How Two Mormon Missionaries Built a Multi-Billion Dollar Empire My conversation with Eric Rea and Dennis Steele, Co-founders of @PodiumHQ: 0:55 AI Replaces The Entire Dealership Stack. 3:30 Don't Learn To Code, Learn Agents. 5:55 How Founders Stay Friends For 13 Years. 9:00 Door-To-Door Tactics Sold Dealerships. 12:45 Reading Bad Reviews Closed The Deal. 15:05 Jerry Launched In 2023 And Never Left. 17:50 BDC Agent Lifted Show Rate 40%. 22:45 Voice AI Completed 87% Of Bookings. 29:05 $5K A Month Tool Just Pulled DMS Data. 31:20 Operator Found Lapsed Customers Fast. 38:15 Default State Of Any Company Is Stillness. 44:05 Customization Has No Limits With Operator.

NEWS | Hybrid share just 16% of market: Hybrids have tripled their market share since 2023, climbing from 5% to 16.3% at the midpoint of 2026. Volume is up 23% year-over-year, with gas hovering around $4.50 and consumers skipping the charger question entirely. Toyota owns 44% of hybrid sales, but Kia posted a 130% jump in Q2, the largest gain of any brand. "Hybrids are having their moment and are moving into the mainstream." Read today's top automotive stories, presented by @autohaulerx : carguymedia.com/3TQu06n (Source: Cox Automotive)

NEWS | Cox Automotive lifted its 2026 sales forecast by 300,000 units to 16.1 million: Demand, they said, is 'solid and resilient' despite rising prices and economic headwinds. But year-to-date retail sales are down 1.8%, the average transaction price has hit $50,090, and personal spending is outpacing income by roughly 2%. The pressure is reshaping who's winning: Hyundai leapfrogged Ford for third in Q3 sales, while Detroit's Big Three hit their lowest combined market share in years. "The Asian brands have the passenger cars, the subcompact SUVs, and most importantly, they have hybrids," said Cox Automotive Executive Analyst Erin Keating. Bottom line: Sales are expected to maintain their pace for the rest of 2026, but which brands capture that demand is shifting fast. Read today's top automotive stories, presented by @autohaulerx : carguymedia.com/46KX5TF (Source: Cox Automotive)

🚨 Acquisition Alert: Buyer: Walser Automotive Group Seller: Metropolitan Corp. Transaction Date: Sept. 23, 2026 Sell-side Advisor: Haig Partners, attorney David Ezrilov of Stinson LLP and lead consultant Jen Moylan of accounting firm Withum Inc. for Metropolitan Buy-side advisors: Moore & Van Allen provided legal services. Stores Sold: Metropolitan Ford of Eden Prairie, and Suburban Chevrolet in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, and Freeway Ford in Bloomington Worth noting: The deal also marks the return of Ford for the first time in 20 years, according to the release. Alan Haig, president of Haig Partners, also said in a release that the buy-sell market remains “…robust for most brands as average dealership profits remain strong and there are many groups looking to grow.” See this transaction and hundreds more free at cdgbuysell.com presented by The Presidio Group

Don't miss today's show with Greg Heinz, Managing Partner at Corwin Toyota Boulder & Ed Roberts, COO at Bozard Ford Lincoln. Live now on all the Car Dealership Guy Platforms

Fixed Ops Friday w/ Ed Roberts & Greg Heinz | Daily Dealer Live nitter.net/i/broadcasts/1yGBePQQe…

Fixed Ops Friday w/ Ed Roberts & Greg Heinz | Daily Dealer Live nitter.net/i/broadcasts/1yGBePQQe…

Here’s the biggest challenge in selling cars today: Most dealers only start targeting customers when a lead is submitted. But by then a customer is already 5-6 weeks into the process, according to Cox Automotive. They’ve been cross shopping models, reading reviews, and watching test drive videos for weeks before they’re even on a dealers radar. But here’s the rub— Dealers who can only see consumer activity on their own properties are missing out. But the car retailers that can capitalize on those early buying signals and begin a deal before customer-intiated contact see 24% higher showroom conversion and 28% higher conversion to sale. --- Data via @CoxAutomotive | Read more from the Deal Central study here: carguymedia.com/4rpXCUu

