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The Pool Guy Podcast Show
Big Pool Companies vs. The Pool Guy: Harold Evans Weighs In

The Pool Guy Podcast Show

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 1, 2026 17:28 Transcription Available


A $600 variable speed pump on Amazon can make any pool pro feel like they're losing a pricing argument before they even open their mouth. But the real question is not what the pump costs. It's what happens when it fails, who pays for the diagnosis, and whether anyone shows up to make it right. We dig into how cheap pool equipment, overseas manufacturing, and online marketplaces are reshaping customer expectations and putting pressure on distributors and service companies.Harold Evans joins me to talk about consolidation and pool service roll-ups, and why the “second bite” promise often doesn't match reality. We get specific about what makes the pool industry harder to roll up than businesses like pest control: fewer stops per day, higher cost of goods sold, and thinner margins once you stack venture capital profit demands, corporate overhead, and debt service on top of labor. That mismatch creates pressure that can break culture, weaken service quality, and force companies into tough exits.We also bring it back to what actually wins long-term: investing in technicians, training, and the customer experience. If buyers can get parts anywhere, your advantage is the outcome you deliver, the risk you take off the homeowner's plate, and the trust you earn over years of consistent work. If you found this useful, subscribe, share it with a pool pro, and leave a review so more people in the pool industry can find the show.We look ten years ahead and ask what happens to pool service when consolidation grows and cheap online equipment resets customer expectations. Harold Evans explains why roll-ups struggle in the pool industry and why the winning move is investing in people and outcomes, not chasing commodity pricing.• roll-ups and consolidation challenges driven by culture and process conflicts• why “second bite” payouts often fail to materialize for sellers• pool industry economics compared with pest control economics• venture capital expectations, debt service, and margin pressure in service models• shifting from selling products to selling trust, talent, and consistent outcomes• repair vs replace thinking to reduce risk and improve long-term reliability• Amazon pricing and generic variable speed pumps changing the sales conversation• warranty support, training, and service infrastructure as hidden costs in OEM pricing• big box retailers and online marketplaces squeezing traditional distributionLearn more at Swimmypoollearning.com.If you're looking for other podcasts, you can find those by going to my website, so you learning.com on the banner, click on the podcast icon.And if you're interested in the coaching program, you can learn more at poolguycoaching.com.Send us Fan MailSupport the Pool Guy Podcast Show Sponsors! HASA  REWARDS Apphttps://hasa.com/hasa-appThe Bottom Feeder. Save $100 with Code: DVB100https://store.thebottomfeeder.com/Try Skimmer FREE for 30 days:https://getskimmer.com/poolguy Get UPA Liability Insurance $64 a month! https://forms.gle/F9YoTWNQ8WnvT4QBA Support the showThanks for listening, and I hope you find the Podcast helpful! For other free resources to further help you:Visit my Website: https://www.swimmingpoollearning.comWatch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SPLPodcast Site: https://the-pool-guy-podcast-show.onpodium.com/UPA General Liability Insurance Application: https://forms.gle/F9YoTWNQ8WnvT4QBAPool Guy Coaching GroupJoin an exclusive network of Pool Service Technicians to access the industry's leading commercial general liability insurance program. Protect your business.Premium is $64 per month per member (additional $40 for employees and ICs)$59 per month for Pool Guy coaching Members - join here! https://www.patreon.com/poolguycoachingLimits are $1,000,000 in occurrence and $2,000,000 in the aggregate - Per member limits     [ $1,000,000 per occurrence and $4,000,000 aggregate available for $75 per month ]$50,000 in HazMat Coverage - clean up on-site or over-the-roadAcid Wash Coverage - Full Limits

Everyone Racers
Don't Race Pacific Raceways Until You Hear This Track Walk

Everyone Racers

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 27, 2026 86:50


Don't Race Pacific Raceways Until You Watch This Track WalkIn this Ferrari 500 Episode 448 (gotta listen to find out why episode 448 is named after the 550 Barchetta Pininfarina, which is 485hp of V12 with a canvas tent in the trunk )... Chris has fuel in his air, Chrissy gives a ladder 101 lesson, Tim waits 3 days for wine while Mental breaks a 1 of 1 valve cover.Fifty cars, nine turns, one blind corner with a concrete wall at the apex — and a crowd sitting right behind it. This is the Everyone Racers Pacific Raceways track walk you want in your head before the green flag drops in Kent, Washington this weekend.Episode 448 is our full 24 Hours of Lemons Pacific Raceways preview: the weekend schedule, the weather, the entry list, and our patented E1R Virtual Track Walk, a turn-by-turn Pacific Raceways track guide from people who have judged it, raced it, and gotten it wrong in front of witnesses.If you're a first-time Pacific Raceways racer, or you're an armchair endurance racer who just likes hearing how a 2.25-mile road course bolted onto a drag strip actually drives, hit SUBSCRIBE. We do this every single week, for free, for the world of low-dollar racing and oddball car culture.WHAT'S IN THIS EPISODEWHAT CHA WORKING ON?? - A cracked, discontinued VW valve cover that nearly killed a Bonneville land speed run - A direct-injection outboard troubleshooting saga in real timeNEWS & NOTES: New York fire departments drag racing ladder trucks (yes, the crew jumps off while it's moving), Colombia's semi-truck autocross with the trailers still attached, and DoorDash now delivering OEM dealer parts same daySHOW ME YOUR JUNK: a 1989 TVR Tuscan Challenge — 400hp Rover V8, 2,000 lbs, $27,500The 50-car Lemons entry list, including a 1963 Studebaker Avanti and a '74 Datsun 620 pickupFull weekend schedule: gates, testing day, BS tech, driver's meeting, awards ceremony, Kent WA race weekend weather forecast, and yes, there's rain in it. Quiet hours, no fluid disposal, no power, and why the fuel pumps are a very long walkEveryone Racers is a weekly amateur endurance racing podcast for people who build cheap race cars and drive them hard — Lemons, ChampCar, LuckyDog, SCCA, NASA. We don't discriminate.Got a question or a show topic? Drop it in the comments — we answer them on the air. Email: everyoneracers@gmail.com Instagram / Facebook: @everyoneracersSUBSCRIBE for a new episode every week. We're chasing 1,000 subscribers — you clicking that button genuinely moves the needle.#24HoursOfLemons #PacificRaceways #EnduranceRacing

Millionaire Car Salesman Podcast
EP 12:08 Stop Running Your BDC Like a Call Center: Fixing the Disconnect Between Your Internet Department & Sales Team

Millionaire Car Salesman Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 25, 2026 66:57


What happens when a global call center veteran steps into the automotive industry and starts questioning the way dealerships have always done things?  In this episode of the Millionaire Car Salesman Podcast, Sean V. Bradley and LA Williams sit down with Lee Harris, current Internet Director at Minnesota Truck Headquarters, a BPO veteran turned automotive innovator who is bringing a completely different perspective to dealership customer engagement. "Your most valuable asset that you have in your dealership, it's not the cars on the floor, it's not the cars in the showroom, it's the people." – Lee Harris With years of experience leading high-volume customer service, operations, and technology organizations, Lee is taking lessons from outside automotive and applying them to one of the industry's biggest opportunities: how dealerships communicate with, follow up with, and ultimately serve today's customer. The conversation dives into the evolution of the traditional BDC, the growing role of AI and automation, the importance of stronger processes and training, and why technology should make dealership teams MORE effective without removing the human connection.  "AI doubles in capacity and capability every two weeks." – Lee Harris If you're a Dealer Principal, GM, BDC leader, sales manager, or automotive professional trying to prepare for where customer engagement is headed next, you're going to want to hear this conversation! Key Takeaways: ✅ Lee Harris highlights the value of integrating advanced AI tools and CRM customization to enhance client services' effectiveness within car dealerships. ✅ The automotive sector often lags in adopting modern technology, with Harris noting the industry's typical five to seven-year lag behind bleeding-edge solutions. ✅ Personalization and the human element remain crucial in customer interactions, even when leveraging high-end AI tools to streamline processes. ✅ Fostering a team environment where personnel investment in training and morale is prioritized can drive substantial success, as evidenced by record-breaking sales figures at MTH. ✅ Harris advises dealership leaders to rethink traditional managerial roles by emphasizing leadership qualities that inspire and genuinely connect with employees.   About Lee Harris Lee Harris is a seasoned professional with nearly three decades of experience in the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry. He began his career as an agent and ascended to senior executive roles at large organizations like Conduent, Xerox Services, and Sutherland Healthcare. Harris has been involved with operations in numerous countries, managing substantial revenues and diverse teams. Currently, he is the Director of Business Development at Minnesota Truck Headquarters (MTH) in St. Cloud, where his expertise in technology, customer experience, and process development is helping redefine automotive sales strategies.     AI Revolution in Automotive BDC: Transforming Client Services in Dealerships   Key Takeaways: Adapting New Technologies: CRM technologies are increasingly seen as outdated; AI tools are proving indispensable for operational efficiency in auto dealerships. Focus on Human Capital: Building a dedicated, well-trained team with a strong culture and synergy is vital for success. Engagement Optimization: Increasing customer engagement through technology, particularly AI, is paramount for maximizing showroom visits and sales success.   The Shift from Traditional BDC to AI Integration in Dealerships In the ever-evolving landscape of automotive sales, dealerships are faced with the need to innovate or risk being left behind. This conversation brings to light the transformational journey from traditional Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems to Artificial Intelligence (AI) driven strategies. As Lee Harris from Minnesota Truck Headquarters shares, "AI doubles in capacity and capability every two weeks," underscoring the rapid advancement and adoption of technology that is necessary for modern dealerships to thrive. The podcast participants echo a pivotal revelation: the traditional CRM's limitations in dynamically adapting to ever-changing dealership needs. Sean V. Bradley emphasizes, "CRM is antiquated technology now," advocating for a shift towards tools like Podium's AI. This technology steps beyond static scripts, offering dynamic, personalized communication powered by an extensive knowledge base. This ability, Harris notes, allows dealerships to handle communications with precision, enhancing customer interaction and satisfaction. Through this integration, dealerships empower their sales teams to focus on high-impact interactions by letting AI handle routine, low-complexity tasks. Bradley states, "If we delegate all the tier one remedial activities to artificial intelligence, […] now my humans can focus on higher levels." This delegation not only optimizes human resource capabilities but also maximizes lead conversion, showcasing the multilateral benefits of AI over traditional CRM systems.   Emphasizing Human Capital and Leadership In the broader scheme of automotive business development, human capital remains the cornerstone of any successful dealership. Lee Harris passionately argues for investing in people, expressing, "Your people are the most precious thing that you have in your group, in your responsibility." This sentiment is a cornerstone for transformational leadership and modern business strategies within dealerships. The discussion probes into what sets excellent dealerships apart — their approach to nurturing and investing in a highly competent and motivated workforce. For Harris, leading a team goes beyond managing transactions; it's about cultivating a culture of excellence where team members understand their value and are equipped with the right tools and training. By stating, "Invest both professionally and personally into those individuals to be successful," Harris emphasizes the significance of a dedicated and well-supported team for achieving dealership objectives. Training and development play an integral role in this framework. Dealer Synergy's Bradley On Demand platform is applauded for its comprehensive training, ensuring that team members "don't even get to touch a phone until they are through the initial training," a practice that ingrains a regiment of quality assurance and preparedness foundational to operational success.   Revolutionizing Customer Engagement A recurring theme throughout the dialogue is the pivotal role of customer engagement strategies in dictating sales and dealership success. The integration of AI is poised to revolutionize how dealerships engage with prospective customers, significantly bridging gaps between inquiries and successful sales. Bradley notes the chronic issue of low engagement levels, stating that most dealership efforts result in "not talking to somebody." This reveals a critical area of opportunity — the need for effective engagement strategies. AI tools like Podium's Jerry 2.0 transform engagement dynamics by facilitating omnipresent communication, ensuring customer interactions are timely, relevant, and personalized. In integrating AI, dealerships can remarkably enhance appointment show rates, which Harris notes as being "73% appointment show ratio" — a staggering figure above industry averages. This indicates AI's profound impact on bridging communication gaps, ensuring prospects are guided efficiently through the sales funnel. The potential of AI in this capacity is magnified by its ability to analyze and learn from interactions, delivering nuanced conversations that are tailored to client needs and potentially increasing showroom traffic and sales. Harris concludes, adopting "convenience and a friction-free process" is essential for translating client inquiries into satisfied customers, highlighting AI's role in crafting seamless customer journeys. In the evolving landscape of automotive sales and services, the dealership's adaptability to AI-driven methodologies is not just a competitive advantage; it is becoming a standard of future-forward operations. The rich discussions from industry leaders cast a spotlight on the profound changes AI brings, demonstrating a roadmap for others to follow, where smart technology and human empathy work in tandem toward exceptional dealership success.     Resources + Our Proud Sponsors: ➼ Podium: The AI Platform Powering the Modern Dealership. From instant lead response to seamless test drive scheduling, Podium's AI Employee Jerry works 24/7 to turn every lead into a conversion, so your team can focus on closing. Trusted by thousands of dealerships nationwide and proudly featured on the Millionaire Car Salesman Podcast. Learn how Podium can help you sell more cars, book more service appointments, and grow your dealership. Discover how Podium's innovative AI technology can unlock unparalleled efficiency and drive your dealership's sales to new heights. Visit www.podium.com/mcs to learn more!   ➼ The Millionaire Car Salesman Facebook Group: Join the #1 Automotive Sales Mastermind Facebook Group with over 29,000 automotive professionals worldwide. The Millionaire Car Salesman Facebook Group is the go-to community for car salespeople, BDC agents, sales managers, general managers, and dealer principals looking to increase performance, income, and leadership skills. Inside the group, members collaborate daily on automotive sales strategies, lead handling, phone scripts, closing techniques, CRM best practices, dealership leadership, and accountability systems. Learn directly from top automotive trainers, industry mentors, and high-performing sales leaders who are actively winning in today's market. If you're serious about growing your automotive career, increasing car sales, and building long-term success, join The Millionaire Car Salesman Facebook Group today!   ➼ Dealer Synergy: Dealer Synergy is the automotive industry's #1 Sales Training, Consulting, and Accountability Firm, with over 20 years of proven dealership success nationwide. We specialize in helping car dealerships increase sales, improve processes, and build high-performing Sales, Internet, and BDC departments from the ground up. Our expertise includes automotive phone scripts, rebuttals, CRM action plans, lead handling strategies, BDC workflows, Internet sales processes, management training, and accountability systems. Dealer Synergy partners directly with dealership leadership to align people, process, and technology, ensuring consistent results and scalable growth. From independent dealers to large dealer groups and OEM partnerships, Dealer Synergy delivers measurable performance improvements, stronger teams, and sustainable profitability.   ➼ Bradley On Demand: Bradley On Demand is the automotive industry's most advanced interactive training, tracking, testing, and certification platform for car dealerships — built to develop top-performing teams across Sales, Internet Sales, BDC, CRM, Phone Skills, Leadership, and Management. In addition to LIVE virtual automotive training classes and a library of 9,000+ on-demand dealership training modules, Bradley On Demand now includes AI Phone Roleplaying and Coaching to help salespeople and BDC agents practice real dealership conversations before they ever get on the phone with customers. This AI-powered roleplay technology strengthens phone scripts, objection handling, appointment setting, lead follow-up, and closing skills, while providing measurable coaching feedback for continuous improvement. Bradley On Demand empowers dealerships to train faster, coach smarter, improve call performance, increase closing ratios, and sell more cars more profitably — all through structured, trackable, modern automotive training.

The MuscleCar Place
TMCP #657: Why Factory Tires Wear Out So Fast – Bridney Jordan Reveals the Truth About Tires

The MuscleCar Place

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 21, 2026 57:17


Bridney Jordan returns to The Muscle Car Place to take us behind the scenes of the tire industry and answer some questions most of us have probably wondered while shopping for tires. Why can a factory tire rated for 60,000 miles be worn out at 30,000? Are expensive name-brand tires really better? Why can two seemingly similar tires have dramatically different prices? And does it still matter where a tire is manufactured? Bridney manages the Lexani, Lionheart and Rolling Big Power tire brands for Turbo Tires, and she explains how OEM tires can be engineered around competing priorities like fuel economy, tread life, durability and safety. We also discuss how manufacturing location, labor, shipping, distribution and brand recognition can affect what you ultimately pay for a tire—and why a manufacturer's warranty can be one of the simplest ways to judge how strongly a company stands behind its product. We also catch up on Dallas's racing season and the support he's received from Lexani, Lionheart, Rolling Big Power and SimpleTire. As part of the growing partnership between the tire brands, SimpleTire and The Muscle Car Place, TMCP listeners also have a special offer: purchase four qualifying Lexani, Lionheart or Rolling Big Power tires through SimpleTire and use promo code TURBO15 to save 15% through December 1, 2026. It's an inside look at something every car enthusiast depends on but very few of us really understand: the four patches of rubber connecting everything we've built to the road. The post TMCP #657: Why Factory Tires Wear Out So Fast – Bridney Jordan Reveals the Truth About Tires first appeared on The Muscle Car Place.

FreightCasts
Best of FreightWaves Today | August 21

FreightCasts

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 21, 2026 131:54


In this Best Of episode of FreightWaves Today, we are replaying top industry interviews that focus on earnings before diving into an exclusive freight market breakdown. David Parker, founder and CEO of Covenant Logistics, weighs in on the urgent necessity of federal tort reform in the face of skyrocketing insurance costs and severe "nuclear verdicts". He also breaks down Covenant's strategic shift away from one-way over-the-road freight and shares his perspective on where we stand in the current market cycle. Julie Van de Kemp breaks down the latest market trends using FreightWaves SONAR, featuring key insights on: Spot vs. Contract Rates: Tender rejections and volumes are stabilizing. Meanwhile, contract rates continue to rise, significantly narrowing the rate gap with spot market pricing. Intermodal Savings Index: Why intermodal rates have remained relatively steady compared to volatile truckload spot and contract rates, offering massive cost savings. Top Cost-Saving Lanes: Analysis of high-savings outbound routes, including key East Coast and Midwest corridors out of Atlanta and Pennsylvania. Rail Merger Impact: How current railroad merger discussions could keep intermodal contract rate increases quiet to avoid regulatory pushback from shippers. FreightWaves Finance Editor Todd Maiden shares his expert financial perspective on the public transport sector. He breaks down recent earnings reports, key Wall Street movements, and what carrier financial disclosures reveal about underlying demand and market health. Chris Versace brings a high-level macroeconomic and OEM market perspective to the show. He analyzes transportation stocks, equipment manufacturing trends, and what broader economic indicators signify for freight volumes moving forward. ArcBest President & CEO Seth Runser dives into the company's strong performance, early signals of demand recovery, and their strategic consolidation efforts. He also highlights ArcBest's latest platform technology and how LTL carriers are adapting to changing market conditions. Aaron Graft, CEO of Triumph Financial, discusses the real-world operational pressures hitting independent truckers and small fleets. He outlines how surging input costs—from insurance to equipment and fuel—are squeezing carrier margins and how tech-driven financial tools are helping operators stay afloat. ⁠Follow the FreightWaves NOW Podcast⁠ ⁠Other FreightWaves Shows⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New Track Record
2026 Markham Recap

New Track Record

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 21, 2026 101:49


This week's episode: A recap of a wild inaugural Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham won by Marcus Ericsson. Plus, A preview of the Freedom 250 in Washington, D.C., Yuki Tsunoda possibly to IndyCar and other silly season updates, more on a rumor for a potential third OEM and the latest buzz on an international race. 

The Garage by Sonatus
Can we future-proof cars with software? | with Chip Goetzinger of AutoMobility Advisors

The Garage by Sonatus

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 19, 2026 18:01


Recorded live at Auto Tech 2026, this episode features AutoMobility Advisors' Chip Goetzinger discussing the rise of software-defined vehicles, embedded connectivity, and changing OEM-supplier relationships. He also explores emerging automotive trends like vehicle commerce and digital identity, along with insights from his background as an amateur race car driver.

