Strike Over (For Now?), Helene Pressures Used Market, Submerged Rivian Still Running, Ray-Ban Privacy Nightmare

Paul J Daly: 0:00

The first Friday of October. It's October 4. We have, like, some good news today. Feels like it's been a week of a lot of bad news. Yeah, got some good news. Talking about the strike. We're gonna talk about a few other things, but let's just, let's ease into the Friday.

‍Unknown: 0:17

The people really wanna know. So

Paul J Daly: 0:19

funny, funny story. We were just talking about how Kyle and I do a show, I was like, let's do a show, because that's what we do. That's

Unknown: 0:26

what we do Kyle, because

Paul J Daly: 0:27

we do do a show every more, if

Kyle Mountsier: 0:29

you know. So it's really, it's interesting to me. It's like, I remember the moment. It was like, summer approximately, was it three years ago when Glenn Lundy announced his 1,000th show thing that was gonna happen. I think it was around, like November of 2021, or something like that. Yep, I was there, and I remember, yeah, you were at the actual show. But I remember when he announced that he was doing it back when he was doing clubhouse every day, like, holy crap. And I was like, Wow, 1000 shows. And, you know, like the fact that he announced it at about 800 Yeah, I feel that right now, you know, because we're like, we're in that 800 range,

Paul J Daly: 1:14

man, let me, let me put this out there. When he announced that you did have less children, I just putting that out there, you've ticked a couple of marks since, since then, it takes but before you know it right, like you're doing it, and that's one of the benefits of consistency, and it's got all the doing a show has all these other fringe benefits. It's a lot of work. It's a major commitment. There are times when you and I are traveling, and it's like 1130 and we just got back from an event and a dinner, and we're like, we have to build a show.

Kyle Mountsier: 1:48

I'm telling you what you know, and

Paul J Daly: 1:51

it's a grinder, and our Head of Production, Nathan, is in the fight with us. Sometimes Jordan Cox comes in. It takes a village. But I'll tell you what, man the hours and hours and hours and hours and hours, and we literally have hundreds of pages of show notes, yeah, from the last three years. I

Kyle Mountsier: 2:06

just, I appreciate, like, like, I'll take a minute, because actually, Nathan just mentioned to us that it's been just over three years as of September 28 2021 since we went, since we started this show. But I appreciate the fact that what has given both of us is some context for our industry that i ne I never had for years. Oh, while you were in the stores, it's forced us to have this like global context that is much more rich and has much more appreciation for the entirety of the industry, the dealers, retailers outside of the industry, OEMs, like, where the moves come, and seeing a cycle for three years, it's really, like, opened my eyes, at least

Paul J Daly: 2:47

it helps you think it makes you a well rounded player. And even, like, when you say globally, not just planetary wise, but also, like industry wise, retail industry exactly, you know, culture, it's all the things that we believe make a good retailer and make a good contributor, make a good leader, and so it's fun. Thanks for being with us and allowing us to bring some of this to you, and you reciprocating and being a part of it in the comments and at the events and on the social media posts. If you didn't know like follow the LinkedIn page, just search a soda on LinkedIn. We have a lot of fun stuff and conversation going on there, and we love it when the podcast community becomes the LinkedIn community, and the LinkedIn community becomes the email community, and then we all get together at a soda con and a lots of hugs, lots of hugs. All right, let's talk about some news we have. Oh, actually, what we do have a one to say. We do have a webinar today. Today. What time is it today?

Kyle Mountsier: 3:40

It is, well, one o'clock, my time to Eastern, alright, so

Paul J Daly: 3:44

two o'clock Eastern, put the graphic on the screen. It's our new friends. Well, not they're not our new friends. Actually, they're our old friends from Wikipedia, but this is the first time they're doing a webinar with us. So if you can throw the graphic up there, you can go to asotu com. Or maybe you can't throw the graphic up right now, go to asotu com, scroll up, register right there. Make sure that you register so you can join. We're talking about aligning store processes and your marketing with Zach billings of wikimotive, and we're going to have a great time talking through that a topic that's very close to our heart, like we love titling, we love auto transport, we love all those things, but marketing and store process, there's something it's like, it's quite it's a heart car belief of us. So we're gonna do that. Let's get into some news. Do it a crippling three day strike by the US dock workers. You've seen this, maybe already, has ended with a tentative agreement reopening ports on the east and Gulf Coast. However, there are some unresolved issues that could spark future disruptions. But basically, the union and port operators agreed to extend the contract through January 2025 which means everyone's getting their Christmas presents right with more negotiations expected. Dock workers did secure a 62% wage hike over six years, raising wages from $39 an hour to $63 an hour. Wow. Talk about a recruiting ploy there.

