Latest / CBT Live / Audi Plans First U.S. Plant in Georgia, Scout Ruling, Dealer Data, Spisak (10.26.26)

Transcript

Audi Plans First U.S. Plant in Georgia, Scout Ruling, Dealer Data, Spisak (10.26.26) · CBT Live

• 0:02
  SPEAKER_05: But is it actually making their jobs easier?
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_03: Plus, a new show coming to CBT News that we're so excited to share with you.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_03: All that more coming up on CBT Live.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_03: Hey everyone, and welcome into another edition of CBT Live right here at the CBT Automotive Network.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_03: Today's Monday, October 26th.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_03: I'm Jim Fitzpatrick.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_05: And I'm Bridget Fitzpatrick.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_05: Thank you all so much for joining us this morning.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_05: We have a great show coming up.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_03: There's a great show coming up.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_03: Lots going on, so it really is.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_03: And uh all this with VW and we're gonna talk at Elen Belavia about that.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_03: And then we've got some news from David Spizak.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_03: And uh so yeah, it's gonna be a great show.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_05: It is gonna be a great show, actually.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_05: So we have April Ansira of Ancira Auto Group on why having the right information in one place matters more than ever.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_05: Plus, like you said, David Spizak, president and CEO of Disruptive Growth Solutions, to talk about his new show coming to CBT News, plus why top dealers are rethinking their AI strategy in the age of AI search.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_05: And then we're gonna get Len Belavia on to talk about the Scout Motors in California.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, that's the situation.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_03: That's kind of big news, you know, that's it.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_05: It is.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_05: So before we get to that, there's a couple other things in the news over the weekend.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_05: Um, Audi is making a major move in the United States and it's happening right here in Georgia.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_05: Yes, it is.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_05: They announced plans to build its first U.S.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_05: manufacturing facility near Macon, Georgia, with an investment of approximately four billion dollars.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_05: So they're going to create about 4,500 jobs with this and have the capacity to produce up to 200,000 vehicles annually.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_05: They plan to begin the site work next year with a production expected to start in the early 2030s.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_05: The facility is expected to build some of Audi's larger SUVs, including Q7, Q8, and the upcoming Q9.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_05: And like I said, this would be the first plant in the U.S.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_03: And the CEO was on at one of uh uh President Trump's rallies that he had here in uh Atlanta.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_03: There's a picture of him right there.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, and uh making that big announcement.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_03: So you know Trump was loving that.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_03: That's right, to bring in a four billion dollar uh plant, not to mention how many thousands of people it's going to employ and all of the, you know, yeah, so we'll be following those developments as they happen for sure.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_03: That's pretty cool.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_05: And then one other thing I wanted to mention before we get to the Scott Motors uh conversation in an article published on CBT News on Friday, written by Tessa Natick from Cox Automotive, AI is a bigger part of the way consumers are shopping for cars.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_05: According to research from Cox, 63% of in-market shoppers say they plan to use AI when shopping for their next vehicle.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_05: But only 29% of dealers have started adjusting for the AI-powered search.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_05: So there's a big gap there.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_05: And the article takes a look at this shift and what it means for dealerships.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_05: So be sure to check that out at CBT News.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_03: Which we're gonna be talking to David Speeze.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_03: That's right.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_03: I think dealers are changing some of their strategies as releases, and they should be.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_05: Yes.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_05: And finally, the major development and the ongoing battle over direct-to-consumer vehicle sales.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_05: A federal judge has rejected another attempt by Volkswagen and Scout Motors to dismiss a lawsuit brought by the California New Car Dealers Association.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_05: The lawsuit challenges scouts' plans to sell directly to consumers, bypassing traditional franchise dealerships.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_05: California dealers argue that Volkswagen cannot use Scout, which is an affiliated brand, to get around state franchise laws and protect manufacturers from competing with their own dealers.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_05: Now, this is the second time the court has rejected an attempt to end the association's core claims.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_03: So congratulations to Mr.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_03: Moss and his team there at the association.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_05: Yes.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_03: Uh fighting the good fight and obviously winning that, smacking them down, and the judge agreed and said, no, they can they can pursue this.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_03: That's that's awesome.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_03: That's fantastic.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_03: In fact, I think we're gonna bring in Len Belavia to talk about that about that very issue.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_03: Because that this is a this is obviously a very hot issue among dealers.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_03: It threatens the franchise dealer body out there as soon as we you know you've got a legacy auto group, automotive company, I should say, in VW.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_03: And now they're gonna bring in Scout and go, oh no, that's a separate entity.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_03: It's got nothing to do with VW, you know, which we all know is a crock of you know what.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_04: Right.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_03: So uh Len and I, and all of us have spoken about this at great length, but uh we want to bring him in uh if we can.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_03: There is Mr.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_03: Len Blavia.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_03: Uh thank you so much, Len, for joining us today.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_03: Jim, Bridget, great to see you both again.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_03: Thanks for having me.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_03: Sure.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_03: So uh the big news uh that the judge, you know, said not so fast, VW, uh the California Dealers Association can pursue this lawsuit.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_03: What do you what say you about this?
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_00: This is good news coming out of California.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_00: Uh kudos to the California New Car Dealers Association.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, I would say this is probably I would liken this to the second inning of a nine-inning ballgame.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_00: Um I think uh you know Brian did a very good job of conveying to dealers like, hold on, this is not the end of the case.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_00: This this good news.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_00: It's more procedural uh than it is substantive, uh, simply because Volkswagen and Scout did what most defendants do in lawsuits.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_00: They make motions to dismiss on the theory that you know the pleading didn't satisfy the legal requirements.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_00: However, they went a second step a little too soon, in my opinion.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_00: After the initial decision, in which Volkswagen and Scout lost their motion to dismiss, they came back to the same court and made similar, you know, a little bit different arguments, but the court rejected and said, hey, this looks like a rehashing of the same arguments that were previously made, even though it was cloaked in something a little bit different.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_00: You know, from a legal point of view, they called it a motion on the pleadings, which in some jurisdictions dealers may recognize the term summary judgment.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_00: So it's kind of like the second inning insofar as it wasn't a motion to dismiss, it was a motion for summary judgment or motion on the pleadings, which technically is a little bit different.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_00: But the court simply said, look, this sounds like a movie we already saw.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: You're recaching the same arguments, uh, you're you're presenting them a little bit differently, but the underlying legal issue, legal issue still stands, and that is whether Volkswagen and Scout are the same.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_00: You know, are they alter egos, or is Scout truly an entity that was established with no relationship to Volkswagen and wasn't designed to do an end run around the dealer franchise network?
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_00: So I think the facts in this case are interesting because they're painfully simple to understand, and that is, you know, can Scout be propped up by Volkswagen as an unknown entity with no relationship?
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_00: In the meantime, you know, as you and I have discussed, Jim, there's so many similarities, the marketing, the C-level executives that uh run both companies.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so I think it's gonna be a hard case for Volkswagen to defend, but California has been first to the courthouse.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_00: As you may recall, there's a case out of Florida with a number of Florida Volkswagen dealers essentially making the same claim.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_00: It'll affect those dealers.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, they're seeking injunctive relief.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_00: And there's a case uh that my office filed, which is a putative class action, which would be on behalf of all the VW dealers in the country.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_00: That's also at the very preliminary stages.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_00: We made a motion, uh, Volkswagen uh and Scout made motions to dismiss.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_00: We're waiting for a decision on that case, but it's still good news.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_00: Anytime you get a decision that's in your favor, even though it's not substantively deciding the ultimate issues in the case, it gives you a free peek into whether the judge is loving this case.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_00: Or at least loving the defense by Volkswagen.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_03: Sure.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_03: So let me ask you this, Len.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_03: You are VW's attorney, and this happens.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_03: What is it that you're telling your client, VW, at this particular junction?
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_03: Maybe you should consider, reconsider this whole this whole scheme of uh selling cars directly, and and uh because you got a lot of heat coming down on you that we know of about two different states, and then of course, what you're gonna be launching there with a with a nationwide uh lawsuit among all the all the Volkswagen dealers, that's a lot of heat.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_03: I don't know that it that the the squeeze is worth the juice or the juice is worth the squeeze.
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_00: Sure.
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_00: So I think the attorneys are probably explaining to VW's executives two things.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_00: There's the legal approach, and that is, well, this is early in the game, but the judge is kind of signaling that the defense uh is not really warming up in the courthouse.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, maybe really try and decide whether this case is worth fighting.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and understand that the underlying issue that has to be established to the court's approval is that there's no meaningful relationship between Volkswagen and Scout.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_00: That's going to be a tough road to hoe for Volkswagen in all three fronts.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_00: The California case, Florida case, and potentially this class action lawsuit.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_00: Then there's the practical answer.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_00: You know, with each passing decision and each passing day and month, VW and Scout are investing in a distribution business model that may not carry the day legally.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_00: So uh how when do you how how much do you want to dig into this hole and invest resources in a case that ultimately might not see the light of day?