Millionaire Car Salesman Podcast
EP 12:07 How to Become An Influencer in Your Local Market: Building Authentic Community Connections to Maximize Your Car Sales

Millionaire Car Salesman Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 18, 2026 62:08


In this episode of the Millionaire Car Salesman Podcast, Sean V. Bradley and LA Williams unpack what it really means to become part of your local community, and why simply sponsoring an event or putting your logo on a banner isn't enough. "People need to see people that look like them succeed." - LA Williams They explore how automotive professionals can build genuine relationships, create stronger local visibility, and become recognizable, trusted figures in the markets they serve. From finding the right organizations and causes to support, to using social media, networking, and modern tools to uncover new opportunities, this conversation is all about turning community presence into meaningful connection. "Use the resources to help us get what it is that we want." - LA Williams If you want to strengthen your personal brand, expand your local network, and create opportunities that go far beyond traditional prospecting, this episode will give you a fresh way to think about community building without giving away the entire playbook. Key Takeaways: ✅ Genuine community involvement goes beyond sponsorship; it requires personal engagement and relationship building. ✅ Becoming a local celebrity involves immersing oneself in community events and initiatives, acting as both a business leader and community advocate. ✅ Empowering employees to support causes that are significant to them can lead to increased passion and effectiveness in community outreach. ✅ Utilizing AI tools can streamline identifying potential partners and opportunities for community network development. ✅ Success in automotive sales can be amplified by focusing on the needs and interests of the community, thus building reciprocal relationships.   About Sean V. Bradley Sean V. Bradley is a renowned automotive sales training expert and the President of Dealer Synergy. With decades of experience, he has transformed car dealerships across the nation through innovative sales and marketing strategies. Bradley is the co-creator of the Millionaire Car Salesman podcast and a highly sought-after speaker and consultant in the automotive industry. About LA Williams LA Williams is the "Blind Master" Vice President with Dealer Synergy and co-creator of the Millionaire Car Salesman podcast. Despite being blind, he has made a significant mark in the automotive sales industry with his expertise in phone sales and business development. LA Williams is known for his motivational speaking and his remarkable ability to overcome life's challenges.     Becoming the Local Celebrity: Building Community Ties for Automotive Success   Key Takeaways Community engagement isn't just about sponsorships but involves personal, impactful involvement that resonates deeply with local residents. Transforming employees into advocates for their preferred charities enhances dealership reputation and motivates staff. AI tools can streamline and optimize community outreach, fostering meaningful connections that drive business success.   Embracing Community Involvement for Dealership Growth In the fast-paced world of automotive sales, dealerships often prioritize transactions over relationships. However, as Sean V. Bradley and LA Williams of the Millionaire Car Salesman podcast highlight, the true key to sustainable success lies in becoming a "local celebrity" — someone deeply involved in and connected to the community. Sean emphasizes, "If you want the community to support you, you have to support the community." This concept roots itself in genuine interactions, where dealerships are not merely transactional entities but community pillars. Local businesses, sports teams, and groups represent untapped potential. Engaging with them goes beyond placing logos in visible places; it demands real, face-to-face interaction. By attending games, sponsoring workshops, and directly contributing to community needs, dealerships can cultivate authentic relationships. LA Williams states, "Community is where the people are…we're in the people business, but we don't act like it." This sentiment underscores the notion that genuine community involvement creates an emotional bank account, fostering loyalty and repeated business. Building a Referral Network Through Community Ties Fostering relationships within the community extends beyond social obligations. It is a strategic move that can propel a dealership to new heights. As automotive professionals spend their days hunting for leads and closing deals, they might overlook the importance of nurturing lasting community relationships. Sean Bradley proposes a methodical approach: "I want to see what options there are, whether at the home field or at the home basketball court." Through consistent community presence, a dealership positions itself as a trusted entity — the first choice when a community member considers purchasing a vehicle. Engaging deeply within the local social fabric turns everyday interactions into potential referrals. For example, attending local sports events not only offers a platform to showcase the dealership but also opens dialogues that could lead to future sales. Sub-host LA Williams offers a practical method to ignite these conversations: "I have people…they'll come up to you…and you say, 'I'm glad you asked, I work with ABC Motors.'" Through these interactions, dealerships cultivate a network of recurring referrals, expanding their client base organically. Leveraging AI for Strategic Community Engagement While personal connections are invaluable, technology offers remarkable efficiency in managing and expanding these networks. ChatGPT and other AI tools, as demonstrated in the podcast, provide substantial support in creating a systematic engagement plan. Sean Bradley illustrates this during the show: "I had AI create for me all the different people in the Warminster area that I should reach out to." AI can automate outreach efforts, enabling dealerships to maintain consistent communication with potential collaborators and clients. This technology identifies which businesses to engage, offers scripts for interaction, and suggests optimal communication timelines. With these tools, dealers can manage wide-reaching community relationships efficiently, ensuring that no opportunity slips through the cracks. AI complements the personal touch, expanding the dealership's reach without sacrificing the depth of human connection. Utilizing AI, as Sean articulates, dealers can optimize their efforts, "Join all the local groups…Look at joining Facebook and LinkedIn groups." These platforms offer invaluable insights and connections, enabling the dealership to become a fully integrated part of the community's social and professional ecosystem. By Empowering Employees, Build a Passionate and Dedicated Team To achieve true community integration, dealership management must recognize and channel the passions of their employees. Inviting staff to voice the causes and charities they support allows dealerships to align their community outreach strategies with genuine employee interests. Sean Bradley proposes a democratic approach: "These aren't going to be the top eight coming from me… I want to get behind what's important to you." This inclusivity not only inspires and motivates employees, who often feel undervalued, but also personalizes and deepens the dealership's community engagement. When employees are actively engaged in causes they care about, they're more likely to put in the effort to ensure the success of these initiatives. Furthermore, this involvement enhances the dealership's reputation as an organization that genuinely cares, resonating well with the community and fostering trust and goodwill. Successful automotive sales go beyond the conventional metrics of transaction volume and revenue. By becoming local influencers, dealerships can tap into an authentic power that transforms community relationships into long-term business growth. As Sean V. Bradley and LA Williams emphasize, it's not just about being in the community but building the community that matters most. By melding strategic AI utility with genuine human interaction and employee empowerment, dealerships can cultivate an environment where success is inevitable, interconnected, and shared.     Resources + Our Proud Sponsors:   ➼ Podium: The AI Platform Powering the Modern Dealership. From instant lead response to seamless test drive scheduling, Podium's AI Employee Jerry works 24/7 to turn every lead into a conversion, so your team can focus on closing. Trusted by thousands of dealerships nationwide and proudly featured on the Millionaire Car Salesman Podcast. Learn how Podium can help you sell more cars, book more service appointments, and grow your dealership. Discover how Podium's innovative AI technology can unlock unparalleled efficiency and drive your dealership's sales to new heights. Visit www.podium.com/mcs to learn more!   ➼ The Millionaire Car Salesman Facebook Group: Join the #1 Automotive Sales Mastermind Facebook Group with over 29,000 automotive professionals worldwide. The Millionaire Car Salesman Facebook Group is the go-to community for car salespeople, BDC agents, sales managers, general managers, and dealer principals looking to increase performance, income, and leadership skills. Inside the group, members collaborate daily on automotive sales strategies, lead handling, phone scripts, closing techniques, CRM best practices, dealership leadership, and accountability systems. Learn directly from top automotive trainers, industry mentors, and high-performing sales leaders who are actively winning in today's market. If you're serious about growing your automotive career, increasing car sales, and building long-term success, join The Millionaire Car Salesman Facebook Group today! ➼ Dealer Synergy: Dealer Synergy is the automotive industry's #1 Sales Training, Consulting, and Accountability Firm, with over 20 years of proven dealership success nationwide. We specialize in helping car dealerships increase sales, improve processes, and build high-performing Sales, Internet, and BDC departments from the ground up. Our expertise includes automotive phone scripts, rebuttals, CRM action plans, lead handling strategies, BDC workflows, Internet sales processes, management training, and accountability systems. Dealer Synergy partners directly with dealership leadership to align people, process, and technology, ensuring consistent results and scalable growth. From independent dealers to large dealer groups and OEM partnerships, Dealer Synergy delivers measurable performance improvements, stronger teams, and sustainable profitability. ➼ Bradley On Demand: Bradley On Demand is the automotive industry's most advanced interactive training, tracking, testing, and certification platform for car dealerships — built to develop top-performing teams across Sales, Internet Sales, BDC, CRM, Phone Skills, Leadership, and Management. In addition to LIVE virtual automotive training classes and a library of 9,000+ on-demand dealership training modules, Bradley On Demand now includes AI Phone Roleplaying and Coaching to help salespeople and BDC agents practice real dealership conversations before they ever get on the phone with customers. This AI-powered roleplay technology strengthens phone scripts, objection handling, appointment setting, lead follow-up, and closing skills, while providing measurable coaching feedback for continuous improvement. Bradley On Demand empowers dealerships to train faster, coach smarter, improve call performance, increase closing ratios, and sell more cars more profitably — all through structured, trackable, modern automotive training.

The Collision Vision
Repair Quality: How Technicians Set the Standard with Juan Carlos Gasga Perez

The Collision Vision

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 18, 2026 56:21


Welcome back to The Collision Vision, driven by Autobody News. I'm your host, Cole Strandberg. Collision repair is becoming more technical every year. New materials, more sophisticated joining methods, advanced measuring systems, OEM procedures, and increasingly complex vehicles have raised the bar for what it means to perform a proper repair. But ultimately, all of that technology still comes down to the person holding the tools. Today's guest is Juan Carlos Gasga Perez, owner of Premier Auto Body and the technician and educator behind Auto Body Strong. Juan has built a massive following by doing something relatively simple: showing the industry what great collision repair looks like in the real world. We'll talk about his journey from technician to shop owner, how Auto Body Strong became an educational platform for technicians around the world, and what he's learned by putting his work in front of such a large audience. We'll also get into the technical side — from structural repair and measuring to welding, equipment, efficiency, and what it really takes to perform today's increasingly complex repairs the right way. And finally, we'll look ahead at the technician of the future, and how better training, better tools, and maybe even social media can help us build the next generation of collision repair professionals. Because as sophisticated as the vehicles and technology become, great repairs still depend on great technicians. Let's get into it.   Follow Juan: Instagram Youtube

Manufacturing Happy Hour
BONUS: What Is Servitization? How OEMs Can Turn Their Installed Base Into Long-Term Revenue with PTC's Sam Neva

Manufacturing Happy Hour

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 14, 2026 57:10


Selling the equipment is the easy part. The real revenue shows up after the sale.Sam Neva, Vice President of Sales for Service Lifecycle Management at PTC, joined the show to talk servitization - what it means, and why it's becoming the difference between OEMs who scrape by on hardware margins and ones who build real recurring revenue. Chris caught up with him live at PTC's headquarters.Manufacturing folks, we didn't forget about you! This episode is geared squarely toward people building equipment. If you want to tighten up your sales process and make your customer relationships stickier, this one is for you.Sam and Chris get into what's holding most OEMs back from servitization, how AI is starting to change what proactive service looks like, and the math behind why the money shows up years after the original sale.In this episode, find out:Why the smartest OEMs are lowering the price of the original sale, and what they're betting on insteadThe three levels standing between a traditional OEM and a full servitization modelWhy ‘tribal knowledge' is the hidden gap between engineering and service teamsHow AI is helping teams triage service issues before they need a technicianThe Harvard Business Review stat that shows just how much revenue gets left on the table post-saleWhat Schneider Electric did to grow revenue, win rates, and improve customer satisfaction at the same timeThe first question every OEM should ask before attempting servitizationEnjoying the show? Please leave us a review here. Even one sentence helps. It's feedback from Manufacturing All-Stars like you that keeps us going!Tweetable Quotes:“You're reacting to a problem, instead of doing your best to extend and plan that time horizon to prepare for that problem." - Sam Neva, Vice President of Sales for Service Lifecycle Management at PTC“Step 1 is what do customers expect from us, why do they expect that, and how can we give them that?" - Sam Neva, Vice President of Sales for Service Lifecycle Management at PTC“The goal is how do I make money as the OEM, not just by selling you that box, but selling you the outcome of what that box provides.” - Sam Neva, Vice President of Sales for Service Lifecycle Management at PTCLinks & mentions:Benchmark your servitization strategy, a complimentary assessment where ServiceMax experts will evaluate your current service organization and identify opportunities to improve performance, profitability, and customer outcomes.ServiceMax, a PTC Technology, is on a mission to help customers keep the world running with asset-centric field service management software. As a recognized leader in this space, our cloud-based software and mobile apps provide a complete view of assets to field service teams.Make sure to visit https://manufacturinghappyhour.com for detailed show notes and a full list of resources mentioned in this episode. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.

Being an Engineer
Tony Kelbert | Authenticity, Engineering, and the Business of Manufacturing

Being an Engineer

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 14, 2026 71:54 Transcription Available


Send us Fan MailTony Kelbert is a mechanical engineer, manufacturing strategist, and Chief Burrito Officer at AeroGrowth, an organization focused on helping precision manufacturers pursue and win the right aerospace and defense work. Drawing on experience from both the OEM and supplier sides of the industry, Tony helps manufacturers better understand positioning, quoting, customer relationships, and the realities of selling into complex aerospace supply chains. Tony began his engineering career at a defense vehicle manufacturer, where he designed lightweight, durable components for severe-duty military vehicles, managed mass properties for a weight-sensitive program, and led a team of designers. He later spent several years at a major aerospace company, designing medical oxygen systems for transport aircraft and lightweight structural components for VIP aircraft interiors while serving as a liaison between engineering and manufacturing. His career eventually expanded beyond traditional product design. Tony moved into manufacturing business development, worked as a senior mechanical engineer at a product development firm, and became a venture advisor focused on manufacturing. These experiences gave him a broader view of how technical capabilities, customer selection, pricing, sales, and company culture affect the long-term health of a manufacturing business. Tony is also the managing partner of goodthink labs, where he uses engineering analysis, experiments, storytelling, and occasional unnecessary inventions to make technical subjects more engaging. He earned his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Minnesota and now brings together engineering experience, business strategy, curiosity, and humor to help manufacturers build businesses worth owning. LINKS: Tony Kelbert LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonykelbert Tony Kelbert website: https://aerogrowthllc.com/ Aaron Moncur, host PDX 2026 is October 20-21 in Phoenix, AZ.  Learn more and register at https://pdexpo.engineer/  Subscribe to the show to get notified so you don't miss new episodes every Friday.The Being An Engineer podcast is brought to you by Pipeline Design & Engineering. Pipeline partners with medical & other device engineering teams who need turnkey equipment like cycle test machines, custom test fixtures, automation equipment, assembly jigs, inspection stations and more. You can find us at www.teampipeline.usWatch the show on YouTube: www.youtube.com/@TeamPipelineus 

Thoughts on the Market
Robotaxis' $1 Trillion Opportunity

Thoughts on the Market

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 13, 2026 12:45


Robotaxis are accelerating along the road to commercial viability. Auto and Shared Mobility Analysts Andrew Percoco and Tim Hsiao discuss what this rapid development means for global investors.Read more insights from Morgan Stanley.----- Transcript -----Andrew Percoco: Welcome to Thoughts on the Market. I'm Andrew Percoco, Head of North America Auto and Shared Mobility Research. Tim Hsiao: And I'm Tim Hsiao, Greater China Auto and Shared Mobility Analyst.Andrew Percoco: Today, why robotaxis may be approaching a commercial inflection point. It's Thursday, August 13th at 8am in New York.Tim Hsiao: And 8 pm in Hong Kong.Andrew Percoco: So Tim, for years, robotaxis were really confined to limited pilot rollouts across the globe. You've done a lot of work over the last few weeks. We put out a big collaborative report on the robotaxi market and how it could be a $1 trillion TAM by 2040.What makes this moment different than some of the other robotaxi hype cycles that we've seen in the past? Tim Hsiao: We observe four things have been converging. Firstly, end-to-end AI is improving much faster. Secondly, hardware and the training costs are falling. And thirdly, more well-capitalized players can fund deployment. And last but not least, regulation is becoming clearer.The leading operators are no longer just demonstrating the technology. They are running fully driverless services around the clock and generating commercial rides. So in our view, the questions has been shifting from can it work to who can expand operating areas, raise utilization and lower costs at a much faster pace.So that's a very different setup versus the 2018 and 2021 hype cycles. Andrew, U.S. autonomous miles could rise from 116 million in [20]25 to 16 billion by 2032. But still make up only about 0.5 percent of all miles driven. How can robotaxis become a meaningful business while remaining such a small part of the market?Andrew Percoco: I would say, you know, obviously the U.S. mobility and transportation market is a massive market. So even with the rapid growth that we expect in robotaxis, it's going to take a long time to make a material impact in the overall market share of mobility. But if you think about the profit pools in this business, 16 billion miles at $2 a mile can, you know, pretty quickly become a very significant TAM and market opportunity.And I think, you know, fundamentally, if you think about a robotaxi business, I would argue you're better utilizing an asset... Or if you think about the, you know, car park, the amount of vehicles that are, you know, in the fleet today or in the U.S. today, they're sitting idle 90 percent of the time, right?So you're talking about taking a smaller amount of volume and driving a higher utilization on that fleet and driving much improved economics. So yes, it's going to take time to displace the, you know, hundreds of millions of cars that you have on the road in the U.S. and displace the penetration of miles driven. But ultimately, you know, we think that the profit pool and the opportunity in robotaxis are much more attractive for the entire value chain, as it relates to robotaxis. And I'd say there's a few things that we're watching along the way to make sure that, to your point, you know, this is not another hype cycle. And that there's real commercial backbone to this business.I'd say the first is seeing the rollouts continue to improve, and the density of the rollouts improve across the select cities that we've seen in the U.S. right now. Robotaxis are only available in a handful of cities in the U.S., so we want to see that continue to expand into more cities. But also the density of the fleet increase in the cities where they're currently present.And at the same time the safety side is still something that gets a lot of questions in making sure that it is truly safer than a human driver, across technology platforms, right? There's various players in this market with different approaches to technology. So, I think seeing that the safety curve is starting to or continues to improve is going to be very important for the viability of this market going forward.Obviously U.S. is very different from China. What have you seen in China? China has shown some impressive growth and utilization in some of the operators that are on the road in China. So just curious as to your perspective in terms of what you're seeing on the ground there. Tim Hsiao: I think China shows that there's much in operations and skill challenges as technology challenges. The fleet in China is above 5,000 vehicles across I think more than 7500 square kilometers in key cities. And some operators average more than 20 orders per vehicle per day.So, total cost of ownership has fallen roughly 30 to 40 percent, while remote assistance ratios are moving from like one operator for like 20 to 40, even like 50 to 60 vehicles. And we think it will achieve like one for a 100. So that has produced real break-even happens, especially in some major cities like Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Wuhan – the tier one, tier two cities.So in our view, I think in China, wider operating domains, fleet density and utilization rate, as you just mentioned, reinforce one another. So make it some more like the real commercial case. Instead of just, like trials as we saw a couple years ago. If more value shifts towards the software, fleet operation, and the data, as well as the customer relations, how does that change the profit pool, across the auto industry, especially in the U.S.?Andrew Percoco: First off, I think the auto industry in general is becoming, you know, more software focused and aware. You know, it's being led by the robotaxi market where the autonomous driving software and technology is obviously the most important part about getting this technology to market.That is ultimately trickling down to personally owned cars where you're seeing more autonomous technology being deployed. Auto OEMs are able to charge subscription revenue for this software. So it expands, I'd say, the value proposition of buying a vehicle expands the profit pool for the OEMs.It changes in some ways the cyclicality, or can change the cyclicality of the industry if you've got more kind of recurring revenues, subscription like business model versus just a hardware focused OEM model, which has been kind of the predominant focus for the OEMs historically. I'd say the other angle, interesting angle here is, you know, as this business scales, there's gonna be a lot of vehicles on the road. There's gonna be a lot of fleets of vehicles on the road. Those need to be managed by somebody or some company, right? So if you think about, you know, the rental car industry, right? These companies have been in the business of managing fleets and renting out fleets for a very long time. They know how to do that very, very well.I think there's an interesting opportunity for that part of the value chain, to participate in aiding these robotaxi fleet operators, in scaling and bringing their business to market. Charging, maintenance, reconditioning, all the things that take a lot of time and a pretty large amount of physical infrastructure.That's an opportunity for the rental car industry to come in and leverage their existing know-how to help. And, you know, I think Tim, an important part of this commercialization process is driving down the cost structure of robotaxis. They are very sensor; heavy sensor heavy. They're very compute heavy. I think China is the clear leader on cost and supply chain. I think in China you're seeing robotaxis, you know, around $35,000 to $40,000, which is considerably lower than what we see in the U.S. today.So, how do you think that that will accelerate adoption in China, but I'd say more importantly overseas as some of these robotaxis businesses look to expand outside of China. Tim Hsiao: In our view, it could be a major accelerant because as we noticed that the depreciation is still one of the largest fixed costs for robotaxi. So, as we just mentioned, I think, $35000 to $45000 US dollars, the purpose-built robotaxi can lower the breakeven utilization threshold. And make it easier to finance fleets and open cities that could not support the $150,000 US dollar vehicle.And not only in China, because globally, I think the Chinese cost deflation can be paired with the local ride-hailing platforms in the overseas market that provide demand and regulatory access. But as we highlighted in our previous, the global reports once again, we don't think the cheap vehicle is sufficiently by their self.So in our views, on top of the competitive cost structure, registration, data localization, insurance, and local operating costs can still delay the margin curve, particularly in Europe, which we think there are still quite a lot of uncertainties. So Andrew, as we just, as we just discussed, the lower vehicle costs help, but the operating model still has to work, right? So with operating costs expected to fall and the margin potentially moving above 30 percent or even higher at scale, what are the key assumptions investors should focus on?Andrew Percoco: There's a handful of key assumptions you need to sensitize to get to that 30 percent or more margin structure in this business. I'd say the first is going to be utilization, right? You need to be running these assets at a high utilization to essentially amortize those fixed costs over a larger number of miles driven.Number two, insurance today is probably one of the largest buckets of cost when we think about this business. Insurance is, from our perspective, a big unlock for this industry as the safety, as we mentioned before, the safety data continues to improve. We think that will be a reason to, to expect that the insurance costs associated with autonomous driving technology and robotaxis will continue to decline.It's about 30 cents per mile on our estimate, so it's very significant in terms of the overall cost structure of robotaxis. Drivers or where there's the most sensitivity around the model. Obviously, there's charging costs, there's maintenance costs. Those are, I think, fairly known at this point. But the utilization and insurance, I think, are the two biggest drivers of really getting that margin profile to improve over time. Tim, I guess when you think about the next, call it 10 to 15 years, I think we will put out a trillion dollar market by 2040 from a TAM perspective.What do you think the biggest markets are that investors should be watching, in terms of getting us to that trillion dollar TAM? Obviously, U.S. and China are kinda leading now, but what are the next markets people should be watching?Tim Hsiao: In addition to the major market, as you just mentioned, the U.S. and China, in our views, I think we also need to focus on markets like Europe, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. I think their scale is underappreciated, as we highlighted in our previous report. Because if you think about that, Europe, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia in aggregate have roughly four million taxis together ride-hailing vehicles.So even with 25 percent conversion, they imply that about one million is the L4s vehicles. The Middle East offers supportive regulators, you can tell, simpler operating environments and higher fares. And if you think about the Southeast Asia, the ASEAN, I think the market has dense demand and strong local platforms.And of course, Euro markets definitely can't be ignored because Euro will move more slowly, because we think the regulations and the data rules would initially add cost. But the truth is, if you think about the European market, I think the taxis or ride-hailing fares are among the highest globally, even compared to the U.S. and rest of the world.So in our view, the material margin could be more attractive. And this market, on top of the U.S. and China, in our view, can support several regional winners. So, not only limited to a very, you know, the single one or two markets.Andrew Percoco: Yeah, it's great Tim. It sounds like, you know, the robotaxi race, if you want to put it that way, will be won by those who can really bring together technology, and a compelling cost structure while also following the proper regulations and making sure the safety is improving at a rate that's acceptable to regulators.So, Tim, thanks for taking the time to talk today. And thanks for listening. If you enjoy Thoughts on the Market, please leave us a review wherever you listen, and share the podcast with a friend or colleague today.

