and uh and and everything else.
0:39
SPEAKER_06: Uh all Chinese, all things Chinese.
0:41
SPEAKER_03: All things Chinese.
0:42
SPEAKER_03: So we're excited to talk to Michael Dunn, CEO of Dunn Insights.
0:45
SPEAKER_06: Yep.
0:45
SPEAKER_03: And then we're also gonna be joined by Bob Kane, the president of Jack Kane Ford.
0:49
SPEAKER_03: He'll be joining us to talk about his family's long legacy in the car business and what it's like to sell a dealership that's been running for over 60 years.
0:56
SPEAKER_03: That's right.
0:57
SPEAKER_06: So that's gonna be that's pretty great.
0:58
SPEAKER_06: Hey, some sad news broke this morning.
1:00
SPEAKER_06: Uh Mike Ditka passed away at the age of eighty-six.
1:04
SPEAKER_06: Uh he brought the Bears to the Super Bowl win, uh the Super Bowl uh in 1986, I should say, and won the Super Bowl.
1:11
SPEAKER_06: I think it was their only win for the Super Bowl.
1:13
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, I don't know.
1:18
SPEAKER_03: I was just gonna say, and there it is.
1:19
SPEAKER_03: But I remember the sweater.
1:20
SPEAKER_06: You remember the sweater?
1:21
SPEAKER_03: I do remember the sweater, yeah.
1:22
SPEAKER_06: Okay, I remember the win.
1:24
SPEAKER_06: I'm way older than you.
1:26
SPEAKER_06: Okay.
1:27
SPEAKER_06: No, that was a big that was a really big thing.
1:29
SPEAKER_06: And uh and and I don't uh we I don't know if we have it, but there was a video.
1:32
SPEAKER_06: Remember the dancing, they were all dancing?
1:34
SPEAKER_06: It was like the first time that all of the players got together and they did this music video.
1:38
SPEAKER_06: How young are you exactly?
1:39
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
1:40
SPEAKER_06: Um looking like I have no idea.
1:43
SPEAKER_06: Uh maybe our guests remember that.
1:45
SPEAKER_03: Well, I was, you know, a teenager and just not in the world.
1:48
SPEAKER_06: I think uh McMahon was the quarterback of that TV.
1:51
SPEAKER_03: Okay, I actually have met him a bit.
1:52
SPEAKER_03: Okay, well, there you go.
1:53
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, there you go.
1:54
SPEAKER_06: That's right.
1:55
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, lots going on though.
1:56
SPEAKER_03: Yes, there is a lot going on.
1:57
SPEAKER_03: Before we get to a couple of news stories, I would like to thank our sponsor.
2:01
SPEAKER_03: This week's CBT Live is brought to you by Force Marketing.
2:04
SPEAKER_03: Turn your data into more dealership opportunities with automotive marketing technology built for the entire customer life cycle.
2:11
SPEAKER_03: Reach in market shoppers, reconnect with website visitors, acquire inventory, and keep customers coming back to the service drive.
2:18
SPEAKER_03: Learn more at forcemktg.com.
2:20
SPEAKER_03: Thank you, Force Marketing.
2:21
SPEAKER_06: We love Force Marketing.
2:22
SPEAKER_03: We do.
2:23
SPEAKER_06: That's right.
2:24
SPEAKER_03: Great people over there.
2:25
SPEAKER_06: They they certainly are.
2:26
SPEAKER_06: They it's run by just an incredible young man, John Fitzpatrick.
2:31
SPEAKER_03: It is, it is.
2:33
SPEAKER_06: No, they they do a great job.
2:35
SPEAKER_06: They really do.
2:36
SPEAKER_06: And um, yeah, and and oh, we should also talk about the hurricane that's headed uh up the coast there in the Gulf of Don't say it.
2:42
SPEAKER_06: Gotta get this right.
2:43
SPEAKER_06: The Gulf of America.
2:44
SPEAKER_03: The Gulf of America.
2:45
SPEAKER_03: That's right.
2:46
SPEAKER_06: For those of you that don't know where that is, that's right where the Gulf of Mexico used to be.
2:49
SPEAKER_06: Yes.
2:49
SPEAKER_06: Well, but now it's a Gulf of America.
2:51
SPEAKER_06: Yes.
2:51
SPEAKER_03: I'm sure all of us in the Southeast will be watching that.
2:54
SPEAKER_03: There's mandatory evacuations.
2:55
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, it's headed right for Alabama.
2:57
SPEAKER_03: Headed for the panhandle.
2:58
SPEAKER_03: So big game tomorrow could be.
2:59
SPEAKER_03: I don't know if it's been canceled yet or not with Georgia and Alabama.
3:02
SPEAKER_06: So I don't think it has been canceled yet.
3:04
SPEAKER_06: They think that maybe it's gonna get there early and I don't know.
3:08
SPEAKER_06: So it's crazy.
3:09
SPEAKER_03: Uh yeah.
3:10
SPEAKER_03: We'll see.
3:10
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
3:11
SPEAKER_03: We'll see.
3:11
SPEAKER_03: I know we've got a couple folks here that were hoping to go the way they get to go.
3:16
SPEAKER_06: An incredible game.
3:16
SPEAKER_06: Georgia and Alabama.
3:17
SPEAKER_06: Oh my god, there's a lot of people tuning into that one.
3:20
SPEAKER_03: Exactly.
3:21
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
3:21
SPEAKER_06: So that's good.
3:22
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
3:23
SPEAKER_03: Not good.
3:23
SPEAKER_03: Not good that the hurricane is happening, but else is going on.
3:28
SPEAKER_06: Came out wrong.
3:29
SPEAKER_06: It's all good.
3:30
SPEAKER_06: It's right.
3:31
SPEAKER_03: There's gonna be someway.
3:32
SPEAKER_03: We'll be thinking about the people in those areas, including us.
3:34
SPEAKER_03: So there we'll get to get the bands and we could get the tornadoes and all that too.
3:38
SPEAKER_06: And the dealers who, you know, are always counting on a big Saturday.
3:42
SPEAKER_06: That they came out wrong, didn't you?
3:44
SPEAKER_03: You know what?
3:44
SPEAKER_03: I'm gonna move on to my headlines here.
3:48
SPEAKER_03: There's not a lot going on in the news today, but there's a couple interesting stories.
3:51
SPEAKER_06: Go right ahead.
3:51
SPEAKER_06: Save me on this.
3:52
SPEAKER_03: Well, we talked about um Porsche sales dropping 16 percent.
3:56
SPEAKER_03: So worldwide deliveries fell 16 during the first nine months of the year, and in the US retail deliveries fell 14 percent.
4:04
SPEAKER_03: So that didn't include the 9-11, which increased to 12% worldwide.
4:07
SPEAKER_03: So that one's doing good.
4:08
SPEAKER_03: But it becomes at an interesting time, they're rearranging their strategy, so they're um eliminating some models, increasing prices.
4:19
SPEAKER_05: Okay.
4:19
SPEAKER_03: But the prices aren't gonna be a cross-the-board increase.
4:22
SPEAKER_03: They're gonna be hoping for some customizations from people.
4:25
SPEAKER_03: Okay.
4:25
SPEAKER_06: And 16% is a pretty big fall, though.
4:28
SPEAKER_06: I mean, that's that's that's big.
4:30
SPEAKER_03: Right.
4:30
SPEAKER_03: So now they're gonna increase prices up by uh 20%.
4:33
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
4:34
SPEAKER_06: I would imagine Porsche dealers are right now uh listing their stores for sale with that kind of a drop.
4:40
SPEAKER_03: Well I don't know, but I'm hoping this new strategy might work.
4:42
SPEAKER_03: Every dealer wants a Porsche.
4:45
SPEAKER_03: No, I don't know.
4:50
SPEAKER_06: It's definitely the best, well, I shouldn't say the best, one of the best franchises to get, bar or none.
4:56
SPEAKER_06: Be used even with a car.
4:57
SPEAKER_06: It could it could drop by 50 percent in every dealer we're gonna go to the card.