Kyle Mountsier: 5:02

Talk about that you got six years. Talk about right there,

Paul J Daly: 5:06

making more than nurses, police officers,

Kyle Mountsier: 5:09

a bunch of people gonna be running down to the ports today. They like to give it to me. I'm in I mean,

Paul J Daly: 5:15

I think they realize the leverage they had right there. The strike did stop for 45 container ships and affected 36 ports threatening the shortage, like bananas, auto parts, I will say, like my wife went to Costco, bought a lot of bananas. Well, now we're gonna phrase them. Well, the deal ends. The immediate stop, stoppage automation, concerns that could lead to job losses remain unsolved. President Biden praised the deal, stating, quote, collective bargaining works. That's the statement, but tensions could rise again if unresolved issues persist. What do you think? Kyle,

Kyle Mountsier: 5:45

yeah, I mean, the clear thing that I mentioned earlier this week is that the automation stuff still has to be figured out by January. They still have to figure out how they're going to write that. And what the change is, you know, the it seems like the the wage hike over six years that's probably not going anywhere. The tentative agreement is going to land there. So land there. So it's going to be like, I need 40% fewer workers. My guess is, you and I will be talking about this in January at some point with but, but we'll see how things progress. But luckily, right now, hey, look, it was just a blip on the radar. Don't go run and get your toilet paper and your bananas. You're going to be fine and,

Paul J Daly: 6:23

yeah, I mean, I wonder how many dock workers wives had had a say in this one, right? Like you got, you're looking at the kids, and you're like, you know, if Christmas is tough for us this year to get stuff, it's on you. It's on you, man and all your friends out there with those shirts that say they asked for a fight or give them a war? Do you see those shirts? That's a mess. We asked for a fight. We're giving them a war. Just wild. I mean, I like it better than eat the rich. Still. Yeah, fair rich. All right, let's go from some good news to some challenging news. Let's do that. Well, we wanted to update you. Wanted to update you on the hurricane every single day. It's obviously widespread disruption across the southeast. We did have rich Lupo yesterday on the front line in Asheville, North Carolina, giving us his very kind of burdened report of what's actually going on on the ground, it's as likely to obviously push car prices up, both new and used. As you know, we figure out damaged vehicles need to be replaced. We figure out what the inventory actually looks like. Used Car demand is going to go up, particularly for the low cost options under $10,000 which are already hard to find, decox automotive. Skylar Chadwick says this will jack up used car prices when everyone's already paying overpriced dealers are facing shrinking inventory. They have to get creative, basically fixed ops departments are expected to see also increased business. Many water damage, vehicles repairs, right? It's a revenue source, but it's kind of like the doctor's office. Like, I don't want you to get sick, but if you get sick, I got your back, yep, so we'll see what happens.

Kyle Mountsier: 8:05

What I love about this is, like, Todd Caputo called this on, on, what was it Monday morning or Tuesday morning text messages? Yeah. Like, he called all of this. And so it's quite clear, like, we've seen these cycles before, but watch your used car inventory. Make sure, like, especially if you're in that area that you are watching for flood vehicles, or, you know, staffing, making sure your staffing is appropriate to do a lot of the fixes that are going to be required. You know, across the nation, you're going to want to, want to, want to watch wholesale auction lanes to make sure that you're, you know, really understanding, you know, what that vehicle has. And I think we really, really won't see, you know, pricing change for another 14 days till we hit like a cycle of wholesale and really understand what losses out there, because it seems like new cars there were kind of plenty in stock of the few dealers that have made mentions in in news. So we'll see. Well, I think this is still kind of a story unfolding over the next two weeks, but it's just kind of a watch out, especially for used car and service managers at

Paul J Daly: 9:08

this absolutely, you know. And I think it's super important that we don't forget the fact, even though the mainstream media has and most news sources, we don't forget the fact that there are people out there that are in really rough shape right now. Yep, our deal, that dealerships. I say our dealerships, because I take ownership of all the dealerships in the industry, our collective industry, dealerships are out there in the midst of and there are people hurting. So let's not just breeze past this, because there's other stuff to talk about. Let's make sure, if you're if you're in 20 groups, if you're in Adas, there are still coordinated efforts to help these people help their community. So let's remember that if you have an opportunity to do so need some more attention to it, please send it to us. Email at crew, C, R, E, W, at asotu com, we'll do everything we can to keep that effort moving forward and caring for the people. Speaking of one car that is not going to be one of those. Flood Damage cars,

Unknown: 10:01

big way. No

Paul J Daly: 10:03

replacement needed a rivian R, 1t that's the pickup truck kind of looking thing submerged in hurricanes, catastrophic flood waters still works. Actually, still works fine, showing some of the engineering that goes into this vehicle. It was found 100 yards from where it was parked, fully covered in mud, like mud in the bed, like the water was up brushing the 7000 pound vehicle away. Despite this, it started up when the owner found it, no apparent issues. It was fast charge, no problem there. Basically, the truck is water sealed so that it can, like, Ford rivers and streams. So it's kind of what it was made for, water sealed, battery packs, no water. Got inside the cabin, and, yeah, the owner basically, like, found it on zap. It was, it was like, down far from where he parked it. He's like, I parked it near the river. He's like, I just wasn't thinking. And then he was about to call the insurance company, and somebody was like, well, just try it. And he started it on his app. It powered right up. He got inside. It was fine, and then he drove it. And then he went to found a fast charger,

