DEALER STORIES

Integrity Auto Group Partners To Give back

Often the early steps on the road to a better life are missed amid stories of the early struggle and ultimate victory. The truth is a lot of families who have overcome poverty and displacement ate a few dinners on the floor, spent a few months with their clothes in boxes, and had to make choices between utility deposits and things many of us have the luxury of taking for granted - brooms, dish soap, washcloths, etc.

Veneeca Jeffries works with ForKids in Chesapeake and carries a reputation for selflessness. Recently, Ms. Jeffries came up with a plan to meet the needs of families moving from shelters into their new homes. With her own money, Veneeca drove to Integrity Auto Group to buy a car for a raffle. At $50 per ticket and 500 up for grabs, the plan is to use the resulting $25K to fill U-Hauls with cleaning supplies and household items for transitioning families.

Surprise surprise. Instead of accepting her money, the Integrity Auto Group donated the car to the cause. They will host the raffle on Saturday, November 26th, at 8 am.

Telling it like it is - From the point of view of the participant, this is pretty dope, too - pay $50 for a car OR the satisfaction of helping children escape poverty and housing insecurity. Fantastic work, Veneeca and Integrity!

AUTOMOTIVE

Tesla Charging Tech For Everybody

⚡️🔌 Tesla is opening its charging network to non-Tesla vehicles.

📝💻 The company released a blog sharing the design for its charging connector so other companies may adopt the tech and utilize existing Tesla infrastructure.

🚗🛻 Legacy OEMs are not expected to jump on board soon (or maybe ever). Some startups have adopted Tesla's language of calling the tech the North American Charging Standard.

🇺🇸🔋 Network providers and the US government have yet to adopt any such standard. Adoption of the tech by automakers would give their customers access to more chargers and Tesla's supercharger network.

Telling it like it is- Eventually, Tesla will not be the dominant name in EVs. Big legacy OEMs, once up to full speed, will overtake them. So the path to continued powerful relevance may be in collaboration (by standardizing charging tech) and control of resources (like the charging infrastructure.)

TOGETHER WITH EFFECTV

Unsuck (Verb) - To Improve a LOT

“Video doesn’t matter.” -No one ever

We all know video is a crucial part of any organic or paid media campaign, but it isn’t as easy as a set it and forget it mentality. From content to placement, dealers are looking now at building a 2023 plan that doesn’t, well, suck.

Thanks to Effectv for partnering with us to launch ASOTU Edge Webinars with “How To Unsuck Your Video Ad Strategy in 2023.” We couldn’t be more excited to host this conversation and bring you the first of a series of interactive online events! Register today to get access to the strategies top dealers are using to build community and gain market share.

AUTOMOTIVE

Recalls, Reliability, and Reducing Expense

EVs are getting some bad press. A consumer report found EVs are the least reliable compared to gas or hybrid cars. Customer expectations for 2023 models are similar.

Why? Well, for the most part, electric vehicles are new, using new tech, and coming from companies only a few years into development. Reliability issues were expected by industry experts as part of the process.

Ok, so Tesla is past all the mix-ups? Not completely. While reliability for the brand increased by 4 positions, it is still below average. Most of the issues Tesla has are not in the powertrain, but in the body, paint, and trim.

Hot new music. A recent recall by Tesla has nearly 130K EVs showing overheating issues with the "infotainment" system. A solution will be pushed to cars with an over-the-air software update.

So, it isn't just the new driving tech, but the boatload of other new tech going into EVs? Exactly…great observation! Battery, software, charging, and manufacturing are all ideas being visited repeatedly as legacy and startup OEMs try to claim their share of the market through affordability and reliability.

Affordability? Oh yeah, another significant barrier between ordinary folks like us and giving an EV the time of day is being able to pay for it. Battery makers are looking at finding ways to cut costs - and since the battery is the most expensive part of the EV, it should have a broader impact on adoption.

Lithium who? Sodium and Sulfur are cheap and abundant compared to the heavy-duty expensive materials currently used to make electric car batteries. Companies across the US and Europe are looking for ways to use the materials to ease global production off Chinese supplied, well, everything.

Experts say we have until about 2025 before Lithium, cobalt, manganese, and nickel get even harder to find and lead to a production bottleneck. The development of sodium ion or lithium-sulfur cells could promise better, cheaper, and locally sourceable batteries for companies worldwide.

Ok, so tell people not to buy EVs? Nah, EVs are here to say it seems. Helping customers see the warnings, the solutions, and the commitment at the OEM level to get it right will help them decide what to buy and when. Establishing honesty and confidence will also show them WHO to buy from when the time comes. 😉

Telling it like it is - A trusted dealer is the only piece of the automotive industry the average consumer ever encounters. The story you tell them about what is happening in the rest of the industry will build or shake confidence in the whole ecosystem. #NoPressure

CULTURE

The 2023 Grammy Awards

The 2023 Grammy nominations are announced and unsurprising. Artists familiar to the average person are listed in different orders under categories like Record, Album, and Song of the Year.

One noteworthy surprise is that after 40 years, ABBA released a new album, Voyage, that has been nominated for several awards.

The award show is on February 5th. It should help us all decide if we should pay more attention to award shows or, you know, decide for ourselves what music we like.

And the award for song that make you want to live alone in the wilderness goes to “Carolina” by Taylor Swift - Charity@asotu.com

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