4:59
SPEAKER_06: I'll still take a nice thing.
5:00
SPEAKER_06: I'll still take a Porsche franchise.
5:03
SPEAKER_03: Yes, it is.
5:04
SPEAKER_06: They make beautiful, beautiful vehicles.
5:06
SPEAKER_06: That's right.
5:06
SPEAKER_06: And a new CEO.
5:07
SPEAKER_06: I think the uh the CEO that came over from either Lambo, I think uh Lamborghini or Ferrari, uh one of the two.
5:14
SPEAKER_06: Maybe I should have that.
5:15
SPEAKER_06: I should know what that is.
5:16
SPEAKER_03: We'll get back to you guys.
5:18
SPEAKER_06: That's right.
5:18
SPEAKER_03: And then there's a new Reuters poll that shows how much Americans are feeling the pressure of rising costs.
5:24
SPEAKER_03: The survey of more than 4,500 adults found that 78 percent believe President Trump's policies bear at least some responsibility for higher prices, and more than half say their cost of living has increased substantially over the past year.
5:38
SPEAKER_03: Even among Republicans, 57% said their living costs are rising faster than their earnings.
5:45
SPEAKER_03: And the White House disputes this criticism and points to tax cuts and other measures aimed at improving affordability.
5:52
SPEAKER_03: We can just leave that at that.
5:53
SPEAKER_05: I will leave that.
5:54
SPEAKER_05: I will not uh I will not say anything on that.
5:57
SPEAKER_05: That's uh Trump's taking a hit on that.
6:00
SPEAKER_05: Okay.
6:00
SPEAKER_03: In other interesting news, the FTC reached a settlement with Greenway Auto Group.
6:04
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, this is this is dealers listen to this because we talk about it all the time here on CBT News, and that is the FTC.
6:13
SPEAKER_06: Uh well go ahead.
6:14
SPEAKER_03: No, you go ahead.
6:15
SPEAKER_06: They they just they they came to a settlement with Greenway, which all of you know is a pretty substantially uh a pretty substantial group out there.
6:22
SPEAKER_06: And uh they came to a settlement on it because they found that you know they went after them and they found that through their direct mail and maybe even email advertising was not up to snuff, even after they got the letter.
6:33
SPEAKER_06: So dealers, please pay attention to this FTC thing.
6:37
SPEAKER_06: They are not screwing around.
6:38
SPEAKER_06: And they're it they're here to stay, and there's they're gonna be coming after you if you're not adhering to this these rules.
6:46
SPEAKER_06: And uh so yeah, you you gotta do what you gotta do on this.
6:48
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, yeah.
6:50
SPEAKER_06: That's right.
6:51
SPEAKER_03: It's interesting after the Asbury case was just dropped, but now this is so you just you just have to be very still know.
7:00
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
7:01
SPEAKER_03: So for those of you that missed yesterday's show, it was really a lot of fun, a lot of energy was in the room.
7:06
SPEAKER_03: It was, yeah.
7:07
SPEAKER_03: We had um Lou Ramirez and Fred Lennartz from Car Guy Coffee.
7:11
SPEAKER_03: We had a great conversation with them.
7:14
SPEAKER_03: Um and then we had Adam Marberger also on the show, both live in studio interviews, which made it for um very live.
7:19
SPEAKER_06: Very, very live.
7:21
SPEAKER_06: Very interesting.
7:22
SPEAKER_03: So if you miss those, um highly recommend you see those because they were a couple great interviews.
7:26
SPEAKER_03: You can see them on cbtnews.com.
7:29
SPEAKER_06: That's right.
7:29
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
7:31
SPEAKER_06: So do you think the uh the uh I'm gonna ask Michael when he comes on about the Porsche.
7:35
SPEAKER_06: Maybe the Chinese uh is putting the Hurton on Porsche too.
7:39
SPEAKER_06: Could that be?
7:40
SPEAKER_03: That might be the case.
7:42
SPEAKER_06: That's right.
7:43
SPEAKER_06: And change the name to Yes.
7:45
SPEAKER_03: Chinese automakers are already a major force globally.
7:48
SPEAKER_03: In fact, we recently spoke with Senator Bernie Moreno about the possibility of Chinese vehicles entering the U.S.
7:54
SPEAKER_03: market.
7:54
SPEAKER_06: That's right.
7:55
SPEAKER_06: Michael Dunn, CEO of Dunn Insights, good friend of the the station here at CBT News, joins us now to share his perspective and talk about the lessons from Europe, the potential impact on U.S.
8:06
SPEAKER_06: automakers and dealers, and what happens if Chinese brands get a foothold in this market.
8:12
SPEAKER_06: So, Michael, thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to join us on the show.
8:16
SPEAKER_06: You're now a book author, a best-selling author soon to be.
8:20
SPEAKER_06: Well, in fact, when you are best-selling, will you still join us on the on the show here?
8:24
SPEAKER_02: Oh, absolutely, 100%.
8:26
SPEAKER_02: Always enjoy the conversation.
8:28
SPEAKER_06: Okay, cool, cool.
8:29
SPEAKER_02: Well, welcome to the show.
8:30
SPEAKER_02: We appreciate having you.
8:31
SPEAKER_06: Yep, and the book, the book cover looks great.
8:33
SPEAKER_06: I love the all in red, I get it, with the Chinese, you know, kind of like their flag.
8:37
SPEAKER_06: You know what I mean?
8:38
SPEAKER_06: Oh yeah.
8:38
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
8:39
SPEAKER_06: Oh yeah.
8:39
SPEAKER_06: That's great.
8:40
SPEAKER_06: That's great.
8:41
SPEAKER_06: So um, what was your reaction when you saw Bernie Marino's perspective on this?
8:45
SPEAKER_06: Uh when uh here on CBT News uh maybe about a week or so ago.
8:49
SPEAKER_06: And uh he said, hey, we're gonna push this off until after the election.
8:53
SPEAKER_06: So give me your take on all that.
8:56
SPEAKER_02: Well, just moments ago, you guys were speaking about a hurricane that was gathering force uh just south of in the Gulf of America, heading toward the United States.
9:06
SPEAKER_02: And I couldn't help to think about the parallels with this juggernaut of an industry called China.
9:13
SPEAKER_02: Uh I just came back from Munich, and uh after several days they're meeting with executives, I came away with a feeling like Europe's getting ravaged right now by Chinese imports.
9:23
SPEAKER_02: Uh more than a million cars will be shipped into the European markets.
9:27
SPEAKER_02: Volkswagen's planning on laying off over 100,000 people.
9:31
SPEAKER_02: Wow.
9:31
SPEAKER_02: Never mind their suppliers, ZF, Bosch, Conti, all looking at tens of thousands of layoffs.
9:38
SPEAKER_02: So if we need any indication of the potential impact on the United States here, we just look at what's happening in Europe.
9:45
SPEAKER_02: So Senator Moreno is right to be pushing forward with this legislation, and I do hope for America's sake that we're able to secure that new that new bill.
9:56
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
9:57
SPEAKER_03: So, Michael, if Chinese automakers are allowed to build vehicles here, how quickly could they become a serious competitor in the U.S.
10:04
SPEAKER_03: market?
10:05
SPEAKER_02: Well, you look around the world, UK, 20% of new car sales up from nothing a few years ago, are Chinese now.
10:13
SPEAKER_02: Best selling car last month in China is get this called the JCO 7.
10:18
SPEAKER_02: What?
10:19
SPEAKER_02: An SUV, they call it the Timu Range Rover.
10:22
SPEAKER_02: An SUV that looks like a Range Rover, but retails for only$40,000.
10:27
SPEAKER_02: Australia, a third of new car sales are Chinese, up from nothing a few years ago.
10:32
SPEAKER_02: Wow.
10:32
SPEAKER_02: So let's get ready.
10:34
SPEAKER_02: This is not the Japanese or the Koreans coming in.
10:38
SPEAKER_02: This would be a force of a magnitude we haven't seen before.
10:41
SPEAKER_02: Right.