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_00: So, as a practical matter, I think VW has to decide whether they want to continue waging this war.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_00: Keep in mind, if they lose it a year or two from now, what have they really gained?
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_00: They've lost all this potential uh business from consumers who are not going to be able to buy direct from VW or Scout.
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_00: So that's that's a big hit.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_00: When it comes to market share, I don't think consumers will be too happy with that outcome.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_00: So are they better off folding their tent now and recognizing the franchise dealer model and rereading the statute that they're trying to do an end runaround, or do they continue the fight?
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_00: Not an easy decision in a boardroom when the court is essentially showing their hand, however prematurely.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_03: That's right.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_03: That's right.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_03: And that's why we love bringing Len Bolavia in to give us the update.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_03: He can always nail it for us.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_03: So thank you so much for helping us out here and helping dealers uh you know figure all of this out.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_03: I think at the end of the day, this is great news for VW and Audi dealers out there that have been watching this case closely.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_03: And of course, for Brian Moss and his team, congratulations to all of you for pursuing this the way that you do.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_03: And uh so, Len, thank you so much for joining us on the show to help us uh navigate this.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_05: Thanks, Len.
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_03: Great being with you both.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_03: Thanks again.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_03: He's great.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_03: He's uh to be able to bring him in like that and say, hey, we this just happened, and uh, you know, it's always nice to be able to bring the experts in to really drill it down and he does a great job.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_03: And we've talked about it so many times, this whole I don't even know why VW wants to do this.
• 10:57
  SPEAKER_03: It's crazy.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_03: I know you know I mean uh they're they've got the VW dealers need product themselves, and here they come out with this incredible product with Scout, which looks like a pretty nice product, by the way.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_03: You know, to be a great product to give to the VW or Audi dealers, and yet they're oh no, we've got this great product, we're gonna sell it direct.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_03: You know, and VW sales are not great at all.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_03: So, and and Audi is is kind of floundering out there.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_03: So it's uh yeah, it's troublesome.
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_05: It is troublesome.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_05: We'll be paying close attention to this and be bringing it to you every step of the way.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_03: That's right.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_05: So before we get to our next guest, I would like to thank our sponsor of the day.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_03: Who's that?
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_05: Radar by Auto AI.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_05: They use artificial intelligence to monitor your dealership's vehicle listings and digital ads, identifying potential compliance issues before they become costly problems.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_05: Radar also tracks competitor advertising and sends real-time alerts directly to your phone.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_05: Stay informed, protect your dealership, and stay ahead of compliance risks.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_05: Visit radar.a radar.autoai.inc for your free free compliance scan.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_05: Sorry.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_05: And flee.
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_05: And your fleet.
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_05: Yes.
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_03: And you know how I feel about this, dealers.
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_03: A lot of dealers out there still not compliant.
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_03: I even think, Bridge, that there's dealers out there that think they're compliant.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I know.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_03: But they're not.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_03: And they're not going to be able to do that.
• 12:15
  SPEAKER_05: And radar now has an app, too, so you can get it right.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, you can get it right.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_03: So that's great.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_03: And I think if you're a dealer principal, you're a general manager of a store, you owe it to yourself to get the best technology to make sure that that that your stores, your store or your stores are compliant in this area because the FTC is not letting up.
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_03: Uh, every week we hear about additional fines being levied on dealerships, and uh it's not good.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_04: Not good.
• 12:41
  SPEAKER_03: So there's the answer right there.
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_03: I don't know more how much more we can do.
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_03: And it's, you know, I think it's like$2.99 a month for their basic service, which covers you pretty well.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_05: Very affordable.
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_03: No long-term contracts.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_03: I hate to be going on about this, like on their stream.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_05: You're very passionate about it, and for rightfully so, because it's it can cost you millions and millions of dollars, as we all know.
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_03: That's right.
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_03: That's right.
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_05: Right.
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_03: No question.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_05: So dealers are juggling more technology, more vendors, and more data than ever.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_05: But is all that technology actually making it easier to run a dealership?
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_03: April and C and Saria.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_03: Is that Nsira?
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_03: Sorry about that.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_03: April, vice president of Nsira Auto Group, joins us to talk about some of the challenges from connecting data to getting more out of the tools they're already paying for.
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_03: Welcome into the show.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you for having me.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_02: I was ready to comment on everything before that you guys were talking about.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_02: I was over there just commenting.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_02: I was like, I'm not on right now.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_05: So I love it.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_03: Well, what did you want to comment on if you were on?
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, no, uh, the Volkswagen thing.
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_02: We have two Volkswagen stores.
• 13:41
  SPEAKER_02: I've been on the show before.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_02: And I think we we talked about Scout some and um and of course AI and using it um in a in a manner where when people use ChatGPT, maybe your stores popping up at the top.
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_02: Uh so those are things we're all all keen on at Ancira Auto Group, keeping our eye on.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_02: Um most of those AI things is um really now it's linking to articles about yourself and data that you put out there and connecting that data back to your website.
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_02: So, of course, when people search, boom, you pop up to the top.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_02: That's right.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_03: See, we had three guests on today.
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_03: We just needed her right now.
• 14:17
  SPEAKER_03: She could have done it wrong for us.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_03: We'll just throw all these.
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_03: So let me ask you real quick one.
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_03: What is, I guess it's good news then about this VW situation.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_02: Well, yeah, we're keeping our eye on what's going on in other states and for it to be happening in California, especially of all states, um, that the dealers are really having a good win there with their association, it's incredibly important.
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I'm in Texas.
• 14:40
  SPEAKER_02: We don't have a carve out for anybody, so that can't even be used uh in an argument.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_02: But uh as far as this having in cali happening in California, where there are some carve outs, um, is pretty good news for all dealers across the US.
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_03: That's great.
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_03: Absolutely.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_03: That's great.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_03: That's great.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_02: So April D.
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_02: I guess I'm on here to talk about data, right?
• 14:59
  SPEAKER_05: Let's do that for a minute.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_05: We can always go back to that whenever.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_05: But yeah, I know dealers have CRMs, DMS platforms, marketing vendors, manufacturing systems, and none of them necessarily talk to each other really the way that they should.
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_05: So, where does that break down cause the biggest headaches for you?
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_02: No, 100%.
• 15:15
  SPEAKER_02: So actually, this all started with a different use of AI.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_02: We're all talking about how are consumers using AI in order to find the dealer.
• 15:23
  SPEAKER_02: Well, this is how the dealer can use AI in order to help and find the consumer.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_02: And the biggest problem that we're having is the manufacturers sort of dictate which uh operating systems we can use.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_02: We use CDK at our stores, and then those systems dictate who we can use and work back and forth with uh as far as software that has AI, but that AI software can't always talk back to CDK.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_02: So we have different information at all 14 of our stores.
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_02: We have different information within like one of the um groups we use software, it's called Full Path.
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and that they actually clean our data for us routinely.
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_02: But once that data is now clean, it can't be pushed back into CDK to be used in a more global manner, right?
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_02: And so then uh the left hand isn't talking to the right hand.
• 16:14
  SPEAKER_02: We have several consumers with the same phone number.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, and so there's a lot of mix-ups in here.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_02: And the point is, is what we're trying to do is eventually get to a place where the data is in one place where we can maximize the use of AI safely in order to better aid our consumers, help market uh for the dealership, uh, and use it in that sort of facility sort of way.
• 16:40
  SPEAKER_02: Um, the goal would be to have the data up here, then an AI bubble here, and then of course, then our operations down here.
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_02: And that's a heavy lift right now.
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, would be a lot easier if we were just to use cars, but since we're new car uh franchise dealers, uh it's it's quite complicated.
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_03: Well, drill down on that.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_03: How how do you, as a dealer with multiple locations and departments, how how do you navigate through all of that?
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_03: How do you decide where to put your attention when every department has its own priorities and and every issue feels urgent?
• 17:13
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 17:13
  SPEAKER_02: So we're actually having a lot of meetings in regards to that and actually looking at software that maybe we don't need anymore, that is just actually boggling the system down.
• 17:23
  SPEAKER_02: So we become a little more efficient there.
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_02: Um in the meantime, we're having basically sales and service talk to each other uh a lot more uh face-to-face uh engagement.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_02: But in the meantime, we're actually looking at developing our own uh system, our own separate AI system, uh way to use that outside.
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_02: And actually, it's gonna take maybe about uh a year or two years to be able to develop.
