Revolutionizing Car Buying with AI: Insights from Thomas Gage & the Latest in Auto News

Update on John Force and Dealerships

Speaker 1 0:01

Welcome to another In Wheel Time podcast , a 30-minute mini version of the In Wheel Time Car Show that airs live every Saturday morning 8 to 11 am Central . You've got the award-winning In Wheel Time Car Talk Show coming up . Thomas Gage from LotLinks and AI for Dealerships Talk show coming up Thomas Gage from LotLinks and AI for Dealerships . You'll hear my thoughts on driving the new 2024 Lexus IS500 . Wow , what a car . Mars has the upcoming events calendar and we've got other stuff for you too , just ahead on the In Wheel Time Car Talk Show howdy , along with Mike out of this world . Mars , we always need more . Jeff Zekin , I'm Don Armstrong . Glad you could join us on our live saturday broadcast here on a holiday weekend . We made it through the july 4th day and the fireworks have all our fingers and toes .

Speaker 1 0:55

Yeah , all of that . So , anyway , thanks so much for joining us today . I wanted to start off the show with an update on john force , and if you're not familiar with who John Force is , he is pretty much the face of NHRA drag racing funny car driver for a long time .

Speaker 1 1:11

So here's the update that came down yesterday , less than two weeks after drag racing champion John Force suffered a traumatic brain injury , or TBI . Among other injuries that included a fractured sternum and a right wrist injury , following an engine explosion that sent his funny car into a concrete guard wall at over 300 miles an hour . Doctors acknowledged his positive response to treatment . He was moved out of neurointensive care and into acute neurocare at the hospital , where he was transported by air ambulance on June 23rd . Latest upgrade was welcomed by Force family members , who have maintained a presence at the hospital since the 16-time NHRA champions arrival .

Speaker 1 1:57

But medical professionals emphasized once again that the journey ahead will be a long and difficult one , although Force is still dealing with cognitive and behavioral symptoms from his TBI , the fact that the Hall of Fame driver can converse with medical staff , family members and John Force Racing President , robert Height , who flew in this week , is an encouraging sign .

Speaker 1 2:19

However , there have also been periods of confusion , which doctors say require time and patience to treat . Also noteworthy was the fact that the 75-year-old grandfather of decades likely will be a move to a long-term facility specializing in tbi and associated symptoms . The time frame for that move has not yet been determined . So there's the latest on john force and obviously our thoughts and prayers are with him , his family and the team members of john Racing , and we hope that he gets better fast . What a career , yeah , it's been a great career and hopefully he'll be back amongst us . And I don't know , as if his racing career will continue , but I would imagine he will continue to be the president of John Force Racing . Yeah , and he'll be at the track , I'm sure I hope anyway .

Speaker 1 3:19

All right Not to be a Debbie Downer here ? No , Because your name's not Debbie , that's for sure . Well , you don't know , Karen maybe , but not Karen .

Speaker 2 3:28

I think would be more appropriate . Have you ever been to Dallas ?

Speaker 1 3:32

That's a loaded question and I'm not going to answer that .

Speaker 2 3:35

Thank you , Just asking I don't get it . Okay , one of those old-timer jokes yes , old guys .

Speaker 1 3:45

Thomas , all guys . Thomas Gage serves as the chief strategy officer at LotLynx , where he guides the company's development of AI products that align with dealerships' inventory sales objectives . Through his 25 years in the automotive industry , gage has become a recognized authority on marketing analytics , attribution and retail . I don't know what that attribution part of that means , but he'll tell us . Prior to joining LotLinks in 2019 , gage was a key contributor at Cox Automotive for 17 years . He is the co-author of two books who Sold it Understanding how Marketing Channels Influence Sales and Just Faster Reimagining Automotive Retail . Well , thomas , it's good to have you with us and thank you very much for joining us on this holiday weekend . I hope you had a good fourth .

Speaker 3 4:28

I still have all my fingers .

Speaker 1 4:30

Well , and we do too . You know those days of shooting off fireworks in the backyard with your parents going honey , I don't think that looks real safe . I think those days are pretty much over for us . Maybe we've become our parents .