10:42
SPEAKER_02: With the ability to price and deliver products that are highly competitive.
10:47
SPEAKER_06: Right.
10:47
SPEAKER_06: Now, you know, you and I have talked about this before, and I've brought this up with the senator and uh some others in the industry.
10:54
SPEAKER_06: And I I keep bringing this question up.
10:56
SPEAKER_06: What if there were guardrails?
10:58
SPEAKER_06: I mean, and and how come there aren't around the world in these other countries?
11:01
SPEAKER_06: Why are they opening up gates going, send as many as you want?
11:05
SPEAKER_06: You know, we were able to do this with the with the Japanese uh automakers in the early, late 70s, early 80s, where we said, eh, not so fast.
11:13
SPEAKER_06: A couple of hundred thousand, we'll see where that goes.
11:15
SPEAKER_06: You know, out of a SAR of 16 and a half million or or somewhere around there, a couple of hundred thousand, maybe three hundred thousand.
11:22
SPEAKER_06: It doesn't have to decimate the auto industry, does it?
11:27
SPEAKER_02: Guardrails are a good idea.
11:29
SPEAKER_02: Europe tried to put up some guardrails.
11:31
SPEAKER_02: The Chinese found a way around those guardrails.
11:34
SPEAKER_02: So a couple years ago now, you know, they put tariffs on EVs.
11:38
SPEAKER_02: Oh, did you say pure EVs?
11:40
SPEAKER_02: Okay, we won't ship as many of those, but we'll send our gasoline power and our PHEVs in.
11:45
SPEAKER_02: So we have to be very thoughtful.
11:47
SPEAKER_02: I was uh with um Jim Farley a week ago in Detroit at the automotive news conference, and he said we need to be very thoughtful, very careful if we open the door, because guardrails, the Chinese are just steamroll right over any guardrails we put in place.
12:05
SPEAKER_06: Okay, so let me ask you this question.
12:07
SPEAKER_06: Uh you know, it's it's taken the auto industry worldwide by storm, and and I think it's for two reasons.
12:14
SPEAKER_06: One reason is because of the cost, obviously, and and we all know that the Chinese government is subsidizing that and being able to sell these incredible cars for 40 grand, 30 grand, whatever the number is.
12:24
SPEAKER_06: But the other thing that's attracting the buyers is the styling, the technology, and the design of these vehicles that blows away anything else in the marketplace.
12:34
SPEAKER_06: The reason that I say if we let a couple of hundred thousand in, this might because I think you're talking about two different things here, right?
12:42
SPEAKER_06: I mean, if in the event that that the U.S.
12:44
SPEAKER_06: automakers say, oh, well, you can't buy that car because it's subsidized by the Chinese government, we get I get that, okay?
12:49
SPEAKER_06: But let's talk about the style and the technology in those cars.
12:53
SPEAKER_06: How come American ingenuity isn't isn't superior in this area?
13:00
SPEAKER_02: American ingenuity, two camps, keep in mind.
13:02
SPEAKER_02: You got Detroit Automakers, the legacy automakers, and you do have Tesla, which is highly admired and respected by the Chinese.
13:10
SPEAKER_02: So keep that in mind.
13:11
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
13:12
SPEAKER_02: Coming back to why China is so competitive.
13:14
SPEAKER_02: This is not well understood or well known in the West.
13:17
SPEAKER_02: Is about 10 years ago now, China's auto industry was a laggard globally.
13:23
SPEAKER_02: Nobody wanted a Chinese car.
13:24
SPEAKER_02: The Chinese consumer didn't want a Chinese car.
13:26
SPEAKER_02: They wanted their German, the Porsche's the Mercedes.
13:30
SPEAKER_02: Yeah?
13:31
SPEAKER_02: Then that all changed.
13:32
SPEAKER_02: What happened?
13:33
SPEAKER_02: Well, Xi Jinping decided 10 years ago, our auto industry needs an injection of new brains and new capital.
13:42
SPEAKER_02: So they opened the door for the first time to tech companies.
13:45
SPEAKER_02: So imagine if Apple, Microsoft, NVIDIA, and Qualcomm all decided, yes, we're getting into the car industry tomorrow.
13:54
SPEAKER_02: That would really change the game.
13:56
SPEAKER_02: And that's exactly what's happened in China.
13:58
SPEAKER_02: The reason they're better designed, more efficient, smarter looking with all of the bells and whistles is because they've got these billionaires from the tech sector who've come into the auto industry and just transformed it overnight.
14:10
SPEAKER_02: That's the secret to their recent success.
14:13
SPEAKER_06: But why can't Jim Farley find these, you know, these billionaire geniuses and say, hey, work your magic here?
14:21
SPEAKER_06: It just seems like we're taking this back seat to go, oh well, we build we build a less superior vehicle than the Chinese uh do, and therefore we're gonna live with that.
14:31
SPEAKER_06: And we're gonna keep the Chinese out.
14:32
SPEAKER_06: We're not gonna have these guys, you know, uh get get up to speed here.
14:37
SPEAKER_06: We're gonna keep delivering the same vehicles that we want to deliver.
14:41
SPEAKER_06: Um, you know, Toyota is right on the heels of GM right now.
14:44
SPEAKER_06: Why?
14:44
SPEAKER_06: Because GM never got into the hybrid business.
14:47
SPEAKER_06: Okay?
14:47
SPEAKER_06: That point blank, that's what it is.
14:49
SPEAKER_06: Everybody wants a hybrid.
14:50
SPEAKER_06: Guess what?
14:50
SPEAKER_06: Going to a GM dealer, you better want a Corvette if you want a hybrid.
14:54
SPEAKER_06: So things like that, to me, and I'm a businessman, competition is a good thing.
15:00
SPEAKER_06: It gets everybody to do to run at their best.
15:03
SPEAKER_06: And it just seems to me as though we're not giving the credit to the to the American automakers to say when you when you are pressured with can uh competition from afar, uh i.e.
15:18
SPEAKER_06: Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Subaru in the early 80s, what happened?
15:23
SPEAKER_06: All of a sudden Detroit said, Whoa, we have a really good shot of losing major market share here if we don't change things.
15:30
SPEAKER_06: Remember Ford uh quality is job one?
15:32
SPEAKER_06: I mean, come on.
15:33
SPEAKER_06: It was an incredible campaign, and all of those auto manufacturers said, We better, we better get our ducks in a row here, otherwise, we're just gonna get we're gonna get decimated by these Japanese uh car companies.
15:46
SPEAKER_06: And that that's that's the thing I'm having a problem with.
15:48
SPEAKER_06: And I've been in the auto industry for 40, 400 years.
15:51
SPEAKER_06: And uh it's just bothering me that that we're saying, oh no, no, no, we're you know, we're less superior in this.
15:57
SPEAKER_06: I mean, the country that gave us Henry Ford, for God's sakes, what what more do you need?
16:01
SPEAKER_06: We showed all of the other countries around the world how to build cars, and now they're building better cars than we think we can build.
16:09
SPEAKER_06: And if it is a situation of a uh, you know, getting an Apple or getting a you know a technology company to come in, then go buy a technology company.
16:18
SPEAKER_06: Go find those executives, go find those those people with that kind of brain trust to say, build us a car.
16:25
SPEAKER_06: You know, it it's crazy.
16:26
SPEAKER_02: A thousand percent.
16:27
SPEAKER_02: Agree with you, a thousand percent.
16:29
SPEAKER_02: And here's where things get bogged down.
16:31
SPEAKER_02: Let's just take CarPlay, for example.
16:34
SPEAKER_02: So let's be honest, Apple is the best in terms of consumer interface.
16:39
SPEAKER_02: Right.
16:40
SPEAKER_02: They win hands down.
16:41
SPEAKER_02: Right.
16:41
SPEAKER_02: Who doesn't have an iPhone?
16:42
SPEAKER_02: Right.
16:43
SPEAKER_02: So in China, the legacy automakers could go, well, let's bring the tech companies in and have their space inside our car.
16:50
SPEAKER_02: Detroit's reluctant to do that.