• 17:49
  SPEAKER_02: So uh it's very complicated.
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_02: Uh we're gonna have to have you know some serious programmers uh get into this with us because otherwise we're gonna get left behind by the Carmaxes, the Carvana's of the world uh that are able to navigate this world without any oversight or stipulations uh that they have to deal with.
• 18:09
  SPEAKER_03: Sure.
• 18:09
  SPEAKER_03: We've heard more and more uh of dealers that are taking this on themselves, the programming and coding and such of AI in order to get this right, where they're doing it for their own dealership, their own purpose versus going to an outside vendor for that.
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, because it's extremely expensive to even be able to do it one or two times within the vendors that you have.
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_02: They charge you every time they want to clean your data, um, and then to be able to push it one time.
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_02: So you push the clean data back into your system, it immediately starts aging.
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_02: You're already your emails are 10% old every single month, your addresses are old, maybe around 20% every single year, uh, and then you have to pay for it all over again.
• 18:53
  SPEAKER_02: And so to do that is incredibly expensive, very cumbersome.
• 18:57
  SPEAKER_02: Sure.
• 18:57
  SPEAKER_02: Uh and so we're really gonna have to come up with our own system, which is daunting, expensive, uh, requires some outside-the-box thinking, and uh, it's one of those start before you're ready things that leaders always talk about.
• 19:13
  SPEAKER_02: So we got to start now if we want to be able to play ball in the future.
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_03: That's great, it's a great outlook.
• 19:18
  SPEAKER_05: Do you have an AI engineer, someone on staff that is helping you with this right now?
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_02: Uh not kind of.
• 19:25
  SPEAKER_02: We have a liaison sort of that we're working with on developing uh something with.
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_02: He's doing something on his own outside of us.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_02: We feel that we'll go full force sometime in the spring.
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, and we'll be his first test case, and we'll be working together with him on this.
• 19:42
  SPEAKER_02: And he may come in internally, but we may be working with him on the outside, but own at least what he develops for us.
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_05: Very nice, very nice.
• 19:49
  SPEAKER_05: Dealerships generate an enormous amount of data, like you said, but that doesn't always mean leaders have a clear picture of what's happening.
• 19:56
  SPEAKER_05: So when you look at your business, what information do you need to see to know whether the operation is is really healthy?
• 20:03
  SPEAKER_05: What metrics are you looking at specifically?
• 20:06
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I mean, the operations we try to look at are basically your um net percentage.
• 20:13
  SPEAKER_02: Is it in line with the industry's net percentages?
• 20:17
  SPEAKER_02: Um, some I guess are as high as four or five, but we don't have any of those brands like Toyota or Honda.
• 20:23
  SPEAKER_02: So ours are usually around one and a half or two, which is actually not so bad.
• 20:27
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, but we try to keep our turnover low as far as our uh team members are concerned.
• 20:33
  SPEAKER_02: We try to make sure that we're growing at a 10% rate every year in new and used vehicles, as well as the bottom line.
• 20:41
  SPEAKER_02: And so we're just constantly tracking that.
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, do we have a 30-day or less turn?
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_02: We try to shoot for 20 days for uh used vehicles, of course.
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_02: And so we try to just make sure that those types of things that are typical of knowing that you're healthy are are healthy.
• 20:57
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, for sure.
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_03: Uh since you you touched on it there, hiring and uh and retaining good people continues to be such a challenge across retail automotive.
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_03: Every dealer I talk to is they need good, they always need good people, especially technicians, but they're always looking to get more uh and better talent on the team, uh, and then also to re keep the keep those good players on the team.
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_03: So, what separates the stores that are able to build strong teams from those that are can constantly dealing with turnover and how much of that comes down to leadership?
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, absolutely.
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_02: It's funny, I almost equate it sometimes to the new NIL environment in uh football where people are just throwing money out there to just jump to the new football team.
• 21:42
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but for us, I think it's one is appreciation.
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_02: Just the other day we celebrated five, 10, 15, 20 year anniversary employees.
• 21:51
  SPEAKER_02: We always take them to lunch quarterly.
• 21:53
  SPEAKER_02: They get a bonus, let them know that none of this would be possible without them.
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_02: We help uh show them the energy.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_02: Game, um, what they do for the dealership and how it actually helps the community and what we're doing in the community.
• 22:06
  SPEAKER_02: Um, we also, of course, benefits are always important.
• 22:09
  SPEAKER_02: Sure.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_02: We have a casino night uh that they that they enjoy uh a whole bunch with prizes, but I think one of the number one things that I'll get to is growing from within, right?
• 22:20
  SPEAKER_02: So uh we now home grow our own technicians.
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_02: Um we find them, we we team up with local schools, but we bring them in at a lower level, and we're able to develop them uh into really great positions.
• 22:34
  SPEAKER_02: So that those folks are more likely to hang out and stay.
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_02: Uh if you spot RalTalent very early on uh and you really invest in their growth, and they become, you know, they end up in your BDC, then they end up in finance, then they end up uh in a managerial position, we find that those actually, those types of things reduce turnover.
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_02: In our last 20 group, we did have the lowest turnover of the entire group and beat most standards across the U.S.
• 23:04
  SPEAKER_02: for dealerships.
• 23:06
  SPEAKER_02: Um, our executive vice president started in parts, you know.
• 23:09
  SPEAKER_02: Wow, that's pretty cool.
• 23:11
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_02: So those kinds of things.
• 23:13
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, and those stories are so inspirational for all of the other team members, whether they're brand new to the organization or they've been there a few years, because they want to see that growth among their fellow uh employees, right?
• 23:25
  SPEAKER_02: What 100%.
• 23:26
  SPEAKER_02: And to be honest, that's my dad when he started this in 1972, was like, well, I could run the best Chevy store in the United States and stop there.
• 23:35
  SPEAKER_02: Uh but he realized in order to thank those folks that had really put in the blood, sweat, and tears for the success of the operation, you had to open more stores to be able to promote them.
• 23:45
  SPEAKER_03: That's great.
• 23:46
  SPEAKER_03: So that's awesome.
• 23:47
  SPEAKER_03: Wow.
• 23:48
  SPEAKER_05: So, April, we have to ask you about your friendly rivalry that you have with fellow Texas dealer Rick Cavender between the signs, billboards, and even a song.
• 23:58
  SPEAKER_05: How did this all get started?
• 23:59
  SPEAKER_05: That's right.
• 24:00
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 24:01
  SPEAKER_02: So this has been a lot of fun.
• 24:03
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, Rick's dad, Jimmy Cavender, um, was sort of a mentor to my dad, Ernesto and Sira, and then Ernesto to Rick, and then Rick to me.
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_02: As you can see, that's where kind of it began.
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_02: Rick put his badging on the back of my car.
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, that's funny.
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_02: I don't know what kind of glue he uses, but I could not get it off for the longest time.
• 24:24
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so immediately we started going back and forth.
• 24:27
  SPEAKER_02: I peppered his entire um front lawn one night when he was out with Ansira signs.
• 24:34
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, we're gonna do it.
• 24:35
  SPEAKER_03: We're showing it right now.
• 24:36
  SPEAKER_02: And then, so of course, he wrote a song about me called Queen Dealer of Texas.
• 24:42
  SPEAKER_02: Um, it's really funny to listen to on YouTube.
• 24:45
  SPEAKER_02: He makes he makes so much fun of me.
• 24:47
  SPEAKER_02: That was after I was uh after my year as T A D A chairman.
• 24:52
  SPEAKER_02: Um so then I brought the billboards.
• 24:54
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, this is a very expensive prank.
• 24:56
  SPEAKER_02: I bought the billboards for Rick, uh celebrating his 25th anniversary with Audi.
• 25:02
  SPEAKER_02: I made it all about me coming in back home.
• 25:06
  SPEAKER_02: I did it again with some newspaper ads as well.
• 25:09
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and then you showed the last antique from him where he uh filled my entire office with balloons and a large cutout of him.
• 25:18
  SPEAKER_02: Um all of those, say, Cavender on them.
• 25:21
  SPEAKER_02: And San Antonio really, really likes it.
• 25:24
  SPEAKER_02: They feel like it's really wholesome.
• 25:26
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 25:26
  SPEAKER_02: Uh we all get along so well in San Antonio, all the dealers.
• 25:30
  SPEAKER_02: That is great.
• 25:31
  SPEAKER_02: It's it is great.
• 25:32
  SPEAKER_02: I if I see something said negative about another dealer, I shoot it over to that dealer principal to handle.
• 25:38
  SPEAKER_02: And uh and they typically do, they typically do, which uh the old adage of, you know, car buying is scary, these folks are out to get us.
