It's The Last Weekend Of July!  

Here we are again!  Dealers need to sell a lot of cars, trucks, and SUVs by next Thursday night. If you had plans to get a new vehicle this year, and particularly in the next 90 days, this may be the last big end of the month sales for a while.  There is still plenty of inventory available, but the number of vehicles dealers have coming in is way off.  So, available vehicles for sale are dropping quickly, and we all know what happens when inventory get short:  PRICES RISE.

Another concern is incentives.  If dealer inventories are down and there are not a lot of vehicles arriving, the automakers will pull back on incentives.  Some likely already regret the money allocated for July, but they had to do it before the pre-tariff priced cars are all gone.  They will relook at it going into August.  My opinion is they will reduce them, resulting in a higher net price for you if you wait.

There is good news, however.  If you have a trade-in, the market is adjusting up rapidly.  Auction prices have gone through the roof, and what is interesting is it is across the board, not just certain segments.  At the auction I just watched, cars were selling to dealers for thousands of dollars over the Manheim Market Report price guidelines.  When the tariffs go off, and who knows when that could be, the used prices will drop faster than they rose.

Use my process, it works if you follow it.  Here is a quick reminder of how to fully take advantage of my tried-and-true system:

At Carpro.com, just a little down from the top, choose FIND A CERTIFIED CAR PRO DEALER NEAR YOU, select the brand you are interested in, and enter your zip code.  All approved dealers will be found there sorted by the nearest to you.  All the contact info will be there, and if you email them from their listing on my website, they’ll know I sent you and you’ll have VIP status.  Most importantly, you’ll get a VIP Certificate sent right back to your email that you can print and take with you.  Set your appointment with the Car Pro contact and you are on the way to a new set of wheels.  Our website is user-friendly for your phone or on a computer.All approved dealers will be found there sorted by the nearest to you.  All the contact info will be there, and if you email them from their listing on my website, they’ll know I sent you and you’ll have VIP status.  Most importantly, you’ll get a VIP Certificate sent right back to your email that you can print and take with you.  Set your appointment with the Car Pro contact and you are on the way to a new set of wheels.  Our website is user-friendly for your phone or on a computer.

If at any time you need help, just click:

Need help? Our team is ready to assist you. Click here.

There are many unknowns currently, but I can tell you with certainty that you do not want to wait until cars are shorter in supply, waiting will result in higher prices as the tariff wars linger on, and the end of the month is always a great time to get a bargain.  What is lacking in incentives  currently will be more than made up by the escalating value of your trade-in if you have one.

 Thinking Of An EV? Time Is Running Out

Time is quickly running out to get a federal EV tax credit worth up to $7,500 on new EV purchases. For those in the market, I'll tell you why acting now offers several advantages.

Read more→  

  Tariff Talk

BIG NEWS!  The U.S. and Japan have reached a trade agreement. Here's what it means for auto tariffs and car shoppers.

This week's tariff-related headlines→

  GM Moves Cadillac Escalade Assembly From TX To MI

If you want a Texas-built Cadillac Escalade, you'll need to make a move in the next year or so.  General Motors will relocate assembly of its high-end SUV from its Arlington, Texas  plant to Michigan in early 2027.

Read more→  

  Straight Talk and Honest Answers 

Buying A Used Car From A Private Party vs. A Dealership 

Considering purchasing a car from a private seller? Here are my four must-read tips  before doing so.

Read more→

 Have You Seen One Of The $5M EV Postal Trucks?

OK, forgive me for the National Enquirer headline, but that is the actual cost of the USPS electric mail trucks in use so far.  The cost per vehicle will go down as more are made, of course, but it’s a pretty ugly picture thus far. 

Read more→  

  Enter To Win and Help Veterans! 

If you are having a hard time deciding what sweepstakes to enter, let us help you! Right now, you can get 1,000 entries into BOTH the 2025 Chevy Trax and 1972 Ford F250 sweepstakes for only $100!

•  WIN a 2025 Chevrolet Trax + $5K! 
  • Donations from this campaign support Camp Hope and The Michael Berry Family Foundation, two nonprofits that help veterans. Sweepstakes ends September 5th, 2025.  
    
    
• Win a 1972 Ford F250 or $100,000 Cash! 
  • Proceeds help veterans find healing & community by benefiting two organizations, Veterans Freedom Retreat and Roll Call.  Sweepstakes ends July 31st!

Click Below To Enter Both Sweepstakes!

  Quick Shifts

Each week I bring you the top stories in the auto industry along with my commentary or sometimes amusing thoughts about the craziness that goes on in the world of cars. 

