AI & The Future Of Car Buying w/ Brian Ankney :: Ep 282 The Mostly Middle Tennessee Business Podcast

Jim McCarthy sits down with Babcox Media’s Brian Ankney to talk about how a 106-year-old automotive media company keeps reinventing itself with video, AI search, and niche-focused content. They dive into the real future of car dealerships, F&I, EVs, and what “good” selling actually looks like in 2026.If you’re in automotive, real estate, or any small business that lives on leads and relationships, this episode is loaded with practical perspective and stories from the trenches.Highlights00:00 Sales vs “being pushy”: reframing what selling really is03:30 E-bikes, safety, and 50-year-old-guy workouts04:27 Who is Brian Ankney and what is Babcox Media?05:38 How a 106-year-old print company reinvented into video and podcasts06:25 Building a garage studio right before COVID (and what it did for the business)08:05 Letting the market tell you where to go (niche media and product pivots)13:21 How Babcox uses AI instead of editorial calendars15:11 AI search, car shoppers, and why “traditional” search is quietly shrinking18:16 Why not paying attention to AI search could cost 30–40% of your market20:53 What the next generation dislikes about AI (and why)21:14 Tech shortages in dealerships, body shops, and repair facilities24:42 Subscription car services and the future of vehicle ownership28:21 Cars as rolling storage units and the “junk trailer” idea30:38 New battery tech and the truth about “clean” energy32:21 EVs, coal plants, and how emissions are really measured33:54 Leasing vs buying EVs and the resale value problem37:17 Full-serve gas in New Jersey and post-COVID fuel lines38:21 Third-generation leadership at Babcox and staying “100 years young”41:03 Inside culture at Babcox: open doors, mandatory AI, and cross-brand collaboration42:05 Why Brian now hosts multiple industry podcasts43:19 How much engineering goes into tire tread43:58 Early career: selling cars, consulting, and flying every day pre-9/1147:34 High-pressure window sales, 65% first-night close, and getting thrown out of houses52:33 Lessons from the Honda and Mercedes showroom floors55:10 Why most people are still going to need a human in the car-buying process_____________________________________________________________________ ****SUBSCRIBE/RATE/FOLLOW the Mostly Middle Tennessee Business Podcast: www.mmtbp.com www.instagram.com/mostlymiddletnbusinespodcast www.instagram.com/jimmccarthyvos Tiktok: @jimmccarthyvos