• 25:47
  SPEAKER_02: I keep trying to change that uh and give everybody the opportunity to show that we're a really great part of the community.
• 25:53
  SPEAKER_03: That is fantastic, man.
• 25:54
  SPEAKER_03: But I wish more dealers, you know, would have that approach where everybody can get along and have and be friends.
• 26:00
  SPEAKER_03: And I think everybody comes out the winner.
• 26:02
  SPEAKER_03: The dealers do, the teams do, and then the consumer does, because that to your point, it kind of breaks down that stereotype that people have about car dealers, right?
• 26:11
  SPEAKER_03: That that wait, wait, they're friendly, they're friendly with each other.
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 26:15
  SPEAKER_02: If something goes it goes wrong, uh, we're we're actually here to help.
• 26:19
  SPEAKER_02: We want to help you.
• 26:20
  SPEAKER_02: All you have to do is engage with us uh and give us that opportunity.
• 26:23
  SPEAKER_02: And so that's why I'm willing, instead of piling on and saying, you know, yeah, that dealer is awful.
• 26:31
  SPEAKER_02: I'm glad you came to see me, let me help you out.
• 26:33
  SPEAKER_02: Um, instead, I'm able to reconnect them with that dealer and give that dealer the opportunity uh to help out with whatever's wrong, which it then gives gives us all a good look.
• 26:44
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 26:44
  SPEAKER_02: And we're all doing well, we all look well.
• 26:47
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, it just works out for everybody.
• 26:48
  SPEAKER_03: Okay, but April, just between us through the three of us, no one else is listening.
• 26:52
  SPEAKER_03: When you do get a deal, it comes across your desk, you know, and they're thinking about shopping the other store.
• 26:57
  SPEAKER_03: You do you do you put a little more in the trade to get the deal?
• 27:02
  SPEAKER_02: Don't get me wrong.
• 27:03
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, because uh Ansira Chevrolet versus Cavendar Chevrolet, I want that deal.
• 27:09
  SPEAKER_02: Right, of course.
• 27:11
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 27:11
  SPEAKER_02: Uh so we're all still incredibly competitive.
• 27:14
  SPEAKER_02: We all still want to be number one.
• 27:15
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, but when it comes to the community, uh, we do really work really well together.
• 27:20
  SPEAKER_02: Um and uh so yeah, it's just it's just great.
• 27:24
  SPEAKER_03: One of my first deals that I did in the car business, this was a funny story.
• 27:28
  SPEAKER_03: The sales manager says that you know, the customer, as they always do, says, Oh, we we we want to go to lunch and think about it.
• 27:33
  SPEAKER_03: So we said, Oh, all right.
• 27:34
  SPEAKER_03: And the sales manager said, Well, we'll put them in the car.
• 27:37
  SPEAKER_03: We used to call it dehorsing them.
• 27:38
  SPEAKER_03: Put them in the car.
• 27:39
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, still still called it, right?
• 27:41
  SPEAKER_03: Dehorse them, put them in the car, give them 20 bucks for lunch, let them think about it.
• 27:45
  SPEAKER_03: Meanwhile, they're in our car, right?
• 27:47
  SPEAKER_03: So I said, Okay, oh, that's great.
• 27:49
  SPEAKER_03: That ensures that they're gonna come back.
• 27:50
  SPEAKER_03: That's why you do it, obviously.
• 27:52
  SPEAKER_03: Well, the car did come back from the salesperson at another dealership.
• 27:58
  SPEAKER_05: That's good.
• 28:00
  SPEAKER_03: I was like, what is going on?
• 28:01
  SPEAKER_03: They said, Yeah, they drove over to our store, we closed them on a deal.
• 28:05
  SPEAKER_03: And by the way, we're here to pick up their trade.
• 28:08
  SPEAKER_03: Oh my god.
• 28:09
  SPEAKER_02: That happened, that's happened.
• 28:11
  SPEAKER_03: Yes, yes.
• 28:12
  SPEAKER_03: But uh, but kudos to that other salesperson for doing all that, right?
• 28:15
  SPEAKER_05: And it looks like we might have a comment from one of our tours.
• 28:18
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, let's let's check out the comment.
• 28:20
  SPEAKER_03: How do employees flag extra work uh a how do employees flag extra work a system creates without feeling like they're resisting change?
• 28:32
  SPEAKER_03: Did I say that right?
• 28:33
  SPEAKER_03: How do employees flag extra work a system creates with without feeling like they're resisting change?
• 28:40
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, I think what they're asking is is like some new systems actually add to the amount of work that you're doing uh instead of making it more efficient.
• 28:51
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, yeah.
• 28:51
  SPEAKER_02: Is that what you're getting?
• 28:52
  SPEAKER_02: I think so.
• 28:53
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 28:54
  SPEAKER_03: Yep.
• 28:55
  SPEAKER_02: You know, um, and I think anytime you change, everybody feels like you've just added extra work because you're actually having to take time to learn the system.
• 29:04
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
• 29:05
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so that's kind of tough.
• 29:06
  SPEAKER_02: You actually probably need to give that new system some time before you flag it.
• 29:12
  SPEAKER_02: Uh at some point then, though, I I feel like you could flag it, but what managers really like is data-driven analysis.
• 29:21
  SPEAKER_02: So if you could actually add data and examples to how it's creating additional time and making it more cumbersome, which makes it worse for you, which makes it worse for the customer, uh, a manager is probably more likely to listen.
• 29:35
  SPEAKER_02: But you can't go back in there and just say, this is too hard.
• 29:38
  SPEAKER_02: It's I'm not getting things done in the same amount of time and expect any results from that.
• 29:44
  SPEAKER_02: You're actually gonna have to compile some data together about how it's cumbersome, and it's gonna have to be after a number of months have set in just to make sure that it's not just a learning barrier that's that's coming along.
• 29:57
  SPEAKER_02: So that's what I would think you'd have to do.
• 29:58
  SPEAKER_02: Makes sense.
• 29:59
  SPEAKER_03: Makes sense.
• 29:59
  SPEAKER_03: Let me ask you before I let you go, um, has all of this, you know, the rest of the country, it's like all eyes seem to be on Texas for the Senate race and for the governor's race, and there's so much talk out there.
• 30:10
  SPEAKER_03: Has that affected business at all?
• 30:12
  SPEAKER_03: Is anybody waiting on the election to say, well, I'm gonna wait to see who wins?
• 30:17
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, actually, I uh I think every two years it affects business.
• 30:22
  SPEAKER_02: Um October's been insanely slow.
• 30:24
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
• 30:25
  SPEAKER_02: Um I feel like other people have too, but with uncertainty, I mean the stock market reacts the same way.
• 30:32
  SPEAKER_02: Sure.
• 30:32
  SPEAKER_02: Regardless of who wins, it'll probably bounce the day after.
• 30:35
  SPEAKER_02: It'll probably pop right up.
• 30:36
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
• 30:37
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but for sure, I think there's enough uncertainty here in Texas right now that people are absolutely holding off.
• 30:43
  SPEAKER_02: October's a lot slower than we anticipated, and I'm hearing that from uh my other dealer friends as well.
• 30:49
  SPEAKER_02: So no doubt, it's crazy.
• 30:52
  SPEAKER_02: Um, there's no point in marketing right now as a dealer.
• 30:57
  SPEAKER_02: I have no idea how you cut through those text messages, those advice.
• 31:02
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, every it's it's oh, it's awful.
• 31:05
  SPEAKER_02: So um we can't wait until I believe November 3rd, you know, comes around.
• 31:10
  SPEAKER_03: And maybe you'll have a very strong November as a result of it because for that pent-up buyer that's like, okay, it's this is over.
• 31:16
  SPEAKER_03: I can buy a car now, right?
• 31:18
  SPEAKER_02: 100%.
• 31:19
  SPEAKER_02: Hoping for that pent-up demand to come in November and then uh great December, as we typically usually have at the end of the year.
• 31:27
  SPEAKER_03: So yeah.
• 31:28
  SPEAKER_03: April and Sarah, vice president of Sarah Auto Group, thank you so much for joining us on the show.
• 31:32
  SPEAKER_03: Very much appreciate it, and uh love all your enthusiasm and your great ideas and running the store and that Cavender thing is just hilarious.
• 31:39
  SPEAKER_03: I love it.
• 31:40
  SPEAKER_03: I love it.
• 31:41
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you.
• 31:41
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you so much.
• 31:42
  SPEAKER_03: Y'all have a good day, all right.
• 31:43
  SPEAKER_03: You too, take care.
• 31:44
  SPEAKER_03: See, she's great.
• 31:46
  SPEAKER_03: Why I know she's awesome.
• 31:46
  SPEAKER_03: Why can't we all get along in the business?
