Automotive News reports U.S. new vehicle sales registered a 1.2% overall improvement in October despite waning EV demand, led by increases for Toyota, Ford, Honda and Kia. +

Lotlinx has launched LotGPT, a new AI chatbot designed to serve as a personal dealer advisor, backed by historic VIN-level and shopper data and billed as an industry first. +

NADA analysts say waning demand and affordability issues are depressing sales team earnings, Nevada leads the nation in average payroll and bigger dealers continue to gain market share. +

Presidio and NCM analysts say Q3 net pretax profit metrics varied wildly among domestic, import and luxury dealers in a report skewed by EV sales and echoes of the CDK Global outage. +

Kelley Blue Book reports the average transaction price for a U.S.-sold new vehicle exceeded $50,000 for the first time in September despite increased incentive spending. +

FullThrottle Technologies announced the launch of The Automotive DSP, a new, AI-powered platform designed to allow dealers to create and execute tierless marketing campaigns. +

In a post-tax credit world, CarEdge’s Justin Fischer believes the same EVs that sold themselves through government incentives are being sold just as effectively by family, friends and coworkers. +

TrueCar co-founder Scott Painter will return to the CEO position he left in 2015 after leading an effort to acquire the company in a $227 million deal with Fair Holdings Inc. +

Commercial vehicle dealers tell Equipment Finance News’s Quinn Donoghue that AI is moving the needle at their stores by helping their sales teams work smarter and faster. +

GoTo’s new Connect AI Receptionist was designed to automate dealership sales and service scheduling by handling routine questions, setting appointments and balancing service demand. +