Inside Automotive
Northwood University students discuss upcoming auto show
Northwood University students are gearing up for the 60th Northwood University International Auto Show. This annual event is the largest outdoor new car auto show organized entirely by students. On today’s Inside Automotive, we’re joined in the studio by two of those students to tell us more. We’re pleased to welcome the Public Relations Chair for the Auto Show, Katrina Ness, and the General Chair for the show, Cole Briggs. Watch full segment here.
Top Stories
Monthly data from Cox Automotive suggests cars have become cheaper thanks to wage growth and incentives. New vehicles were slightly less expensive over April, with the average monthly payment falling 0.3% to $766, the lowest number since October 2022. However, consumers are still spending substantially more on their car purchases than they were last year. Cox Automotive chief economist Jonathan Smoke attributes the nation’s affordability issues to interest rate hikes, which “have limited who can buy vehicles to mostly high-income, high-credit-score buyers.” Read More
The Delaware Supreme Court has reversed a 2022 decision preventing Tesla from selling its products directly to consumers. The electric vehicle brand’s dealer license application was twice denied on the basis of the state’s Franchise Act, which Department of Motor Vehicles officials said prohibited manufacturers from competing with retail franchisees. However, in its new ruling, the court determined that Tesla did not meet the state’s definition of a manufacturer, and was therefore not subject to the law. Read More
Stellantis will recall more than 132,000 vehicles after discovering a potential fire hazard in certain models. According to the automaker’s report, a faulty power liftgate module in 2014 to 2016 Jeep Cherokee SUVs can catch fire due to an electrical short, even when the car is powered off. The brand is urging owners to keep their vehicles parked outside and away from buildings to mitigate the risk of fire damage. Read More
A federal appeals court has denied Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s challenge to a settlement requiring him to run his social media posts by a lawyer before posting on Twitter. The Securities and Exchange Commission placed the restriction after a 2018 tweet, in which the entrepreneur falsely said funds to take the company private had been “secured.” Musk has since argued that the SEC violated his right to free speech, however the court determined that his first amendment protections were waived when he voluntarily agreed to the rule. Read More
For Dealers
5 of the most useless features to ever appear in cars
If you’ve been in the car business long enough, you’ve come across some vehicle features that evoked a “What were they thinking?” comment or two. In truth, this is nothing new, as automakers regularly try to leapfrog each other with supposed innovations. But for every HondaVac (a built-in vacuum cleaner for the Odyssey), there’s a Chrysler Highway Hi-Fi (a factory-installed record player sold in the 1950s). Some of these motoring mistakes have spurred further inventions, while others are best left to the history books or lists like this article. Read More
Synchronous vs. Asynchronous customer communications: Is your dealership using both?
All businesses, including car dealerships, face the challenge of figuring out how exactly to connect with customers in order to meet and exceed sales goals. Two general communication styles that dealerships use are synchronous and asynchronous communication, and it is essential to take note of which one your dealership is using, how effective it is, and whether or not switching up communication methods could benefit your business. Read More