• 31:48
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 31:48
  SPEAKER_05: Friendly competition is so good and healthy and they need to show they need to show that at NADA this year, you know?
• 31:56
  SPEAKER_03: That's the way it should be.
• 31:57
  SPEAKER_05: I do love that she shared that story.
• 31:59
  SPEAKER_03: Yes.
• 32:00
  SPEAKER_05: So before we get to David, I want to share this day in automotive history.
• 32:05
  SPEAKER_05: Oh, what is it?
• 32:05
  SPEAKER_05: In 1966 at the Tokyo Moto Show.
• 32:09
  SPEAKER_03: We have a picture of a picture of the Tokyo Moto Show.
• 32:12
  SPEAKER_05: The compact E10 was introduced, which is now what we know as the Toyota Camry.
• 32:18
  SPEAKER_03: Corolla or Camry?
• 32:19
  SPEAKER_03: Camry or Corolla?
• 32:21
  SPEAKER_05: I'm sorry.
• 32:21
  SPEAKER_03: Uh it says Camry there.
• 32:23
  SPEAKER_03: Okay.
• 32:23
  SPEAKER_03: I thought it was Corolla.
• 32:25
  SPEAKER_03: Yes.
• 32:25
  SPEAKER_03: Because the Camry came a little bit later.
• 32:27
  SPEAKER_05: That's right.
• 32:27
  SPEAKER_05: This is the Corolla.
• 32:28
  SPEAKER_03: This is the Corolla, which by the way, it for a number of years.
• 32:30
  SPEAKER_05: It was the E10.
• 32:31
  SPEAKER_05: The compact E10.
• 32:32
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 32:32
  SPEAKER_03: For a number of years, the Corolla was the number one selling car in the world.
• 32:36
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 32:36
  SPEAKER_03: Did you know that?
• 32:37
  SPEAKER_03: Little funny.
• 32:38
  SPEAKER_03: I think you told me that before.
• 32:39
  SPEAKER_03: Okay, that's good.
• 32:40
  SPEAKER_05: That's what we talk about over dinner.
• 32:42
  SPEAKER_03: That's right.
• 32:43
  SPEAKER_03: That's right.
• 32:43
  SPEAKER_03: So, what was the number one?
• 32:44
  SPEAKER_03: No, but look at that.
• 32:45
  SPEAKER_03: That's that's incredible.
• 32:46
  SPEAKER_03: Kudos to our team there to find the uh 1966 uh auto show.
• 32:51
  SPEAKER_03: I had no doubt.
• 32:52
  SPEAKER_05: We have the best team business.
• 32:54
  SPEAKER_03: Is there any way you can get those women that were showing the car on the air?
• 32:58
  SPEAKER_03: We could talk about that?
• 32:58
  SPEAKER_03: Well, how old would they be now?
• 33:00
  SPEAKER_05: 66.
• 33:00
  SPEAKER_05: They look like they're about 15-20 then.
• 33:03
  SPEAKER_05: 15 or 20.
• 33:05
  SPEAKER_03: All right.
• 33:05
  SPEAKER_03: So they'd be they'd be about 80.
• 33:07
  SPEAKER_05: 86.
• 33:08
  SPEAKER_05: Okay.
• 33:08
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, that would be cool.
• 33:09
  SPEAKER_03: Okay.
• 33:09
  SPEAKER_03: Well, that's that's a cool little car.
• 33:11
  SPEAKER_03: That's right.
• 33:12
  SPEAKER_05: Oh my gosh.
• 33:13
  SPEAKER_05: Wow.
• 33:13
  SPEAKER_03: Well, we're very excited about uh about our next uh our next guest.
• 33:18
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 33:19
  SPEAKER_03: Dealers can't afford to keep doing things the way they've always been done.
• 33:23
  SPEAKER_05: That's right.
• 33:23
  SPEAKER_05: And David Spisak, president and CEO of Disruptive Growth Solutions, is here to discuss a new show coming to CBT News plus AI search strategies.
• 33:33
  SPEAKER_05: David, welcome to the show.
• 33:35
  SPEAKER_03: Yep.
• 33:35
  SPEAKER_03: Look at look at that picture.
• 33:36
  SPEAKER_03: Wow.
• 33:37
  SPEAKER_05: Right?
• 33:37
  SPEAKER_03: Did you see that picture in front of the studio?
• 33:39
  SPEAKER_03: That's pretty cool.
• 33:41
  SPEAKER_03: How are you, David?
• 33:42
  SPEAKER_03: I'm doing great.
• 33:43
  SPEAKER_03: Bridget, how are you?
• 33:44
  SPEAKER_03: Jim, how are you?
• 33:45
  SPEAKER_03: Thanks for having me.
• 33:46
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, thanks.
• 33:47
  SPEAKER_03: Thanks for coming on.
• 33:48
  SPEAKER_03: And uh we are so excited.
• 33:49
  SPEAKER_03: You've spent years on the dealership side of the business, as everybody knows.
• 33:54
  SPEAKER_01: 150 days a year out there.
• 33:56
  SPEAKER_03: That's right.
• 33:57
  SPEAKER_03: And you work with dealers all over the country.
• 33:59
  SPEAKER_03: You've been in technology, you've you you've really done it all, which is uh what we love about you.
• 34:04
  SPEAKER_03: But um, so the conversations that you're having right now, what what do you what what is what's at the forefront of every dealer's mind?
• 34:13
  SPEAKER_01: Well, you know, it it it's interesting, and uh because it seems uh Jim and Bridget that like it seems almost like every other week that something new is coming up that's uh a punch in the face to a dealer or something that's causing them to take their attention and put it on there like right away.
• 34:32
  SPEAKER_01: I was just with uh Mercedes-Benz 20 group, NCM Mercedes 20 Group.
• 34:37
  SPEAKER_01: And and again, I literally stood in the center of the room of this U-shaped room, and it was almost like if I'm the dealer, you know, bam, bam, bam, bam, bam.
• 34:45
  SPEAKER_01: Everywhere I turn, it doesn't matter whether it's direct to consumer, it doesn't matter if it's FTC that's grabbing my attention, doesn't matter if it's the evolution of the of the OEM partnership relationship, and I use the word partner very loosely but respectfully.
• 35:00
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it doesn't matter if it's the Carvana Carmax, it doesn't matter.
• 35:04
  SPEAKER_01: But one of the things that's on the minds, I think, of more and more people, and it certainly has grabbed the attention of top dealers around the country, is how do I start thinking differently and why do I need to start thinking differently about marketing and advertising in the in the age of AI search?
• 35:20
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, absolutely.
• 35:21
  SPEAKER_03: There's there's no question about it.
• 35:23
  SPEAKER_03: So so what's what's the consensus out there?
• 35:25
  SPEAKER_03: What because I know dealers right now are shaking their heads, trying to figure this whole AI AI thing out, and certainly how to run their dealerships better, more efficiently.
• 35:33
  SPEAKER_03: We've heard that, we talk about it all the time.
• 35:35
  SPEAKER_03: We'll be talking about it probably for years to come.
• 35:38
  SPEAKER_03: But in the area of marketing specifically, it's not it's not what it used to be because of AI, right?
• 35:44
  SPEAKER_03: And uh it requires a whole new way of thinking.
• 35:47
  SPEAKER_01: You're right, you're right.
• 35:49
  SPEAKER_01: The general consensus, Jim, is that it's hopeless and we should all give up.
• 35:53
  SPEAKER_01: Um stores now, folks.
• 35:57
  SPEAKER_03: You've heard it here.
• 35:58
  SPEAKER_03: Figure it out.
• 36:00
  SPEAKER_01: So that you know, the only question is who's gonna figure it out, who's gonna be leading the path, and you're always gonna have that group of dealers that go, I don't know.
• 36:08
  SPEAKER_01: You know, this is a group of dealers that thought the internet was a fad, commerce was a fad, social media was gonna blow over, you know, blockchain was voodoo, you know, and all those things.
• 36:19
  SPEAKER_01: There's always that group of people.
• 36:20
  SPEAKER_01: That's right.
• 36:21
  SPEAKER_01: In fact, I remember during COVID, um, you know, we had something uh called the 10 group, and and it was uh industry experts around the country, and I was lucky enough to be asked to be one of those people.
• 36:32
  SPEAKER_01: And we did some surveys, NCM did some surveys and research, and at that time there was less than 50 percent that had digital retail.
• 36:39
  SPEAKER_01: However, um 96 percent said, you know, within three months they were gonna have some form of digital retail.
• 36:48
  SPEAKER_01: Now, my question was like, okay, who's this 4%?
• 36:51
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, right.
• 36:51
  SPEAKER_01: That's ranking, yeah.
