Straight Talk and Honest Answers 

When car shopping, most people focus on the monthly car payment more than any other number. But as I explain here, this can get you into trouble.

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  U.S. Auto Market 

December 2025 New-Vehicle Prices Set New Record

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IRS Guidance Outlines Eligibility For New Auto Loan Interest Tax Break

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FTC Action Against GM & OnStar For Privacy Concerns

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WeatherTech CEO Tapped For FTC Board

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  Quick Shifts

Stories you’ll find today:

• Waymo Discovers Trains Don’t Yield to Algorithms
• Stolen Car, Stolen Keys: Dealership or Drive-Thru?
• How to Turn a Free Corvette Into an $11,500 Loss
• Florida Driver Thinks He’s Racing, Law Enforcement Disagrees
• The State That Still Doesn’t Trust You With a Gas Pump

Read more→

  Weekly Recalls

• • Ford **FIRE RISK**→ 
    
   
• Takata Air Bag Recall → 

  Incentives Guide

Here you'll find our incentives and rebate guide which includes a link to every major manufacturer’s incentive page. Just enter your zip code to find the current incentives offered in your area. 

Current incentives By Automaker  

  Enter To Win A 2026 Corvette Or $40K Cash!

Imagine winning a brand-new 2026 Corvette—or choosing $40,000 cash instead. Now is your chance in our new sweepstakes in partnership with Vehicle For Good! 

Our latest giveaway supports Hope Local, a nonprofit dedicated to walking alongside foster and adoptive families so children can experience stability, belonging, and hope. When you enter, you’re not just entering to win—you’re helping kids move one step closer to home.

  Kim Komando Quiz and Interesting Info  

Besides the Car Pro Show and our weekly newsletter, my other favorite radio show and newsletter is Kim Komando’s.  We are on many of the same radio stations across America.  She does for her listeners and newsletter subscribers exactly what I endeavor to do:  Give you useful information to keep you up to date on the latest in cars, only she does it with technology and there is nobody who does it better.  Not sure how she puts out a top-notch newsletter seven days a week, but she does.

💡Kim’s Quiz: 

Prepare to feel wildly underpaid. The average American brings in around $63,800 a year. That’s the dream for many. 

But for Jeff Bezos? That isn't a year of work. It’s a coffee break. Specifically, how long do you think it takes the Amazon founder to see his net worth grow by that same $63,800? A) 28 seconds, B) 15 minutes, C) 30 minutes or D) One hour. 

*Answer below my closing message at the very bottom of this newsletter

🚨 Special Report:  Your Car Is Spying On You! 

Earlier in the newsletter we shared the latest on the FTC settlement with GM over selling your driving data so insurance companies could raise your rates.  Kim Komando covers the topic as well and provides a step-by-step guide on how to wipe the data from your vehicle before selling it or trading it in at a dealership.

🔗 Check out Kim's Special Report here →

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  Classic Car Contest: Win An AutoHeatShield!

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  Where to Find Us 

  Jerry's Must-Watch Video of the Week! 

  Todd's Video of the Week! 

  Closing Message From Jerry

What The Car Lot Taught Me About Life

In my early days in the car business, I spent a lot of years on car lots, and not just walking them, but living on them. Long days, late nights, weekends that blurred together, and more conversations than I could ever count. Back then, I thought I was learning how to sell cars. It took me a while to realize I was really learning about people.

A car lot has a front-row seat to life. You see people at moments they don’t always plan for, but moments that matter just the same. First cars. Last cars. Everything in between.

One of the first things I learned was that the moment I introduced myself and welcomed someone to the dealership, there was already a wall there. Polite, usually. Quiet. But very real. People didn’t know me, and more often than not, they were skeptical. Some were scared they’d be taken advantage of. They weren’t being difficult — they were being cautious.

That was especially true for women.

Long before it became a talking point, I could see it on the showroom floor. Women walked in expecting pressure, shortcuts, or to be talked down to. Not because of anything they’d done, but because of experiences they’d had before. I learned quickly that if I rushed them, talked over them, or brushed off their questions, I’d lost them — not just as customers, but as people who deserved better.

So, I slowed down.

I explained more, not less. I made sure questions were answered fully. I paid attention to tone, body language, and the unspoken concerns behind the questions. Trust doesn’t come from a smile and a handshake; it comes from patience and consistency. Over time, I realized that taking extra care wasn’t a strategy. It was simply the right thing to do.

You saw that same dynamic play out across the lot. Young couples buying their first vehicle together, whispering to each other like the decision might overhear them and change its mind. Parents shopping for teenage drivers, asking about safety features when what they really wanted was peace of mind. Retirees downsizing, trading memories for practicality, one story at a time.

You also met people in quieter, harder moments. Cars bought after a job loss, a divorce, a health scare. Not impulse buys, but necessities. Those situations taught me something early on: how you treat people when they’re vulnerable says more about you than how you treat them when everything is easy.

The car lot also showed me how much people carry in with them. Stress, doubt, and sometimes past disappointments. Some hid it behind humor. Others came in guarded, arms crossed, expecting a fight. Most of the time, that defensiveness wasn’t about the car in front of them — it was about an experience behind them.

I learned that most problems don’t come from the vehicle itself. They come from confusion and lack of trust. When people feel heard and informed, even bad news is easier to accept. When they feel rushed or dismissed, even a good deal can feel wrong.

Those lessons never left me. I see them now every time I take a call on the air. To this day, I get a tremendous number of calls from women, and I’m grateful for that. I still take extra time. I still slow things down. I still listen carefully, because trust is fragile and once broken, hard to rebuild.

Cars may be the topic, but people are always the point. Vehicles show up at turning points in our lives — new beginnings, growing families, fresh starts, and sometimes endings. They carry more than groceries and kids; they carry routines, responsibilities, and memories.

If the car lot taught me anything lasting, it’s this: respect matters, honesty matters, and patience matters more than pressure ever will.

I try to carry that lesson with me every day. Because long after the paperwork is signed and the keys are handed over, what people remember isn’t the car. It’s how they were treated.

And that lesson, learned a long time ago on a car lot, still matters just as much today.

Straight Talk and Honest Answers — always.

 💡Kim Komando Answer:

  A) 28 seconds. Yep, Jeff Bezos makes the average American’s annual salary, $63,800, in the time it takes you to rush-brush your teeth. Based on estimates of his net-worth growth (roughly $2,300/second), the man basically earns your paycheck during a sneeze. 

  📊 Here’s how a few of the top dogs stack up in the rat race: 

• Elon Musk: ~21 seconds ($3,038 per second) 
• Jeff Bezos: ~28 seconds ($2,278 per second) 
• Mark Zuckerberg: ~42 seconds ($1,519 per second) 
• Jensen Huang: ~55 seconds ($1,160 per second)