Google's Kelly McNearney to Join AIADA Tariff Fly-In
Dealers attending AIADA’s Tariff Fly-In on April 9-10 in Washington, D.C., will have the chance to hear from Kelly McNearney, Google’s Senior Automotive Retail Strategist. Her presentation, titled "Let Go and Let Google," will demonstrate how to drive more dealership visits using Google machine learning. McNearney has spent 5 years with Google coaching automotive retailers on reaching in-market shoppers with the right message at the right time. She has conducted keynote addresses at Digital Dealer, DMSC, ALR, the Google Automotive Retail Summit, JD Power, and numerous OEM-specific conferences. She is a graduate of the University of Kansas with degrees in Journalism and Spanish. McNearney is a thinkLA Person of the Year award winner and is the SoCal regional lead on GoogleServe, Google’s annual volunteerism initiative. In addition to McNearney, dealers attending AIADA’s Tariff Fly-In will hear from the Honorable Newt Gingrich about today’s political landscape. Dealers will also head to Capitol Hill to meet directly with their legislators. For more information, and to register for the Fly-In, click here.
U.S. Consumers Hit Hardest by Trade Tariffs, Studies Find
The Trump administration’s trade initiatives have targeted China and other foreign powers, but it is U.S. consumers who have taken the hit, according to two new studies. The Wall Street Journal reports that American consumers have been saddled with $69 billion in added costs because of the tariffs the U.S. imposed last year, including on $250 billion on Chinese imports as well as levies on steel and aluminum, according to a study released by a quartet of economists working on a National Science Foundation grant. “U.S. consumers bear the incidence of the U.S. tariffs,” said the authors, who include economists from UCLA, the University of California at Berkeley and Columbia University as well as Penny Goldberg, the chief economist of the World Bank. Both studies share a key conclusion: Although tariffs are formally assessed on U.S. importers when they bring in goods from foreign countries, the costs are passed on to consumers. Read more here.
White House to Automakers: Back Trump Emissions Plan or Face Costly Calif. Rules
The White House has issued an us-vs.-them challenge to carmakers: Back an administration plan to roll back fuel-economy standards or risk President Donald Trump's wrath by siding with California's stringent emissions requirements. According to Automotive News, that message was delivered during a tense conference call between Trump administration officials and auto executives in late February. The administration has terminated months of talks between federal regulators and California officials to maintain a common standard. Automakers have urged the two sides to reach an agreement to avert a legal battle with the state, which covets its unique ability to establish its own emissions rules. The industry officials on the call were told that auto companies should either proclaim their support for the Trump administration's direction on the efficiency mandates, or back California's tougher and more costly regulations, the people said. Read more here.
Worried UAW Workers Meet with President Trump's Top Trade Official
Top UAW officials and autoworkers met privately Tuesday in Dearborn with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, leaving union members little comfort about General Motors' move to idle four U.S. factories. According to The Detroit Free Press, an estimated 250 workers from Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana packed into UAW Local 600 to ask Lighthizer, who is President Donald's Trump's trade ambassador, about a range of issues. Workers from both GM's Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly and Warren transmission plants — two of the factories set to be idled — took part in the discussion. More than four dozen members left the union hall declining to comment on the visit. For hours, members questioned Lighthizer, touching on health care and competitive wages and the roles of Mexico and Canada under the revised North American Free Trade Agreement. Read more here.
Ex-Nissan Chairman Ghosn Released After Posting Bail
Wearing a mask, cap and work clothes, the former chairman of Nissan Motor Co., Carlos Ghosn, left a Tokyo detention center Wednesday after posting 1 billion yen ($8.9 million) bail. The Detroit News reports that although his visage was obscured as he left the facility, Ghosn’s identity was apparent, especially after he was seen on Nippon TV smiling after he arrived at a building in downtown Tokyo, having removed his mask and hat. Ghosn, the former head of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Motors alliance was arrested on Nov. 19. He is charged with falsifying financial reports and with breach of trust. The Tokyo District Court confirmed the 1 billion yen ($8.9 million) bail was posted earlier in the day, after a judge rejected an appeal from prosecutors requesting his continued detention. That cleared the way for Ghosn to leave the facility after spending nearly four months since his arrest. Read more here.
Federated Insurance's Claim of the Month – Could It Happen to You?
The finance manager at an insured dealership devised a scheme in which he profited substantially through false and inflated finance applications, and sales of false warranty programs.
CLAIM AMOUNT: Over $1 million
Trusting employees is key to running an efficient and successful business, but do you have proper procedures to prevent such thefts from taking place? Do members of your senior management staff — controller, CFO, etc. — perform checks and balances? Do you check your inventory against your financial records to detect irregularities? How often do you check your balance sheets?
Here are some additional tips to help protect against theft and fraud:
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Provide strong internal controls that keep your finances up-to-date and can quickly help identify any fraudulent practices. Encourage employees and customers to report suspicious activity.
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Pay attention to behavioral indicators of fraud, including, but not limited to living beyond one’s means, financial difficulties, and unusually close association with vendors and/or customers.
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Make sure your hiring practices, including background checks where appropriate, address prior theft and fraud. Talk with qualified counsel before hiring someone who has a history of criminal activity.
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21 Luxury Cars That Will Be Used Car Bargains in a Few Years [MotorTrend]
Volkswagen R's Next Car Could be an Electric I.D. [Top Gear]
Every Bentley Continental GT No. 9 Edition Has Le Mans History Built Into Its Interior [Autoblog]