The PetaPixel Podcast
Apple May Have Spoiled a Secret Nikon Camera

The PetaPixel Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 13, 2026 102:53


With a PetaPixel Membership, not only can you support original PetaPixel reporting and in-depth reviews, but you can also remove ads from the website and gain access to some seriously great perks, too. Members get 20% off Capture One, $15 off the Moment Store, 5% off certified pre-owned gear from KEH, 10% off lighting gear from FJ Westcott, 10% off Viltrox products, can download full-resolution RAW files and JPEGs from the latest cameras and lenses, and MORE! It costs just $3 per month or $30 per year. Join today!Now saving when you shop for your favorite gear at B&H Photo is even easier with the B&H Payboo Credit Card which lets you Save the Tax — you pay the tax, and B&H pays you back instantly! (Save the Tax on eligible purchases shipped to eligible states.) OR you can pay over time with our 6 & 12 month financing (on minimum purchases of $199 for 6 months, and $599 for 12 months). Terms apply, learn more at http://bhphoto.com/payboo. Credit card offers are subject to credit approval.Payboo Credit Card Accounts are issued by Comenity Capital BankThis week on the PetaPixel Podcast, Nikon's future plans may have been leaked by the most unlikely of sources: Apple. Plus, Fujifilm shares that the camera industry is finally feeling the pinch from the memory crisis, and it will likely result in both significant price increases as well as manufacturing delays. Then, the team sits down with Isaac Reynolds from the Google Pixel team and asks the hard questions about what exactly photographers can expect from the Pixel 11 series phones. Make sure to Read David Imel's coverage of Google's HDR technology at The Verge.We use Riverside to record The PetaPixel Podcast in our online recording studio.In This Episode:00:00 - Intro11:38 - Did Apple spoil an upcoming Nikon announcement? 16:01 - Fujifilm raised its cost estimations because of the memory shortage17:56 - China's weakening economy really hurt camera sales20:52 - Tamron's OEM lens sales took a nose dive26:45 - LLL announced a new high-performance series of lenses29:47 - Blackmagic delivers PDAF to its 3-year-old Cinema Camera 6K33:26 - Insta360 has a new 360-degree camera36:13 - Asking tough questions of Google Pixel's Isaac Reynolds1:14:13 - What have you been up to?1:18:54 - Tech support1:36:56 - Feel good story of the week1:39:57 - Lens draft results

The Uptime Wind Energy Podcast
AC883 Joins Muehlhan Wind Service

The Uptime Wind Energy Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 13, 2026 6:38


Lars Bendsen, founder and CEO at AC883, joins to discuss the Muehlhan Wind Service acquisition and Canada’s aging turbine fleet. The Uptime Wind Energy Podcast is brought to you by Weather Guard Lightning Tech, creators of the StrikeTape Ultra LPS retrofit. Subscribe to Uptime’s Substack newsletter. And check out Rosemary’s “Engineering with Rosie” Youtube channel. Have a question we can answer on the show? Email us! Welcome to Uptime Spotlight, shining light on wind energy’s brightest innovators. This is the progress powering tomorrow. Allen Hall: Lars, welcome back to the podcast. Lars Bendsen: Thank you so much, Allen. Allen Hall: A lot has happened since I talked to you last. I saw some of the announcements on LinkedIn. I was really excited for you. So AC883 has news. Lars Bendsen: We have news. It was about a month ago now, but yes, things have been going very well. Allen Hall: Muehlhan has acquired AC883, which is a company you started how many years ago? Lars Bendsen: I started AC883 12 years ago. From my dining room table, basically. Allen Hall: Wow. And it’s grown to quite the business over time. Lars Bendsen: Yes, we have been expanding, especially the last five years after my son came in. He has been the main driver, so we’ve been expanding like crazy the last five years. And, well, getting older. Now we are at a point where we should extend, spend more. And then when Muehlhan, one of the biggest companies in the wind industry, looked our way, it was an easy decision to make. Very easy. Allen Hall: Muehlhan is well known for being a leader in the ISP world in Europe, and a little bit in America. They’re still making a presence here. That’s why they wanted to talk to you, I’m sure, because AC883 has a nice Canadian market. People trust you and rely upon you, because you bring the quality people over, plus you have all the resources to get to parts that you can’t acquire in Canada and the United States. You know who to call. It’s part of that Danish connection. And that makes a lot of sense, because I do think as we see the industry mature, those quality companies like AC883 are very valuable. They see them as being a huge resource to the industry. Lars Bendsen: As I said, it makes us really proud that a big company is looking our way, and it’s been a very smooth transition. As you were talking about earlier, the industry is maturing, meaning also big is getting bigger, and you need more horsepower, you need more muscle. And we also needed that, because we’re expanding and there’s only so much we can do. And we’re all getting older, so at a certain time you have to do something. Allen Hall: Sure, but it comes at a point where you’ve proven yourself time and time again. How many times have you grown an industry in your lifetime? You’ve done it many, many times. That’s why AC883 has always been the relied-upon source for so many things. Now Muehlhan brings a lot of advantages and a lot of horsepower to the organization. Because as you have gotten larger, you realize there’s a lot of back office things that need to happen. Safety, gear, equipment. It’s not just putting technicians on ropes out on site. There’s all the management of that. That’s where size matters. Lars Bendsen: Size matters, and also the whole health and safety perspective. You’re putting more staff behind the scenes than actually in front of the scenes. So it’s also extremely expensive. And now we’re expanding our offering, because under the Muehlhan umbrella we can do everything, including main component changes, which we didn’t do before. We decided before that anything we need a crane for, we do not do. Allen Hall: Right, I remember that. Lars Bendsen: Because it’s a completely different animal from a health and safety perspective, equipment, et cetera. And now in Canada, the company we’re going to be merging with, that’s what they do. They’re really strong in lifting and really strong in installation of turbines, complete wind farms. Where we are strong on the O&M side. And our primary customer is the asset owners. Allen Hall: Asset owners love you. Lars Bendsen: We hope so. We think so. Allen Hall: I know they do. Lars Bendsen: Where the other company is more focused on the OEM side. So there’s actually a really good mix in that. And we don’t step on each other’s toes, because we are focused on the O&M part and they’re focused on installation of turbines. So it’s a perfect match in so many ways. Allen Hall: And particularly in Canada, because the Canadian market is poised to put a lot of turbines up in the next couple of years. But at the same time, there’s an older fleet there, and spare parts is an issue. Some of the blades and the repairs are a little more complicated just because of the age of the turbine. And there are a lot of spares and components that you have access to and can bring into the Canadian market. You keep those turbines that are 15, 20 years old running. Lars Bendsen: Yes, we’re in a sweet spot in that respect, where the turbines are getting older but they’re not too old. So we need to keep them alive. And also, many owners still have the high PPA, which also means they want to do it. So there is a growing market for the O&M component, no doubt about it. But also, whatever happens in the US, leave that aside, they have a lot of good stuff happening in Canada on the offshore side, on the East Coast. Allen Hall: Oh, yes. Lars Bendsen: Nova Scotia. There are four big projects going out to bid, I think, within a year or so, and a lot of new projects coming up. So no doubt about it, Canada is a growing market. Where my impression is, and I have to be careful not to say too much, maybe the US is more a stagnating market. It’s maybe not growing as fast as it used to be. Of course, I don’t know enough to be smart about saying it. I’m just saying my impression is it’s more a flat market. Allen Hall: Today. Lars Bendsen: Today, today. Allen Hall: But tomorrow it’s something else. Lars Bendsen: That’s the charm of the unpredictability. Allen Hall: Exactly. Welcome to wind, right? It’s unpredictable. Well, I think that’s good, because the Canadian market is one of those pieces that a lot of Americans don’t pay attention to, because it’s not the same scale. Lars Bendsen: Not yet. But also from the European side, every time we have talked to European vendors or customers, it’s “yeah, be in America.” Yes, but I’m talking Canada. Canada has not even been on the radar. They’re talking about it as of late, but they had not talked about anything else before. So now it’s coming on the radar. And I know the Muehlhan people are smart people. They might be seeing that too. Allen Hall: Oh, I would imagine, yes. Lars Bendsen: So I have no doubt that it makes sense. The other thing that’s critical, of course, the US is big as well, but Canada is area-wise extremely big. Allen Hall: Same width as America, roughly. That’s a big territory. Lars Bendsen: But that also means it’s further between the turbines. That means you can travel like crazy to meet very few clients. And that’s why the one company is in western Canada and we are in eastern Canada. That makes sense. There are many reasons why you have to be local in your area. Allen Hall: Part of that is what’s happening in the United States at the moment, but it’s also on the part of Canada to react to it in a positive way. Like, if America’s not going to do it, well, we’re here. We have great wind resources in Canada. And that’s what the Canadian government is saying to itself, I think. They’re realizing the opportunity to go after that wind resource is now. And not only that, because of the way America has situated itself, they can sell a lot of that power that’s going to be generated in Canada right down to the East Coast of the United States. Lars Bendsen: Yes. Well, the whole AI, the whole data center stuff. It takes seven to eight years to build a power plant. Normally they put a wind farm up in two years. You can’t avoid it, whether you want to or not. I think the Canadians are a little bit optimistic right now, to say, “If you don’t want to do it, we will do it.” And I think we are very happy, and we will see by the end of 2028 who’s happy where. But it’s all good. Allen Hall: Right. Lars Bendsen: It’s all good. But again, by that time, well, only now I’m retired officially, so… Allen Hall: What does that mean? What does retired officially mean? Lars Bendsen: I don’t know. But I’m retired in the respect that Muehlhan bought the company, and Jannik, my son, who’s been running my company— Allen Hall: Jannik is awesome. Lars Bendsen: —he’s been running my company anyhow the last three years. So there’s no change in personnel, same person, people know the same him. Same place, same locations. Nothing has changed at all. Same reasons as before. We just have more horsepower and more offerings to do, and we’re very happy, because we needed that too. Just the whole thing about main component routines. Now we can do it. We couldn’t do that before. Allen Hall: There’s a lot of need for that. Lars Bendsen: As you said, the aging fleet, they need to do main components. We need to lift a whole rotor down, different stuff. So that’s good. Allen Hall: Isn’t that exciting, though? Lars Bendsen: It’s very exciting. Especially for our team. And I’m so proud and happy sitting on the sideline and following it. It’s amazing. Allen Hall: Well, you’re not going to sit there and let them do main component exchanges without going and watching that, right? You’re going to have to go at least take a look at that. Lars Bendsen: I can’t go on site, so I can sit from the highway and look at it. Allen Hall: They’ll give you a hard hat, don’t worry. Lars Bendsen: Oh, I won’t do it. Allen Hall: Safety glasses and steel-toe shoes. Lars Bendsen: Maybe, maybe, maybe. But I’m happy. And Muehlhan is truly good people, a good company. And they have bought out, I don’t know the number of companies they have bought the last couple of years, not only in wind but also in the industrial division. They have a huge industrial company. So I think it’s something like, don’t hold me to it, 40 to 50 companies over the last couple of years. So they’re growing like crazy. And you only do that if you’re good people. Allen Hall: That’s true. The only way to survive is with good people. Lars Bendsen: Or people just say, “No, thank you.” Because people are not desperate to sell. And we were not desperate. We saw it as a great opportunity, and we are honored that they did it. And I think we can take the market share if we want to. Allen Hall: I think Muehlhan, in terms of its reputation, is well known. I’ve talked to large European operators, and who do they use? Muehlhan. That’s who they use. So you hear that name pop up quite a bit, and rightly so. We’ve worked with them. Weather Guard has worked with Muehlhan in the past, and the results have been good, so we’re really grateful. Lars Bendsen: It also looks like there will be more presence of Muehlhan, so to speak, because before it was more the individual companies that had been a part of the Muehlhan group. They’ll be branded as Muehlhan. So it’s the same companies, but there might be bigger visibility, is my guess. I don’t know, again, I’m out, I don’t know the strategy plans. But that’s my two cents, that there’s going to be a bigger visual presence as well. Allen Hall: But in terms of contact points at AC883, Muehlhan now, you’re still able to call Jannik, you’re still able to call Jacob, Bent, and Sydney, and the whole crew is still there. Lars Bendsen: The whole crew. No changes. Same numbers, same emails. The email signature has changed, but the same email address, same telephone number. Even I have my same phone number and my same email address. So if you’re desperate, I’m happy to pick up the phone and forward it to someone else. So it’s all in good order. I’m very happy and proud that we can do that and hand it over. Allen Hall: Well, it’s amazing. And congratulations. But I wanted to have you back on the podcast because we’ve had you on so many times before, and because you’re such an industry insider, so to speak. You know where things happen, and why they’re happening, and the history of some of these wind events. So I use you as that resource, but you’re also a great friend, and I appreciate that. We met just randomly several years ago. Like, who is this Lars guy? And you realized immediately, super knowledgeable, smart on his feet, good salesperson, all those things you need to have in the wind industry to be successful. That’s the package. Lars Bendsen: Well, people dealing with people. Allen Hall: Yes. People dealing with people. Thank you so much for being on the podcast. We’re going to have to have you back on. We have to pull you out of retirement to comment on the state of the wind industry. Lars Bendsen: Would love to do that. Allen Hall: All right, I would love to have you back on.

Pipe Dreams
Rocco Landers - Method to the Madness

Pipe Dreams

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 12, 2026 96:12


Pipe Dreams Podcast returns with a special episode featuring one of the most naturally talented and versatile young riders in American motorcycle racing, Rocco Landers. From growing up around racing in Southern California to dominating MotoAmerica as a teenager, racing in Europe with the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup, and eventually earning his first factory opportunity with Indian Motorcycle, Rocco's career has taken a path few could have predicted.In this episode, Rocco reflects on growing up with his father Stoney Landers as his coach, mechanic, crew chief and biggest supporter, spending his formative years racing in Italy and Spain, and returning to America to become one of the most dominant young riders in MotoAmerica history. He discusses winning two Junior Cup championships and a Twins Cup title, making the jump to Supersport and 1000cc machinery, and experiencing the pressure that came with being labeled a potential future American MotoGP star.Rocco also opens up about the twists and turns of his career, from the Red Bull Rookies Cup and the European development system to opportunities in Twins Cup, Supersport, Stock 1000 and King of the Baggers. He shares what it was like adapting to a 600-pound motorcycle, winning his first Bagger race at COTA, and ultimately landing a factory ride with Indian Motorcycle and Vance & Hines alongside Troy Herfoss and Hayden Gillim. From the MotoGP dream that never followed a straight path to finally getting a true OEM opportunity, this conversation offers a closer look at the talent, adaptability and mentality behind one of America's most intriguing young racers. This is Rocco Landers.Follow ⁠@pipedreams_pod⁠ on social media!____________________________________________________________________________________Please support our partners: Yuasa Battery: Setting the standard for powersports batteries since 1979. Each and every day, it starts with us.- Find Your Battery: https://www.yuasabatteries.com/#batterysearch- Find Your Local Yuasa Dealer: https://www.yuasabatteries.com/how-to-buy/find-a-dealer/- Purchase Online: https://www.yuasabatteries.com/how-to-buy/where-to-buy/For more info visit https://www.yuasabatteries.com____________________________________________________________________________________Gulf Point Advisors: A Forward Thinking Wealth Advisory FirmHave financial questions or want to learn more about the benefits of professional money management? Call our good friend Tris at 603-731-3230, email tris@gulfpointadvisors.com or visit gulfpointadvisors.com

Matt Fanslow - Diagnosing the Aftermarket A to Z
Does Experience Give You Permission to Ignore Service Information? [E249]

Matt Fanslow - Diagnosing the Aftermarket A to Z

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 12, 2026 20:40


Thanks to our Partners, Pico Technology, and AutelWatch Full Video EpisodeHow much freedom should an automotive professional have to deviate from published service information?In this episode of Automotive Field Theory, Matt Fanslow digs into that question after a recent discussion involving ADAS procedures and Ford brake caliper fasteners that service information specifically instructs technicians to remove and discard.The debate isn't really about one set of bolts.It's about the level of confidence we sometimes have in deciding that a procedure isn't necessary when we don't actually know why the manufacturer specified it in the first place.Matt compares following service information to insurance and personal protective equipment. Most days, neither appears necessary. You don't buy insurance because you expect to crash every day, and you don't wear PPE because something goes wrong every time you use it. They're there for the rare day when something does go badly wrong.That same idea applies to automotive repair.Millions of repairs may survive a shortcut without consequence. A rope-style tire plug may last the remaining life of the tire. A reused fastener may never loosen. A skipped calibration may never produce an obvious complaint.But is a history of getting away with something the same as evidence that the procedure wasn't necessary?Topics DiscussedFord service information calling for certain brake fasteners to be removed and discardedThe difficulty of finding documentation explaining why Ford requires replacementWhether thread locker, bolt coatings, fastener design, or another factor could be behind the requirementWhy the absence of an explanation doesn't automatically justify ignoring the procedureRisk management in automotive repairThe difference between something working and something being an approved repairRope-style tire plugs versus manufacturer-approved tire repair proceduresLegal exposure when a repair deviates from accepted or published proceduresOE versus aftermarket ADAS calibration equipment and proceduresWhy following the OE procedure provides an inherently defensible positionWhen departing from an OEM diagnostic trouble tree may be reasonableThe difference between deviating from a diagnostic process and deviating from a safety-related assembly procedureAdding something such as thread locker to improve robustness versus eliminating a required stepThe criticism sometimes directed toward specialists who follow service informationWhy experience alone doesn't necessarily demonstrate that a specified procedure is unnecessaryPPE, insurance, and service procedures as protection against the exceptionally bad dayKey Takeaways“I've always done it this way” isn't the same as knowing why the procedure exists.A repair method can work hundreds or thousands of times without demonstrating that the manufacturer's requirement was unnecessary.There are different kinds of deviations from service information.Skipping steps in a diagnostic trouble tree because you understand the system and can perform more efficient testing isn't necessarily comparable to ignoring a torque specification, calibration requirement, preparation procedure, or instruction to replace a fastener.Following the published procedure is also a form of risk management.The value of the procedure may not reveal itself during the thousands of repairs where nothing goes wrong. Its value may be on the one repair where something does.Doing exactly what the manufacturer published is difficult to criticize.There may be legitimate aftermarket alternatives and there may even be procedures that can be improved upon. But if someone performs the repair exactly as the manufacturer specifies, criticizing them for being unnecessarily cautious is difficult to justify.The QuestionIf service information specifically says to discard and replace a component but doesn't explain why, what level of evidence should be required before we decide that replacement isn't actually necessary?And if documentation exists from Ford explaining why these particular fasteners must be replaced, or providing an approved procedure for their reuse, Matt wants to see it.Thanks to our Partner, Pico TechnologyAre you chasing elusive automotive problems? Pico Technology empowers you to see what's really happening. Their PicoScope oscilloscopes transform your diagnostic capabilities. Visit PicoAuto.comThanks to our Partner, AutelFrom drivability diagnostics and TPMS service to ADAS and advanced safety systems, Autel helps technicians follow OEM procedures and repair with confidence. Learn more at Autel.comContact InformationEmail Matt: mattfanslowpodcast@gmail.comSubscribe on YouTube: @automotivefieldtheoryThe Automotive Repair Podcast Network: https://automotiverepairpodcastnetwork.com/Download and Listen on Our Mobile App: https://automotiverepairpodcastnetwork.com/app/Remarkable Results Radio Podcast with Carm Capriotto: Advancing the Aftermarket by Facilitating Wisdom Through StoryTelling and Open Discussion. https://remarkableresults.biz/Business by the Numbers with Hunt Demarest: Understand the Numbers of Your Business with CPA Hunt Demarest. https://huntdemarest.captivate.fm/The Auto Repair Marketing Podcast with Kim and Brian Walker: Marketing Experts Brian & Kim Walker Work with Shop Owners to Take it to the Next Level. https://autorepairmarketing.captivate.fm/The Weekly Blitz with Chris Cotton: Weekly Inspiration with Business Coach Chris Cotton from AutoFix - Auto Shop Coaching. https://chriscotton.captivate.fm/Speak Up! Effective Communication with Craig O'Neill: Develop Interpersonal and Professional Communication Skills when Speaking to Audiences of Any Size. https://craigoneill.captivate.fm/

Hashtag Trending
Congress Presses Big AI on Safety as Data Center Wars Hit Courts and CIO Costs Rise

Hashtag Trending

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 12, 2026 9:56


Congress Presses Big AI on Safety as Data Center Wars Hit Courts and CIO Costs Rise Jim Love's Hashtag Trending for Wednesday, August 12, 2026 looks at mounting pressure on the AI industry from Washington, corporate technology budgets, data center opposition and changing economics in consulting. House Democrats are demanding answers from OpenAI and Anthropic about AI agents that escaped test environments and reached outside systems. Senator Bernie Sanders is going further, urging OpenAI, Anthropic and Meta to pause development of their most advanced models. At the same time, bipartisan proposals are emerging around AI security audits and an AI Kill Switch Act. CIOs are facing another problem: rising costs. Microsoft has reportedly increased Windows 11 OEM licence fees by 7 to 10 percent. Many organizations are still moving PCs off Windows 10, while memory prices, Microsoft 365 costs, AI model and token spending, and cybersecurity requirements are all increasing. The fight over AI data centers is also moving into courtrooms. Lawsuits are challenging approval processes, environmental impacts and plans for off-grid natural-gas power generation. And finally, Jim looks at a question he has been raising for some time: is AI starting to undermine the traditional consulting business model? Accenture's bookings are slowing just as AI gives clients increasingly powerful tools for research, analysis and presentations. 00:00 Headlines and Intro 00:24 Congress Targets AI Safety 02:13 CIO Budget Squeeze 04:14 Data Center Lawsuits Rise 06:38 AI Disrupts Consulting 09:00 Closing Thoughts and Outro

Millionaire Car Salesman Podcast
EP 12:06 Find Out How a Used Car Saleswoman Earns Over $225K in ONE Year

Millionaire Car Salesman Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 11, 2026 56:36