16:52
SPEAKER_02: So if you get inside your Ford or your GM or your Stilantis, well, you use our, what do they call it, our native software, right?
17:00
SPEAKER_02: Our native navigation, which is no good.
17:03
SPEAKER_02: Right.
17:03
SPEAKER_02: So we end up taking our phone and putting it up there.
17:05
SPEAKER_02: Let's find a way for American companies to cooperate, and I think Detroit has to step down a little bit and say, we don't do those things as well as the West Coast.
17:15
SPEAKER_02: I agree.
17:15
SPEAKER_02: That's right.
17:16
SPEAKER_02: And be stronger together.
17:18
SPEAKER_06: I totally agree.
17:19
SPEAKER_06: You know, they spent five$100 billion on EVs and you know, converted all of their fleets over and shoved it, tried to shove it down the consumer's throat and everything else.
17:27
SPEAKER_06: And and uh, you know, all while this hundred billion dollars or more could have been spent in in designing a better car with better because listen, it's not like the the CEOs of you know the the Detroit three weren't aware of the Chinese cars and all of a sudden it's like, oh my God, what's going on here?
17:44
SPEAKER_06: They've been watching this for the last 10 years, for the last 15 years to see what it is.
17:48
SPEAKER_06: Um look look at Tesla.
17:50
SPEAKER_06: Twenty years ago, every there was a number of people that chuckled at Tesla and said, Yeah, we'll see how long that lasts.
17:55
SPEAKER_06: You know, you're gonna sell the cars directly online without a franchise network, and who's gonna buy them and who's gonna rebuy them?
18:02
SPEAKER_06: Well, they're the number one selling EV in the country and around the world for that matter.
18:06
SPEAKER_06: And around the world, probably neck and neck and many times.
18:20
SPEAKER_02: We're defending our SCVs and trucks instead of being on the what's the future look like?
18:25
SPEAKER_02: How do we get there?
18:26
SPEAKER_02: Um, who do we need to partner with to thrive into the future just to hold on to what we have today?
18:33
SPEAKER_06: Totally agree.
18:33
SPEAKER_06: Totally.
18:34
SPEAKER_06: I think that's the frustrating part of it because I think that if the cars, you know, the the because the money part of it is one thing, and I totally get it.
18:41
SPEAKER_06: It's not a level playing field if if the Chinese are subsidizing, which we all know that's what that's the case.
18:46
SPEAKER_06: But when you talk about the style and the ingenuity, the the uh the technology inside these cars, everybody comes back from the auto shows, you know, uh uh, you know, uh blown away.
18:57
SPEAKER_06: They're blowing they're blown away.
18:58
SPEAKER_06: I mean, they're just like oh my this isn't even we had no idea a car could do this, you know, and we want this, even even if it's at a higher price.
19:07
SPEAKER_06: But I think that's what's getting, obviously, it's getting to the you know the status quo in Detroit.
19:12
SPEAKER_06: Detroit's got to look at the auto industry completely different than the way they've ever looked at it before.
19:18
SPEAKER_06: And now they've got the real threat, you know, uh right outside of our uh borders, you know, now to the north and uh now to the south.
19:26
SPEAKER_06: So it's it's it's heating up, it's coming in.
19:29
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, just earlier today, Gile announced that they're officially the first one into Canada.
19:34
SPEAKER_02: Now it's not just the Gile brand, though, that's Volvo, that's Lotus, Polestar, Smart Car, and a player to be named later.
19:42
SPEAKER_02: Like they're coming.
19:43
SPEAKER_06: They're coming, that's no question about it.
19:45
SPEAKER_06: Right.
19:46
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
19:46
SPEAKER_06: And then and then what do you do?
19:48
SPEAKER_06: Stop them at the border if those if those people that buy those cars, you know, they're not gonna be able to drive over the brand new bridge that that we finally got open and go, oh no, no, no, you're driving it.
19:57
SPEAKER_06: Of course.
19:57
SPEAKER_06: This is this is ridiculous.
19:59
SPEAKER_06: So, you know, Detroit, take notice, you know, and uh that this is this this this is happening.
20:05
SPEAKER_06: It's just it's not a question, I think, of if, but but when.
20:08
SPEAKER_06: Would you agree with that statement?
20:09
SPEAKER_02: Or absolutely, it's inevitable.
20:12
SPEAKER_02: If you look at the map of the world, the Chinese are in virtually every single market except the United States.
20:18
SPEAKER_02: Right.
20:18
SPEAKER_02: And we cannot hold on to the idea of brand loyalty forever.
20:22
SPEAKER_02: Look at, let's come back to Porsche.
20:25
SPEAKER_02: China used to be Porsche's largest uh market, worldwide, most profitable.
20:30
SPEAKER_02: Sales there are collapsing, just vanishing, and it's really putting the hurt on their bottom line.
20:36
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
20:37
SPEAKER_02: And what's going on is the Chinese consumer says, wow, Porsche used to be a it still is a phenomenal driving machine, but what we like is what happens inside the cockpit with the software and the seamless integration and the navigation, and all that is up to date.
20:51
SPEAKER_02: And Porsche looks like a relic from a museum.
20:55
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
20:55
SPEAKER_02: So we've seen Chinese consumers, not just Porsche, Mercedes, BMW, out and just move dramatically away from the Germans in favor of Chinese brands.
21:04
SPEAKER_02: If that could happen inside China, that's a little bit like the uh canary in the coal mine, it could happen anywhere.
21:10
SPEAKER_02: So Detroit cannot rest on, oh, we have our loyal customers forever.
21:15
SPEAKER_02: There's no such thing as forever in this business.
21:17
SPEAKER_06: I gotta tell you, I talk to a lot of dealers, as you know, from CBT, and uh and they don't ask, they don't let me talk to them on air about this.
21:25
SPEAKER_06: But when I ask that, I understand, I get it.
21:27
SPEAKER_06: But when I ask them the question, if they come here, do you want do you want a BYD franchise?
21:32
SPEAKER_06: Oh, hell yes, is typically the answer.
21:34
SPEAKER_06: I get one or two that go, no, I don't want them, I don't want any part of them, you know, and and I get that, you know, for whatever reason.
21:41
SPEAKER_06: But uh but by and large, everybody, every dealer I talk to goes, look, if it if that's going to change, then of course I want to be, you know, a dealer for Chinese brands.
21:51
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
21:52
SPEAKER_02: One note of caution on that front.
21:55
SPEAKER_02: I'm a dealer here in the United States.
21:57
SPEAKER_02: What we've seen in other markets is that there's a beautiful honey and Period with the Chinese automakers in year one, year one and a half, where the products are coming in, selling like crazy, and you're making a margin.
22:06
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
22:07
SPEAKER_02: But after that honeymoon period, the Chinese do tend to put the heat on and they start pushing product hard.
22:14
SPEAKER_02: Margins get compressed, okay, and total enterprise value goes down.
22:20
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
22:21
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
22:21
SPEAKER_02: So be careful.
22:23
SPEAKER_02: Short term looking rosy.
22:25
SPEAKER_02: Longer term, what's the game being played here?
22:27
SPEAKER_02: What if the Chinese drive enterprise value to zero, which they're known to do in other industries?
22:32
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
22:32
SPEAKER_02: They're they're they're a winner-take all, zero-sum game.
22:36
SPEAKER_02: Sure.
22:36
SPEAKER_02: We want it all.
22:37
SPEAKER_02: Sure.
22:38
SPEAKER_02: So be careful as a dealer.
22:40
SPEAKER_02: Short term, you're in heaven.
22:42
SPEAKER_02: Longer term, as the Chinese say, uh a partnership is sleeping in the same bed, dreaming different dreams.
22:49
SPEAKER_02: Is your dream the same as the Chinese dream, or are they divergent?
22:53
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
22:53
SPEAKER_02: That's something to keep in mind.
22:55
SPEAKER_02: Yes, that's good.
22:55
SPEAKER_02: That's good.
22:57
SPEAKER_03: We do have a question from one of our viewers, Michael.