Speaker 3 4:44

Well , it's kind of crazy like that , actually how um , overprotective people are . Uh , today , you know , I'm glad actually to be hanging out with a bunch of old guys and everything else myself , because y'all do remember , actually I grew up on a race track as well and I mean literally actually I spent summers . Spent summers at my grandparents' place . They used to actually host , have a hotel where , like AJ Floyd and everybody else used to go in for Lime Rock and those guys were crazy and we'd get in cars and everything else , and the best part about those cars is you didn't know if you'd actually make it around the track a lot , you know . So , anyway , I've been in the business a long time . I love hanging out with enthusiasts and everything else , but I played actually multiple areas of our business . One of the more fun stints was getting AutoTrader converting it from you know the magazine over into the online version , and you know those changes in the industry .

Speaker 1 5:46

But I've been working with you know the companies like kelly blue book and also with dealerships , really all my life , yeah , and so well , I don't know whether you heard me or not , but when we started off the show this morning I said you know , it's really interesting that car dealerships these days have got their fingers in lots of pies and one of them kind of bit them in the butt this week with CDK two weeks ago , that whole mess , which is a software program for dealerships that really touches every aspect of the dealership , and then Mr Mars lines up you to talk about AI products that you help in the sales department .

Speaker 3 6:30

Well , actually it's across the board on things and basically our company actually has been for 15 years , has been looking at every VIN , every vehicle that gets into the marketplace every single day and we look at actually the supply and demand of what's happening for those vehicles every single day and what happens when price changes or there's not enough demand on the vehicle and how does that impact profitability of dealerships and so the whole game to today . The dynamics have greatly changed over the last little bit and the whole game is actually how do you mitigate risk and improve profitability of vehicles ? So what we help dealerships do is figured out that dynamics . It's the world is actually very unbalanced at the moment , given all the changes in the economy and everything else has been happening over the last bit . I'll spill into that just a little bit for context .

Speaker 1 7:40

Let me just throw this in there , because when you talk about you know basically floor plans for dealerships and cars on the lots . Basically I go back to when I worked at a car dealership , a Chevrolet dealership here in town that no longer exists , but this is back in my high school days . We had that one car on the lot . It was a white Chevy Biscayne , four-door , with the air conditioning mounted underneath the dash that nobody wanted , six-cylinder , three-speed on the column . It sat there and sat there and sat there . I can't tell you how many batteries I had to replace in that car because , oh , we got somebody coming to test drive it and they looked at it and said , nope , do dealerships today still have that one Biscayne sitting on the lot in the back somewhere that they can't get rid of .

Speaker 2 8:27

Oh , they have a lot of them .

Speaker 3 8:31

Let's talk about Stellantis at the moment .

Speaker 1 8:34

Oh God , a 20% drop in oh my gosh in the quarter .

Speaker 3 8:40

Correct , and anyway , my old friend is actually reporting that we do too . But we talk about , like , carryover inventory , which for us is , you know , the profitability of cars greatly changes Used cars if you get past 30 days you're losing money and for a lot of reasons we'll talk about that . But on the new car side , you know things don't turn , you know start to turn unfavorable at 45 days . 45 days , well , stellantis , they're still holding on to . A lot of dealerships around the country are still holding on to 22 model years or 23 model years and we have actually the 25s just coming out in the marketplace . So if you look at like the dynamics at a dealership , they're paying eight and a half percent interest . You know a lot of consumers don't know that the dealer buys the car from the manufacturer . They're paying eight and a half percent interest on that car at the moment and you know , of course the manufacturer gives them some money up to a point but at some point they start losing money on it and it costs dealerships like 65 a day actually to hold that car and so you have cars that have been sitting on there the lot for over two years .

Speaker 3 9:56

So what are those cars ? Um , some of them are , um , you know , I , I would say , um , you know , some of the grand cherokees and , like the 4xe , um jeep , uh models , um , certainly a lot of dodge challengers are sitting on the lot , um , big time . And so , uh , any , and here's the manufacturer , they're not offering very good incentives on on the vehicles . They , they promised that actually , uh , this month , actually , you should start to see like two thousand dollar type incentives on these cars . But hey , if you have a car that's $70,000 and you're putting two grand on it and everything else , is that going to motivate me and change the industry ? Probably not . So they need to deepen their pockets .

