AN All-Stars, Inventory Game-Changers, AI’s E-Comm Takeover

Automotive State of The Union

Shoot us a Text.

Episode #1129: Today Steve Greenfield joins Paul again as we spotlight the 2025 Automotive News All-Stars, including a few friends of the show. We also talk about some industry icons’ new digs. And a new survey shows just how deep Gen AI has made it into your customers' shopping habits.

• This year’s 2025 Automotive News All-Stars spotlight not only industry excellence but also creative vision, resilience, and innovation across every corner of automotive. From digital stardom to strategic investment and relentless dealership growth, here are three stories that stood out — with a few personal shoutouts we just had to include.
  • Grace Kerber and Ben Bushen went from a whiteboard in upstate New York to GM headquarters thanks to their viral mockumentary series "The Dealership." The duo’s humor, heart, and authenticity earned them a national audience — and a new role for Grace at GM.
  • Bill Cariss keeps Holman Growth Ventures in the fast lane, securing a minority stake in FM Capital’s $240M fund to scale automotive and mobility tech investments. “We are still going to do direct investments...but they are not going to be near the size of the funds that we will own with partners,” he said.
  • Teddy Morse has taken Ed Morse Automotive from 12 stores to over 50 with cowboy boots, Harley-Davidsons, and a deeply personal leadership style. “You can lose the fact that there’s a romantic side to this business,” Morse said. “To what we do to help people get their first car; to help people get their dream car.”
  • Whether it’s Grace’s storytelling, Bill’s venture savvy, or Teddy’s boots-on-the-ground heart, these All-Stars prove that auto leadership is anything but average.
• A new player in the inventory sourcing space is making waves as sellmyride brings on a stacked roster of industry veterans. Unlike traditional lead-gen platforms, sellmyride is focused on helping dealers consistently source inventory from private sellers — a move designed to keep vehicles in local markets and out of national players’ hands.
  • Chip Perry, founding CEO of Autotrader and former TrueCar chief, has joined sellmyride as chairman, calling it the best dealer-to-public acquisition tool he’s seen in 25 years.
  • Steve Greenfield’s Automotive Ventures is backing the company as part of a broader raise to support U.S. expansion.
  • Robbie Bezdek, a Cox and iHeartMedia alum, brings marketplace and media expertise to help dealers acquire 50+ units per month from the public.
  • The platform is designed to be “always on,” dealership-branded, and built for consistent private-party sourcing rather than ad hoc lead chasing.
  • “Why shouldn’t our clients capture those cars?” Perry said. “That’s what we hope, that’s what we dream about and that’s what we’re inspired to do.”
• A new survey from Omnisend shows just how deeply generative AI has embedded itself in e-commerce habits. Over half of American online shoppers now turn

Join Paul J Daly and Kyle Mountsier every morning for the Automotive State of the Union podcast as they connect the dots across car dealerships, retail trends, emerging tech like AI, and cultural shifts—bringing clarity, speed, and people-first insight to automotive leaders navigating a rapidly changing industry.
Get the Daily Push Back email at https://www.asotu.com/

JOIN the conversation on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/company/asotu/