23:00
SPEAKER_06: Yes.
23:02
SPEAKER_06: What does it say?
23:03
SPEAKER_06: Miraculously?
23:04
SPEAKER_06: What?
23:05
SPEAKER_06: Metrically.
23:06
SPEAKER_06: Oh, sorry.
23:06
SPEAKER_06: I can't see it from here.
23:09
SPEAKER_06: How detrimental would it be for deal for dealers if Chinese vehicles were to come in like the Japanese automakers?
23:18
SPEAKER_02: The Japanese are much more methodical, systematic, and aware.
23:22
SPEAKER_02: They're coordinated.
23:24
SPEAKER_02: They're coming in and saying we understand the United States is a golden market.
23:28
SPEAKER_02: It's profitable.
23:30
SPEAKER_02: We don't want to ruin that.
23:32
SPEAKER_02: Let's compete and be profitable too.
23:35
SPEAKER_02: The Chinese are more like, let's throw the entire kitchen sink at this thing and take as much share as we can as quickly as we can.
23:42
SPEAKER_02: We'll figure things out later.
23:43
SPEAKER_02: Right.
23:44
SPEAKER_02: So please, if you're a dealer in the United States, don't make the mistake of thinking of China as the same as Japan and Korea.
23:52
SPEAKER_02: We're talking about a completely different.
23:53
SPEAKER_06: Completely different sale.
23:55
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, exactly.
23:55
SPEAKER_06: Exactly.
23:56
SPEAKER_06: Now, I will tell you that when you say uh when you mention that about the the enterprise value and the fact that they're going to push the dealers and the and it's going to be margin compression, and dealers are used to that, okay?
24:09
SPEAKER_06: Even from the manufacturers they're all dealing with.
24:12
SPEAKER_06: So there's no there's no manufacturer out there, maybe a portion in Lexus or something.
24:16
SPEAKER_06: But otherwise, everyone out there is it's a race to the bottom, it's over-dealered.
24:20
SPEAKER_06: I don't care what the brand is, you know.
24:22
SPEAKER_06: Uh you know, it's just well, obviously the domestic brands have really, you know, they're they're all over.
24:26
SPEAKER_06: There's a Ford dealer on every corner in Atlanta, and uh it hurts all of them together.
24:31
SPEAKER_06: Uh but let me ask you this are have you found that they're at least using franchise arrangements to distribute the cars?
24:39
SPEAKER_06: Or is any are any of these countries direct to the to the manufacturer?
24:44
SPEAKER_02: Absolutely, and again, the theme is the same.
24:47
SPEAKER_02: Short term, the leverage that dealers have is fantastic because if they step in the United States, the Chinese automakers would like to be seen as good citizens.
24:56
SPEAKER_02: And no better way of doing that than to have a great relationship with the dealer, and the dealer advocates to local and federal government.
25:03
SPEAKER_02: Now, once they're inside, then they then you as a dealer lose that leverage a little bit.
25:10
SPEAKER_02: And all of a sudden you're less needed.
25:12
SPEAKER_02: So privately, the Chinese automakers talk about five years out, they'd love to go direct.
25:18
SPEAKER_02: Really?
25:19
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
25:20
SPEAKER_02: Oh why why not?
25:22
SPEAKER_02: Well, they love our product, we can deliver it at a low cost.
25:26
SPEAKER_02: Right, right.
25:27
SPEAKER_02: Why you know why not go direct?
25:28
SPEAKER_02: I mean, come on.
25:30
SPEAKER_02: So be careful.
25:33
SPEAKER_02: Xiaoxin in Chinese Xiao Xin.
25:36
SPEAKER_06: If you were a betting man, do you think that that we're gonna see a movement on this where the Chinese would be allowed in under a Trump administration?
25:43
SPEAKER_06: I say that he's gonna want to be at the at the uh uh groundbreaking ceremony to say, look at we will look at what we did.
25:52
SPEAKER_02: We got BYD to build a multi-billion dollar factory and I've achieved what no other president has been able to ever achieve in the history of the universe.
26:02
SPEAKER_02: Exactly.
26:09
SPEAKER_02: Right.
26:09
SPEAKER_02: I mean, if you look at this, no one else could have done this.
26:13
SPEAKER_06: Right, exactly.
26:14
SPEAKER_06: If you look at that welcome that uh Trump put on for the president of China, it was unbelievable.
26:20
SPEAKER_02: It was crazy.
26:21
SPEAKER_02: It was unbelievable.
26:21
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it was unbelievable that arguably the the the greatest adversary of the United States, and it's well documented that we're in a Cold War now for years, uh, got that kind of reception.
26:35
SPEAKER_02: It's it's one has to think, well, President Trump had a plan.
26:39
SPEAKER_02: He wants to perhaps, you know, soften up the China.
26:43
SPEAKER_02: I don't know, but it it it was an eye-opener to see that kind of reception.
26:48
SPEAKER_02: It was.
26:48
SPEAKER_06: And I think that's also sends the confusing message to the consumers here in the U.S.
26:52
SPEAKER_06: that go, well, wait a minute, all we've heard about is bad, bad, bad China.
26:55
SPEAKER_06: And then look, look at the we're literally rolling out the red carpet.
26:59
SPEAKER_06: You know?
26:59
SPEAKER_06: The red carpet.
27:01
SPEAKER_06: Exactly.
27:02
SPEAKER_06: All right, talk about the book later.
27:04
SPEAKER_03: All right, yeah.
27:04
SPEAKER_03: Before we let you go, Michael, we would love to talk about your book, Car Wars.
27:07
SPEAKER_03: What was the inspiration for writing the book and what do you want your readers to get out of it?
27:13
SPEAKER_02: It's really simple.
27:14
SPEAKER_02: The message is that we are we should be preparing for an onslaught the likes of which we've never seen before.
27:22
SPEAKER_02: If you think about China's uh the way it's organized these days, it's selected one industry after another to go after globally and it's done so successfully.
27:32
SPEAKER_02: So if we look at solar panels or we look at steel or shipbuilding or batteries, one after another, they amass great capacity, price wars, margin compression, drive others out, and then they dominate.
27:47
SPEAKER_02: They own the industry.
27:49
SPEAKER_02: I we haven't seen it before.
27:51
SPEAKER_02: It's unprecedented.
27:52
SPEAKER_02: We've always been number one.
27:53
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
27:54
SPEAKER_02: Now this big guy's coming in our direction and saying, we'll set the terms for competition going into the future.
28:00
SPEAKER_02: You guys will listen to our way for a change.
28:04
SPEAKER_02: Right now.
28:05
SPEAKER_02: And I don't feel as though, and the reason I wrote the book is I want Americans across the board, coast to coast, north, south, east, and west, to be aware of this coming storm.
28:16
SPEAKER_02: And we can compete, we can find a way, but we better get started now.
28:21
SPEAKER_02: And that's the message in the book.
28:23
SPEAKER_02: That's right.
28:24
SPEAKER_02: That's right.
28:25
SPEAKER_03: Michael Dunn, CEO of Dunn Insights, thank you so much for joining us today.
28:29
SPEAKER_03: We really appreciate it.
28:30
SPEAKER_06: Yep.
28:30
SPEAKER_06: Thanks so much, Michael.
28:32
SPEAKER_06: We're uh and I know our audience gets so much out of it.
28:35
SPEAKER_06: So thank you.
28:35
SPEAKER_06: All right.
28:37
SPEAKER_06: Thank you.
28:37
SPEAKER_06: Thanks.
28:39
SPEAKER_06: He's the man on all things shiny, isn't he?
28:43
SPEAKER_06: And he tells and he brings it right down to a very simple way to understand.
28:46
SPEAKER_06: He does, yeah.
28:47
SPEAKER_06: Which is great.
28:48
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
28:48
SPEAKER_06: Every time he's on, we get kind of a million different views on our on our clips.
28:53
SPEAKER_06: I know, I really but uh but people love him.
28:56
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, and um it was it because that I know we've talked about that, you know, you and I.