Speaker 1 10:42

I was going to say , if you've got a $70,000 car , what might interest me is a $10,000 knockoff to sticker .

Speaker 3 10:49

Right , that's actually what a lot of dealerships around the country are complaining about .

Speaker 2 10:54

you're seeing more and more of that , though on the commercials yeah yes .

Speaker 3 11:00

So you know , what I'd love to get into is you know what's happening , uh , economically and everything else . And they you know there's a lot of pundits in the industry saying , hey , we're getting back to normal , right ? Well , normal means actually , they're just not making as much money as they did over the last three years in COVID . So it's kind of interesting watching this dynamic . You know , you have COVID start and all of a sudden , a complete shutdown of the industry and the pipelines . You know the supply chain , and you have 4 million less vehicles being produced in the marketplace . Well , what does that do ?

Speaker 3 11:39

Used cars become very scarce and people are holding on to them and all of a sudden the prices start going up . And we had I mean , I had friends actually being called by dealerships saying you know what ? The dealer called me up and wanted to buy my car and guess what ? They're paying more for my used car than when they sold it to me . And so you had this ramp up of used vehicle prices going on . And now we're coming out of COVID and the supply of used vehicles is still tight , so forth . And so you know , even though the volume of new cars are up . But what's also happening is interest rates have since dropped I have last year going up and affordability becomes a major issue .

Speaker 1 12:27

So tell me if you I don't mean to interrupt , but tell me if you will about lot links and what your company does with the dealerships to help move inventory and help really streamline the dealership process .

Local Market Vehicle Advertising Strategy

Speaker 3 12:41

What we do is we look at risk and so we look for unbalances of when vehicles are not getting enough attention by consumers in the marketplace and we do VIN-specific advertising of those vehicles . So if you went , I'd say , onto websites of like CarGurus or Cars or AutoTrader , probably about 80% of the vehicles that get listed there don't get seen on a daily basis . And so what we do is we recognize actually what vehicles are not being seen but actually are good vehicles .

Speaker 1 13:16

So that 22-bottle year Challenger might be a bargain for me , and the dealer would love to get rid of that car and then put it in my hands .

Speaker 3 13:26

That's right , and so we put demand on that . And the second thing is we actually look at the aspects of pricing of the vehicle and the description and photos of vehicles , and we try to enhance that as well .

Speaker 2 13:39

So when you put demand on it , does that mean that it's just a local market you're putting the demand on for the local buyers , or is it a nationwide thing and maybe even ?

Speaker 3 13:47

promote a dealer trade ? No , definitely local . Maybe even promote a dealer trade ? No , definitely local . And so , unlike a lot of where the AI comes into place is most of these like if you go to like Google or whatever , and you start searching for that Dodge Challenger , okay , the Hellcat and you type that in , Well , they make money because they in fact they make like $3 or so per click to get to that dealer website and all they care about is did the person go there ?

Speaker 3 14:24

What we do is actually not only make sure you know , see that the consumer went to the dealer's website , but did they engage in the website ? And so what we do is use AI to have all these different portals like Facebook and hundreds of different websites compete to see actually who , at the lowest cost , drives the most engagement to a car . And so the AI comes into place by making all these portals like Facebook and Google and Bing all compete against each other and we drive for the lowest cost within the local market . And because we do such a broad cast in the marketplace , what we're doing is actually also crossing different demographics , and so we pull in a lot of different buyers than a dealer would normally get by if they just advertised on , say , one single media .

Speaker 1 15:25

So , in other words , when you say that that brings a bell to me , you know the 25-year-old male that's really looking for that challenger hellcat you're going to zero in on him , as opposed to some 70-year-old radio talk show host .

Speaker 3 15:41

Well , it's kind of funny actually , we all put each other into the category of joyriders . Because what do joyriders do ? Story of it as Joyriders . Because what are Joyriders do they look at ? They'll look at a hundred different Porsches , just as a sport , you know . And then we have the other type of people . Like that are the volume buyers , like the Camrys buyers . They , they just want good transportation , very efficiently . They're looking for that Kia and so forth . And so there's different styles of way . You know , cars actually attract their own unique type of audience and what the machine does is recognizes um , the joy riding versus actually somebody . That's right in a the moment of actually buying car .