How does a used car saleswoman go from brand-new to the business to earning more than $225,000 in ONE year? "It's not about selling. It's about solving a problem." – Sady Ahmed In this episode of the Millionaire Car Salesman Podcast, Sean V. Bradley sits down with top-performing salesperson Sady Ahmed of Koons Automotive to uncover the mindset, strategies, and customer-first approach behind her rise in automotive sales. "Every customer is different. You gotta be able to mirror them." – Sady Ahmed Sady has built a powerhouse business by dominating one of the toughest opportunities in the dealership: Special Finance and credit-challenged customers. But her success goes far beyond simply selling cars. She's built a system around trust, credit education, personal branding, referrals, repeat business, and turning customers who hear "NO" elsewhere into long-term relationships. "If you don't believe that you're the best, how are you going to get other people to believe that you're the best?" – Sady Ahmed Sean and Sady also explore how today's automotive sales professionals can leverage AI, ChatGPT, community involvement, social media, and smarter follow-up strategies to create more opportunities and separate themselves from the competition. "You want the community to support you, you've got to support the community." – Sean V. Bradley How did Sady build a $225K+ income without chasing a management title? What helped her reach a record-breaking 34 cars in a single month? And what can other salespeople learn from her approach to some of the most challenging customers in automotive? Find out how this used car saleswoman earns over $225K in ONE year and the strategies helping her build a career, customer base, and personal brand that continues to grow. If you're serious about selling more cars, generating more referrals, building your brand, and increasing your income in automotive sales, you need to hear this conversation! Key Takeaways: ✅ Credit Mastery: Understanding and mastering credit intricacies play a crucial role in closing deals with subprime clients. ✅ AI Utilization: Using AI tools like ChatGPT can streamline credit analysis and improve customer experiences by drafting dispute letters or enhancing credit advisories. ✅ Personal Branding: Building a personal brand through social media and community engagement is essential for long-term success in automotive sales. ✅ Partnership Opportunities: Collaborations with credit repair firms can be a strategic method to assist clients with challenging credit profiles. ✅ Client Education: Educating clients about credit improvement methods can lead to increased customer loyalty and repeat business.   About Sady Ahmed Sady Ahmed is a top-performing automotive sales consultant specializing in Special Finance at Koons Automotive of Fredericksburg. Since entering the car business in 2019 with no prior automotive experience, she has grown into a consistent 20-car-per-month producer, recently achieving a personal best of 34 vehicles sold in a single month. Known for her honest, relationship-first approach, Sady helps customers navigate challenging credit situations, build stronger financial plans, and find the right path to vehicle ownership. Her success comes from keeping it real, solving problems, and putting long-term customer relationships ahead of simply making a sale.     Unlocking the Potential of Special Finance in the Automotive Industry   Key Takeaways Understanding customer credit intricacies is integral for automotive sales success. Leveraging AI in credit analysis offers enhanced insights for customers with subprime profiles. Personal branding and community engagement are crucial for establishing a successful automotive sales career.   Navigating the Special Finance Ecosystem in Car Sales In the world of automotive sales, special finance remains a challenging but rewarding niche. As the conversation led by Sean V. Bradley with Sadie Ahmed highlights, excelling in this sector involves not just selling cars but mastering the intricacies of credit. Sadie's approach to her work exemplifies the seamless integration of credit counseling within automotive sales, recognizing the importance of being "on their side" for customers with subprime credit scores. Sadie's dedication to special finance stems from her genuine desire to assist people, particularly those deemed 'at risk' or subprime. "I just like helping people. So I feel like when I have a customer that comes to me and they are in that weird spot of like a 550 to a 650, that can change overnight," she asserts. For Sadie, automotive sales are less about pitching a sale and more about "solving a problem," a notion that echoes throughout the interview. This empathetic approach transforms what could be a high-pressure sales interaction into a supportive experience for her clients, setting a standard for the industry. Harnessing AI for Enhanced Credit Analysis in Automotive Sales Artificial Intelligence is revolutionizing how dealerships manage special finance operations. Sean Bradley emphasizes the potential of AI tools like ChatGPT in scrutinizing credit reports to advise clients effectively. "You can use, whether it's Claude or it's Google, Gemini or Chat GPT, or if your dealership has its own internal knowledge base, you could actually help Yourself and the prospect by using AI to analyze the credit bureau," Bradley affirms. The integration of AI doesn't stop at just analyzing credit. Sadie elaborates: "I've been doing this for about seven years. So I've learned what banks are looking for…and I've learned the nuances of how to get banks to overlook certain red flags if I can provide just the right context." With AI, sales professionals like Sadie can automate parts of the credit advice process, enhancing their ability to serve clients efficiently and improving the overall customer experience. In a competitive industry where the minutiae of financial history can make or break a sale, leveraging AI for credit analysis is a game-changer. It empowers car sales professionals to not only meet but exceed client expectations by providing insightful and actionable credit advice. Building a Personal Brand for Long-term Success in Automotive Sales Personal branding emerges as a powerful driver for success. Sadie Ahmed's journey evidences the power of building a personal brand rooted in reliability and expertise. Her mantra, "You incorporated," underlines the importance of self-belief and self-promotion. By leveraging social media platforms like Facebook and TikTok, Sadie creates a persistent presence, ensuring she remains top-of-mind for potential car buyers. Beyond digital interactions, Sadie highlights the value of community involvement. "I do sponsor a bunch of local events. I've sponsored some golf tournaments, base local baseball teams…," she shares, demonstrating her commitment to establishing relationships and goodwill within her community. This extends her brand's reach and cements her reputation as a trusted advisor, not just a salesperson. The world of automotive sales demands adaptability and innovative thinking. As Sadie Ahmed showcases, blending effective customer credit management with a robust personal brand paves the way for sustainable success. This approach, underscored by strategic engagement with global tech advancements such as AI, keeps industry professionals ahead of the curve. Ultimately, embracing a comprehensive understanding of client financial situations and utilizing technology not only transforms the customer experience but also empowers sales professionals to thrive in an ever-evolving market landscape.       Resources + Our Proud Sponsors:   ➼ Podium: The AI Platform Powering the Modern Dealership. From instant lead response to seamless test drive scheduling, Podium's AI Employee Jerry works 24/7 to turn every lead into a conversion, so your team can focus on closing. Trusted by thousands of dealerships nationwide and proudly featured on the Millionaire Car Salesman Podcast. Learn how Podium can help you sell more cars, book more service appointments, and grow your dealership. Discover how Podium's innovative AI technology can unlock unparalleled efficiency and drive your dealership's sales to new heights. Visit www.podium.com/mcs to learn more!   ➼ The Millionaire Car Salesman Facebook Group: Join the #1 Automotive Sales Mastermind Facebook Group with over 29,000 automotive professionals worldwide. The Millionaire Car Salesman Facebook Group is the go-to community for car salespeople, BDC agents, sales managers, general managers, and dealer principals looking to increase performance, income, and leadership skills. Inside the group, members collaborate daily on automotive sales strategies, lead handling, phone scripts, closing techniques, CRM best practices, dealership leadership, and accountability systems. Learn directly from top automotive trainers, industry mentors, and high-performing sales leaders who are actively winning in today's market. If you're serious about growing your automotive career, increasing car sales, and building long-term success, join The Millionaire Car Salesman Facebook Group today! ➼ Dealer Synergy: Dealer Synergy is the automotive industry's #1 Sales Training, Consulting, and Accountability Firm, with over 20 years of proven dealership success nationwide. We specialize in helping car dealerships increase sales, improve processes, and build high-performing Sales, Internet, and BDC departments from the ground up. Our expertise includes automotive phone scripts, rebuttals, CRM action plans, lead handling strategies, BDC workflows, Internet sales processes, management training, and accountability systems. Dealer Synergy partners directly with dealership leadership to align people, process, and technology, ensuring consistent results and scalable growth. From independent dealers to large dealer groups and OEM partnerships, Dealer Synergy delivers measurable performance improvements, stronger teams, and sustainable profitability. ➼ Bradley On Demand: Bradley On Demand is the automotive industry's most advanced interactive training, tracking, testing, and certification platform for car dealerships — built to develop top-performing teams across Sales, Internet Sales, BDC, CRM, Phone Skills, Leadership, and Management. In addition to LIVE virtual automotive training classes and a library of 9,000+ on-demand dealership training modules, Bradley On Demand now includes AI Phone Roleplaying and Coaching to help salespeople and BDC agents practice real dealership conversations before they ever get on the phone with customers. This AI-powered roleplay technology strengthens phone scripts, objection handling, appointment setting, lead follow-up, and closing skills, while providing measurable coaching feedback for continuous improvement. Bradley On Demand empowers dealerships to train faster, coach smarter, improve call performance, increase closing ratios, and sell more cars more profitably — all through structured, trackable, modern automotive training.

The Uptime Wind Energy Podcast
ORE Catapult Blade Survey, Siemens Gamesa Turns a Profit

The Uptime Wind Energy Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 11, 2026 20:46


ORE Catapult wants industry blade failure data, Siemens Gamesa posts its first profit since 2022, and Vattenfall sweeps Denmark’s offshore auction. Fill out the ORE Catapult survey! The Uptime Wind Energy Podcast is brought to you by Weather Guard Lightning Tech, creators of the StrikeTape Ultra LPS retrofit. Subscribe to Uptime’s Substack newsletter. And check out Rosemary’s “Engineering with Rosie” Youtube channel. Have a question we can answer on the show? Email us! Allen Hall: Welcome to the Uptime Wind Energy podcast. I’m your host, Allen Hall, and I’m here with Rosemary Barnes, Matthew Sted, and Yolanda Padron. And it has been a real interesting week out in the renewable land, uh, if you’ve been watching some of the news, and we’re gonna talk about a number of those stories this week. But I wanna lead off with what ORE Catapult is doing over in the UK. So if, if you haven’t followed ORE Catapult, they are a, a research investigative arm and a huge proponent of wind, offshore wind in the United Kingdom, and they’ve done a, a tre- really tremendous amount of work in some of the, uh, particular problems that exist in wind trying to help [00:01:00] solve them. They have a survey that’s out, and if you haven’t seen it, you can just Google ORE Catapult and put in survey, and you’ll come to either an article or get to their site. And Rosemary and Yolanda, there’s a couple of particular items that they’re asking questions about. Uh, a lot of it is asking specific questions about torsional stability of blades. Have you seen more difficulty with torsion? Is… Do we need a torsion test? I think that was one of the questions. Uh, also looking at ranking of the different issues that happen with blades in particular. That’s what I noticed. Uh, you know, where’s lightning? Where’s blade connections? Where’s structural issues? Where do you rank all those different things? And I, I have not seen a survey like this in quite a while. Is this something that we need to do more of? I know [00:02:00] ORE Catapult will get a huge amount of feedback, at least I hope, over in the UK and, and around Europe. I don’t think many Americans are gonna be contributing to that too much since you don’t have a lot of offshore wind. But is this going in the right direction? Do we need more of these industry surveys about structural blade issues?  Yolanda Padron: Yeah, I think these surveys are a really good idea. Uh, the only thing that scares me from the owner side is that sometimes there’s a little bit of, uh- Teams don’t really love the idea of sharing information that might seem like it’s, um, like intellectual property to their internal teams. Even if as an engineer, of course, you love the idea of sharing and finding out like, um, what everybody else is, is experiencing on their site. Um, and so I really hope that the teams can really look, like their internal teams can really look past that because this would be a really great tool [00:03:00] for everybody to use. I know I looked at the survey myself and some of the questions kind of gave people the, the opportunity to kind of anonymize their data and then just kind of share it and have it. It seemed like it, it would probably be a platform that everybody could look at or everybody that, that shared could look at. And I think that it could be really, really good for operators to be able to know kind of if what they’re seeing on site is normal and just to be able to see what they’re signing up for when there’s a new site coming in. Or if it’s a site that’s been operational for a while, you can see what’s, hopefully, what’s happening to a quite older site than yours. So just to, to be able to be a bit more prepared, um, since a lot of these sites are from different own- owners. But I think it’s a really good idea.  Allen Hall: The survey asked questions about leading edge erosion, torsional loads, root joint integrity, lightning damage, manufacturing defects, which is a big [00:04:00] issue right now, extreme loading events, which also, uh, is, uh, coming about more often, uh, repair performance, and end of life fatigue. So there’s a, a series of questions about that and when do you experience these items in the lifetime of a blade. Is it more towards the beginning of the operation or more towards the end? That is important to know ’cause it, how you go about managing blades depends on that. The torsional questions were more specific. Uh, in your experience, how well understood are the effects on blade longevity of torsional loads compared to bending loads? And I think that relates back to some of the, uh, issues that have been seen on some offshore blades where there’s no existing test for torsion because it’s so hard to do. Whereas bending loads, we pretty well understand that and can do lifetime testing essentially for, for bending loads. So the torsional one I think is gonna raise a lot of question marks to hopefully with people, and we can come up [00:05:00] with a, a better approach to that.  Yolanda Padron: Hopefully, yeah. I think this is, I mean, this is just a really good idea to if, if everybody could partake. Um, I would really love to see something similar if people could in, in onshore. And so just something that’s, that’s shared a, uh, a little bit more widely I think would be really, really great. Uh, the only thing that might stre- or not stress me out, but- you know, I think people need to be careful about is just making sure that you’re not, um, that you actually use your data and not just kind of like, “Oh, I know that I remember this terrible lightning damage that I got in this really, really bad area, so I’m gonna mark as though most of my lightning damage happens in that bad area.” So just, just make sure you don’t use confirmation bias for, for that, but  Matthew Stead: I can also add to it as well ’cause, um, we’ve done a fair bit of work with all Catapult over the years, um, particularly through the new IEC standard for blade O&M. Um, and, uh, [00:06:00] definitely through the new blade O&M standard, the topic of blade twist has come up multiple times. Um- And also adding to that, you know, our organization has done twist on, twist measurements on 100 meter blades, and the twist that we measured was more than the OEM expected. Um, so I think this is a bit of a sleeper topic, um, and I think OR Catapult is doing the right thing by gathering more information. Allen Hall: There is a l- little database that’s gonna be put together, at least looking at the questions. Question 12, and everybody hopefully will go in and, and participate in the survey, but it says, “Would you be interested in sharing redacted failure data into a industry-wide database to help inform research agenda for blade development and O&M tools and solutions?” That is a great idea. Having a database so we understand the scale of problems and can put some numbers [00:07:00] to them, and then we can do some more research in those areas, and focus research where we’re actually gonna spend money in the right places, which has been my fight for the last five, six years, where we spend a lot of money, but not necessarily where we need to. That’s a great question, and hopefully OR Catapult does p- put together a database.  Rosemary Barnes: Companies really, really, really struggle to provide access to their data. Like, um, it, y- yeah, it, it’s, it’s very hard to get it beyond just using for their own specific project. I’ll be, I’ll be so happy if this database gets up and becomes publicly available so that every- everybody can use it to create the solutions that the industry needs. But I know how hard a challenge it is, so I’m wishing them heaps of, heaps of luck to get it to work.  Matthew Stead: And can I also add that, um, OR Catapult also did a wonderful presentation at Blades Europe, where they talked about life extension. They talked about the actual loading on the blades, um, influencing the fatigue life. And so I think, you know, that excellent [00:08:00] database hopefully, as we talked about, gets fed into some of their work about life extension.  Allen Hall: Well, OR Catapult is trying to get ahead of blade failures before they cost money. Uh, our next company knows exactly what that costs. Siemens Gamesa is still climbing out of a serial defect problem, and it posted its first profit in four years. So we’ll be back to talk about that in a moment.  Speaker: Are you overspending on lightning repairs? Most operators are, because solving lightning damage is complicated. Weather Guard Lightning Tech helps operators reduce lightning damage. Our innovative StrikeTape lightning diverter protects over 20,000 blades worldwide. Now, StrikeTape Ultra installs faster than ever. StrikeTape Ultra cures uptower in just 15 minutes, even in cold weather. Visit weatherguardwind.com to schedule a call. Allen Hall: Siemens Gamesa has finally turned a [00:09:00] profit, its first time since 2022. Uh, now comes the hard part. Order intake in the third quarter fell 77% from 4.89 billion euros a year ago to 1.05 billion Chief Executive Christian Bruch, uh, says a lot of the offshore projects that were originally planned are slipping, and as we’ve seen in the news, and that developers are not willing to make final investment decisions right now. Uh, in Germany, developers are lobbying to hand 16 gigawatts of offshore sites back to the states, and, and Bruch says that the, the capacity is, is not going to be built. Onshore, uh, the relaunched 5.X platform is ramping up slowly after the serial defect shutdown, with approvals still holding some orders back. So Siemens Gamesa is going to make a push, or [00:10:00] Omtera I guess it is called now, w- is going to make a push, uh, into the 5.X machine and continue on on the offshore side. But boy, some of these, uh, auctions and, uh, bidding processes are not great for Siemens at the moment.  Matthew Stead: I’ve got a question. Did, um, did Siemens actually stop selling for a while as well? Is that part of their order intake loss?  Allen Hall: Some of the machines, I believe, the 4.X and the 5.X, when they had the serial defect issues, uh, they put a hold on them for a little while and, and did a complete redesign, I believe, on the blades. But other turbines I thought were still being offered for sale, and I thought I saw s- some installs in the United States going on, more on the two megawatt, three megawatt machines, uh, but n- not the bigger ones. And, and offshore too, like it sound- does sound like the large offshore wind project in the United States, which is the coastal Virginia offshore wind project, uh, off the, you know, a couple of miles off the coast of Virginia, is [00:11:00]going a little bit slower than they thought. Uh, so maybe there’s a, a little bit to the 14. It’s, that’s a Siemens Gamesa 14-236 direct drive machine that’s going in there. So there, there’s some still learning curves going on from what I can see, but it does seem like it’s, uh, it’s, you know, formerly Siemens Energy, there’s a huge amount of money to be had in this corporation. So if the wind division is not doing all that great, it, it’s kind of like GE Vernova. There, there’s other ways to make money.  Matthew Stead: There’s also, I mean, I’m just wondering if there’s a bit of a blip. It’s just a short-term correction in terms of the order intake, and, you know, once they get back on track, uh, it’ll, it’ll revert again. Uh, that’s what I hope for, hope for.  Allen Hall: We’re gonna move on to Vattenfall. Uh, there was a Danish offshore auction, and Vattenfall won both of them. And Ørsted did bid and didn’t win, and no one seems to care too much that Ørsted didn’t win. Uh, and Vattenfall, it’s, it’s a huge deal for [00:12:00] Vattenfall. So- Orsted not winning in their own backyard does seem like a problem politically  Rosemary Barnes: If Denmark wanted to have, you know, local companies winning these auctions, then they could’ve, they could’ve, uh, you know, made it for l- local companies only or tilted the playing field in their favor. Um, so yeah, uh, I don’t know, maybe that’s the outcome that they want. If they want… It’s always like a, a tension, right? If you, you want cheap- the cheapest prices on one hand, you want local content on the other, and if you, you know, anything you do to one of those two sides affects the other. So yeah, like, in general, the more you encourage local content, then the more restrictions you place on companies to choose a cheaper supplier in every case. Uh, Denmark is at least well-placed to have good world-class suppliers in, you know, most, most categories of the things that you need in an offshore wind [00:13:00] farm. But yeah, I mean, you see it all over the world. Uh, you know, Australia periodically tries to, uh, you know, get more local content, but it’s very, it’s very hard for us ’cause we don’t have a whole thriving ecosystem. And so it’s like you’ve gotta pick out the one thing that you think that we could compete on and then subsidize that, and then it’s just, like, so… it’s such a weird distortion. And if companies didn’t already wanna choose that local supplier, it’s because it’s more expensive, so therefore you are necessarily adding cost. Um, I think Taiwan d- uh, has h- experienced a lot of this with their offshore industry, right? Where they kind of s- they got really enthusiastic about local content, and everyone’s like, “Yeah, this is a great thing to do ’cause you can get local manufacturing, and you can develop a whole thriving industry But then when it comes down to it, you know, it’s not so great to have, like, whoever set up the, the system that you’ve gotta adhere to to get these projects in place, like, they’re not the experts in developing offshore [00:14:00] projects for a cheap price and on schedules, obviously. Other- otherwise they’d be working in that, in that role. So you, uh, do end up making things really hard for the developers, and then you- they ended up with very expensive projects. And, um, because the local content, you know, like, they had what sounded, in theory at the start, like a good, um, like a good idea. They start off with a low local content requirement and gradually ratcheted it up as the industry is supposed to mature. But what they saw was the prices just ratcheted up in parallel. Um, especially once the few things that can be competitively supplied, uh, locally, once you… That is not sufficient to y- y- you know, once the local content amount exceeds what you can achieve with those competitive industries, then yeah, you do start to see people having to spend a lot more and add a lot of project risk if you’re, y- you know, uh, going with brand new suppliers that have never, you know, never supplied a project like that before. So I can kind of [00:15:00] understand why Denmark wouldn’t be so focused on, yeah, our local, our local company needs to win.  Matthew Stead: Yeah. Yeah, com- competition is a good thing, isn’t it? So yeah, you can’t have everyone winning all the time.  Rosemary Barnes: I think it’s such an interesting time, though, in the world where, and I’m changing my mind about this, like, yes, competition is a good thing, but if you only have competition, um, and don’t consider your country’s, you know, local competitiveness, then you end up not being able to make anything, especially when we’ve got, y- you know, in the world at the moment, there’s so much globalization, like, way more than ever before in the world’s history. And, you know, there are countries or our country mostly, that has, you know, 50% of market share for certain things, and more for other things that people need. It’s like, so- They can obviously, just based on scale alone, can produce things at prices that no [00:16:00] one else can compete with. And then you add in that not every country is totally committed to 100% fair global playing field and, you know, there are subsidies involved and incentives and that sort of thing. Like, you do just end up with every other country not thinking it’s economic to make anything at all. And then, yeah, I mean, everyone knows monopolies are bad, right? I don’t think that would be any different for supply chains. So I think, yeah, like we’re about to have a re-reckoning or are in the process of a re-reckoning about how much globalization is a good thing, how much free trade is a good thing, how much, you know, just letting the market take care of it is a good thing because nobody wants to end up in a situation where, you know, the whole world is dependent on one country to make absolutely everything. Yolanda Padron: Yeah, but is it, isn’t it also kind of like a cultural thing here for Vattenfall, um, like for Dane- Denmark itself to try to be very [00:17:00]strict about the rules and if Ørsted didn’t win the bid, then they didn’t win the bid type of thing? Like, to not try to give them as much of a, of an advantage ’cause they’re still owned majorly by the Crown, right? Allen Hall: It’s like 50% ownership by the state, right, Ørsted still.  Yolanda Padron: In general they, they have a lot of- very Danish rules of like against, you know, uh, in the US against like PACs and lobbying and stuff, and things that are very common here because it’s more culturally aligned with Denmark. Um, so I guess it, I mean, it does, it, it does make sense, right? That they would try to separate that as much as possible to try to not have that conflict of interest.  Rosemary Barnes: I think Denmark, um, definitely wouldn’t consider themselves rule followers, ’cause if you compare them to their immediate neighbors like, um, Sweden and Germany, the Danes are like a lot more relaxed. They have this saying in, [00:18:00] uh, Denmark that i- in, in Sweden, everything that isn’t forbidden is mandatory. That’s how they think of, of the Swedes.  Allen Hall: Wow. There’s a lot that’s not forbidden, Rosemary. You’re going into some murky waters there. Okay.  Rosemary Barnes: That’s their perception, and I think it is true relative to Sweden. The Swede- Swedes are more rule followers. But as, um, someone that comes from a probably more relaxed country, again, yes, the Danes did really like following rules. Um, like a lot of unwritten rules as well. I remember one specific example I remember actually, uh, we had like a whole, uh, I did Danish language classes when I was there, and part of that was like a cultural education. One of the classes was based around, uh, some of the unwritten rules in society, and one of them is it’s this date, and I don’t remember the date, but there is a certain date that if you have not trimmed your hedge by that date, that is just like y- you are not an upstanding member of society. Like, that is just like ab- absolutely not okay and like everybody that walks [00:19:00] past your house is like, “Oh my God, they haven’t trimmed their hedge yet,” and people will be talking about it and in the canteen at work. So definitely they do like to follow the rules. But what I will say about Denmark also is that I think that they usually top the world’s list, or at least close to the top in terms of trust. Um, they trust people in general, but especially they trust government institutions. And I think that you can’t have trust in government institutions if they pick and choose, um, when they’re going to enforce the rules or not. So I think that in that sense, yeah, of course, they’re not going to after the fact go, “Oh, this, the, oh, we had an auction, but the result wasn’t the way we liked it, so we’re gonna change it.” Like, that’s not a very trustworthy thing for a government to do. They do rely, obviously we’re a small country, they rely a lot on international trade, and so I think that they would see a big risk in, um, yeah, having their auction be anything but fully transparent and fair. So yeah. Anyway, that’s my, my cultural interpretation based on having lived in Denmark for five years. Uh, [00:20:00] five years ago now. It’s been a while.  Allen Hall: That wraps up another episode of the Uptime Wind Energy podcast. If today’s discussion sparked any questions or ideas, we’d love to hear from you. Reach out to us on LinkedIn. And if you found value in today’s conversation, please leave us a review. It really helps other wind energy professionals discover the show. And don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode. And for Rosey, Yolanda, and Matthew, I’m Allen Hall, and we’ll see you here next week on the Uptime Wind Energy podcast.

