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With Paul on the ground at VeeCon, we hear from him and invite Brian Kramer to the show. We are talking cars with ghosts (seemingly), a new podcast to listen to, and how markets are impacting dealers.

• Brian Kramer shared a video in a driverless car
  • Technology by Qubis
  • Kramer stated use cases like
    • Delivering rental cars
    • Chase cars for vehicle drop off
    • Retrieving vehicles from storage lots
  • Take Away: You may not have an army of driverless cars in your area sometime soon, but preparing for potential business opportunities is a best practice.
• Jim Farley, Ford CEO, to host a Spotify podcast
  • Drive with Jim Farley
  • Guests include: ​​Tom Brady, Dax Shepard, Harley Davidson CEO Jochen Zeitz, YouTuber Emelia Hartford, The Duke of Richmond and Patrice Banks.
  • “Spotify is footing the bill for putting the show together, and it's sponsored by customer-relationship software giant Salesforce.”
  • “Auto executives are stepping further into the spotlight to build and burnish their personal brand, and ideally boost their company's share price.”
  • Take Away: Never underestimate the power of personal brand on a company brand. Think about your dealership and how the brand of those in the store can impact profitability.
• Stock exchanges on pace for bear market
  • Glenview Trust CIO Bill Stone wrote. “For the first time in the post-Covid period, retailers have been stuck with some excess inventories. Costs due to inflation are also taking their toll on their earnings.”
  • “The S&P 500 fell 0.6% on Thursday and is now about 19% below a record closing high set in early January. This would be the first bear market — defined by many on Wall Street as a 20% drop from a high — since the pandemic decline of March 2020.”
  • Futures may have gotten a boost after China overnight cut a key benchmark rate for mortgages as Covid shutdowns hit the economy.
  • Take Away: With consumer sentiment waning, interest rates rising, and markets continuing to turn down, a consistent and complete used car inventory strategy is a must for any operator. Now is not the time to be sitting on bloat aged inventory.

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

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