Speaker 1 16:30

In the sweet spot of buying a car .

Speaker 3 16:31

yeah , and , by the way , actually consumers don't . This is an interesting tidbit that you see in the data is consumers don't actually select a car to buy . What they do is they actually rule out different cars , and you can see that actually online . What they do is they find a bellwether car that has every option and probably actually costs more than what they think is . They find a bellwether car that has every option and probably actually costs more than what they think that they can afford , and then all of a sudden you start to see them zero in between , switching between brands , and that they'll zero in on a particular model , and then they say , okay , I'm going to go on Saturday morning , I'm going to go into the dealership and go buy that car .

Speaker 3 17:11

Guess what happens ? 65% of the time , actually , they go in the store and they buy something else . Why is that ? You know dealers actually provide a great service to the consumers . They not only try to actually get a consumer into what is financially , you know , healthy I mean good for the consumer but also what features and everything else . As I said , most cars don't get seen on a daily basis and so when you come in the store and everything else , the dealer's job is also to make sure you get in the right product at the right price and good financing . So anyway , Very interesting .

Speaker 1 17:53

So do you have lots of dealers here in the Houston area that buy your service ?

Speaker 3 17:58

Yes , actually we have great penetration . We have about 5,000 dealerships around the country that we work with Very interesting .

Speaker 1 18:08

Yeah Well , I find that your service . I find myself .

Speaker 3 18:13

I'm sorry , I find myself , or is it College Station over there quite a bit ? Also a large dealer group down in Houston . Yeah , I've been in just about every store in the country Interesting .

Speaker 1 18:27

Well , we find your service fascinating . Actually , like I said , I didn't realize that dealerships had all these choices to help move product , but it sounds to me like you're giving them something that they need and they want , and we appreciate you taking the time to talk to us today . Thank you .

Speaker 3 18:45

I greatly appreciate it . You bet it's very interesting .

Speaker 1 18:47

Yes , thank you , thomas Gage . We really appreciate it and we will talk to you again soon . If you've got anything new for us , give us a shout . You bet All right Time now to take a quick break and a reminder that you can catch the In Wheel Time Car Talk Show 24-7 through the iHeartRadio app . Just look for In Wheel Time Car Talk . We also video stream our live three-hour weekly show on Facebook , youtube and InWheelTimecom . And podcasts yep , they're available from your favorite podcast provider . The In Wheel Time Car Talk Show continues right after this quick break .

Speaker 1 19:20

Pro-am Auto Accessories has been serving Houston's auto enthusiasts since 1984 , providing world-class products for sports cars , european sedans and American muscle . Pro-am is known as the place to go to find exclusive and hard-to-find parts and accessories . Pro-am is one of the very first distributors in the USA for brands such as Recaro , redline , momo Corbo and Simpson . Located in the heart of Houston's premier retail and service corridor , the Galleria area , pro-am's walk-in storefront includes an 8,000-square-foot warehouse , showroom and installation bays . Pro-am not only sells parts and accessories , but also offers installation and service . Pro-am is now reaching a worldwide audience through Pro-Amcom , taking its local reputation to the rest of the world . We'll see you next time . Call them at 713-781-7755 .

Charitable Donations and Upcoming Events

Speaker 1 20:18

Want to feel good about something special you did for someone special In Real Time ? And the original Loopy Tortilla group of Tex-Mex restaurants have joined together to help a very worthy cause God's Garage , a Christian-based 501c3 charity . We know there are lots of places and organizations out there where you can donate a car , truck or SUV , but we're asking you , our car enthusiast family , to consider donating to God's Garage . Visit GodsGarageorg and learn about its mission , the women that have been helped , how each one is screened and about their Restore you . Program A car donation is an easy way to make a difference in the lives of others .

Speaker 1 20:59

Program A car donation is an easy way to make a difference in the lives of others . God's Garage needs good operating vehicles but will take all types in working and non-working condition . Make your heart and soul feel good by donating your gently used vehicle and help support single mothers , widows and wives of deployed military at godsgarageorg . Hey , thanks for joining us on the In Wheel Time Car Talk Show on this Saturday as we all prepare for the landfall of the hurricane . No tropical storm , whatever . It is Something , something Burl .