Podcast : Escola do Amor Responde
3392# Escola do Amor Responde (no ar 10.08.2026)

Podcast : Escola do Amor Responde

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 10, 2026 25:30


Logo no início do programa de hoje, Renato Cardoso compartilhou um trecho de uma palestra que ele e a esposa Cristiane Cardoso ministraram no Templo de Salomão, em São Paulo. Em síntese, a palestra falou sobre a importância de confiar em Deus e não se preocupar excessivamente com o futuro. Ou seja, devemos planejar o que estiver ao nosso alcance, mas entender que não temos controle sobre o amanhã. Também foi destacada a diferença entre homens e mulheres na forma de pensar e a importância de buscar a direção de Deus nas decisões, principalmente nos relacionamentos.Quer reconstruir a relaçãoEm seguida, um aluno pediu ajuda. Ele sempre foi um marido dedicado e provedor, mas, apesar dos seus esforços, sentia que nunca era suficiente para a esposa. Ela veio de um casamento turbulento e, mesmo que ele tentasse fazer tudo diferente do ex-marido, foi se frustrando e se desanimando até cometer uma traição.Acontece que ela descobriu. Posteriormente, eles reataram, mas ele se arrepende profundamente e tem medo de ter perdido a confiança e o amor dela. O aluno disse que a ama e reconhece todos os valores dela, mas não sabe como reconstruir o relacionamento. Ao final, ele perguntou como pode fazer para reconstruir a relação de uma forma melhor.Bem-vindos à Escola do Amor Responde, confrontando os mitos e a desinformação nos relacionamentos. Onde casais e solteiros aprendem o Amor Inteligente. Renato e Cristiane Cardoso, apresentadores da Escola do Amor, na Record TV, e autores de Casamento Blindado e Namoro Blindado, tiram dúvidas e respondem perguntas dos alunos. Participe pelo site EscoladoAmorResponde.com. Ouça todos os podcasts no iTunes: rna.to/EdARiTunes

Short Corners
F1 Livestream 0804 (driving styles) with Peter Windsor

Short Corners

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 8, 2026 131:21


In this special August Break livestream Peter takes your questions and comments around a particular theme - about how Kimi Antonelli and Max Verstappen take T14 in Hungary.  Delving deep into the subtleties of shorter corners and rotation zones, Peter, sketching live on camera, offers his explanation of why stars like Max, Kimi and Charles Leclerc are able to drive the way they do. Kimi recently said that he "turns in very late, very aggressively" - and that's true, of course.  Thing is, many F1 observers have mis-understood this to mean that he turns in late to the entire corner. Peter in this livestream explains why the exact opposite is true. Images related to Peter's sketches can be found in the chapter headings of this livestreamWith thanks to Jetcraft, the world's largest buyer and seller of executive jets:https://jetcraft.comTo TrackNinja, a lap-timer and data app designed to help users improve their on-track car and driver performance through analysis and an innovative Data Garage. A lite version is free; the loaded edition is US$9.99 pcm or $99.99 yearlyhttps://trackninja.appTo OEM Exclusive, the passionate suppliers of OEM upgrades for exotic and high-performance vehiclesAnd to REC Watches, whose timepieces are infused with DNA and actual material from famous racing and road cars. Claim your additional 10 per cent discount by adding the codeword PETER:https://recwatches.com/next-projectVisit our new merch store to Make Corners Great Again!: https://sl1nk.com/y22788jThumbnail mage: AMG MercedesVisit: FXD https://fxdworkwear.com for all your purpose-build, technical workwearVisit https://alpinestars.com for all your racing apparelTry Oscar Razors - Australia's highly-rated, 5-blade razors for men and women https://oscarrazor.com.au.  Follow Peter @peterwindsorBook a Cameo with Peter: https://cameo.com/peterwindsorContact us at: peterwindsoryt@gmail.comWe support the Race Against Dementia:https://raceagainstdementia.comThe Alora dog rescue shelter (Malaga, Spain)https://aloradogrescue.com#standwithukraine - now, more than ever#Canada! #jimmykimmel!Stephen Gallacher Golf Foundationhttps://sgfoundation.co.ukNick: you're with us always:https://samaritans.orgSupport the showVisit: https://youtube.com/peterwindsor for F1 videos past, present and future

Jeep Talk Show, A Jeep podcast!
Tackform Jeep Phone Mounts That Actually Stay Put | Full Interview

Jeep Talk Show, A Jeep podcast!

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 7, 2026 55:51


Tony sits down with Nick from Tackform (tackform.com) to dig into the world of rugged, vehicle-specific phone, tablet, radio, and device mounts built for Jeeps and serious off-road use.** Nick has been designing and producing phone and device mounts since 2012. The company started in the consumer space, expanded into motorcycles and commercial trucks, then pivoted hard into pickup trucks and SUVs—especially the Jeep community. They specialize in modular, all-metal systems using 20 mm (and larger 26-series) ball-and-socket arms, slim track and Assault Track (Picatinny-style) dash brackets, MagSafe/magnetic holders, spring cradles, and wireless charging options. ### Key topics covered - Why vent mounts and suction cups fail hard on Jeeps (and why solid, no-drill OEM-hole solutions matter) - Building custom dash kits for Gladiator, JL, JK, and working backward toward TJ/YJ/XJ - Wireless inductive charging cradles (including their new 25-watt version with Peltier cooling plate to fight heat) - Magnetic mounts for GMRS handhelds and Midland MXT series mics - Starlink mounting options (and why the 26-series ball is better for the heavier load) - Load ratings, vibration control, billet CNC aluminum vs. injection-molded parts, and why they constantly iterate - Funny customer requests and the realities of scanning new vehicles for perfect fitment - The modular "Lego" ecosystem that lets you mix phone holders, radios, switch panels, and cameras Nick walks through how Tackform approaches engineering for real-world abuse, why they prefer billet for many Jeep brackets (easier to iterate), and the challenges of getting hands on brand-new vehicles for scanning and prototyping. **Check out the full lineup and build your own kit at:** **https://www.tackform.com** Find them on Instagram (tackform.systems / @tackform), Facebook, and their YouTube channel for install videos. 00:00 Show Opening and Guest Introduction 01:17 Phone Mount Market and CarPlay Subscription Issues 03:03 Developing Wireless Charging Phone Mounts 04:29 Configurable Dash Kit Builder Overview 05:34 Custom Power Wiring and Hidden Installation 06:39 OEM Mounting Points and Integrated Power Ports 08:13 Jeep Modification Culture and Device Mounting Trends 09:13 Starlink Mount Solutions for Jeeps 11:01 Ball-and-Socket Mount Architecture and Load Limits 13:53 GMRS/CB Radio Mounts and Magnetic Attachments 15:43 Product Development Process and Continuous Innovation 17:17 Gathering and Evaluating Unusual Product Ideas 17:49 Creative and Quirky Mount Ideas 18:45 Safety Limits for Mount Extensions and Airbag Zones 19:19 Vehicle Acquisition, Scanning, and Prototype Timeline 21:51 Vibration Management and Material Rigidity in Mount Design 22:56 Testing Deflection and Vibration on Plastic Tray Mounts 24:04 Engineering Specificity and Design Optimization 24:44 Balancing Design Complexity and User Needs 25:22 Material Choice: Billet vs Injection Molding and Iterative Design 26:49 CNC Machining vs Tooling: Cost and Volume Trade‑offs 28:44 Aesthetic Design and Billet Manufacturing Appeal 29:40 Adapting to New Vehicle Models and Resource Constraints 32:10 Vehicle Scanning Process and Development Cycle 34:20 Community Involvement and Simplified Kit Options 35:09 Customer Commitment and Apology 35:57 Highlighting Best‑Selling Phone Holder Products 37:23 Wireless Charging Cradle with Peltier Cooling 39:08 Phone Overheating, Wireless Charging, and Shade Solutions 40:53 Inductive Charging in Autonomous Vehicles and Future Outlook 42:27 Future of Vehicle Mounts, Subscriptions, and Emerging Technologies 43:46 Tech Evolution and Subscription Model Critique 44:16 Overview of Best‑Selling Products and Product Range 44:55 Grab Handle Mounts and Product Variety 45:26 Manufacturing Capabilities and Equipment Flexibility 46:17 Managing Overseas Suppliers and Quality Control 47:05 Automation Costs and Custom Manufacturing in the US 49:14 US Manufacturing Facilities and Automation Examples 50:03 Plans for Behind‑the‑Scenes Video Content 54:54 Closing Remarks and Appreciation Tackform All Metal Dash Mount Phone Holder Compatible with 2024–2025 Jeep Wrangler JL, 4xe & Gladiator JT https://www.amazon.com/Tackform-Metal-Mount-Holder-Compatible/dp/B0DKB1MYWY Tackform TRAXX Slim Track / Assault Track Dash Mounts (MagSafe options) for JL & Gladiator https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Tackform+TRAXX+Jeep Tackform Link Grab Handle / A-Pillar Mount with Magnetic Phone Holder for JL & Gladiator https://www.amazon.com/Tackform-Handle-Pillar-Magnetic-Holder/dp/B0DY2LV7MG Tackform Magnetic CB / GMRS Microphone Holders and related Jeep dash kits https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Tackform+Jeep+mount Visit our website: https://jeeptalkshow.com/ Watch/Listen on Spotify https://jeeptalkshow.com/spotify Join our Discord Server: https://jeeptalkshow.com/discord Subscribe to our newsletter: https://jeeptalkshow.com/newsletter Help Support the show via Patreon: https://jeeptalkshow.com/patreon

Podcast : Escola do Amor Responde
3391# Escola do Amor Responde (no ar 06.08.2026)

Podcast : Escola do Amor Responde

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 6, 2026 17:04


Logo no início do programa de hoje, foi destacado que, em um relacionamento, é importante ser verdadeiro desde o início. Não se deve fingir ter mais dinheiro, usar bens materiais para impressionar ou esconder as verdadeiras intenções sobre um compromisso. O amor não deve ser baseado no que a pessoa tem, mas em quem ela é. Ou seja, honestidade e realidade são fundamentais para construir uma relação saudável e evitar frustrações no futuro.Quer mudar a situaçãoEm seguida, Janderson contou que sua esposa saiu de casa há 20 dias e disse que o amor por ele acabou, principalmente porque ele era frio e distante dentro de casa. Ele relatou que o fato de estar desempregado há dois anos, a tristeza e a dificuldade para expressar seus sentimentos contribuíram para esse comportamento.Ademais, Janderson também mencionou conflitos relacionados ao fato de ela beber. Apesar disso, afirmou que ainda ama a esposa e não quer que o casamento termine. Diante dessa situação, o aluno perguntou o que pode fazer para mudar essa realidade.Bem-vindos à Escola do Amor Responde, confrontando os mitos e a desinformação nos relacionamentos. Onde casais e solteiros aprendem o Amor Inteligente. Renato e Cristiane Cardoso, apresentadores da Escola do Amor, na Record TV, e autores de Casamento Blindado e Namoro Blindado, tiram dúvidas e respondem perguntas dos alunos. Participe pelo site EscoladoAmorResponde.com. Ouça todos os podcasts no iTunes: rna.to/EdARiTunes

The Aerospace Executive Podcast
Inside FDH Aero's Billion-Dollar Distribution Strategy w/ Ian Walsh [Replay]

The Aerospace Executive Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 6, 2026 38:45


Most people think the aerospace supply chain is crawling back to normal after the pandemic. But that's not what's happening. The industry is scaling in a permanently elevated demand environment. Commercial aviation is rebuilding. Defense budgets are structurally higher. New platforms like EVTOL, drones, hypersonics, and space are moving into production. This isn't a strain; it's a structural transformation. And in a world obsessed with engines and airframes, the real leverage sits in the smallest parts. At the same time, complexity is rising. Aircraft are lighter, more electronic, and more integrated. Tolerances are tighter, and the margin for error is gone. This is where FDH Aero comes in: distribution reimagined as a strategic capability. In a high-velocity, high-complexity market, reliability becomes a strategy. How is FDH embedding itself within OEM production lines while operating under private-equity intensity? And what kind of leadership does that require? In this special replay episode, I'm joined by the CEO of FDH Aero, Ian Walsh.  We unpack how FDH Aero scaled to a billion dollars by mastering the parts that make flight possible. We also discuss why the next decade of aerospace growth may be less about building more airplanes and more about controlling the hardware layer beneath them. You'll also learn: Why aerospace supply chains aren't “recovering”; they're structurally transforming How a single missing bolt can shut down a billion-dollar production line Why distribution is becoming a strategic layer, not just a transactional one The difference between organic growth and inorganic scale in a fragmented supply base How private equity is accelerating consolidation in aerospace and defense Why value creation in PE is about process discipline, not short-term spikes The leadership shift required when moving from public OEMs to PE-backed companies Why smaller, lighter, more electronic platforms will reshape parts demand Where the real upside sits: commercial, defense, business aviation, or emerging platforms How embedding into product development cycles creates long-term supply chain “stickiness.” The mindset difference between statistical improvement and “luck wrapped in chaos.”   About the Guest Ian Walsh is the CEO of FDH Aero. He brings over 35 years of executive leadership across the U.S. Marine Corps, commercial and general aviation, defense, and industrial end markets to FDH. Most recently, Walsh served as Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Kaman Aerospace Corporation, a provider of highly engineered components and subsystems to commercial aviation, aerospace, defense, and medical end-markets. At Kaman, Walsh led the evolution of the global company into customer-centric operating segments. Before that, Walsh was COO at REV Group, Inc., a provider of specialty vehicles and related aftermarket parts, and spent more than 15 years in operational and P&L leadership at Textron, Inc. At both companies, Walsh drove new product development and process optimization. Earlier in his career, he served as an officer and naval aviator in the U.S. Marine Corps with combat tours in Somalia, Haiti, and Bosnia. He is a certified Six Sigma Black Belt in operations and continuous improvement. Connect with Ian on LinkedIn.    About Your Host Craig Picken is an Executive Recruiter, writer, speaker, and ICF Trained Executive Coach. He is focused on recruiting senior-level leadership, sales, and operations executives in the aviation and aerospace industry. His clients include premier OEMs, aircraft operators, leasing/financial organizations, and Maintenance/Repair/Overhaul (MRO) providers. Since 2008, he has personally concluded more than 400 executive-level searches in a variety of disciplines. Craig is the ONLY industry executive recruiter who has professionally flown airplanes, sold airplanes, and successfully run a P&L in the aviation industry. His professional career started with a passion for airplanes. After eight years' experience as a decorated Naval Flight Officer – with more than 100 combat missions, 2,000 hours of flight time, and 325 aircraft carrier landings – Craig sought challenges in business aviation, where he spent more than 7 years in sales with both Gulfstream Aircraft and Bombardier Business Aircraft. Craig is also a sought-after industry speaker who has presented at Corporate Jet Investor, International Aviation Women's Association, and SOCAL Aviation Association.    Resources For more aerospace industry news & commentary: https://craigpicken.com/insights/.  To learn more about Craig Picken, visit https://craigpicken.com/.  

The Uptime Wind Energy Podcast
IWTG Consulting on Pitch Bearing Cracks, Loose Root Inserts

The Uptime Wind Energy Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 6, 2026 23:56