• 36:52
  SPEAKER_01: Right?
• 36:53
  SPEAKER_01: But it's always on.
• 36:54
  SPEAKER_01: But here's the thing so here's the things I think that people need to keep on keep in mind.
• 36:58
  SPEAKER_01: Number one is that people are seeking advice and are getting advice from AI before they ever get to your website.
• 37:05
  SPEAKER_01: That's right.
• 37:05
  SPEAKER_01: You know, the age of websites is also shifting.
• 37:08
  SPEAKER_01: We're talking about the age of AI search, but make no mistake, the website has a target on it, and it's not going to be used the same way in the next two, three years, five years, and ten years.
• 37:18
  SPEAKER_01: And you know you can go to things like ChatGPT and you can shop and buy something without ever going to a website.
• 37:25
  SPEAKER_01: You could go onto Instagram, see something, and buy it without ever going to my website.
• 37:29
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 37:29
  SPEAKER_01: So, what does that mean for my website?
• 37:31
  SPEAKER_01: Does it mean they go away?
• 37:32
  SPEAKER_01: No.
• 37:33
  SPEAKER_01: What it means is all of a sudden they become an engine for AI search, or they should.
• 37:37
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm shocked how many times we do a CX audit, website audit for dealers, guys, and we see they don't have the necessary schemas, the attachments, the the pipe, the piping, right?
• 37:49
  SPEAKER_01: To be able to um that maps the information in your website to AI search.
• 37:55
  SPEAKER_01: I'm surprised how many dealers.
• 37:56
  SPEAKER_01: I looked at endless numbers of dealers over the website, please don't judge me, over this weekend.
• 38:01
  SPEAKER_01: And and I noticed something.
• 38:04
  SPEAKER_01: So many of them don't even have all their phone numbers.
• 38:06
  SPEAKER_01: So many of them, Bridget, have three phone numbers for their main line.
• 38:10
  SPEAKER_01: They have three phone numbers for service.
• 38:12
  SPEAKER_01: Well, this isn't great.
• 38:14
  SPEAKER_01: This isn't AI going, oh my God, these guys must be rich.
• 38:17
  SPEAKER_01: They have three phone numbers.
• 38:19
  SPEAKER_01: They're going, this is totally and utterly confusing.
• 38:22
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 38:23
  SPEAKER_01: Don't go there, go somewhere else.
• 38:25
  SPEAKER_01: They don't have a connection to their internet.
• 38:27
  SPEAKER_01: They don't have, I mean, to their inventory, they don't have descriptions, appropriate descriptions on their inventory.
• 38:33
  SPEAKER_01: And you guys, you have to notice it's almost like if I'm going down your street and there's multiple houses, and I want to break into a house, and there's a house that has the door, it's unlocked.
• 38:44
  SPEAKER_01: They've never locked the door, right?
• 38:46
  SPEAKER_01: Pretty inviting.
• 38:47
  SPEAKER_01: Well, they have cookies and milk on the table.
• 38:49
  SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna go in and see what I could find out.
• 38:51
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 38:52
  SPEAKER_01: But if the next house happens to have an alarm system, and the next house has an alarm system that says it's monitored, and the next one has a monitored alarm system and a gate and some dogs barking, right?
• 39:04
  SPEAKER_01: That one I'm not even gonna bother.
• 39:05
  SPEAKER_01: That's right.
• 39:06
  SPEAKER_01: That's what your website is today if you don't have that thing properly mapped out.
• 39:10
  SPEAKER_01: If you have not touched base with your website provider in the last three, six, nine months, you gotta do it now and have them prove to you that you have AI visibility.
• 39:20
  SPEAKER_03: But the next thing have you seen where the the website providers out there are proactive in this area, or are you saying that they're they're taking a back seat to and going, well, we'll address it when they call us.
• 39:32
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and and and I'm not gonna vilify them.
• 39:34
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not sure.
• 39:35
  SPEAKER_01: Can you imagine?
• 39:36
  SPEAKER_01: Can you imagine if any one of them had a thousand, two thousand, three thousand clients, which most of them do?
• 39:40
  SPEAKER_01: Think about it.
• 39:41
  SPEAKER_01: That's right.
• 39:42
  SPEAKER_01: You have you have Team Velocity Apollo, yeah, David Boyce and Company, you have Dealeron, you have Dealer.com, you have Dealer Inspire.
• 39:50
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 39:50
  SPEAKER_01: Those are the four main ones.
• 39:52
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 39:52
  SPEAKER_01: So let's just say each one of them had three or four thousand dealers.
• 39:55
  SPEAKER_01: How do you manage that?
• 39:56
  SPEAKER_01: And oh, by the way, in March, March 22nd, when those FTC letters went out to 97 dealers that represented 1100 stores, you think those websites got a few calls?
• 40:06
  SPEAKER_01: Because all of a sudden, when I sell a car, if if you come in uh today and you buy a car at five o'clock, and Bridget comes in at seven o'clock this evening, legitimate.
• 40:18
  SPEAKER_01: I sold you the car, legitimate.
• 40:19
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 40:20
  SPEAKER_01: There's no mechanism, no button for me to remove that car that you bought.
• 40:24
  SPEAKER_01: Now, Bridget says, hey, interested in that car.
• 40:27
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 40:27
  SPEAKER_01: And I say, ah, so sorry I sold that two hours ago.
• 40:29
  SPEAKER_01: That's bait and switch, according to FCC section.
• 40:32
  SPEAKER_01: That's right.
• 40:33
  SPEAKER_01: But the dealer has no mechanism to take that off of their website.
• 40:37
  SPEAKER_01: So I can't imagine what website companies are doing to try to hustle and figure that out.
• 40:42
  SPEAKER_01: Now, on top of that, I don't know if they have the wherewithal, the resources, or even honestly, no offense, the expertise across their entire business to understand how to optimize AI search in this rapidly shaped, I mean the rapid rapidly evolving uh market that we're in.
• 41:01
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 41:02
  SPEAKER_01: So that's a big deal.
• 41:03
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, no question.
• 41:04
  SPEAKER_03: And FTC is not going away.
• 41:05
  SPEAKER_03: If anything, they're stepping up their presence out there and they're placed, they're still placing fines with dealers.
• 41:11
  SPEAKER_03: We talk to dealers all the time through the show and emails and posts and everything else to say, you know, folks, you've got to step up and pay attention to this.
• 41:20
  SPEAKER_03: And uh, as you can see, not very many dealers.
• 41:23
  SPEAKER_03: I should say, there's there's uh still a a great number of dealers that are not taking this serious enough.
• 41:30
  SPEAKER_03: And um, you know, the the it was interesting over the weekend, I too have got no life.
• 41:34
  SPEAKER_03: So I'm I'm I'm on and I'm looking at some of these phone calls that take place um from uh from these brokers, you know, I for I forget the the gentleman's name, but uh um Tommy.
• 41:44
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, Tommy the Tommy with Delivered.
• 41:46
  SPEAKER_03: I don't know if you've seen this young man, but uh we interviewed him uh once or twice on the show.
• 41:51
  SPEAKER_03: And uh he you know, he's a he's a hired gun to to shop for consumers, you know, to to handle the car buying.
• 41:58
  SPEAKER_03: And when he calls around to these dealerships, and it's all you know, it's live, it's they they they they're recorded, and um it's amazing how many dealers will say, well, no, that's our price on online, but we when you come in, we've added some things to the car, okay?
• 42:14
  SPEAKER_03: So that car is is sixty-nine thousand dollars, but but it's gonna cost you 79,000 because it's a hard car to come by and there's things that we've added to it.
• 42:22
  SPEAKER_03: And Tommy goes, Whoa, whoa, wait a minute.
• 42:24
  SPEAKER_03: So the FTC said you gotta advertise that.
• 42:26
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, yeah, no, we know, we know, but it, but but that's that's what it's gonna cost you to buy the car.
• 42:31
  SPEAKER_03: And you're like, how many of these, and we're not talking about ones or two, onesie twosies.
• 42:35
  SPEAKER_03: We're talking almost every car that he shops.
• 42:38
  SPEAKER_03: It's not the number that's advertised on the website.
• 42:42
  SPEAKER_03: And he's like, I'm on your website right now, the number is XXX, and they're like, Oh, yeah, yeah, we know we know that, but we've added some things to that car, so it's gonna, it's gonna cost you more money.
• 42:52
  SPEAKER_03: Or maybe the dealer fees that are still not advertised.
• 42:54
  SPEAKER_03: Like, folks, what are you doing?
• 42:56
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I'm incredulous to the fact that that it's this is the equivalent or analogous that I'm a big drug dealer, and I'm a fanboy of somebody at the at the FBI, yeah, right?