Speaker 2 21:33

Wind and rain .

Speaker 1 21:34

Burl Milton Burl , burl Ives , burl Ives , anybody else Burl ? Burl Milton . Burl , burl Ives , burl Ives , anybody else Burl ?

Speaker 2 21:42

Frank Burl Frank . Burl he was my neighbor .

Speaker 1 21:44

Is he ? Yeah , he was . He's a crazy guy , is he Is ?

Speaker 2 21:47

he still alive .

Speaker 1 21:48

He was a mortician . He's a mortician .

Speaker 2 21:51

So that's questionable .

Speaker 2 21:52

Alright , let's check in with Mr Mars , with the upcoming events calendar Coming up on July the 14th that's a week from tomorrow Houston Performance Driving is going to have one of their events Woodlands Cars and Cocktails at Sawyer Park Ice House , and this is a place that's very family friendly . Got things for the kids to do . You can actually bring your pets out . So if you want more information , go to HoustonPerformanceDrivingcom , and Troy Dixon will be with us later . I'm sure we'll be talking about that some .

Speaker 2 22:21

Then on Friday , july the 19th and 20th , it's the 11th annual Corvette Invasion in the city of Bastrop . This starts Friday evening . Lots of Corvettes , got guest speakers . It's going to be centered around the Bastrop Convention Center . Go to Corvetteinvasioncom for more information . Then on July the 20th is the 5-0 Car Show . I just like the name of this . Rosenberg Police Explorers present the 5-0 Car Show to support the local police explorers . If you're looking for more information about this show , go to tkraus at rosenbergtexasgov . Then following that is the Texas Elite Auto Showcase out at NRG August the 10th and 11th , and for more information on that go to TexasEliteAutoShowcasecom .

Speaker 1 23:13

Okay , thank you , sir . Time now for this hour's car review . I had a chance to drive the 2024 Lexus IS500 . It comes in a couple of trim levels the base and the premium . I had the F Sport Performance Premium Edition all loaded up . Now they consider this a compact car . I don't . I consider it a midsize . It does seat five people , including the driver , and it was all new for 2023 .

Speaker 1 23:41

Exterior features include a great big non-spindle grille , thank you with sharp-edged headlights , bulging rear quarter panels Can you see that if you're watching it on ? Bulging rear quarter panels really give it a racy kind of flair . It has stacked quad exhaust pipes on it . Stacked meaning one on top of the other , on either side of the back end , a sculpted trunk lid with a black lower valance . What I liked about it ? The overall look has an understated sportiness about it . What could use improvement ? Well , um , I don't know , as if anything , because this car just kind of fits my niche for a sport sedan . Overall , great look . Forged aluminum wheels well , they are a 2450 extra , okay . Interior highlights $350 extra . Okay . Interior highlights High bolstered quality leather seating , single instrument , multi-gauge pod ahead of the driver . There , I'm not sure that . I think for me personally and I know that I'm old school I would have really liked to have a full dash with the actual tachometer and speedometer and just just put it in there , make it for me . But it doesn't have that and I know that I'm old school . Door speaker covers are color coordinated . Um , you can fool the kids with the traditional style clock in the center of the dash . What's that mommy , what's that daddy ? What's that thing there ? Do the kids even know how to read an actual clock anymore ? With Mickey Mouse hands or anything Could be . You don't know , never know . Trunk room is adequate for this size car . What I liked about it ? The comfort level is huge . What could use improvement ? The touchpad for the infotainment system must go . A trunk room is adequate for this size car . What I liked about it ? The comfort level is huge . What could you use improvement ? The touchpad for the infotainment system must go . Oh , not a big fan of that , never have been , and it's kind of old school now and I think that Lexus has realized that and they're changing those things out and making it much more friendly with just touch the screen , the infotainment screen , to make your changes .

Speaker 1 26:04

5-liter V8 , non-turbocharged engine 472 smooth horsepower , 395 pound-feet of torque , 8-speed automatic transmission , rear-wheel drive car . So this is really old-school rear-wheel drive V8 goodness . Miles per gallon , 17 city , 25 , highway . For a combined of 20 miles per gallon I got 24.1 , but remember , most of my driving is on the highway . I went over 345.8 miles with this car .