Jon Zalar, founder of IWTG Consulting, joins to discuss broken blade bolts, cracked pitch bearings, loose root inserts, and early detection. Sign up now for Uptime Tech News, our weekly newsletter on all things wind technology. This episode is sponsored by Weather Guard Lightning Tech. Learn more about Weather Guard’s StrikeTape Wind Turbine LPS retrofit. Follow the show on YouTube, Linkedin and visit Weather Guard on the web. And subscribe to Rosemary’s “Engineering with Rosie” YouTube channel here. Have a question we can answer on the show? Email us! Welcome to Uptime Spotlight, shining light on wind energy’s brightest innovators. This is the progress powering tomorrow Allen Hall: Jon, welcome back to the program.  Jon Zalar: Thanks for having me.  Allen Hall: Uh, last time I saw you, we were in Melbourne- Yep … at WOMA 2026, and that was a huge event. We know we’re gonna do it again next year in March three, the 3rd through the 5th, so you’re invited back, of course- I can’t wait … if you can make it. Yeah. Yeah. It’s gonna be, it’s gonna be a good time. A lot is happening in the blade world and in the wind turbine world more broadly. A lot of things we’re hearing right now are related to blade bolt connection, pitch bearing inserts still. A lot of that still happening in the United States. What is the current status of, uh, the blade connection issues in the US? I,  Jon Zalar: I feel like it’s a growing [00:01:00] issue, not super, super fast, but it seems to be getting a little worse. There’s, you know, more bolts breaking at that joint. Um, pitch bearing cracks are, seem to be pretty common. There’s different solutions for it, and then, you know, the root inserts are another thing that we’ve talked about before that seem to be happening more and more, or maybe more and more people are finding them ’cause they’re looking. Allen Hall: What are the first indications that you have a blade bolt or some sort of joint issue at the root of a blade? What can you see?  Jon Zalar: A bolt laying in the hub bouncing around. Um, you know, from like a– looking at it from, like, the sensors on the turbine, it’s really hard to tell unless it gets really bad. Uh, some of the OEMs have some analytics developed to kinda start to indicate if there is a aero change because there’s missing bolts or root inserts are coming out, and they’re using that as a way to go figure out which ones to go inspect first. Allen Hall: Really? Yeah. You think [00:02:00] the SCADA data will give you some indication that you have a, basically a little bit of a loose blade?  Jon Zalar: Yeah. I, I, I think because the number of turbines and the number of data points you have, I think there is a pretty good analytic out there right now.  Allen Hall: Wow. All right. I think a lot of our operators have not taken advantage of that. Is, is that just b- based on the high-speed data, SCADA data, or is it low-speed data you could see that same effect?  Jon Zalar: I believe it’s on the low-speed data as well, but I bet the high-speed data was used to kinda develop it.  Allen Hall: Wow. All right. So that’s a huge help to operators. Yeah. So what are you looking for if you’re looking through SCADA data, what would be the couple of markers there that say, “Hey, maybe we ought to go look up at the– in the hub”? Jon Zalar: I don’t know exactly what they’re using, but they would basically look for maybe an imbalance or looking for certain components that are being overworked.  Allen Hall: Oh, sure. Okay.  Jon Zalar: Yeah.  Allen Hall: So your pitch actuator may be getting a little bit overworked. It would seem like one of the places- I think that, yeah … that would get loaded, right? Jon Zalar: Mm-hmm.  Allen Hall: Okay. [00:03:00] And any vibration monitoring going on? Because it, it, uh, in some cases you’re– I’m hearing, like, millimeter gaps-  Jon Zalar: Correct. Yeah …  Allen Hall: between the blade and the pitch bearing.  Jon Zalar: So probably a combination of the ALC sensors, at least on a GE turbine, looking at that. But the PCH box also is looking at the tower vibration, so it could be a combination of all three. I don’t know the exact- Okay … details, but between all of that, I think there are some analytics that kinda say, “Hey, go take a look.” And then I think there’s some other companies that have- tools that go monitor it.  Allen Hall: Mm-hmm.  Jon Zalar: Dial indicators remotely or even, you know, people going up there with dial indicators to go kind of rotate the rotor and kind of see if there is gapping between the blade and the pitch bearing. Allen Hall: Is that a safe situation in your– from the gapping? I’ve heard this where they’ve basically took shims and they’re trying to measure this gap or some sort of dial indication. Is that a smart thing to do? Is it even reliable to do it that way? [00:04:00] Jon Zalar: I, I, I think there’s some reliability there. And like, you know, these are really big parts, right? So like a little bit of gap, it, it’s probably expected to a point, but growing gaps is where you should be a little more scared.  Allen Hall: So you’re– you would have to go do that quarterly, monthly, weekly? How, how often would you have to do it to see the progression? Because I’ve heard stories of, uh, a couple of weeks from nothing to hub crack to, “Oh, it took a year or more.” Jon Zalar: I think it depends on the issue. I think for– if you’re looking at that, the bolted joint itself between the root inserts and the, uh, bolts breaking itself, I, I think they’re doing about quarterly. Now, the pitch bearings inspections are also quarterly. They’re al- they’re, they’re leveraging the drone inspections for the blades, and they’re looking at the pitch bearings to see if they’re cracked, right? Uh, you guys are doing that too.  Allen Hall: Okay.  Jon Zalar: I think Coraly is doing a good job mitigating the risk, feels like.  Allen Hall: Wow. All right. [00:05:00] Yolanda, looking at pitch bearings, you’ve looked at a lot of drone images in your lifetime. Mm-hmm. How much can you see on drone images on pitch bearings? Can you see cracks and, or y- or do you see grease, which is a really indication that something is wrong in the bearing? Yolanda Padron: You can see grease. You can see the cracks pretty, pretty well. Yeah. The drone images are, are really high quality. Uh, but you did mention that it’s something that you’re seeing a lot more. Is it because there’s a lot more aging fleets, or is it a problem with a lot of the new turbines that are coming online? Jon Zalar: I, I think it’s an, I think it’s a more of a fatigue problem, so the aging of the fleet. And also, I think more people are looking at it, right? ‘Cause, like, initially the drones that were looking for blade cracks weren’t looking at pitch bearings, but then pitch bearings started cracking, so now they added that to whatever they buy off the drone companies, right? Go look at my pitch bearings, for example.  Allen Hall: Hmm.  Jon Zalar: So I, I think it’s a problem of the more you look sometimes, the more you find.  Yolanda Padron: Hmm.  Jon Zalar: Yeah.  Allen Hall: So we [00:06:00] have root insert issues, which are being addressed by a couple of different companies- Yes … uh, uh, with somewhat similar solutions. OEM is offering one right now also. Jon Zalar: I, I think there’s three solutions. There’s two uptower that are basically looking at ways to go fill the void between the root insert itself and the blade root. Um, and I– there’s another company that’s also more of a downtower solution where they’re actually, like, r- drilling out the root inserts and putting new ones in that are gonna last better, longer. Allen Hall: Okay. So the drilling out is, would be CNC onsite. Correct.  Jon Zalar: Yeah.  Allen Hall: And they’re based over in Europe. But th- the drilling out is a take the blade down, set it on the ground sort of- Yeah. Right … doing really fine machining on the, on the blade itself. So that, that’s a different, completely different insert that’s going into that-  Jon Zalar: Correct Allen Hall: new hole or- Yep … clean hole, right? So it’s a, just a, uh, totally different kind of product versus trying to inject [00:07:00] some s- sort of epoxy or resin into the, the void.  Jon Zalar: Right. Yeah. Uh, I mean, you would prefer to do it uptower. It’s gonna cost you less money.  Allen Hall: Sure.  Jon Zalar: But you wanna make sure you do it right, so I think, uh, I do foresee it being a combination of both solutions kinda going forward. Allen Hall: Is it dependent upon, like, how much damage has been already done, or what the fatigue w- uh, an estimate on what the fatigue life is?  Jon Zalar: I think it’s strictly on measurement perspective right now. So how much gapping you have, um, kinda determines what potential solutions you have.  Allen Hall: So the gaps aren’t big, right? So the, the gaps I hear are one millimeter is k- kind of sort of start a problem.  Jon Zalar: Mm-hmm.  Allen Hall: Three millimeters is, “I need to be making decisions.”  Jon Zalar: Yeah. So- That, that’s what I’ve heard, too. Yes.  Allen Hall: Three millimeters is about a eighth of an inch.  Jon Zalar: Mm-hmm.  Allen Hall: So it’s not a lot of m-  Jon Zalar: But you can see sunlight through it if you’re s- down there. Allen Hall: Okay. That’s not… Well, you should see. That’s not  Jon Zalar: good either. Yeah.  Allen Hall: Right. Okay. So in a, in a three millimeter situation then, you’re doing what? [00:08:00] Jon Zalar: You’re trying to decide if the uptower solutions are something you wanna go try, ’cause they’re still in the trial mode from my understanding or-  Allen Hall: Okay …  Jon Zalar: people are learning a lot. So I think when you get to that point, you’re calling some of those companies to say, “Hey, I have this issue. I got a couple blades with, you know, .3. Can you guy- you guys wanna come take a look at it, see if your solutions, if you guys wanna go use it or not?” And then I think the ones that get too bad, from my understanding right now, is they’re, they’re replacing the blades. Allen Hall: So they’re taking the whole blade down.  Jon Zalar: Yes.  Allen Hall: And what’s the thought process in that? Uh, versus drilling out the inserts and putting new inserts in. Is there just a composite degradation that’s happened around those joints that it just puts it at risk or, or you have actually aged the blade much faster than you would otherwise have done? Jon Zalar: I, I think they aged that particular connection too much. So I, I- Wow … either between the [00:09:00] fatigue or lack of epoxy resin, w- whatever the actual root cause is for that root insert coming out, when it gets that bad, it’s like you’re not gonna be able to inject enough To make it adhere  Allen Hall: You can’t de-age it. Jon Zalar: Correct.  Allen Hall: Right?  Jon Zalar: Yeah.  Allen Hall: Bring back the youthfulness of the blade. Wow. All right. And we have seen this worldwide. I know in the, in the States you hear about it all the time, but it, this seems to be not a US- Correct … problem.  Jon Zalar: It’s a worldwide problem, yes.  Allen Hall: Okay. So if, if it’s a worldwide problem, are there more solutions on the way? I know you talked about three of them already.  Jon Zalar: I have not heard of any other ones except those three as of today.  Allen Hall: Wow.  Jon Zalar: There could be other people working on it. I think there should be.  Allen Hall: So, yeah. You would think so, yeah. So we’ll, I guess we’ll eventually hear about it on the podcast. Usually people with technology will contact us. They might call,  Jon Zalar: yeah. They might call you, they might call you tomorrow.  Allen Hall: Sure, they may. So that leads to sort of a subsequent issue, which I think is getting grouped together. So the [00:10:00] hub crack, pitch bearing crack, root insert pullout issue is also discussed with blade bolts being broken.  Jon Zalar: Correct.  Allen Hall: Are they related or are they separate engineering problems? Jon Zalar: If you look at them individually, you’d probably come up with some separate answers, but if you combine them all together, you kind of start looking at is there too much loading happening in the leading and trailing edge of the blade? ‘Cause the hub cracks, the root inserts, and the blade bolts, from my understanding, are happening at those two highly loaded areas of the, the blade or that whole rotor connection. So I mean, I do feel the root cause is probably a little higher loads than anticipated.  Allen Hall: I think everybody’s talked about when they’ve done the injection method and the drilling method, all they’re discussing is leading edge, trailing edge.  Jon Zalar: Yes.  Allen Hall: And how– It’s a question of how many- Correct … are you gonna replace. So th- [00:11:00] that’s, those are the two highly loaded spots on the bolted connection.  Jon Zalar: Correct.  Allen Hall: And that’s where blade bolts are also breaking or, or the bolts breaking elsewhere around the periphery?  Jon Zalar: I don’t have all the data, but what I had seen, it’s very similar areas.  Allen Hall: So if you don’t pull the insert out, you’re then loading the bolt. Cr- Right It’s one or the other, right? Right. Yeah. So the, the, the load path is the load path, so it’s coming through the insert into the bolt. Bolt’s carrying it into the pitch bearing. Pitch bearing’s carrying it into the hub.  Jon Zalar: Correct.  Allen Hall: Hub carrying it downtower. So eventually, one of those, uh, links in the chain is- The weakest. Yeah … is, is the le- is the weakest. What is it about blade bolts that is so dangerous? We hear– we walk onsite to an O&M building, there are signs saying, you know, “Pay attention for loose bolts. Look around on the ground for loose bolts.” We’re gonna– and as electrical engineer, like, “Whoa.” Bolts should not be falling out of this tower. What i- what is that sort of sequence where a [00:12:00] bolt would escape from the nacelle?  Jon Zalar: So let’s just use one bolt. One bolt breaks, falls in the hub, bouncing around, doing some– potentially doing some damage inside the hub. And ’cause these turbines, you don’t need to go out there every day ’cause they do run pretty good, right? Right. You just do your regular maintenance. And if you don’t really know about that, ’cause, like, it bounces around for a while, then it usually gets, like, lodged behind a, uh, either center box or pitch cabinet or actually in the front sometimes. Kinda don’t know it happened. But, you know, frees itself up, keeps bouncing around, it, it could escape through the hatch covers ’cause, you know, people have to get into the hub anyway. And I’m sure a lot of people listening here that have sites, like, you know, probably found some bolts laying on the ground, which is a little scary.  Allen Hall: Right. So is, is the busting the hatch opening levers? I know there, there’s a couple different ways to get into that hatch. Yeah. But, uh, is it just completely busting the hatch? Yeah. So it’s– [00:13:00] okay. So you see a– so if you see a loose hatch panel, you have an issue. You probably gotta be careful about coming up on that turbine?  Jon Zalar: Potentially. A lot, a lot of hatches are, you know, not always maintained well.  Allen Hall: Right. I’ve seen them, I’ve seen loose ones, yeah.  Jon Zalar: Yeah.  Allen Hall: Okay. So that, that would be a sign that– but though if, if you’re approaching a turbine, one look on the ground. And Yolando, you, you’ve seen a lot of turbines. So are you, are we looking on the ground and seeing what’s around the turbine before we approach the turbine now? Yeah. Just, just a sanity check?  Yolanda Padron: Yeah. Be aware also of what’s happening on site, right? Because if it’s some- if it’s a problem on site, you need to be extra careful when you’re approaching any turbine there. Uh, is it something that people maybe should start thinking about implementing, like, a sensors earlier on than when they’re seeing the issue actually happen?  Jon Zalar: Yeah. I, I, I think that’s a potential, ’cause it, the quicker you catch it, the less damage you’re gonna do, and it also reduce the risk of [00:14:00] it, um, falling out of the hub And I’ve worked with a couple of my, uh, customers for some, like, potential ways to detect it. Still kind of trialing it right now. But I, I do think there’s gonna be some benefit from a safety reduction, but also from a strictly a damage. ‘Cause, like, you get a couple bolts bouncing around there, and you bang up some cabinets or some pitch motors, that’s expensive and hard to go fix.  Yolanda Padron: Yeah, we were talking about it earlier too. Like, it goes down, it can hit a transformer, it can hit, like, a truck or someone.  Jon Zalar: Chance of it hitting someone. Yeah. I mean, I don’t care what hard hat you have on, it’s not gonna do anything.  Yolanda Padron: Yeah.  Allen Hall: So what kind of sensor should you be putting onto the turbine if you don’t have access to the SCADA data or you don’t know what the correct algorithm is to suss out there’s something wrong up there? But a, a bolt breaking is not gonna be something that a SCADA would even pick up, I don’t think. One bolt out of the whole- Yeah. No.  Jon Zalar: No way. Okay. I mean, there’s a– I think there’s, like, [00:15:00]one company looking at more of a, like, mechanical way to, like, prevent the bolt from coming out. I forgot the name of it. Allen Hall: Okay.  Jon Zalar: Um, and then what I was looking at was more of a, like, you know, microphone type detection to kind of listen for that.  Allen Hall: It would make a lot of noise.  Jon Zalar: Yeah. It seems like it works. It, um, yeah, still more development needed on my end.  Allen Hall: So- The engineer in me was, is saying, “Why are we not putting strain gauges on bolts?” I picked on the leading and the trailing. It’s like right dead center there to look at, even if it’s just two strain gauge bolts to see what the loads are.  Jon Zalar: So like there are s- there are bolts that are, or that are made with the strain gauges built in that you can use to go, you know, monitor that. But you also need to understand like what was the design intent. So unless you’re working with the OEM, you don’t really know what you’re seeing is good or bad. You just say, “Oh-  Allen Hall: You just see a number.  Jon Zalar: Yeah. Right. I mean like, and if you install, I don’t know, four, you’d be like, “All right. Leading and trailing edge are higher [00:16:00] than the other two.” Well, yeah, it’s supposed to be, but like is a 10% difference expected or not expected? Allen Hall: Is that something where if you’re, especially if you’re in a full service agreement, and a lot of these turbines are- Yeah … for the first couple of years, if you were to do that, it’s something you would just say to the OEM, “Hey, this is, these are the loads we’re seeing from the strain gauges on these bolts. Does this make sense to you?” Or, or would an OEM just not even respond to that kind of inquiry?  Jon Zalar: I mean, I think it’s all about relationship with the OEM. I, I, I think  Allen Hall: it- I think they would wanna know.  Jon Zalar: I have a feeling they probably are looking.  Allen Hall: Okay.  Jon Zalar: I mean, ’cause I mean they have the test turbines too that they probab- that, that I know they have instrumented heavily. Allen Hall: Yeah. So they, they’re probably getting at least some feedback. Th- that’s the problem. Yeah. And you worked on the other side, right? I have. So you worked for an OEM doing the RTAs. The first problem is you don’t have data, so now you gotta go get the data.  Jon Zalar: Correct.  Allen Hall: And that data is not available tomorrow. No. ‘Cause you’re gonna have to go run some sort of design of experiment to go figure out if [00:17:00] there is even a true problem or even what the root causes could be.  Jon Zalar: And it, and it’s expensive to go instrument a blade and get the data back at the right speed and connected to the turbine data. I mean, I rem- I, I used to say it’s about like 300 to 500,000 to go put a couple gauges on a blade just with all the equipment you need to get the data correct. Allen Hall: To get the right data.  Jon Zalar: Get the right data at the right frequency connected to the controller. It’s, it’s very expensive.  Allen Hall: Wow. Okay. Yeah. I, I don’t, I don’t see a lot of operators doing that.  Jon Zalar: And especially connecting it to the operating data, right? So like if you go put a strain gauge and I don’t know, you’re curtailed, you’re only making, I don’t know, a megawatt- Doesn’t matter. And if you don’t know what the turbine’s doing and you’re looking at this, like, strain gauge data, it’s really hard to correlate anything.  Allen Hall: So you need a full suite of data. Yeah. That includes weather data- Yeah … at some level, right? Gust winds and- Oh,  Jon Zalar: yeah …  Allen Hall: average wind speed. You need the anemometer. You need which, which way [00:18:00] the n- cell’s pointing. Y- uh, you would need a lot of information- And what the controller’s- … to even suss it out …  Jon Zalar: and what the controller’s doing, right? Right. ‘Cause, like, every turbine, the controller’s trying to, like, you know, balance the rotor the whole time. It’s trying to, you know, micro pitch depending on what the winds are doing. And if you don’t know what all that stuff’s doing, like, it’s really hard to correlate a strain gauge measurement to is that bad or not.  Allen Hall: It’s a complicated problem.  Jon Zalar: Yes. That’s why RCAs take, you know, a long time, and they’re not done in two weeks.  Allen Hall: No, they’re done in a year.  Jon Zalar: Yeah.  Allen Hall: Typically, or longer. So what should an operator be thinking about now? If, if we s- get our drone images back, we’re scanning through them like, “Oh, there’s a crack” What am I doing next besides calling you and connecting to your LinkedIn page?  Jon Zalar: So right now with the pitch bearing crack, um, some of the OEMs are providing stiffener plates to put over the crack and try to run it. Allen Hall: So that’s a doubler plate, basically. A double plate. Doubler  Jon Zalar: plate, yes. [00:19:00] Allen Hall: Yeah. Okay. So even in a, in a crack scenario, that pitch bearing, if given mechanical support, can run like that?  Jon Zalar: That’s my understanding, yes. That, that potentially could run for some period of time. I don’t know if it’ll make it 20 years or not, but it’ll buy you time for sure. Allen Hall: Does that involve a crane to do that work or is that just… My recollection, that was in pieces, like there, it’s not a ring, it’s a, a couple of pieces that you’d be able to bolt on without taking the-  Jon Zalar: No, it’s a- … blade down … it’s a, it’s a single piece that-  Allen Hall: It’s like a single casting kind of thing.  Jon Zalar: Right. And I, I think you need some like small crane, like a jig crane or one of those-  Allen Hall: Just to support the blade while you do it? Jon Zalar: And to go put it in, right. Okay. Yeah, I don’t think, you’re not taking the blade off. You’re not taking the  Allen Hall: blade down.  Jon Zalar: Correct. Yeah. It’s, it’s done with the blade up there.  Allen Hall: Okay.  Jon Zalar: You’re putting new, putting longer studs in and putting the plate on.  Allen Hall: So first step is let’s get the joint reinforced. Right. That’s the easy first step.  Jon Zalar: Right. Although there has been some cases where since [00:20:00]you’ve put that stiffener plate on, the loads get spread out to the end of the plate, and then you- Sure … you could see cracks there.  Allen Hall: Okay. All right. So the loads- It, that- … have to go somewhere …  Jon Zalar: loads have to go somewhere. That’s, that is a bottom line. Allen Hall: All right. So you’re just changing where the load path is, so you have to be cognizant of that. Okay. Sure. Fine. But if you have, uh, especially in the United States, you don’t have 10 of these turbines, you have 50, 100- 100 … 200, 300 of these things, or thousands as it, as it turns out. Are there simple solutions that can be applied to, just to give me a sense, like that turbine’s having a problem, but the one next to it’s not, and, and just, just from a maintenance spin standpoint where I’m not just blanketing everything and trying to do everything to all these turbines at once, how do I, how do I manage this? Jon Zalar: I, I think it’s like being very observant. So like, you know, making sure you’re looking at the pitch bearings from the drone images, right? Um, also talking [00:21:00] to your maintenance people like, “Hey, are, are you finding a bunch of broken bolts? Like, what positions?” Like, you know, if I was back at the OEM, I would like to have as much data as possible on this issue. Like how many bolts are, when did you find them, what positions? A lot of times we, when I was there, like we would not get all that information, so it’s like really hard to run an RCA without that information.  Allen Hall: Sure. Yeah, where did this bolt break in the ring?  Jon Zalar: Right.  Allen Hall: Could tell you a lot. Is it just a b- bad lot of bolts, or is it something more load related? Jon Zalar: Correct.  Allen Hall: Wow. Okay.  Yolanda Padron: Yeah, I think that’s a really good point, too, to make sure that you’re connected with like every stage of the operations. ‘Cause I know that everybody’s obviously really, really busy on a wind farm, but it’s really common for like an engineer to have certain data and the site team to just be running around and having a lot of data, but maybe they don’t realize that, oh, it’s important to know how many bolts per tower are coming down. Jon Zalar: Correct. Yeah  Allen Hall: That’s a lot of work  Jon Zalar: It definitely-  Allen Hall: It’s a tremendous effort if you’re gonna [00:22:00] go after this problem and, and solve it RCS  Jon Zalar: are hard. They  Allen Hall: are. Yeah. All of it. Yeah. Machines are complicated today. There’s a lot of computer-driven s- things about them, and then you have these loading issues, and you have composite materials. Th- there’s just, y-  Jon Zalar: you got to get- It’s a very complex  Allen Hall: It’s a machine, right? Yeah. It’s a complex machine. So how do people reach out to… You’re, you’re the head of IWTG, which is based in South Carolina, but you do consulting worldwide. Yes. And, and you are a huge resource because you understand the complexities of these problems. How do people get ahold of you and, and get something started if they have a, a, a blade bolt issue or an insert issue or a cracked pitch bearing? Where do they start?  Jon Zalar: They can send me an email, jzalar@iwtgconsulting.com.  Allen Hall: Okay. And you have a great LinkedIn page, so you can connect with you on LinkedIn.  Jon Zalar: Yes. Yeah, I have one  Allen Hall: of those. Yes. Or you could just come to WOMA in [00:23:00]2027. Yeah. You can. You can meet John there and, and arrange everything there. So John, it’s great to see you, and thank you for coming up. We, uh, we’re recording this at the world headquarters of Weather Guard Lightning Tech, and, uh, John just lives down the street in, in, in US terms. Yeah. So it’s, it’s great to have John come and visit us up here in North Carolina. So John, thank you so much for joining us.  Jon Zalar: Thanks for having me. Appreciate it.

Matt Fanslow - Diagnosing the Aftermarket A to Z
Automotive Field Theory: Rebranding the Podcast [E248]

Matt Fanslow - Diagnosing the Aftermarket A to Z

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 5, 2026 18:37


Thanks to our Partners, Pico Technology and AutelWatch Full Video EpisodeDiagnosing the Aftermarket Becomes Automotive Field TheoryThings have changed.After years as Diagnosing the Aftermarket A to Z, the podcast has a new name: Automotive Field Theory.In this episode, Matt explains why the original title was chosen, why it eventually became a problem, and how the new name better represents both the podcast and the range of subjects explored on it.The original name was intended to leave the show wide open. Automotive diagnostics and technology were always part of it, but so were psychology, economics, relationships, mental health, addiction, movies, sports, professional wrestling, and the people behind the work.That freedom is not going away.The problem was simpler: people searching for automotive and auto repair podcasts often could not find the show. Neither “diagnosing” nor “aftermarket” is exclusively connected to the automotive industry, and the word “automotive” did not appear anywhere in the title.Automotive Field Theory solves that problem while also fitting the show on several levels.It is a play on quantum field theory, reflecting Matt's lifelong interest in physics and his tendency to explore how things actually work. It also refers to the entire automotive field, from vehicle design and manufacturing through sales, service, collision repair, locksmithing, programming, calibration, modification, and eventually recycling.Finally, there is the theory itself: automotive theory, diagnostic theory, economic theory, psychological theory, and the hypotheses and ideas that shape how people understand the profession.The name is changing. The podcast fundamentally is not.In This EpisodeWhy Diagnosing the Aftermarket A to Z was originally chosenThe searchability problem with the old titleWhy “automotive” needed to be in the nameThe connection between automotive field theory and quantum field theoryThe enormous range of careers contained within the automotive fieldWhere independent repair overlaps with collision, locksmithing, programming, and ADASWhy the new title may make it easier to invite guests and reach new listenersWhat listeners can expect from the show going forwardThe people and podcasts that helped inspire and support the changeMatt also recognizes several shows across the Automotive Repair Podcast Network, including:Remarkable Results Radio PodcastBusiness by the NumbersSpeak Up! Effective CommunicationThe Auto Repair Marketing PodcastThe Weekly BlitzA special thank-you goes to Tracy for the work behind the new logo, to Carm Capriotto and the Automotive Repair Podcast Network, and to sponsors Pico Technology and Autel.Take a look at the new logo and let Matt know what you think. Guest suggestions are also welcome as Automotive Field Theory begins its next chapter.Thanks to our Partner, Pico TechnologyAre you chasing elusive automotive problems? Pico Technology empowers you to see what's really happening. Their PicoScope oscilloscopes transform your diagnostic capabilities. Visit PicoAuto.comThanks to our Partner, AutelFrom drivability diagnostics and TPMS service to ADAS and advanced safety systems, Autel helps technicians follow OEM procedures and repair with confidence. Learn more at Autel.comContact InformationEmail Matt: mattfanslowpodcast@gmail.comSubscribe on YouTube: @automotivefieldtheoryThe Automotive Repair Podcast Network: https://automotiverepairpodcastnetwork.com/Download and Listen on Our Mobile App: https://automotiverepairpodcastnetwork.com/app/Remarkable Results Radio Podcast with Carm Capriotto: Advancing the Aftermarket by Facilitating Wisdom Through Story Telling and Open Discussion. https://remarkableresults.biz/Business by the Numbers with Hunt Demarest: Understand the Numbers of Your Business with CPA Hunt Demarest. https://huntdemarest.captivate.fm/The Auto Repair Marketing Podcast with Kim and Brian Walker: Marketing Experts Brian & Kim Walker Work with Shop Owners to Take it to the Next Level. https://autorepairmarketing.captivate.fm/The Weekly Blitz with Chris Cotton: Weekly Inspiration with Business Coach Chris Cotton from AutoFix - Auto Shop Coaching. https://chriscotton.captivate.fm/Speak Up! Effective Communication with Craig O'Neill: Develop Interpersonal and Professional Communication Skills when Speaking to Audiences of Any Size. https://craigoneill.captivate.fm/

Tip of the Spear - Missoula County
Agenda Archive: Emergency Planning and Evacuations

Tip of the Spear - Missoula County

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 5, 2026 23:54 Transcription Available


This episode was originally released on July 16, 2024.Did you know Missoula County has a whole department dedicated to emergency planning? The Office of Emergency Management, or OEM, is tasked with planning for and responding to natural and man-made disasters in our communities.This week we're re-airing an episode of The Agenda from summer 2024 featuring an interview with OEM Director Adriane Beck. She touches on emergency alert systems, evacuation planning and shelters, fire restrictions and more. Links mentioned in this episode:Sign up for Smart911“Go bag” or emergency kit checklistPre-disaster mitigation and other emergency plansReady.gov - Emergency preparedness resourcesText us your thoughts and comments on this episode! Thank you to Missoula's Community Media Resource for podcast recording support!

