The Weekly: Inflation heating up, Auto loan availability rising, Costly mistakes dealers are making with their phone leads

Welcome to The Weekly—your go-to roundup of the top five auto industry headlines. This week's top stories:  1. Inflation heats up to 3% for the first time in 7 months 2. Auto loan availability is the strongest its been in nearly 2 years 3. Report: Car buyers are smarter, better prepared, and more satisfied 4. The costly mistakes dealers are making with their phone leads 5. AI agents are coming to dealerships—here’s what that means Have a tip for our editorial team? Send us your scoop at [email protected]. This episode is brought to you by: OPENLANE - The world’s leading online dealer marketplace for used cars, bringing you exclusive inventory, simple transactions, and better outcomes. Learn more @ https://www.openlane.com/  Have a tip for our editorial team? Send us your scoop at [email protected]. This episode is brought to you by: Team Velocity – Check out their Automotive Leadership Roundtable, an insightful panel hosted by the Car Dealership Guy himself, Yossi Levi, bringing together top industry insiders and experts. Don’t miss the full discussion here: https://www.youtube.com/live/NVX41sdMy-o?si=SFaAsKC0PL2tSePm Prefer to read? Take a look at the companion newsletter for this episode here: https://news.dealershipguy.com Check out Car Dealership Guy’s stuff: CDG News ➤ https://news.dealershipguy.com/ CDG Jobs ➤ https://jobs.dealershipguy.com/ CDG Recruiting ➤ https://www.cdgrecruiting.com/ My Socials: X ➤ https://www.twitter.com/GuyDealership Instagram ➤ https://www.instagram.com/cardealershipguy/ TikTok ➤ https://www.tiktok.com/@guydealership LinkedIn ➤ https://www.linkedin.com/company/cardealershipguy/ Threads ➤ https://www.threads.net/@cardealershipguy Facebook ➤ https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077402857683 Everything else ➤ dealershipguy.com This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.