This week, two icons in their very different industries are being remembered: Ozzy Osborne and Hulk Hogan.  This special edition of Quick Shifts is just for newsletter subscribers:

• Hulk Hogan won a lot of battles, except with a Challenger Hellcat.
• R.I.P Ozzy-You were a better passenger than driver 

Hulk Hogan won a lot of battles, except with a Challenger Hellcat.  Before his death, Hulk Hogan—known for slamming giants in the ring and leg-dropping his way through pop culture—found himself grappling with an unlikely opponent: a manual Dodge Challenger Hellcat. The wrestling icon, then 71, had taken delivery of the supercharged muscle car but quickly discovered that 717 horsepower didn’t mean much if you couldn’t ease off the clutch without stalling. While out in Clearwater, Florida, Hogan was seen struggling to get the car moving smoothly, reportedly stalling several times as onlookers watched the wrestling legend wage war with first gear. He had purchased the Hellcat with a six-speed manual, despite it being decades since he'd last driven a stick. Hogan eventually got the car moving, and in true showman fashion, played off the episode with a grin. But the moment became a lighthearted reminder that even legends can be humbled by a finicky clutch. Though he faced countless challenges in and out of the ring, the Hellcat’s gearbox might have been the only one that truly left him tapping out.

R.I.P. Ozzy-You were a better passenger than driver.  After 19 attempts, multiple failed tests, and reportedly showing up stoned to more than one DMV appointment, rock legend Ozzy Osbourne finally earned his driver’s license at age 60. It wasn’t exactly a glorious milestone—more like a surreal plot twist. His reward? A Ferrari 458 Italia and a very brief stint behind the wheel before rear-ending another car in what his son Jack generously described as “a little bumper kiss.” That kiss was apparently enough to convince Ozzy that maybe driving wasn’t his calling. He later admitted on The Howard Stern Show that he used to fall asleep at red lights, which is far more terrifying than any bat-related antics. Despite the years of effort it took to get that license, the Prince of Darkness decided he was better off as a passenger. As Ozzy himself put it, the driving test in Los Angeles was “a f***ing joke,” but the real punchline came when the Ferrari incident prompted him to walk away from the road for good. And so, with one luxury car tapped and zero people injured, Ozzy’s driving chapter came to a close—brief, loud, and just chaotic enough to make perfect sense.

In our regular edition Quick Shifts:

• Fowl Play: Cadillac’s Missing Ducks Make a Secret Comeback
• Allstate’s Mayhem Guy Lost Toes, Gained Icon Status, and Keeps Wrecking Stuff
• Emma Watson may have a heavier foot than me
• Udderly Ridiculous: Subaru Cowspiracy Finally Solved

Read this week's Quick Shifts →

  Weekly Recalls

• Mercedes Metris **CRASH RISK** →
• Jaguar **BURN INJURY RISK**→
  
• Jeep →
  
  
• Takata Air Bag Recall → 

  Our Incentives Guide

Check out our vehicle incentives and lease specials page for information on understanding incentives, plus links to every major manufacturer's incentive page for the latest offers. Just enter your zip code to find current incentives!

Current incentives By Automaker → 

 Kim Komando Tech Tips & Other Useful Info

Besides the Car Pro Show and our weekly newsletter, my other favorite radio show and newsletter is Kim Komando’s.  We're 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:

Which president sent the first-ever official email while in office: A) Bill Clinton, B) George H. W. Bush, C) George W. Bush or D) Barack Obama.

Answer after my closing message at the bottom of this newsletter.

Here are some interesting and useful things in Kim’s newsletters from this week I found for you:

• Find your next movie: Movie-Map is a free site that helps you find films similar to ones you already like. Just type in a favorite, and the screen fills up with other titles. Your pick sits in the center, and the closer the other names are, the more alike they are. Goodbye, endless scrolling.
• Fake sites on Google: Hackers are poisoning search results, getting fake websites to rank at the top. This time it’s for legit-looking Windows tools. Download them, and you’ll end up with nasty malware. Tip: Type in the official site directly, and always use real-time solid antivirus protection on your computers and phone.
• Zooming on the Autobahn: Mercedes-Benz is letting drivers hop on Microsoft Teams calls while driving. Yes, really. You can use the in-car camera to broadcast your face mid-merge, just no screen sharing (thankfully). It’s launching in the new CLA first, part of a push to make your car a third workspace. Because apparently, two weren’t exhausting enough.
• Is it just you? Use Downdetector to check if a service is down, like your internet provider, Netflix or social media apps. Just type the name in the search box.
• Good in the world: After the horrific July 4th floods tore through Kerr County, Texas, one woman started a Facebook group to reunite survivors with their stuff, and 36,000 strangers joined in. Volunteers are cleaning mud-soaked diaries, baby shoes and wedding rings, then posting photos to help people reclaim what’s left. It’s heartbreak, healing and hope.
• Spot a Facebook Marketplace scammer? Do the right thing and report them. Click the listing, then go to Seller details > Report > Scam. While you’re there, select Block [name] profile and Hide all from [name] to stop their posts from showing up again.

   Check Out Our Newsletter Archive Page!

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 My Must-See Video Of The Week!

  Todd's Video of the Week! 

  Closing Message From Jerry Reynolds

Sincerely.

Kim Komando Answer:  Answer: A) Bill Clinton. In 1994, he became the first U.S. president to send an email while in office. Granted, it was with the help of White House staff and involved enough tech to scare a RadioShack employee, but hey, history was made (and probably spell-checked).