Things that have happened since this post: - Journalists reached out for interviews - Senior OEM execs slid into my DMs - Dealers reached out wanting to talk Something is brewing…

“There's a higher retention rate or reactivation rate now compared to what it was even four or five years ago.” Canadian dealers are getting two built-in service visits every year. David Hennessey, Vice President, Fixed Operations at Harris Auto Group, says seasonal tire changes give stores a recurring retention opportunity if they make the experience convenient. The tire swap is becoming a customer-retention engine. Daily Dealer live hosted by @samdarc — listen to the full episode here: dealershipguy.com/daily-deal… - Thank you to our partner @HaigPartners! Check them out by visiting: haigpartners.com/

550 vehicle acquisitions last month. Only one came from auction. Rob Ruth, President / Owner at @BobRuthFordInc, explains how an eight-person buying center now sources inventory from the service lane and directly from consumers across the market. The model is helping support an 8-to-1 used-to-new sales mix. “My advice would be you absolutely must do this if you wanna continue to grow that used-car operation.” Daily Dealer live hosted by @samdarc — listen to the full episode here: dealershipguy.com/daily-deal… - Thank you to our partner @HaigPartners! Check them out by visiting: haigpartners.com/

NEWS | Rivian is doubling down on lower-priced EVs with R3, R4: Rivian's R2 starts at $45,000, already a steep drop from its $80,000+ R1 lineup, but CEO RJ Scaringe says that's just the beginning. The R3, slated for 2029, will price 'materially lower' than the R2, which itself is still ramping deliveries. Beyond that, an R4 pushes the price floor even further down. Looking ahead: Rivian is building a lineup that stretches from mass-market to luxury, and if the R2 delivers, the R3 has a runway. Read today's top automotive stories, presented by @getimpel : carguymedia.com/4xBqJ8N (Source: New York Times / Electrek)

NEWS | Cyberattacks on dealerships spiked 1,000% in March over 2024 levels: Proton Dealership IT tracked nearly a 1,000% spike in attempted cyberattacks on dealerships in March compared to pre-June 2024 levels. Attackers are using AI to scrape open-source data and write hyper-targeted phishing emails that no longer carry the grammar mistakes dealers were trained to spot. Here's the part that should alarm you: Proton found MFA was active 97% of the time when credentials were still compromised, because attackers are now intercepting the MFA code itself. The average cost of recovering from a ransomware attack has climbed to $1.7 million, not counting any ransom paid. What this means for dealers: Buying a security tool isn't enough, dealers need to actively implement its controls and train staff to catch what the filters miss. Read today's top automotive stories, presented by @getimpel : carguymedia.com/4jfmUmg (Source: Proton Dealership IT and Cybersecurity)

“We try to use technology to just make things more efficient and transparent.” AI is changing who dealerships can hire. Sefi Adasi Lucki, Owner & Controller, and Mike Lucki, Dealer Principal at Lucki Mazda of Woodbridge, explain how automating deal structure and back-office work lets stores prioritize customer connection. Daily Dealer live hosted by @samdarc — listen to the full episode here: dealershipguy.com/daily-deal… - Thank you to our partner @HaigPartners! Check them out by visiting: haigpartners.com/

NEWS | Sunset Auto CMO says weak ad results usually come down to execution and culture: Mike Conley, CMO of Sunset Auto Family, told Digital Dealer attendees their advertising usually isn't the problem. The real failure happens after the click, the call, or the walk-in, when the experience doesn't match what the ad promised. He traced a 1,000-page-view funnel down to 2-3 sales, not because leads are bad, but because execution bleeds out at every stage. "You will always have exactly the staff you deserve. Quit complaining about your staff. Raise the bar." The takeaway: Is the problem the advertising, or could it be dealers’ execution? Read today's top automotive stories, presented by @getimpel : carguymedia.com/4hjtoOj (Source: 2026 Digital Dealer Conference & Expo)