Kyle Mountsier: 11:06

and he watched it. The story is great. You got to watch, if you're if you can go to the link and then, like, watch the video. But this is one of those advantages, right? You don't have places where oil and gas have to move around and are exposed and have leaks, leak spaces, right? You can fully seal a battery pack be, you know, water sealed. I mean, you see what, like an iPhone can do. It can be submerged, right? It's all just technology, and this is the change that you potentially get when you get into the EV space. So, just like a new future thing that could be reality for

Paul J Daly: 11:42

us. And also, you know, saw, I mean, it's not salt water either, right? If it's salt water, it's a little bit of a different game, little different, but, um, but a lot of stories, I think Steve Greenfield has posted something I saw on this about people like, hey, like they're using their trucks and EVS to power their homes. Power someone has power for multiple days. He mentioned a Ford, f1 50 lightning. He mentioned a cyber truck owner. And so I think, like pros and cons, but I mean pros and cons on the flip side, the guy did say he was able to find one charger. It was an Electrify America charger that he's like, there's a line, but you can get it charged. So the whole charger thing

Kyle Mountsier: 12:21

is always a thing, so

Paul J Daly: 12:22

I guess, well, speaking about always a thing. Segue, I was terrified. I almost, I almost just packed up my computer. You were

Kyle Mountsier: 12:30

like, going to the hills, baby, because Tim Harvard students have demonstrated a troubling new way to misuse consumer level tech using just regular old Ray Ban meta smart glasses. You've seen them paired with facial recognition and AI to expose privacy risks. So the students use the glasses to capture images of strangers, then match them with online facial recognition software. They built a small program called i x ray. They what they gathered personal data from the internet within minutes, address, including addresses and family details, they have said that they're not releasing the program, but instead, it was just aimed to highlight all these privacy concerns, and they said with the right tools like artificial intelligence, it's easier, faster and potentially more invasive. Meta responded, noting such data gathering could be done with any camera, but with concerns remains over glasses, inconspicuous recording feature. So obviously, like, let's show cameras video you can connect that you could connect to the internet. Could go and figure out this stuff, but look to just be walking around. Students

Paul J Daly: 13:36

figured out here. Play the video for a minute. You gotta play the whole thing by anybody here, the

Unknown: 13:40

information I took, Lex, from just a photo of your face is staggering. So these people are can't believe the information they found out just from facial profiles. Put the glasses on. Then, as you walk by people, the glasses will detect when somebody's face is in frame. This photo is used to analyze them, and after a few seconds, their personal information pops up on your phone. Jun Lee, right,

Paul J Daly: 14:04

you're showing this person. The next one is my favorite in the subway. Name is ju Eun. Okay, here they're going to a subway where he goes up to a random person sitting on a bench after doing this process. Oh,

Unknown: 14:19

hi, ma'am. Wait, are you that scene? Oh, okay, I think, I think I met you through like, the Cambridge Community Foundation, and then, just

Paul J Daly: 14:27

like, yeah, knew a bunch of stuff about him, and she stands up, and she shakes his hand and handles all this other random guy. And first of all, that lady's face right there where he said her name and she stood up. I was like, so that's how I look when someone comes up to me, yeah, because

Kyle Mountsier: 14:43

you're like, Oh, you must know me, I know each other. This out, yeah, it's quite wild. I mean, this is, these are all the risks that data and data privacy kind of has coming alongside of it.

Paul J Daly: 14:57

I mean, people had a similar I mean, this is like, getting it. Gets like, kind of like, a little creepier and creepier. But, I mean, like, when there was Facebook stalking was invented, right? Like, all of a sudden, people, I don't wanna put my information out there. Like, your information's out there. This, however, is just a broadly, like, available tech. Like, you know, government has facial ID and they're able to do this already, but to know that anyone with meta Ray Ban glasses on. Now, if you click through the link in the story, so you should go to the show notes. You go to like the podcast, wherever going to the show notes, click on the link, you can see that the Twitter feed. There is a link in the Twitter feed. I checked it out. It's fine. It's a Google Doc that the students made, and it explains all the ways you can remove yourself from the most widely available databases of facial recognition, so cool and personal identity, identity, address information, it gives you, like the top five. I haven't done that yet. I'll probably just try and go through the process and just see what it's like. But we have this tech. Can you imagine this tech being deployed in the service bay? Hey? Mr. Yeah, hi. Mr. Whatever, whatever. How is the how those tires feel was the ride better? Like, oh, this person had moved. Oh, let's go bring them extra special, nice, something Ollie,

Kyle Mountsier: 16:09

intelligently deployed. Technology is amazing. When it's misused, it's dangerous. And we have both uses of current and future technology always to just watch it out, baby. Okay, I think we've had enough for today. We've got enough. I think we've

Paul J Daly: 16:23

had enough for show number, whatever it is. We hope you have an amazing Friday. Get out there. The text changing. The situation's changing. One thing doesn't change is you can care about the people more than the cars.

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