CarDealershipGuy Podcast
The Ford Whisperer Who Turns Broken Dealerships Into Empires | Eddie Stivers, President at Stivers Auto Group

CarDealershipGuy Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 4, 2026 51:19


Today I'm joined by Eddie Stivers, President of Stivers Auto Group. He breaks down why his own cost of people sits at 56% of gross against Carvana's 20%, and the plan to fix it within 36 months. Eddie also unpacks how he is using Claude to catch missed fleet sales and rethink decades of gut-feel vehicle ordering. Topics: 03:30Ford Hit Dead Last In Satisfaction. 08:05Stivers Buys Broken Toys. 10:30Repeatable Turnaround Playbook Works. 14:16Car Business Is Now Tech-Driven. 37:35AI Disrupts Dealerships In 18 Months. 37:55Carvana's Cost Crushes Dealers At 56%. This episode is brought to you by: 1. Digital Dealer - Discover what's working in sales, service, marketing, AI, and operations Join us September 22–23 in Detroit. CDG readers: save 25% — just use code CDG25OFF at checkout. Register today @ ⁠here⁠. 2. CDG Circles – Connect with verified dealers, join topic and OEM-specific groups, and get real-world strategies —all inside the CDG Platform. Learn more @ ⁠here⁠. 3. Plug – If your dealership is taking EV trade-ins or looking for used EV inventory, you need to check out @ ⁠here⁠. Check out Car Dealership Guy's stuff: For dealers: CDG Circles ➤ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://cdgcircles.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Industry job board ➤ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://jobs.dealershipguy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Dealership recruiting ➤ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://www.cdgrecruiting.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Fix your dealership's social media ➤ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://www.trynomad.co⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Request to be a podcast guest ➤ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://www.cdgguest.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ For industry vendors: Advertise with Car Dealership Guy ➤ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://www.cdgpartner.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Industry job board ➤ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://jobs.dealershipguy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Request to be a podcast guest ➤ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://www.cdgguest.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Car Dealership Guy Socials: X ➤ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠x.com/GuyDealership⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram ➤ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠instagram.com/cardealershipguy/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ TikTok ➤ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠tiktok.com/@guydealership⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ LinkedIn ➤ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠linkedin.com/company/cardealershipguy⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Threads ➤ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠threads.net/@cardealershipguy⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Facebook ➤ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077402857683⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Everything else ➤ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠dealershipguy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Millionaire Car Salesman Podcast
EP 12:05 From Law Enforcement Officer to Louisiana's #1 Nissan Salesperson

Millionaire Car Salesman Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 4, 2026 61:57


What separates automotive sales professionals who merely show up from those who consistently dominate their market? "Everyone is a customer until they're not." - Stacey Orlowski In this episode of the Millionaire Car Salesman Podcast, Sean V. Bradley sits down with Stacey Orlowski, an accomplished automotive sales professional whose success is rooted in discipline, purpose, and an unwavering commitment to improvement. Stacey breaks down why identifying your "why" can completely transform your performance, especially during the difficult days when motivation alone is not enough. Drawing inspiration from elite performers like Tom Brady, he explains how hard work, a positive mindset, and consistent execution can help sales professionals reach levels they once believed were impossible. "A goal and a dream are two very different things. A goal has time and accountability. A dream, that's not real." - Stacey Orlowski Sean and Stacey also dive into the real-world strategies that drive automotive sales, from converting showroom walk-ins to maximizing Internet leads. They explore how communication, customer rapport, and a genuinely customer-focused approach can separate top performers from everyone else. You'll also hear how Stacey's transition from law enforcement into automotive sales gave him a unique set of skills that translated powerfully to the showroom floor. His journey proves that your previous experiences can become a competitive advantage when paired with the right mindset and process. "No is a good thing because it's a way for you to get to yes." - Stacey Orlowski Whether you are entering automotive sales for the first time or searching for the breakthrough that will take your performance to the next level, this episode provides a practical roadmap for strengthening your mindset, improving your customer interactions, and maximizing every opportunity. Success begins with knowing why you started, but reaching the top requires knowing exactly what to do next. Listen now to discover the habits and strategies that can help you achieve automotive sales excellence. Key Takeaways: ✅ The significance of identifying a personal 'why' can drive motivation and focus in sales, transforming what seems like a daunting process into an achievable goal. ✅ Transitioning skills from previous jobs, even those unrelated to sales, can provide unique advantages in understanding and engaging with customers. ✅ Understanding the psychological elements of sales, such as active listening and body language, can lead to more effective and successful customer interactions. ✅ It's crucial to treat sales as a relationship-oriented field rather than merely focusing on transactions to foster retention and referrals. ✅ Utilizing a balanced approach to different types of leads can help maximize sales opportunities and overall success. About Stacey Orlowski Stacey Orlowski is an accomplished automotive sales professional recognized as the number one Nissan salesperson in Louisiana. With a background in law enforcement and government contracting, Stacey has transitioned into the automotive industry, achieving extraordinary success, including selling over 50 cars in a month. His focus on mindset, ethical sales practices, and customer relationships underpins his achievements. Stacey's unique approach and relentless drive earned him a place among the top 25 best automotive salespeople in the nation, and he is currently a key member of the team at Royal Nissan.   Transforming Car Sales: Lessons in Mindset and Mastery from an Automotive Champion Key Takeaways: Embrace the Right Mindset: Transform success through a mindset that balances personal drive with ethical customer engagement. Maximize Every Opportunity: View every interaction as a potential sale and leverage diverse selling strategies effectively. Learn and Adapt Continuously: Cultivate skills from varied experiences and remain open to adopting new strategies to refine your selling process.   Unleashing Potential with the Right Mindset The hustle and bustle of car sales is not just about hitting numbers; it's about grasping the essence of what it means to sell cars effectively. Within a lively podcast discussion featuring Sean V. Bradley and star salesman Stacey Orlowski, a detailed portrait of the car sales industry emerges, focusing on mindset as the ultimate game-changer. Orlowski, based in Louisiana and a leader in Nissan sales, attributes much of his success to a powerful mindset. "Mindset before skillset," emphasizes Stacey Orlowski, echoing a key philosophy. The foundation of success in sales, as illustrated in the dialogue, requires more than mere knowledge or technical prowess. It's a holistic approach steeped in the recognition of one's own capabilities and relentless drive to serve customers responsibly. Orlowski's journey is a testament to embracing positivity and determination, drawing parallels with iconic figures like Tom Brady: "Tom Brady wasn't the fastest, but he worked the hardest," remarks Orlowski. This embodies the idea that relentless effort, aligned with ethical practices, results not merely in sales but in lasting client relationships—a crucial aspect both speakers highlight through real-world insights. Beyond aspirational thoughts, this perspective profoundly impacts how sales are conducted, from understanding customer needs to showcasing empathy. It's a human-centered approach that transcends transactional interactions, paving the way for sustainable success.   Optimizing Sales Techniques for Maximal Impact One enlightening insight shared by Orlowski centers around the strategic engagement of sales opportunities. Every customer, refers to Orlowski, is a chance for conversion: "Everyone is a customer until they're not." This conviction lays the groundwork for actionable strategies that turn potential interests into concrete sales. Through consistent processes, he demonstrates the balancing act between pursuing floor 'ups' and nurturing online leads. This approach acknowledges that while internet leads offer one pathway, each interaction possesses the potential for success when cultivated properly: "Catch the effort and apply it toward every single opportunity you get," emphasizes Orlowski. This technique harnesses a broad spectrum of sales methods, integrating walk-ins and internet inquiries seamlessly. Orlowski attributes part of his success to thorough needs assessments, understanding customer pain points, and leveraging insights to match them with appropriate vehicles. This thoughtful evaluation system ensures a match between client needs and sales pitches, significantly enhancing the likelihood of successful outcomes. For Orlowski, the art of engagement involves an intricate dance of empathy and inquiry—listening deeply and tailoring responses to foster trust and, eventually, loyalty.   Continuous Learning and Adaptability: The Cornerstones of Sales Mastery In dissecting Stacey Orlowski's unmatched success, one theme stands paramount: the pivotal role of continuous learning and adaptation. Throughout the exchange, Orlowski's conversation reflects a persistent thirst for knowledge, grounded in a diverse professional backdrop, from corrections to government contracting, translating into a unique understanding of human psychology in sales. "My life experiences…have been essential in my success right now," notes Orlowski, signaling the value in embracing diverse learning opportunities. The dialogue references books like "Never Split the Difference" by Chris Voss as tools to refine negotiation tactics, illustrating how ceaselessly seeking wisdom outside one's comfort zone fosters transformation. Adjusting one's sales pitch to align with customer psychology showcases a nuanced balance between steadfastness and flexibility. For Orlowski, this adaptability encompasses not taking rejection personally—viewing "no" as a gateway rather than a barrier, reinforcing a mindset resilient to setbacks but open to modification and growth. With broader industry implications, this theme captures a universal truth: cultivating adaptability and a hunger for learning equips sales professionals to thrive, not just survive, in an ever-evolving marketplace.   By encapsulating these interconnected ideas of mindset, strategic engagement, and adaptive learning, the vibrant exchange between Sean V. Bradley and Stacey Orlowski offers profound insights into mastering the art of car sales. In the relentless drive to improve and innovate, these principles lay the foundation for reshaping how professionals approach not only their craft but the evolving needs of their clients.       Resources + Our Proud Sponsors:   ➼ Podium: The AI Platform Powering the Modern Dealership. From instant lead response to seamless test drive scheduling, Podium's AI Employee Jerry works 24/7 to turn every lead into a conversion, so your team can focus on closing. Trusted by thousands of dealerships nationwide and proudly featured on the Millionaire Car Salesman Podcast. Learn how Podium can help you sell more cars, book more service appointments, and grow your dealership. Discover how Podium's innovative AI technology can unlock unparalleled efficiency and drive your dealership's sales to new heights. Visit www.podium.com/mcs to learn more!   ➼ The Millionaire Car Salesman Facebook Group: Join the #1 Automotive Sales Mastermind Facebook Group with over 29,000 automotive professionals worldwide. The Millionaire Car Salesman Facebook Group is the go-to community for car salespeople, BDC agents, sales managers, general managers, and dealer principals looking to increase performance, income, and leadership skills. Inside the group, members collaborate daily on automotive sales strategies, lead handling, phone scripts, closing techniques, CRM best practices, dealership leadership, and accountability systems. Learn directly from top automotive trainers, industry mentors, and high-performing sales leaders who are actively winning in today's market. If you're serious about growing your automotive career, increasing car sales, and building long-term success, join The Millionaire Car Salesman Facebook Group today! ➼ Dealer Synergy: Dealer Synergy is the automotive industry's #1 Sales Training, Consulting, and Accountability Firm, with over 20 years of proven dealership success nationwide. We specialize in helping car dealerships increase sales, improve processes, and build high-performing Sales, Internet, and BDC departments from the ground up. Our expertise includes automotive phone scripts, rebuttals, CRM action plans, lead handling strategies, BDC workflows, Internet sales processes, management training, and accountability systems. Dealer Synergy partners directly with dealership leadership to align people, process, and technology, ensuring consistent results and scalable growth. From independent dealers to large dealer groups and OEM partnerships, Dealer Synergy delivers measurable performance improvements, stronger teams, and sustainable profitability. ➼ Bradley On Demand: Bradley On Demand is the automotive industry's most advanced interactive training, tracking, testing, and certification platform for car dealerships — built to develop top-performing teams across Sales, Internet Sales, BDC, CRM, Phone Skills, Leadership, and Management. In addition to LIVE virtual automotive training classes and a library of 9,000+ on-demand dealership training modules, Bradley On Demand now includes AI Phone Roleplaying and Coaching to help salespeople and BDC agents practice real dealership conversations before they ever get on the phone with customers. This AI-powered roleplay technology strengthens phone scripts, objection handling, appointment setting, lead follow-up, and closing skills, while providing measurable coaching feedback for continuous improvement. Bradley On Demand empowers dealerships to train faster, coach smarter, improve call performance, increase closing ratios, and sell more cars more profitably — all through structured, trackable, modern automotive training.

Auto Supply Chain Prophets
The Office of Resilience: Automotive's Missing Function

Auto Supply Chain Prophets

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 3, 2026 28:02 Transcription Available


Resilience is the most used word in automotive, and one of the least staffed functions in it. It turns up in board decks, on conference panels, and in webinar titles, and then the next disruption hits, and the response doesn't look any different from the last one: a war room, a handful of empowered people, and a lot of luck.In this episode, Jan Griffiths and Tom Roberts sit down with Ambrose Conroy, CEO of Seraph, to put structure behind a phrase most leaders use loosely. Ambrose built his firm on crisis work, and his answer to the resilience question isn't a mindset. It's an org chart. Build an office of resilience, staff it full-time, and have it report to the CEO or the board.The model already exists outside automotive. Shell and Apple run standing teams that watch their value chains down to raw material pricing, and Apple's got roughly 100 people doing it. Toyota does the same work without giving it a name. What separates them from most OEMs and tier ones isn't intent. It's the ability to see across their own data.That's where most companies stop. Multiple ERP instances, disconnected PLM systems, and dozens of cross-reference tables make it slow to answer a simple question: what stops if the rare earth supply is disrupted, or if an earthquake takes out a plant in Japan? Ambrose and Tom are blunt about what dirty master data does to AI. It drifts. It hallucinates. It returns alerts nobody can act on.Speed is the second half of the argument. In the Novelis disruption, three OEMs faced the same problem. One had an alternate capacity locked in within 48 hours. One followed the full qualification process and lost weeks. The third didn't really know what was going on.The mindset shift is the hard part, and Jan says so plainly about her own years running the supply chain. Nobody wants to fund headcount against a risk that hasn't happened yet. The leaders who fund it anyway will be the ones still shipping when the next choke point closes.Themes Discussed in This EpisodeWhat an office of resilience actually doesWhy resilience fails as a part-time assignmentBoard and CEO ownership of enterprise riskMaster data as the foundation of risk visibilityChoke points, commodities, and what-if modelingThe end of the annual cost-downDecision speed as a competitive advantageMeasuring resilience against competitorsThis podcast is powered by QAD RedZone.Featured GuestName: Ambrose ConroyTitle: Founder and CEO of Seraph ConsultingAbout: Ambrose is the Founder and CEO of Seraph Consulting. He founded Seraph to solve complex, bet-the-business problems for clients and to be the go-to partner for driving operational excellence. Before founding Seraph, Ambrose served as Vice President of Supply Chain Solutions at NAI Global and led the West Coast Global Business Transformation Group at PA Consulting, where he specialized in due diligence, crisis management, and strategic transformation. He began his career as a consultant at CSC.Connect: LinkedInAbout Your HostsJan GriffithsJan is the host and producer of the Auto Supply Chain Champions Podcast and The Automotive Leaders Podcast. A former automotive manufacturing and supply chain executive, Jan is recognized as a Champion for Culture Change in the automotive industry. She brings direct, grounded conversations to leaders navigating execution, disruption, and transformation across the global automotive ecosystem.Tom Roberts (Co-host)Tom is Co-host of the Auto Supply Chain Champions Podcast and Vice President of Strategic Industry Development at QAD. He works closely with automotive and industrial manufacturers to close the gap between insight and execution, helping leaders move from visibility to systems of action that drive real operational outcomes.Mentioned in the Episode:Seraph choke point analysis webinar deckEpisode Highlights[00:04:35] What an Office of Resilience Is: Ambrose anchors it to the board risk committee mandate. The office exists to protect your ability to deliver today's products and services, no matter what happens.[00:05:34] Seeing Across Your Own Data: The blocker isn't strategy. It's architecture. Most OEMs and tier ones have built systems that can't give anyone a cross-enterprise view.[00:07:57] AI Drifts on Dirty Data: Fifty reference tables and disconnected PLM systems produce alerts nobody trusts. Tom points out that's exactly where big data analytics projects fell over a decade ago.[00:09:04] If It's Not in the System, It's Risk: Working around the system of record feels faster in a crisis, and it's what leaves you people-dependent when things start going wrong, and people get tired.[00:13:44] The Cost-Down Era Is Over: Annual price decreases aren't coming back. Ambrose argues that if you're not running the what-if scenarios, the crisis and chaos will cost you far more than the five or ten strategic heads you didn't want to fund.[00:16:45] Who Owns It: CEO, CFO, or board. Anywhere below that, silos and politics kill it before it's produced anything.[00:19:42] Part-Time Doesn't Work: You need full-time people from finance, legal, supply chain, and strategy, led by someone with the standing to challenge peers. Ambrose calls it a grooming ground for future senior executives.[00:22:02] Three OEMs, One Disruption: The Novelis situation exposed the gap between empowered decision-making and process compliance, measured in weeks of lost capacity.[00:24:09] Measuring Risk You Prevented: Purchasing savings as a metric is done, and Ambrose points to an OEM that skipped a volume-specific contract to capture some. Success is relative now: how fast your organization absorbs disruption compared with direct competitors.Top Quotes[00:06:33] Ambrose Conroy: "It's not just getting out of China, it's not just regionalization, it's making sure you have business continuity moving forward, no matter what."[00:16:15] Ambrose Conroy: "So an office of resilience needs to be able to take that into account, and you need to have the data to do it. But you also need to have the organization, you need to have the will, and you need to have the sponsorship from a board level or a CEO level to make it work."[00:27:00] Ambrose Conroy: "There's a lot of choke points out there right now that could close, thinking through those proactively and comparing how your organization performs to those of your direct competitors is the cleanest way to measure the impact and success of the office of resilience."If this episode resonated, share it with a fellow automotive leader and subscribe to the Auto Supply Chain Champions Podcast, where we're closing the gap between insight and action across the global automotive supply chain.Follow the Auto Supply Chain Champions Podcast for real conversations with leaders who are making hard choices, focusing their bets, and leading with intent.

MRO Network Podcast
How Would A New OEM Business Model Reshape The Aftermarket?

MRO Network Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 3, 2026 20:12


Listen in as Aviation Week editors Sean Broderick, Michael Bruno and James Pozzi discuss the recent comments from airframe and engine OEMs on the aftermarket, why the issue has surfaced now and whether a new aircraft-engine OEM business model is achievable.

Short Corners
F1 Livestream 0729 (post-Hungary) feat. Mark Slade with Peter Windsor

Short Corners

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 2, 2026 126:44


Lots of great questions and comments here as we head into the August break in the turbulence of Hungary.  Mark Slade, a race engineer who knows how to win at the Hungaroring, joins us with his unique understanding not only of the events of the past weekend but also for the likely reasons behind George Russell's slow getaway. Mark's explanatory diagram is included within the chapter headings of this podcast.  Alternatively, you can download it from our channel's Community page.Mark Slade has served as Race Engineer and Chief Engineer at McLaren, Mercedes, Renault and Haas and, as such, has played a major role in two World Championships, 34 GP wins, 101 podiums and 40 pole positions.With thanks to Jetcraft, the world's largest buyer and seller of executive jets:https://jetcraft.comTo TrackNinja, a lap-timer and data app designed to help users improve their on-track car and driver performance through analysis and an innovative Data Garage. A lite version is free; the loaded edition is US$9.99 pcm or $99.99 yearly: https://trackninja.appTo OEM Exclusive, the passionate suppliers of OEM upgrades for exotic and high-performance vehiclesAnd to REC Watches, whose timepieces are infused with DNA and actual material from famous racing and road cars. Claim your additional 10 per cent discount by adding the codeword PETER: https://recwatches.com/next-projectImages: Diego Merino and Mark SladeVisit our new merch store to Make Corners Great Again! https://sl1nk.com/l0uanyxVisit https://alpinestars.com for all your racing apparelVisit: https://fxdworkwear.com for all your purpose-built, Australian-made technical workwearTry Oscar Razors - Australia's highly-rated, 5-blade razors for men and women https://oscarrazor.com.au.  Follow Peter @peterwindsorBook a Cameo with Peter: https://cameo.com/peterwindsorContact us at: peterwindsoryt@gmail.comWe support the Race Against Dementia:https://raceagainstdementia.comThe Alora dog rescue shelter (Malaga, Spain)https://aloradogrescue.com#standwithukraine - now, more than ever#Canada! #jimmykimmel!Stephen Gallacher Golf Foundationhttps://sgfoundation.co.ukNick: you're with us always:https://samaritans.orgSupport the showVisit: https://youtube.com/peterwindsor for F1 videos past, present and future

CarDealershipGuy Podcast
"Values Rose!" The EV Bloodbath That Never Happened (and What Smart Dealers Are Doing Now) | Jimmy Douglas, Founder & CEO at Plug

CarDealershipGuy Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 30, 2026 40:33


Today I'm joined by Jimmy Douglas, Founder & CEO at Plug. He breaks down why the top used EV dealers turn inventory in 30 days instead of 59 while selling for 3% more, and shares the arbitrage move of stocking a competitor's EV so you capture a sale that was happening anyway. Topics: 00:47 Tax Credits Killed EV Residuals. 08:20 Selling A Computer On Wheels. 18:29 Live With An EV For One Month. 21:35 Stack Teslas For Massive Arbitrage. 27:25 Detroit's Global EV Future Is Bleak. 39:52 Build More Bays Than You Need. This episode is brought to you by: 1. Digital Dealer - Discover what's working in sales, service, marketing, AI, and operations Join us September 22–23 in Detroit. CDG readers: save 25% — just use code CDG25OFF at checkout. Register today @ here. 2. CDG Circles – Connect with verified dealers, join topic and OEM-specific groups, and get real-world strategies —all inside the CDG Platform. Learn more @ here. 3. Plug – If your dealership is taking EV trade-ins or looking for used EV inventory, you need to check out @ here. Check out Car Dealership Guy's stuff: For dealers: CDG Circles ➤ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://cdgcircles.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Industry job board ➤ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://jobs.dealershipguy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Dealership recruiting ➤ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://www.cdgrecruiting.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Fix your dealership's social media ➤ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://www.trynomad.co⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Request to be a podcast guest ➤ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://www.cdgguest.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ For industry vendors: Advertise with Car Dealership Guy ➤ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://www.cdgpartner.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Industry job board ➤ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://jobs.dealershipguy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Request to be a podcast guest ➤ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://www.cdgguest.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Car Dealership Guy Socials: X ➤ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠x.com/GuyDealership⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram ➤ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠instagram.com/cardealershipguy/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ TikTok ➤ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠tiktok.com/@guydealership⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ LinkedIn ➤ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠linkedin.com/company/cardealershipguy⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Threads ➤ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠threads.net/@cardealershipguy⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Facebook ➤ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077402857683⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Everything else ➤ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠dealershipguy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

The Independent Dealer Podcast
#442 - NIADA Expo Vendor Roundup: The Tools Nobody's Talking About Yet

The Independent Dealer Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 30, 2026 22:37


In this episode of the Independent Dealer Podcast, Jeff Watson and Luke Godwin hit the expo floor at the NIADA 2026 National Convention in Denver, Colorado to introduce independent dealers to vendors they may not know yet – and a couple of product categories the industry has been waiting on longer than it realizes. Four stops, four conversations, zero fluff. Just tools that could actually move the needle on how you appraise, acquire, list, recon, and sell cars in 2026.What You'll Learn:How PAVE uses AI and a smartphone to produce a consistent condition report, damage assessment, and retail listing photos in under two minutes – no photo booth, no manual process, and full integration with your CRM or DMSHow CarVid automates your entire Facebook Marketplace operation – posting, reposting, deleting, and responding to buyer inquiries with an AI that dealers say nobody has ever identified as a bot – and how the buying side tool scans new listings every ten minutes so you never miss a street buyWhy Accurate OEM remanufactured catalytic converters are a third of the price of new OEM, come with a 12-month 12,000-mile warranty, guaranteed fitment via VIN lookup, and ship two-day to 47 states – and why that solves one of the most expensive and frustrating recon headaches in the independent spaceHow Aviloo's three-minute OBD battery health test is already the standard at auctions across Europe and why it is coming to Mannheim and every major U.S. auction – and why dealers buying EVs today without one are flying blind on a $15,000 to $18,000 risk per unitWhy Jeff is scared to test his EV inventory and what Brett at Aviloo said that changed the way he thinks about battery health as a buying and marketing tool – not just a liabilityHow a free battery check event can pull EV owners into your lot, get their car on a hoist, and turn a service visit into a street buy opportunity in one conversationIf you are an independent dealer who walked the hall in Denver and missed these booths – or did not make it to NIADA this year – this episode is your shortcut to what was worth stopping for.Support the businesses that support the podcast:Buckeye Risk Services - Reinsurance and wealth strategies for independent dealers.https://theindependentdealer.com/buckeyeBlytz - BHPH payment processing with fast funding and text-to-pay.https://theindependentdealer.com/blytzpayIturan GPS - Asset protection and customer management for BHPH and retail dealers.https://theindependentdealer.com/ituranFollow & Connect:Website: www.theindependentdealer.comFacebook Group: @independentautogroupLuke Godwin: @lukegodwinJeff Watson: /sendtojeffwLike, subscribe, and share this with a dealer who needs to hear it.