• 43:09
  SPEAKER_01: So, so the FBI calls me and I tell me how I I tell them how I get the stuff in the country, where I hide it, right?
• 43:16
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, all the things that they need to know.
• 43:18
  SPEAKER_01: These dealers, it's unbelievable.
• 43:20
  SPEAKER_01: Have you seen some of them?
• 43:21
  SPEAKER_01: I know you guys have, where they are clearly fanboys of delivered, they're fanboys of Tommy.
• 43:27
  SPEAKER_01: They're thrilled.
• 43:28
  SPEAKER_01: You know, it's almost like, hey mom, I'm on TV.
• 43:32
  SPEAKER_01: I'm on TV.
• 43:34
  SPEAKER_01: It's so true.
• 43:35
  SPEAKER_01: You're like, what are you doing?
• 43:37
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm on TV, and you see these knuckleheads you know show up on social media, you know, uh vomiting all the stuff that they're not supposed to do.
• 43:45
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, FTC's gotta be having such a laugh over this.
• 43:48
  SPEAKER_03: Oh my god, he's he's making their job a lot easier, but it's not Tommy's fault.
• 43:52
  SPEAKER_03: You know, there's gonna there's dealers that I talk to.
• 43:54
  SPEAKER_03: Oh, we hate that guy.
• 43:55
  SPEAKER_03: You don't, you know, consumers don't need him.
• 43:57
  SPEAKER_03: And you know, I can't believe you even featured him on your show.
• 43:59
  SPEAKER_03: And it's like Okay, you can blame Tommy all you want, but if this is what's happening at your store, your your problem is not Tommy, you know, or a broker that calls up.
• 44:08
  SPEAKER_03: It's the fact that you're not compliant.
• 44:11
  SPEAKER_03: So you're almost like to your point, you're you're saying, hey, you know, FTC, uh find us, you know.
• 44:16
  SPEAKER_03: And uh it's crazy.
• 44:19
  SPEAKER_03: It's crazy.
• 44:20
  SPEAKER_03: But on to a much brighter news, which we're very, very excited about here at CBT News.
• 44:25
  SPEAKER_03: You're launching a new show here at CBT, uh, Automotive Network, which we're very excited.
• 44:30
  SPEAKER_03: So tell us about it.
• 44:32
  SPEAKER_01: Uh yes, so thank you.
• 44:34
  SPEAKER_01: I appreciate it.
• 44:34
  SPEAKER_01: I'm very excited to be part of the network.
• 44:36
  SPEAKER_01: There you go.
• 44:36
  SPEAKER_01: It's sorry to disrupt you.
• 44:38
  SPEAKER_01: Um you see me there, it's in the uh the Atlanta studio there.
• 44:42
  SPEAKER_01: But sorry to disrupt.
• 44:44
  SPEAKER_01: Which is the West Coast studio.
• 44:45
  SPEAKER_01: I start that's right.
• 44:46
  SPEAKER_01: I started a uh a newsletter.
• 44:48
  SPEAKER_01: My team and I started a newsletter.
• 44:50
  SPEAKER_01: Um, let's see, we just did issue 15, comes out every other week.
• 44:53
  SPEAKER_01: So call it 30 30 weeks ago.
• 44:55
  SPEAKER_01: Cool.
• 44:56
  SPEAKER_01: And we already have 36,000 subscribers.
• 44:58
  SPEAKER_01: Oh my god.
• 45:00
  SPEAKER_01: That's phenomenal.
• 45:01
  SPEAKER_01: 36,000 subscribers.
• 45:02
  SPEAKER_01: Go to disruptiveintelligence.news.
• 45:04
  SPEAKER_01: Here's what's different about it we don't regurgitate the news.
• 45:07
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, first of all, what we do is we go aggregate all the most important stories that actually have a positive or negative impact on stores.
• 45:14
  SPEAKER_01: Second thing we do is we tell stores exactly what they knew to respond to it, whether it's bad news or good news, how it can help your store, how it could possibly hurt your store.
• 45:24
  SPEAKER_01: Then we break it down by a position in the store.
• 45:26
  SPEAKER_01: So this is news in a way that they haven't seen it before on the newsletter.
• 45:30
  SPEAKER_01: The second thing that's different, Jim, is that it always leads with it's always one theme, each newsletter, and I always lead with an article.
• 45:38
  SPEAKER_01: The article is titled, Sorry to disrupt you.
• 45:40
  SPEAKER_01: And the reason I came up with that is it's it's almost like somebody who's been sitting at home doing the same routine.
• 45:48
  SPEAKER_01: So let's say every Sunday, people get up and they watch football every Sunday, and all of a sudden Bridget says, Hey Jim, I guess what?
• 45:56
  SPEAKER_01: I signed us up for a 10K run.
• 45:58
  SPEAKER_01: What time?
• 45:59
  SPEAKER_01: It's 5 a.m.
• 46:00
  SPEAKER_01: tomorrow morning.
• 46:00
  SPEAKER_01: What are you talking about, bro?
• 46:02
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I got football, it's football day in America.
• 46:04
  SPEAKER_01: Don't you know?
• 46:05
  SPEAKER_01: Aren't you American?
• 46:06
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm supposed to watch football.
• 46:08
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 46:08
  SPEAKER_01: I'm sorry to disrupt you, but it's good for your health, man.
• 46:12
  SPEAKER_01: And we got to go out and shake it up and do something different.
• 46:15
  SPEAKER_01: You want different results, you got to do something different.
• 46:18
  SPEAKER_01: That's right.
• 46:18
  SPEAKER_01: So sorry to disrupt you is all about that.
• 46:21
  SPEAKER_01: It's about, listen, we talk all the time about the need to reinvent and to rethink.
• 46:26
  SPEAKER_01: But how few people actually do that?
• 46:28
  SPEAKER_01: And what I've learned, guys, is that most of the time is they just don't know how.
• 46:34
  SPEAKER_01: They either don't at the time feel like they have the resources, they don't necessarily feel they might have the right culture, the right people.
• 46:40
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 46:40
  SPEAKER_01: But most of the time it's just they don't know how.
• 46:43
  SPEAKER_01: How do I what's step one?
• 46:45
  SPEAKER_01: How do I do that?
• 46:46
  SPEAKER_01: So each each show, each week, we're gonna be talking about something that's right.
• 46:51
  SPEAKER_01: Strike AI in the age of search.
• 46:53
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 46:53
  SPEAKER_01: So it's one thing to talk about it and say, oh, this is interesting, it's intriguing.
• 46:58
  SPEAKER_01: What do I do about it?
• 46:59
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 46:59
  SPEAKER_01: Because your advertising, just as an example, everything you do today, every line, it now needs to re-earn its place.
• 47:07
  SPEAKER_01: It's like a new head coach came in to Alabama, so true and I understand you were a starter last year.
• 47:12
  SPEAKER_01: That's over.
• 47:13
  SPEAKER_01: You have to re-earn your place.
• 47:14
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 47:15
  SPEAKER_01: Every line of advertising, right?
• 47:17
  SPEAKER_01: You got to go through all those things.
• 47:18
  SPEAKER_01: And so not only am I going to share things that that will help them and challenge them to rethink, but at the end of each show, they're going to see precisely what to do.
• 47:27
  SPEAKER_01: What are the next steps so they can actually go and choose to put it into action in their store?
• 47:32
  SPEAKER_03: Well, we are so thrilled to have uh the show uh coming out on the network.
• 47:36
  SPEAKER_03: As I said, we're very, very excited about it.
• 47:39
  SPEAKER_03: Uh you'll you will see a number of clips, folks, in social media as well.
• 47:43
  SPEAKER_03: Uh, whenever we have David on and we clip up the segments that we do, they get millions of views.
• 47:49
  SPEAKER_03: So thank you for that, David.
• 47:51
  SPEAKER_03: We appreciate that very much.
• 47:52
  SPEAKER_01: And uh, after November 5th in the studio, we're gonna start shooting, we're gonna shoot a couple things, a couple episodes, and that's right, a couple teasers and that's right.
• 48:01
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know.
• 48:01
  SPEAKER_01: Uh I think we're just gonna have a good time, but we're gonna help the industry shake it up and put them in position, everybody.
• 48:08
  SPEAKER_01: If you're interested in moving into the future in a way that helps you be sustainably successful, we're gonna do everything possible to help make that happen.
• 48:16
  SPEAKER_01: That's awesome.
• 48:16
  SPEAKER_03: Love it.
• 48:17
  SPEAKER_03: David Spizak, yeah, thank you so much for joining us and uh looking forward to the new show.
• 48:21
  SPEAKER_03: So we will see you in the studio.
• 48:24
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you, David.
• 48:24
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you, David.
