The coverage keeps circling the same math: the fancy version eats the depreciation and the plain version holds the line. Luxury pickup trims are shedding value far faster than the work-truck spec that does the same job, a 400-hp twin-turbo Z now lands in Miata money, and brands are stacking discounts on leftover 2026s to clear the lanes for 2027. That last part matters most — your three-year-old loaded unit isn't competing with its old sticker, it's competing with a discounted new one across town. Buy the top trims at the number the market is actually paying, not the number the trim badge suggests.

Only 10–15% of internet leads mention a trade, but 40–50% of closed deals have one — which means your lead forms are lying to you about inventory you could be buying at the curb. Pair that with the question making the rounds about how fast anyone answers a lead after 7 p.m., and the picture is a store leaving two kinds of money on the table after dark. The F&I side gets the same treatment this week: measure the behaviors, not just the per-copy. Ask the trade question on every up and time your after-hours responses this week — both are free.

Polestar 2 production is done with a successor two years out, VW's boss told staff the company can't afford an electric Golf, and Land Rover is keeping the cheaper Range Rover EV out of the US entirely. Meanwhile VW is dismantling 4,100 EVs a year at Zwickau to sell reusable components — a quiet admission that used-EV parts are a business now. Short version for your lot: the used EVs you take in are increasingly from models with no replacement coming, and recon parts sourcing is the variable that decides whether they're a deal or a boat anchor.

CarEdge spent the weekend putting a Florida franchise store on blast for what it calls getting caught red-handed, while Jalopnik made the case that shoppers should price-check CarMax even when they intend to buy elsewhere. Those two stories are the same story: your numbers get compared to a no-haggle benchmark and your desk gets compared to a YouTube cautionary tale. Both are worth a read, less for the outrage than for the script your next customer walks in holding. Know the CarMax number on your top five units before they tell you what it is.