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DEALERS
Gates Automotive Makes A Pledge
Over 150 associates at Gates Automotive have pledged to donate $53,481 to seven local charities through 2023.
The voluntary efforts will support United Way, Center for Hospice Care, Michiana Down Syndrome Resource Center, The Crossing Education Center, Reins of Life Therapeutic Horseback Riding, Little Wish Foundation, and Heroes Camp Youth Organization.
The pledge to continue donations follows a $31,299 donation by the Gates Automotive Corporation to other programs in the Michiana area.
Telling it like it is - Making a pledge seems more serious than a resolution. We expect this particular pledge to outlast and have a greater impact than most resolutions we have heard about. đ
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AUTOMOTIVE
VWâs New EV Unveiled in Vegas
VW's ID.7 sedan is coming to the US in 2024.
Undeterred by Tax Credit news, Volkswagen will assemble the cars in Germany. The model will use the same Modular Electrification Toolkit in the ID.4 and ID.Buzz.
Pro. An even roomier interior than the ID.4.
Con. No more buttons. Like, seriouslyâŚeverything is a touch screen or controlled with voice prompts. Joining Alexa, Siri, and Google in the list of things that are always listening but never seem to hear what we ask for.
Let's hope the upgraded space is enough to contain the tantrum folks will throw after the 7th time they scream, "AC ON!" and the infotainment system opens the trunk.
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AUTOMOTIVE
GM Reclaims Top-Spot
US auto sales dipped 8% year-over-year and are about 20% shy of the high water mark in 2016. Of the 13.9M units sold nationwide, the largest single portion was, after a brief stay in 2nd place, General Motors.
The Switch-A-Roo. GM sales in the US rose 2.5%, while Toyota dipped 9% in 2022.
Pushback Proverb - Sometimes, it isnât how hard you work but how hard your opponentâs year has been.
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TOGETHER WITH AUTOMOTIVE VENTURES
Required Reading
The automotive industry comes with no syllabus, but a list of required reading.
Once a month, Steve Greenfield's team delivers current industry news, technology updates, investment activity, and more with in-depth segment breakdowns to ensure the information is, you know, actually useful.
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AUTOMOTIVE
Ford Keeps Top Name In Trucks
The F-Series kept its decadelong place on top of US truck sales in 2022. According to the math, an F-Series truck sold every 49 seconds. Even with F-Series numbers dipping compared to its history, it still maintains its position as the segment leader.
But remember the GT. LEGO's new Ford GT pack is 1466 pieces and looks so detailed we are surprised you cannot drive it. The 2022 Ford GT model has independent suspension and a moving V-6 engine. So for just $120, you can live the dream of owning a 1/12th model of a half-million, permission only, piece of American ingenuity.
Typically, when we think of LEGO, we think of brick build. This will be a Technic set, which is common in scale model LEGO products.
Asking the Expert - âSolid build. Iâm not going to build it.â -Isaac, our brick-built guy.
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AUTOMOTIVE
Rivianâs Mighty Q4 Falls Short
Rivian didn't quite reach its goal of producing 25K vehicles in 2022 by just 623.
According to a statement by the company, it produced over 40% of its 24,377 total in Q4 at over 10K.
Share value fell 6% following the news, but with over 20K deliveries and a powerful Q4, we are curious to see 2023 unfold for the brand.
Free Idea - Just tell Wall Street youâre going to âtry your bestâ and let them try to make a case for what that means in hindsight.
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TECHNOLOGY
Microsoftâs New Investment
Microsoft is also looking to invest in autonomous driving.
Gatik is a California-based startup valued at around $700M. Microsoft will invest $10M in the company in a deal requiring Gatik to use Azure in development.
Azure is Microsoft's cloud and edge computing platform, which, according to recent reports leaked by Google, is factoring in some share value slips for the company.
While Google says Azure had an operating loss of $3B in 2022, other analysts show the business with a 30% operating profit.
Either way, it seems getting more adoption of Azure is on Microsoft's mind, in addition to getting their hats in the autonomous semi-truck business.
Telling it like it is - Weâve written about a lot of these investments and acquisitions lately, but this one could mean Clippy is coming back to ride in our cars with us, and that is pretty good news.
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