• 48:25
  SPEAKER_03: Thanks for having me.
• 48:25
  SPEAKER_03: Thanks so much.
• 48:26
  unknown: Thank you.
• 48:27
  unknown: Okay.
• 48:28
  SPEAKER_03: Great guy.
• 48:28
  SPEAKER_05: That's gonna be great.
• 48:29
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, looking forward to that.
• 48:30
  SPEAKER_03: His views, it's so he he, you know what's funny is that I don't know that he knows how funny he is, but he gets these little liners in, they crack dealers up.
• 48:38
  SPEAKER_05: Getting to know him on a personal level has been really nice.
• 48:41
  SPEAKER_03: It has been.
• 48:42
  SPEAKER_03: There's no question about it.
• 48:43
  SPEAKER_03: He's he and and he's so uh I don't want to say worldly because that sounds weird, but I mean he knows the industry on every angle, whether it be technology or retail or OEM or lived it.
• 48:53
  SPEAKER_03: And a lot of companies come to him and say, hey, sit on our board because you know what you know what this industry is all about.
• 49:00
  SPEAKER_03: You know, so he he sits on a number of boards as well.
• 49:03
  SPEAKER_03: Yes, he does.
• 49:04
  SPEAKER_03: Big companies, by the way, household names in this industry that I won't mention because I don't know if I'm allowed.
• 49:10
  SPEAKER_03: But uh but he's very well respected.
• 49:12
  SPEAKER_03: And we're we're so happy we're yeah, we're so happy to have him.
• 49:15
  SPEAKER_05: Right.
• 49:15
  SPEAKER_05: It'll be the great show.
• 49:16
  SPEAKER_05: You should say honor to that.
• 49:17
  SPEAKER_05: Yes.
• 49:18
  SPEAKER_05: So be uh stay tuned to cbtnews.com for when that will um be airing.
• 49:23
  SPEAKER_05: That's right.
• 49:23
  SPEAKER_03: That's right.
• 49:24
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 49:24
  SPEAKER_03: So great show.
• 49:25
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, from uh Lynn Bolavia to uh and Sarah, and then of course uh David Spizak.
• 49:32
  SPEAKER_03: Uh awesome.
• 49:33
  SPEAKER_03: Lots happening.
• 49:34
  SPEAKER_05: Great way to start the week for sure.
• 49:35
  SPEAKER_03: And it's gonna be a great as I was saying um to April there about this this kind of this pent-up now that we're in the thick of things with the election, I think there might be some people, some car shoppers that are like, you know what, let's wait until after November 3rd.
• 49:49
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 49:49
  SPEAKER_03: You know, because we don't know.
• 49:50
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
• 49:51
  SPEAKER_03: You know, I don't know.
• 49:52
  SPEAKER_03: I know.
• 49:52
  SPEAKER_03: I maybe even you and I were in the market next week.
• 49:54
  SPEAKER_03: We're in the market, yeah.
• 49:54
  SPEAKER_03: We're gonna go to the market.
• 49:55
  SPEAKER_03: One for IKEA, mind you.
• 49:56
  SPEAKER_05: No.
• 49:57
  SPEAKER_05: We're in the market now.
• 49:58
  SPEAKER_05: No, and then we're in the market next year, too.
• 50:00
  SPEAKER_05: Because one of our cars is out of lease next year.
• 50:03
  SPEAKER_05: So yeah, but we need one now too.
• 50:05
  SPEAKER_05: So I don't know.
• 50:05
  SPEAKER_05: We're just kind of like dragging our feet a little bit.
• 50:07
  SPEAKER_05: It's kind of like let's get through this election time.
• 50:09
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
• 50:10
  SPEAKER_03: You know?
• 50:10
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
• 50:11
  SPEAKER_03: I think there's a lot of people out there in uh dealer land that would say, okay, that's that's it's making sense, yeah.
• 50:16
  SPEAKER_05: And especially after April saying that October's slow, she's probably speaking for a lot of dealers out there.
• 50:21
  SPEAKER_03: So and again, kudos to Brian Moss and his team out at the California Automobile Dealers Association.
• 50:28
  SPEAKER_03: Those guys do a great job.
• 50:29
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, it's it and and they're they beat them up, then went bam! That's right.
• 50:33
  SPEAKER_03: We didn't even think about it.
• 50:34
  SPEAKER_03: Judge said, nope, this can proceed.
• 50:36
  SPEAKER_05: Yes, so watch out this year.
• 50:39
  SPEAKER_05: Watch out of the game.
• 50:42
  SPEAKER_03: That's right.
• 50:42
  SPEAKER_03: Watch out, BW.
• 50:43
  SPEAKER_03: We're coming after you.
• 50:44
  SPEAKER_03: Don't try to sell your products directly to consumers when we know it's it's you know, yeah and compete with your dealers.
• 50:51
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
• 50:51
  SPEAKER_03: All that hogwash about it.
• 50:53
  SPEAKER_03: Oh no, it's a separate entity, it's a separate company.
• 50:55
  SPEAKER_03: Come on.
• 50:55
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
• 50:56
  SPEAKER_03: They think we're all idiots.
• 50:57
  SPEAKER_03: I know.
• 50:57
  SPEAKER_03: You can you can't.
• 50:58
  SPEAKER_05: Oh, I wasn't going to, but go right ahead.
• 51:01
  SPEAKER_05: On that note, other end.
• 51:06
  SPEAKER_03: Right now, that's what's happening.
• 51:07
  SPEAKER_03: That's what's happening in the VW of corporate corporate offices, you know?
• 51:14
  SPEAKER_03: So I am like a TikTok shop freak.
• 51:17
  SPEAKER_03: It's I buy the week.
• 51:18
  SPEAKER_03: I don't know if that's a good thing.
• 51:21
  SPEAKER_05: I don't think it is.
• 51:22
  SPEAKER_05: Every day is a we should do the unboxing of your TikToks on the on camera.
• 51:28
  SPEAKER_05: I will do.
• 51:28
  SPEAKER_03: There's things like this, and why the these are the best.
• 51:32
  SPEAKER_03: Come on.
• 51:32
  SPEAKER_03: I just how many can we sell of these?
• 51:34
  SPEAKER_05: I love that everybody's getting to know the playful side of Jim's magic.
• 51:38
  SPEAKER_03: Playful side.
• 51:40
  SPEAKER_03: That's right.
• 51:41
  SPEAKER_03: He is very funny.
• 51:42
  SPEAKER_03: I love the fact that she knew my D-horse.
• 51:43
  SPEAKER_03: Uh, I guess we're still using it in the car business.
• 51:45
  SPEAKER_03: Yes, so.
• 51:46
  SPEAKER_03: Now somebody's gonna write in and go, how long has it been since Jim sold cars?
• 51:49
  SPEAKER_03: But we used to de-horse everybody.
• 51:52
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 51:52
  SPEAKER_03: We just take their trade away, put them in a car, see you in a little while.
• 51:57
  SPEAKER_05: All right, everybody.
• 51:58
  SPEAKER_05: Be sure to head over to cbtnews.com for more great conversations like you saw here today.
• 52:03
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• 52:10
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• 52:11
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• 52:16
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• 52:19
  SPEAKER_05: So thank you so much.
• 52:20
  SPEAKER_05: We appreciate each and every one of you.
• 52:22
  SPEAKER_05: Um and can't thank you enough.
• 52:25
  SPEAKER_03: No, absolutely.
• 52:26
  SPEAKER_03: And and uh and we want to hear from you.
• 52:28
  SPEAKER_03: You know, we we talk about a lot of things here on the show, we talk about them in social media.
• 52:32
  SPEAKER_03: Please send us your comments, whether you like us, you don't like us, you've got something to say.
• 52:37
  SPEAKER_03: We want to hear from you.
• 52:38
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• 52:40
  SPEAKER_03: There's thousands of others that read it, and it impacts their their daily lives in retail automotive.
• 52:46
  SPEAKER_03: So thank you for the comments for those that have commented.
• 52:49
  SPEAKER_03: But uh the rest of you out there, come on, we want to hear from you.
• 52:52
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• 52:58
  SPEAKER_03: But also on social media.
• 53:00
  SPEAKER_05: Of course.
• 53:00
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, absolutely.
• 53:01
  SPEAKER_03: Of course.
• 53:02
  SPEAKER_03: All right, thanks for watching.
• 53:03
  SPEAKER_03: We'll see you right back here tomorrow, noon Eastern, nine o'clock on the West Coast for another edition of CBT Live.
• 53:09
  SPEAKER_03: See you again.
• 53:09
  SPEAKER_03: Go make it a great day.
• 53:11
  SPEAKER_00: See you on the live somebody get the light.