29:00
SPEAKER_06: It's like, all right, uh other than the money situation, what's the deal with the other thing?
29:03
SPEAKER_03: There's still there's so there are so many questions, and there's there's conflicting, you know, and we don't want them in, but then Trump says maybe we will, and then we'll roll out the red carving.
29:12
SPEAKER_03: So it's yeah, we just all want a little bit of c clarity.
29:15
SPEAKER_03: I know we can't have the final clarity, but at least while we're going through this, uh a voice like Michael Dunn is certainly um that's right helpful and I know helping us understand all of this.
29:26
SPEAKER_03: So I agree.
29:28
SPEAKER_06: He's great to have on, for sure.
29:29
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
29:30
SPEAKER_06: So uh Jack Kane Ford has been a f in the family business for more than six decades.
29:36
SPEAKER_06: Now Kane family has sold Jack Kane Ford.
29:39
SPEAKER_06: Bob Kane, formerly the president of Jack Kane Ford, a lot of Kane's going on here, join us live to talk about the sale, his father, Jack's legacy, and the people who made the dealership what it is today.
29:50
SPEAKER_06: So thank you so much uh for joining us on the show, Bob.
29:53
SPEAKER_03: Welcome to the show.
29:54
SPEAKER_07: Good afternoon.
29:55
SPEAKER_07: I've got a lot of time on my hands now, so I'm very pleased to be here.
30:00
SPEAKER_06: That's great.
30:01
SPEAKER_06: That's great.
30:02
SPEAKER_06: First, before we get started, um David always tells us that he was the favored child in out of all of the kids.
30:07
SPEAKER_06: Is that true?
30:09
SPEAKER_07: He is 100% incorrect.
30:12
SPEAKER_07: Incorrect.
30:13
SPEAKER_06: That's right.
30:14
SPEAKER_06: There he is.
30:15
SPEAKER_03: Oh no.
30:16
SPEAKER_06: There he is.
30:17
SPEAKER_06: He's here with us.
30:18
SPEAKER_06: No, he's uh that's right.
30:19
SPEAKER_06: That's right.
30:20
SPEAKER_03: He's great.
30:21
SPEAKER_06: No, he's he's great.
30:22
SPEAKER_06: We love uh we love him coming on the show all the time, but uh for really 14 years.
30:26
SPEAKER_06: But uh so talk to us.
30:27
SPEAKER_06: What uh what after 66 years, what what was it like to make this huge transition and sell the store?
30:33
SPEAKER_07: Wow, I'll tell you, it is a very, very bittersweet uh journey.
30:39
SPEAKER_07: It uh it's it's been in our blood for, like you said, 60 over 66 years.
30:45
SPEAKER_07: And uh it uh started out with my father in 1959.
30:51
SPEAKER_07: He used to milk cows on his on his dad's uh dairy farm.
30:56
SPEAKER_07: And he wanted he wanted to do something different.
30:59
SPEAKER_07: He didn't he did not enjoy doing that.
31:01
SPEAKER_07: So he started the uh the dealership back in uh 1959 in Frankfurt, Kentucky, selling DeSotos and Chryslers.
31:11
SPEAKER_07: And eight out of the nine of us cane kids have been in the business.
31:15
SPEAKER_07: We've had uh three grandkids in the business as well.
31:19
SPEAKER_07: My wife is in the business, and it is it is definitely a family business.
31:25
SPEAKER_07: And uh it was a tough journey to to sell the store.
31:29
SPEAKER_07: Sure.
31:30
SPEAKER_07: However, we knew it was the right time.
31:32
SPEAKER_07: It's getting harder and harder for family dealerships to survive out there uh when you're competing against the big chains, and uh the the time had come.
31:44
SPEAKER_07: Uh we had done as well as we could do.
31:46
SPEAKER_07: It was time to pass the torch on to a uh more youthful organization that could better serve our community.
31:53
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, and Joe O'Brien is a great auto dealer.
31:56
SPEAKER_06: Was it mandatory that you sell it to another Irishman?
31:59
SPEAKER_06: Was that in the we didn't want to get your dad upset?
32:06
SPEAKER_07: Exactly.
32:07
SPEAKER_07: Well, you know, the reason that that we chose Joe is because he is a number one, a good dealer.
32:14
SPEAKER_07: Yeah, but he's got a great heart.
32:16
SPEAKER_07: He's a family man.
32:18
SPEAKER_07: It's it's gonna be run as a family store.
32:21
SPEAKER_07: He's got the resources to continue to do a wonderful job with it, to increase the inventories, to invest it back in the facility.
32:30
SPEAKER_07: Uh he is a a good man.
32:32
SPEAKER_07: His his uh brother-in-law, uh Mason Moore, who's gonna be the operator, very good guy, and and I know they're gonna take great care of our employees in our community and our customers.
32:44
SPEAKER_07: Yeah, that's fantastic.
32:45
SPEAKER_03: Now you've said the dealership success was really about the employees and the culture that they've and you've created.
32:51
SPEAKER_03: What made the people at Jack Kane Ford so special?
32:55
SPEAKER_07: Because our people we hired not based upon past experience, we hired based upon the individual.
33:02
SPEAKER_07: We we hired based upon their their passion for work.
33:06
SPEAKER_07: We hired on uh being kind and just good people.
33:11
SPEAKER_07: And as a result of that, uh we had people who wanted to be part of our culture.
33:17
SPEAKER_07: We had uh so many people who wanted to come work for us that we didn't have space for just because we had a great culture.
33:24
SPEAKER_07: And it's it's it's we we um and our father uh uh really taught us about this.
33:30
SPEAKER_07: If you take great care of your employees, they're gonna take great care of your customers.
33:35
SPEAKER_07: That's right.
33:35
SPEAKER_06: And so there's just happy people all the way around.
33:38
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, that's great.
33:39
SPEAKER_06: That's great.
33:40
SPEAKER_06: And and it shows as it were showing pictures throughout this, and it looks like one big happy family.
33:45
SPEAKER_06: It looks like they're all canes, which by the way, did you say there's there were nine nine kids in the in the family?
33:50
SPEAKER_06: Nine kids, eight of them have worked in the store.
33:53
SPEAKER_05: Wow.
33:54
SPEAKER_07: And uh it it it it with with six boys in the same business as it was at one time.
34:02
SPEAKER_07: That's tough.
34:04
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
34:05
SPEAKER_06: There's not there's not six departments.
34:07
SPEAKER_06: You'd have to create more departments, right?
34:09
SPEAKER_07: Uh yeah, well, we all love sales.
34:11
SPEAKER_07: None of us really had the the passion or the compassion for service.
34:16
SPEAKER_07: Right.
34:16
SPEAKER_07: So uh we there was a lot of elbowing and and uh trying to get some of course.
34:22
SPEAKER_07: Of course, no question.
34:23
SPEAKER_07: That's great at the table, so to speak.
34:26
SPEAKER_06: Well, I am number seven in a family of eight, and uh I know all about family businesses, and so it's uh it's it's really something.
34:34
SPEAKER_06: It's not for everybody, but uh you guys did a very, very good job at it, and uh I know your dad was very proud of all of you.
34:41
SPEAKER_06: I we should mention too that your dad was also the past chairman of NADA, right?
34:45
SPEAKER_06: In his tenure.
34:46
SPEAKER_07: Yeah.
34:47
SPEAKER_07: He sure did.
34:48
SPEAKER_07: He's he's done he was a Time magazine dealer.
34:50
SPEAKER_07: Yep.
34:51
SPEAKER_07: A salute to dealer award winner with Ford.
34:53
SPEAKER_07: We won the presence award 13 times.
34:56
SPEAKER_07: Wow.
34:56
SPEAKER_07: Uh he was just uh did so much for the industry.
35:00
SPEAKER_07: We still have dealers call and say, Hey, your dad was something else.
35:05
SPEAKER_07: He will never be forgotten in the automobile industry.
35:09
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
35:09
SPEAKER_06: We had him on CBT News once or twice and really enjoyed it.