Speaker 1 26:36

What I liked about it ? That smooth V8 power . One could use improvement . Nothing is a perfect match for this car . Coupled with that eight-speed automatic Boy , is it good ? Paddle shifters in the whole , nine yards Ride and handling . Sporty for a midsize sedan . We could use improvement Adjustability . How about putting an air suspension on it or some sort of a screw type ? Uh , you know shock absorbers or something that you could adjust in there , but that would make the price out of sight . Base trim price on this is 63 370 . Prices . Tested was 67 610 . Base model price 58 270 . Now competitors include the Mercedes-Benz C-Class 626 , bmw 3 Series 58.4 , audi S4 56.8 . What a great car . Really did like it . I know somebody who's got an F-Sport . Yeah , your wife , she like it , loves it , does she yeah .

Speaker 2 27:36

Does she let you drive it ?

Speaker 1 27:38

No , turbocharged . Oh , she did when we went on the hot rod tour Turbocharged six-cylinder . Yeah , I believe so . I believe so . Yeah , she's got all that detail . Really impressed with the Lexus lineup of automobile and I'm going to tell you something . They have a lot of cars , different models , different styles . It's truly amazing . Go online and look at all of the different styles of cars they've got . They've got one that will compete with just about anything on the market today . It's a good car .

Speaker 1 28:08

Hey , if you'd like to get in touch with us , shoot us an email . The address is info at inwheeltimecom . We'll be right back . After this break , the original group of Loopy Tortilla restaurants will have you telling your family and friends just what the original recipe means when it comes to the best fajitas in Southeast Texas . Founder Stan Holt invites you to visit the first Loopy Tortilla near I-10 and Highway 6 . Here is the original house that inspired the design of all the rest and the original charm that helped make Loopy Tortilla the go-to destination for Houston Tex-Mex . Nothing can compete with the original lime pepper marinade . That everyone will agree makes Loopy Tortilla award-winning beef fajitas the best anywhere . Loopy Tortilla Katie's another location that gives you the same quality and service Houstonians have come to expect at Loopy's . It's located on 99 the Grand Parkway at Kingsland Boulevard in Katie . Find yourself in Aggieland . Head to the Loopy Tortilla in College Station , located just around the corner from Kyle Field , it's a great place to enjoy those famous frozen margaritas before or after the game . Going to Louisiana , the Loopy Tortilla in Beaumont is on I-10 , so you can't miss it . The original group of Loopy Tortilla restaurants has the best Tex-Mex anywhere and you're invited anytime .

Speaker 1 29:14

Your car is a direct reflection of you . So don't be satisfied with color fade or a dingy , dull appearance . Get rid of those terrible automated car wash scratches . Gulf Coast Auto Shield is your save-the-paint company . John Gray and his team of detailing experts can help your cars finish without a full repaint . Searching for the real experts in window tint or windshield protection ? Gulf Coast Auto Shield . Dash cams . Radar detectors Gulf Coast Auto Shield Got a new radar detectors .

Speaker 1 29:41

Gulf Coast Auto Shield Got a new car . Get that thing protected as soon as you take delivery . If you don't know which of the multitude of protection products to go with , john Gray will give you an honest opinion and won't sell you something you don't need or can't afford . John will help you understand the many options and pricing right on the spot . He's your guy to have your ride looking its best and protected too . See the state-of-the-art shop yourself . Free tours anytime . Gulf Coast Auto Shield is easy to get to , located just south of the Southwest Freeway on the Sam Houston Parkway . Gulf Coast Auto Shield Full service , luxury car care today and online at gcautoshieldcom . That's it for this podcast episode of the In Wheel Time Car Show . I'm Don Armstrong , inviting you to join us for our live show every Saturday morning 8 to 11 am Central on Facebook , youtube , twitch and our InWheelTimecom website . Podcasts are available on Apple Podcasts , spotify , stitcher , iheart Podcast , podcast Addict TuneIn , pandora and Amazon Music . Keep listening and we'll see you soon .