35:12
SPEAKER_06: And of course, whenever we'd see him at NADA conventions, I mean, even in his latter year or later years there, um, he was running around that convention hall like he was 25 years old.
35:24
SPEAKER_06: I mean, it we you couldn't keep the guy down.
35:25
SPEAKER_06: It was incredible.
35:27
SPEAKER_07: That's for sure.
35:28
SPEAKER_07: We thought he was never gonna die.
35:30
SPEAKER_07: We you know, he died at the age of 94.
35:32
SPEAKER_07: He was still sharp as compete.
35:34
SPEAKER_07: Every day he wanted to know how many cars we sold.
35:37
SPEAKER_07: He was just such a a great inspiration to us and a tremendous father.
35:43
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, he really was.
35:44
SPEAKER_06: Great guy, great guy.
35:45
SPEAKER_06: You guys operated a one price sales model, right?
35:48
SPEAKER_06: And that so what what drew you to that to that process or that approach?
35:53
SPEAKER_06: And uh because right now I know a lot of there's a lot of dealers out there, especially with the FTC breathing down their back to go, you know what?
36:00
SPEAKER_06: Maybe we need to look at this one price sales approach.
36:03
SPEAKER_06: Makes the customers happy, it makes the salespeople happy, you know, it did there's and they're and you could make money at it, right?
36:10
SPEAKER_07: Absolutely.
36:11
SPEAKER_07: For us, it was an obvious decision because our customers wanted that.
36:15
SPEAKER_07: The last thing a customer wants to do is go into a dealership, arm themselves with everything they can they can muster to go in there and do battle.
36:24
SPEAKER_07: And uh, they don't enjoy that.
36:26
SPEAKER_07: If if you could let everybody come in, have a great experience, the the price is the same for everybody, whether you're a a negotiator in a business or you're a college student, everybody pays the same best price.
36:41
SPEAKER_07: Yep, and it's a win-win.
36:42
SPEAKER_07: And then the salespeople love it because they don't have to have those stressful confrontations with the customer.
36:50
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, no question.
36:51
SPEAKER_06: No question.
36:51
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, that it's funny, somebody said once that the only people that hate negotiating more than the customers are actually the salespeople.
36:59
SPEAKER_06: You know, they as you know, they get caught between the sales, the customer, and the desk.
37:03
SPEAKER_06: And they're like, okay, I'm I'm gonna be making one of them happy and one of them very unhappy, you know.
37:08
SPEAKER_06: So which one is it gonna be?
37:10
SPEAKER_06: You know?
37:11
SPEAKER_07: That's right.
37:11
SPEAKER_07: And we did not lose one customer over the the the price deal.
37:17
SPEAKER_07: Yeah.
37:17
SPEAKER_07: We had so many loyal customers that came back again and again, yeah, and they loved it.
37:22
SPEAKER_07: They really did.
37:24
SPEAKER_05: Sure, no question.
37:25
SPEAKER_03: So, Bob, now that the dealership has a new owner and a new name, O'Brien Ford of Versailles, what do you hope remains from the Kane family legacy?
37:34
SPEAKER_07: I I I hope that it's that the customers and the employees are treated with the the same care and and the same love that we had for them.
37:44
SPEAKER_07: Our employees were they were they were part of our family, and they knew it too.
37:49
SPEAKER_07: And they were like brothers and sisters uh in the store every single day.
37:54
SPEAKER_07: And I'm gonna miss that so much, but that's the legacy we want to carry on.
37:58
SPEAKER_07: The the honesty, the the compassion for the customer, the care for the employee, that want them to be a a united team and and be happy.
38:09
SPEAKER_07: Come at come to work and enjoy what you're doing.
38:11
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
38:12
SPEAKER_06: What what was the uh the the longest running employee?
38:15
SPEAKER_06: I was gonna say the oldest, but that doesn't mean they've been with you that long.
38:18
SPEAKER_06: But what was the longest running employee that you had?
38:22
SPEAKER_07: So we had one that was 45 years.
38:24
SPEAKER_07: Wow.
38:25
SPEAKER_07: Uh his name was Bill May.
38:26
SPEAKER_07: He's in this picture that you're showing right now.
38:29
SPEAKER_07: He's the one above David.
38:31
SPEAKER_07: He was there for for many years.
38:33
SPEAKER_07: Uh just a great gentleman.
38:35
SPEAKER_07: In fact, we have an award, the uh Employee of the Year Award.
38:39
SPEAKER_07: Uh it's got his name on it, the William I.
38:42
SPEAKER_07: May Award.
38:42
SPEAKER_07: That's for the the number one employee of the year.
38:46
SPEAKER_07: He was uh he was just one of those guys that work every single day and he loved what he did.
38:52
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, that's great.
38:53
SPEAKER_06: That is, that is so cool.
38:54
SPEAKER_06: Wow, this uh thank you so much for taking the time out of your schedule there, although it's not as busy as maybe it was it once was.
39:00
SPEAKER_06: And uh what what what is next for Bob Kane?
39:03
SPEAKER_07: Uh well uh thanks for asking.
39:05
SPEAKER_07: Yeah, I'm gonna take about a month or two off, and then I'm gonna get back to work, and I don't even know what that is yet.
39:12
SPEAKER_07: I just I want to give back to our industry in some form or fashion, maybe consulting, uh working for a good vendor in the business.
39:22
SPEAKER_07: But I've got to do something to stimulate my mind and and uh and it it's a passion of mine.
39:28
SPEAKER_07: And I'm I'm too young to retire.
39:30
SPEAKER_07: I just I'm just gonna regenerate and get back out there.
39:34
SPEAKER_06: That's right.
39:34
SPEAKER_06: That's right.
39:35
SPEAKER_06: We'll we'll join your brother in in some ventures.
39:37
SPEAKER_06: He's he's out there, and he I think he's what is he, about 85 now?
39:40
SPEAKER_06: I think David King.
39:41
SPEAKER_06: So maybe he needs to be.
39:44
SPEAKER_04: He's not even here.
39:46
SPEAKER_06: Don't let the white hair fool you, right?
39:48
SPEAKER_06: No, but but you got a lot, you both have a lot of runway ahead of you, and you bring so much to the industry.
39:53
SPEAKER_06: We'd love to have you as a as a kind of a uh be able to call on you for updates about the car business and your take on things that are happening within the car business.
40:01
SPEAKER_06: Uh, we just spoke to Michael Dunn.
40:03
SPEAKER_06: I don't know if you're on hearing about that, with the threat of the Chinese vehicles coming in.
40:07
SPEAKER_06: That's a whole nother issue that today's dealers are gonna have to be dealing with.
40:12
SPEAKER_06: But uh there's always so much to talk about.
40:14
SPEAKER_06: So without a doubt.
40:16
SPEAKER_07: It's it's a it's a fun industry.
40:18
SPEAKER_07: It it is it has become more and more difficult over the years because of so many things like the the China situation, uh FTC rules, and things of that sort.
40:28
SPEAKER_07: But it's uh even just despite all that, it's it's still a great business.
40:33
SPEAKER_06: It is really it is no question about it.
40:35
SPEAKER_06: Well, Bob Kane, formerly president of Jack Kane Ford, now O'Brien Ford.
40:39
SPEAKER_06: Thank you so much for joining us on the show.
40:41
SPEAKER_06: It's very uh it's it's really great to catch up with you and uh and hear these unbelievable stories.
40:46
SPEAKER_06: 67 years in business, you don't find that today, boy.
40:50
SPEAKER_06: That that's that's very unusual.
40:51
SPEAKER_06: So you guys did it uh with grace, and and I know that your employees uh I spoke to a number of them over the years and they just loved working for your for you and your family.
41:01
SPEAKER_06: So congratulations on all of that.
41:03
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, absolutely.
41:04
SPEAKER_07: Thank you all so much, and I appreciate it.
41:06
SPEAKER_07: Have a great day.
41:07
SPEAKER_07: All right, you too.
41:08
SPEAKER_07: Take care.
41:08
SPEAKER_03: Talk soon.
41:10
SPEAKER_03: Great guy, great company.
41:12
SPEAKER_03: The Kane family is just to know them is to love them.
41:15
SPEAKER_03: That's right.
41:15
SPEAKER_06: That's right, that's right.
41:16
SPEAKER_06: David, not so much.
41:18
SPEAKER_03: No, I'm kidding.
41:18
SPEAKER_06: I'm kidding.
41:19
SPEAKER_03: He's giving David a hard time today.
41:22
SPEAKER_06: He's a great guy, and he's done so much for CBT.
41:25
SPEAKER_06: I mean, he really is we we would he had a show on here and we would call on him for everything.
41:30
SPEAKER_06: And he had that calm, soothing voice to get you through the thick and thin.
41:35
SPEAKER_06: Right.
41:35
SPEAKER_03: Every Kane I've met is just like I said, to know them is to love them.
41:38
SPEAKER_03: They're just a great family, great people, and so sincere.
41:42
SPEAKER_03: You can just hear it when they talk.
41:44
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, and I think their customers saw that.
41:45
SPEAKER_03: You know?
41:46
SPEAKER_03: That's right.
41:46
SPEAKER_03: That's right.
41:47
SPEAKER_03: No wonder they were successful.
41:48
SPEAKER_06: That's right.
41:48
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
41:50
SPEAKER_03: All right, everybody.
41:51
SPEAKER_03: That's it for today's show.
41:52
SPEAKER_03: But be sure to head.
41:53
SPEAKER_03: Oh, wait.
41:54
SPEAKER_06: Oh, it's not a good idea.
41:57
SPEAKER_06: Were we not gonna show a social clip?
41:59
SPEAKER_06: How could I have forgotten?
42:00
SPEAKER_06: It must be Friday.
42:01
SPEAKER_06: You can't wait to get out of here, can you?
42:03
SPEAKER_03: I'm hungry.
42:03
SPEAKER_03: I'm just kidding.
42:05
SPEAKER_03: But no, you Do we have a social clip?
42:07
SPEAKER_06: Do you love social clips?
42:08
SPEAKER_06: Love social clips.
42:10
SPEAKER_06: All right, well let's.
42:10
SPEAKER_06: Dealers, if you're not doing social media, I got nothing for you.
42:13
SPEAKER_06: Don't complain about sales to me if you don't have your team doing social clips.
42:17
SPEAKER_06: Anyway, let's take a look at this one.
42:21
SPEAKER_00: The silent trade walk around is a polite way to show customers imperfections with their vehicles that they're the silent trade walk around is a polite way to show customers imperfections with their vehicles that they may not have noticed.
42:32
SPEAKER_00: 2017 Jeep Cherokee that is currently on fire.
42:35
SPEAKER_00: Looks like we had a little hiccup there.
42:37
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
42:38
SPEAKER_03: I'd be very having a little internet issue.
42:43
SPEAKER_06: A little internet problem.
42:44
SPEAKER_06: But uh that that particular clip was a playback issue.
42:48
SPEAKER_06: It's a playback issue.
42:49
SPEAKER_06: But that that particular clip, the guy's talking about the importance of doing a good walk around on the traded.
42:54
SPEAKER_06: I mean, while the car is completely on fire.
42:56
SPEAKER_06: And I think he says in there somewhere there's there's a picture of it.
43:00
SPEAKER_06: He's going to be a problem.
43:02
SPEAKER_06: Dealers, you gotta really make sure you do a good walk around.
43:04
SPEAKER_06: That's that's the key.
43:06
SPEAKER_06: And uh make sure that the customer tells you any problems with the car is completely on the problem.
43:13
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, it is it is interesting as to when you do a walk around with a customer, you know, and you say, Well, you know, let come on out and tell me about the car, you know.
43:21
SPEAKER_06: Oh my God.
43:21
SPEAKER_06: They become the best used car salesman.
43:23
SPEAKER_06: It's incredible.
43:24
SPEAKER_06: This car, we love this car, and it's got no problems, and it's got no this, and it's it's beautiful, and there's no problem.
43:29
SPEAKER_06: And then a sort uh you send it back to the service department to say, Hey, you know, we took this car in on trade, and they're like, Oh my god, this car's got more problems.
43:38
SPEAKER_06: So you're like, wow, the customer didn't quite point all those out to us.
43:43
SPEAKER_03: They're not going to.
43:44
SPEAKER_03: No, they're not going to.
43:45
SPEAKER_06: I I get it.
43:46
SPEAKER_03: This car's a piece of challenge.
43:47
SPEAKER_06: That's right.
43:48
SPEAKER_03: All right, everybody, be sure to head over to cbtnews.com for more great conversations like we had today.
43:54
SPEAKER_03: And while you're there, be sure to sign up for our newsletter to get these great conversations, these stories delivered to your inbox every single day.
44:01
SPEAKER_06: That's right.
44:02
SPEAKER_03: And it's free.
44:03
SPEAKER_06: And that was Joe LaHam again on the on the newsletter.
44:06
SPEAKER_06: And uh oh, by the way, use car week.
44:08
SPEAKER_06: I just saw the the the um the banner on there uh for use car week.
44:13
SPEAKER_06: There you go.
44:14
SPEAKER_06: We will be there.
44:14
SPEAKER_06: Use Car Week 2026.
44:16
SPEAKER_06: Sign up now.
44:17
SPEAKER_06: Don't put this off.
44:18
SPEAKER_03: Yes, November 16th through the 19th in San Diego.
44:21
SPEAKER_03: Sorry, yeah.
44:22
SPEAKER_06: No, it's okay.
44:25
SPEAKER_06: No, it's uh used car week.
44:26
SPEAKER_06: This is, I'm telling you, whether you sell them, you buy them, you transport them, you finance them, you need a floor plan, you need a uh source to get rid of the cars, you need a buy here, pay here, so whatever it is, used cars, you're gonna find it at the used car week.
44:41
SPEAKER_06: And who doesn't want to learn more about the used car industry, especially right now with new cars being over$50,000?
44:49
SPEAKER_06: We used to call them switch cars.
44:50
SPEAKER_06: We'd always have a good switch car on the used car lot.
44:53
SPEAKER_06: So if somebody came in and said, Oh my God, are you kidding me?
44:55
SPEAKER_06: 50 grand for the guess what?
44:57
SPEAKER_06: I got a great car for you to take a look at.
44:59
SPEAKER_06: It's on the pre-owned lot, it's a CPO car or whatever the case might be.
45:02
SPEAKER_06: It's only 35 grand.
45:03
SPEAKER_06: Sometimes when you put them side by side, there's not a big difference between a brand new one and pre-owned.
45:08
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, especially now the models aren't changing.
45:10
SPEAKER_06: Am I boring you with this?
45:11
SPEAKER_06: You're not boring me, no.
45:12
SPEAKER_03: It's like riveting.
45:15
SPEAKER_06: Guys, you ever talk to your wife and she's like, yeah, shut up.
45:18
SPEAKER_06: You know?
45:18
SPEAKER_03: I was not thinking that.
45:21
SPEAKER_03: Not this time.
45:23
SPEAKER_06: Not this time, all the other times.
45:25
SPEAKER_03: But it is the end of the show, and I don't think Jim wants it to be.
45:27
SPEAKER_06: No, I'm having too many fun.
45:29
SPEAKER_06: And it's the weekend, so we've got to make it a great weekend.
45:31
SPEAKER_03: Yes, have a great weekend, everybody.
45:32
SPEAKER_03: Thank you so much for joining us today.
45:34
SPEAKER_03: And we'll see you back here on Monday at noon for more CBT Live.
45:38
SPEAKER_05: That's right.
45:38
SPEAKER_01: CBT take care from page live, breaking news with the constitution line, interviewers in the glass wall, boom, price tags up in the laptop, leaders up when the margins breeze, supply chain choking the buyers freeze, new car left, use car play.
45:51
SPEAKER_01: Every number things on the Thursday night.
45:55
SPEAKER_01: No hands on the window.