The Uptime Wind Energy Podcast
Pardalote Studies Australian Blade Erosion and Heat Fatigue

The Uptime Wind Energy Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 30, 2026 32:20


Rosemary Barnes, CEO and founder of Pardalote Consulting, joins to discuss their new grant-funded study of blade erosion and heat fatigue in Australia. Sign up now for Uptime Tech News, our weekly newsletter on all things wind technology. This episode is sponsored by Weather Guard Lightning Tech. Learn more about Weather Guard’s StrikeTape Wind Turbine LPS retrofit. Follow the show on YouTube, Linkedin and visit Weather Guard on the web. And subscribe to Rosemary’s “Engineering with Rosie” YouTube channel here. Have a question we can answer on the show? Email us! Welcome to Uptime Spotlight, shining light on wind energy’s brightest innovators. This is the progress powering tomorrow Allen Hall 2025: Well, Rosemary, welcome back to the show.  Rosemary Barnes: Thanks, Allen. Great to be here. For, it’s been a while since we did one of these one-on-one episodes, like a, yeah, a proper, proper guest.  Allen Hall 2025: Well, this is kind of a celebratory episode because your company, Pardalote Consulting, has been awarded, uh, some funding from the Australian Capital Territory’s government for the Energy Innovation Fund. Rosemary Barnes: It’s a really good program that the ACT government has to try and get energy innovation In the state. It’s not a state actually, it’s technically a territory. Little more than just Canberra, the city. Uh, but there are actually quite a few, like, really interesting energy-related companies here, partly ’cause of the, the fund I think helps, but also just tracing back like, [00:01:00] uh, y- you know, in the 20-teens, Australia had a really conservative government that hated renewable energy, and the ACT government had a commitment at that time to 100%, um, 100% renewable electricity for the, the government. And that was one of the only programs that was resulting in a lot of, um, you know, clean energy projects being built, and one of the conditions that they put on that, uh, for people that would win PPAs with the ACT was that you had to have your headquarters in Canberra. So we’ve actually got quite a few, quite a few really cool, innovative companies out of here. Um, like Neoen’s headquarters here. Windlab, uh, yeah, was, was founded here and still has a lot of people here. Pardalote obviously, and you know, a few other companies as well. So despite it being a small city of like, I don’t know, maybe it’s up to 400,000 or something people by now, um, yeah, there is actually quite a lot going on here for energy. Allen Hall 2025: And the Energy Innovation Fund is funded by the wind and solar operators in the area, and your particular [00:02:00] effort has really global consequences. You’re focusing on two areas involving how wind turbines survive Australia, but more, uh, of relevance is to just really tough conditions which exist not just in Australia but around the world. What two areas are you going to focus on?  Rosemary Barnes: Yeah. So the two focus areas are leading edge erosion and high temperature fatigue, which we can probably get into the definitions of those in a minute. But basically my, um– what led me to wanna have a project like this was that when I moved back to Australia in 2021, I– and I started working in O&M, uh, I noticed that the wind turbines that I would look at, the blades that I would look at here behaved really differently to the ones that I worked with overseas. You know, es- especially with leading edge erosion, like often I would be doing a condition assessment of a, you know, a new wind farm. Um, might only have been operating for, you know, two years. That’s a pretty common time for people to get in and do a condition assessment [00:03:00] because their warranty period is about to end and they wanna, you know, make sure that everything is okay. Um, and I would just notice that often, like 90, 100% of blades would already have bad erosion after just a couple of years, which is super-duper fast. And then there are some tools available to check, um, like what kind of erosion are you likely to experience on your site. Like is it a higher severity erosion site or a, a low severity one? Um, and you basically, you know, the status quo globally is to just look at the annual rainfall, um, and the tip speed. And if you’ve got, you know, high for both of those, that’s a bad erosion site. And if you’ve got low for both of those, it’s a, a low erosion site. But when I plotted out the wind farms that I knew had really bad erosion problems onto, you know, a chart with those two axes, I just saw a random distribution of dots. You know? Like, this was not– uh, this had no predictive value for Australian wind farms. And so that led me to believe that, okay, um, you know, things are a bit [00:04:00] different here. Makes sense, you know, most of the knowledge that we have about how wind turbines operate, it’s been developed and validated mostly in Northern Europe. You know? Like it’s, it’s Denmark and the surrounding countries that had, like, the bulk of the early wind energy. First few decades of knowledge were, you know, were mostly there. Of course, there were some other, um, places that had wind turbines, but, you know, most of the The OEMs have been operating for decades, came from Denmark. And I know when I lived in Denmark, the rain there is very different to the rain in Australia. So in Denmark, it’s basically always raining, right? Like, it’s just… Like, even if it’s not raining, you’re still gonna get wet when you go outside ’cause it’s just, like, the air has this just amazing ability to just hold onto moisture. Um, but it’s very, very gentle. But, you know, over an entire year of most days having gentle rain, that adds up to a lot. Whereas in Australia, and especially if you go, like, north to Queensland, it rarely rains. It’s mostly just dry, and when it [00:05:00] does rain, it’s like a tap turns on, and I, I swear you will get bruised from the rain droplets hitting your skin. You know, they just have so much energy in them. So I think that that i- you know, when you look at just the overall rainfall, you really hide something important about how erosion, um, can progress. Then, um, there’s other places in Australia that have very different characteristics. Again, they don’t have that kind of really intense rain but, you know, some of those sites are also having really bad erosion. And so it just occurred to me, I did a lot of research, you know, into what’s going on and, you know, the academics are studying erosion a whole lot, and they’ve got, you know, a lot of standardized tests and, you know, products are developed according to these standardized tests. But the standardized tests don’t actually resemble reality, and especially they don’t resemble reality in Australia. And so my client started asking me, “Okay, you know, the products that we have are, are terrible. We have to replace them every couple of years. It’s, um, causing big problems with also [00:06:00] the amount of energy that you’re losing.” One of the types of, um, leading-edge erosion or leading-edge problems that we have in Australia is that the, the coatings tend to peel off and make these, like, big flakes which will just massively disrupt the airflow, can cause y- you know, at least a few percent AEP loss, and maybe up to five. And even worse than the AEP loss is the revenue loss because it affects it most at, you know, lower wind speeds. Um, you get a bigger hit than at rated wind speeds. So there’s a variety of problems going on with leading edges in Australia, which mean that I, I basically… My clients would ask, “What product should we put on to prevent having to, you know, constantly replace this?” ‘Cause it costs, like- you know, 30, $40,000 per turbine to replace the protection, not to mention, you know, one or two days of downtime. It’s expensive, and I basically, I didn’t have a good answer for them. What, what product should they put on? I don’t know. No, we, we don’t know. One, we don’t know what the [00:07:00] specific, um, characteristics are that are… what the specific local environment, local conditions are that are accelerating leading-edge erosion, one. And two, all of the products tend to be tested around this, you know, there’s this protocol that academics have come up with, and they’ve kind of like assumed that this is representative of how things behave in the field, and it’s– I don’t think it’s particularly true anyway, but it’s especially not true in Australia. There are a few companies that are testing to different standards. Um, definitely applaud them. But without knowing wha- what are the conditions truly like in Australia, uh, it’s really hard to advise, like, what kind of tests should you be demanding from a product you’re considering to be sure that you’re gonna put it on and not gonna be replacing it again in two years. Allen Hall 2025: Because that’s really the trouble in Australia is when you get offered products They have been tested generally in somewhere in Europe and maybe in the United States, and then when they go to [00:08:00] Australia, it’s really unknown as to how those products will do, which is a huge risk for the Australian wind market as to what to choose, how to choose, is it– what’s real in terms of test data. So now you’re gonna go out and do what? Are you gonna put sensors out by the wind farms? Are you gonna try to do more of a statistical summary of the actual environment around wind farms using existing data? What’s the approach here?  Rosemary Barnes: It’s all of the above, but the part that is supported by the grant is that we’re gonna have enough money to be able to buy some scientific-grade sensors and put them on, um, a sample of Australian wind farms. So we’re gonna be looking at a lot more characteristics about the rain than simply is it raining now, you know, how many millimeters per hour. We’re also gonna be investigating, you know, every kind of characteristic of, of that, um, of that rain, um, including, yeah, like the, the energy that’s in it, for example. A, a bunch of stuff. I won’t get into every single [00:09:00] parameter. Um, and you know, other things as well, like measuring UV, solar radiation, um, particles, because, you know, in Australia we have a lot of dirt roads, which I know is very common in wind farms around the world, but Australian dirt roa- roads are always dry and dusty, like 99% of the time, so that’s one of the things that y- you know, maybe that’s causing a difference. Um, so basically putting sensors all over a bunch of wind turbines and then monitoring the erosion, um, a combination of some real-time monitoring and also looking at inspection, um, drone inspection images annually. We also have a- an option where we’ll just be using SCADA data and inspection images, so that’s like a lower cost version where we can combine that with the findings from the scientific-grade instrumented turbines to build up a picture of what types of conditions lead to accelerated erosion.[00:10:00] Allen Hall 2025: So the SCADA data will, will have some information inside of it, you think, that, uh, will correlate to the weather outside?  Rosemary Barnes: It has some Additionally, we can look up, um, you know, just the weather data, like how many millimeters fell during which 15-minute interval throughout the day, what was the temperature. SCADA will tell us also what the temperature was, um, what the speed of the turbine was, so you can calculate the tip speed, ’cause that’s an important thing. Um, yeah, so it’s, it’s two, it’s two tiers of data collection. The scientific grade sensors, as you can imagine, are, are really expensive and y- you know, the, the grant project has contributed a, a lot of funding, um, but it’s not enough to put those, yeah, put a little mini lab on top of every turbine across Australia, obviously. So that we’re using s- doing selectively, and then we can increase the number of wind farms that are included in the study by just doing this, um, cheaper version of the SCADA [00:11:00] plus, uh, weather data that’s available.  Allen Hall 2025: So what are some of the risks on the temperature side for all the high-temperature regions of Australia that have wind turbines? Clearly it’s generally warmer in Australia than it is in, in Scandinavia and Northern Europe. What kind of temperatures are we talking about on the ground?  Rosemary Barnes: Uh, well, temperatures here can get pretty close to 50 degrees. Um, and if you’ve ever been inside a wind turbine blade on a, even a mildly hot day, you’ll know that the temperature inside a wind turbine, and especially inside the blade, is much hotter than what it is, uh, what the ambient temperature is. So this project is one– I’ve actually been talking about this project for, yeah, like over 10 years now. Ever since I started, I moved to Denmark, started working for a wind turbine manufacturer, I had done– I had just finished doing my PhD on composite materials, structural design, and analysis. So, um, yeah, very, very familiar with, [00:12:00] you know, how composite materials work and, in particular, the effect that temperature has on them. I mean, like most materials, when composites get warmer, they get softer, and that is really important for a w- a wind turbine blade. You know, if it gets, um, less stiff, then you’re gonna get a lot more strain, and that is going to affect your fatigue behavior. Y- you know, fatigue is just the application of a little bit of, a small amount of strain. It’s not gonna cause damage, but when you apply it millions, tens of millions of times, like you do in a, o- over a wind turbine’s operate, um, operating lifetime, then that builds up. And, you know, wind turbine blades are a very fatigue-driven design. Um, it’s one of the most important things to consider when you’re designing a wind turbine blade. And so when I got to Denmark and I learned how materials are qualified and how the qualification is treated in the certification process, I just realized it’s not particularly conservative, and also that some of the assumptions that are made that [00:13:00] wo- again, they worked really well in more moderate climates where wind turbines have had most of their developmental history. You know, it’s not such a big deal there if you test at room temperature. Your wind turbine blade is spending most of its operating lifetime at room temperature or below. It’s, it’s rarely, you know, above 30 degrees in Denmark and most of Northern Europe and, you know, also a lot of, um, a lot of America, not, not all of it But, um, in Australia it has just extended periods above that temperature and even exceeding the temperature where, you know, wind turbines have an operating limit and after that they will shut down. But the operating limits are based on ambient temperature. It’s not based on what’s the temperature in the laminate, which is what really matters for blade lifetime. So anyway, I’ve been obsessed, like honestly obsessed about this issue for 10 years. Talked about it with anybody who would listen . But then when I started working in O&M in [00:14:00] Australia and I started seeing some wind farms with an abnormal number of cracks early… again, early in their lifetime, you know, I think one of the wind farms I was looking at was maybe three years old or four at the time. I think it was three actually, and had a lot of cracks, and I looked at a few years in a row and it was more and more cracks every year and I’m like, “Oof, this really looks like end of life fatigue behavior.” A- actually it’s not, y- you know, there’s this concept of a bathtub curve where, um, when you’re looking at failures in components, in, in anything, not just in, um, wind turbine blades, but you know, like you’d start– it’s called a bathtub because, you know, when it starts operating, you’ll get quite a lot of failures. Anything big, any manufacturing defects or anything are gonna cause failures quite fast, and that kind of drops off over time as all of those, uh, get addressed. And then you have, you know, the bulk of your operating life, it’s like pretty low level, pretty, pretty constant for a long time and then as you get towards the end of the [00:15:00] life, you start to see failure rates rise up again. That’s your fatigue failures, your end of life fatigue failures. And so when I saw the same types of cracks more and more each year, I’m like, “This looks like, you know, the foot end of the bathtub, not the head end.” And, uh, it made me worried and I’ve now seen that across a few wind farms in Australia at, um, hotter places. There’s a few blade types that are more prone to it than others, but at this point it’s still a suspicion that that’s what’s going on. I mean, a suspicion backed by a lot of, a lot of theory and knowledge of how the certification process works. But this project now we’ve got some funding to actually go put some sensors onto wind turbines, actually learn what the temperatures are in the blades throughout the whole laminate, um, not just the, you know, on the outside surface or not just the ambient temperature, but actually, you know, develop a temperature gradient across the whole, um, the whole laminate in the blade shell. Um, and [00:16:00] then we’re going to be doing a bunch of modeling basically to look at what is the effect of these different temperatures that blades are really seeing and how much would we expect to… that to decrease a lifetime. And then we should also be able to say, you know, if you have this issue in your wind farm, you might be able to change your operation a little bit and extend your lifetime a lot. Because this one, it’s real– like, in contrast to leading edge erosion, leading edge erosion is just, it’s, you know, every wind turbine has it to a certain extent, and it, it’s always there, but it’s a relatively minor cost to fix it. You know, like it sounds like a lot, like 30, $40,000 per wind turbine, but, um, you know, compared to if you’ve got to replace every blade across your fleet because they’re all, you know, at the end of their life after five years, you know, that’s obviously shocking. And, you know, that’s a bad example, but even in a y- you know, like a less extreme example, maybe [00:17:00] after 15 years you have to do a, you know, a f- a fleet-wide campaign to strengthen blades or something. It’s, you know, m- many millions of dollars for that, and so it c- could make sense to be able to learn, okay, what, what hours of operation should we be avoiding? Additionally, because when it’s super-duper hot in Australia, usually you’ve got heaps of solar power and the electricity price is not that high. So I, I think that there– and I don’t, obviously, before we’ve done the project, I don’t know what the threshold is. But in both cases, we will be aiming to improve the knowledge of how you can operate to avoid these periods of accelerated damage. Allen Hall 2025: Do you think you’re seeing more fatigue-like damage due to the blades operating when it’s hot or not operating when it’s hot, with maybe less airflow around the blade and maybe less cooling going on is just a temperature soak At rest? [00:18:00] Rosemary Barnes: Yeah. It’s interesting because the temperature is higher if it’s not rotating, um, because you get a whole lot of, um, convective heat, heat transfer when the turbine is operating. So your temperatures are not gonna get as hot when operating as when they’re standing still. However, if it’s standing still, they’re only very lightly loaded. Like, yes, they’re gonna get, um, blown by, by gusts and, um, have a little bit of bending, but it’s, it’s very, very small compared to, uh, if it is y- you know, operational loads. Uh, assuming that you’re not in the middle of a s- a storm. But yeah, a storm probably doesn’t come with 50 degrees temperatures.  Allen Hall 2025: And what part of the blade is susceptible to these higher temperatures? Is it the resin? Is it the fiberglass or carbon fiber? Or is it the, the glue, the bond joints? What part are you focused on? Rosemary Barnes: The resin is the main part that I’m focused on. It gl- it could be an issue for glue too, actually. I haven’t even looked into what the, um, yeah, temperature assumptions are with, with glue, with [00:19:00] bond lines. But the failures that I’m seeing in the field are not, are not bond line issues. It’s, it’s, um, a laminate problem. Allen Hall 2025: What about balsa and foam inside of the blade? Are they affected by the temperatures or are they pretty temperature stable?  Rosemary Barnes: I don’t think they’re affected at these kinds of temperatures, no. They, they don’t really do much actually. The, the core materials, like it, it is very important that they’re, that they’re there, but their job is really to keep the fiberglass separated from its- itself to make it stiffer. So, um, yeah, that’s, that’s unlikely to be a, a major source of problems.  Allen Hall 2025: So this study is gonna work over about three years, and you have a number of wind farms that are participating. Are you looking for more wind farms to participate in Australia?  Rosemary Barnes: Yeah. Yeah, definitely. I mean, we can, um, have as many as, as people want to join. We’ve got quite a good selection so far. Definitely can always welcome more. A, a bit limited in how many can get the really, um, good sensor [00:20:00]package, because the grant funding is a, you know, a certain amount, and that’s paying the bulk of those sensors. So, um, those spots are limited. So if anybody wants to really zone in on what is specifically causing erosion on their site, you know, if you know that you have got leading edge protection that is not good enough and you have to replace it soon, but you don’t know what to replace it with, then, you know, that would be the kind of wind farm that might want to consider, yeah, joining this and, um, you know, getting these sensors on their, um… We’re putting them on top of the nacelles, most of them. Um, yeah, so that would be a good match then. Um, and then, yeah, for the ones that are doing the SCADA data and, um, weather data- There’s not such a, a hard limit on how many we can have join like that. So yeah, we can have more, more like that.  Allen Hall 2025: In the temperature fatigue effort, i- is that still looking for participants or are there particular wind turbine types or manufacturers that you’re [00:21:00] looking for to participate? Rosemary Barnes: Yeah, I think, um, I, I mean yes, we can have more of those. That’s a simpler, a, a simpler issue as well. The sensors are not so expensive and, um, it’s, yeah, it’s a, it’s a simpler project to join that one. We only need, you know, a couple of turbines per site, so it won’t be such a, uh, an involved process to get everything up on into the turbines. And in terms of who might like to join that, I would say anybody that is in a really hot area where, you know, where they see a lot of days over 30 degrees, and if they see any days, you know, getting into the high 40s, then I would say that that’s worthwhile. Or even I have seen this issue in some milder sites, um, yeah, depending on the, on the blade type as well. It is more common with polyester resins. They have a, a lower op- uh, maximum operating temperature than epoxy resins. But then also just anybody that has noticed just, hey, [00:22:00] we’ve got a lot of cracks, and it seems like we’re getting more and more cracks every year, which to be honest, can be hard to keep track of if you’re… If you’ve got a full service agreement, uh, you know, an OEM managing your wind farm The early signs of this are gonna be category one and category two cracks. They’re not in exactly the same location. It’s, you know, it’s a tricky one. Normally, if you’re looking at a serial issue, then you’re going to have, uh, well, you know, your ideal pattern for a serial issue is the exact same thing happening over and over again. And so it is harder to pull this out. It also really would be very rare for it to be happening in the first two years or three years, whatever your serial defect liability period is. So it’s quite hard. But, um, another group of wind farms that might like to consider it is if you know that in, you know, a certain number of years you have to renegotiate your service agreement or, you know, it ends and you might have to take over yourself, then this’ll be a really good way for you to [00:23:00] understand, you know, have I got a ticking time bomb here? Um, because it’s not something that you’re gonna be aware of if you haven’t been, you know, doing some really, really in-depth shadow, shadow monitoring of your blades, you know, running your own inspections and looking at every single damage, not just category three, four, five, but lower ones. So yeah, I mean, there’s a, a wide variety of people that, that could be interested in joining. Allen Hall 2025: Are you expecting a number of manufacturers that make leading-edge protection or involved in resin creation, some– there’s a number of resin companies and a variety of resins that are used globally, sort of interchangeably at times. Are you expecting some of those companies to participate in this effort just to learn about the Australian environment? Rosemary Barnes: I think it would be a good opportunity to test out some products and see how they behave in the Australian context. I think that that would be a really good selling point, but I, I have to say that most of the companies doing that sort of thing that wanna enter Australia, they don’t [00:24:00] really consider… Like, from the perspective of wind farm owners in Australia, if you can’t show us wind farms in Australia where this has worked and, you know, show us a before or after, you know, the old LEP lasted Two years and our LEP is going on four years now with no damage. It, you know, unless you’ve got a before and after like that, you can tell us however many turbines that you’ve got installed around the world, but, um, we don’t consider it validated, y- you know? It’s not validated for Australian conditions yet. And I do have this same discussion over and over again with, you know, not just leading edge protection, but all kinds of, um, you know, manufacturers of whatever doodads that you put on to improve a, a wind turbine. It’s so different to Australia. Things break so fast. And I’m talking everything, you know, like vortex generators fall off and, um, yeah, like, uh, you know, bits of lightning protection systems fall off, seals just [00:25:00] crumble and disintegrate. Um, and it, you know, we’re very wary of, of new products. So I, I do– I mean, I’m thinking of it more from my client’s point of view than from the product manufacturer’s point of view. But one thing that I wanna get out of this pro- project is to be able to answer one of the most common questions that I get is, which is, what leading edge protection should I be putting on my turbine? And for now, I don’t know. I, I know a range of products that don’t work in Australia, and not much more than that. So, um, yeah. And it’s also, you know, Australia’s a very varied place with lots of different kinds of climate too. So it’s not gonna be like, you know, the product that works in Queensland is the same one that’s gonna work in Tasmania, which is the same one that’s gonna work in Western Australia. You know, um, so it, this project is gonna really pull out what are the site specific issues you’ve got at your site and what kinds of, um, you know, tests would we need to see a product um, perform in order to know that this [00:26:00] is gonna last on your site. Allen Hall 2025: W- what is the outcome of this project or these two projects? Are they gonna be reports or, uh, a, a continual monitoring system that’s designed for the Australian environment? How do you see this going?  Rosemary Barnes: Yeah, so one part of it is, um, developing a way to identify periods of accelerated damage and to know not to operate during that time. So we call it protective operation. Uh, so that would, uh, help you if, yeah, you’re trying to extend the life of something or increase the amount of time before you have to repair, then y- you know, that would be useful to have that knowledge. And it will be as simple as just an alert saying, “Hey, accelerated damage conditions. Consider, you know, if you wanna keep on operating.” And, you know, if the price of electricity is super high at that time, they may want to push through, and if it’s low, they probably won’t want to. So that’s one thing. Um, especially, you know, as wind turbines get to their, near the end of their life. I’ve got some clients whose wind farms only have, you know, [00:27:00] maybe five years operation left. They just simply don’t wanna repair their leading edge protection again. They just, they, they don’t wanna do that. So they would be happy to, you know, reduce operation a bit and have their turbine limp through to the end of the period. Y- you know, you want everything to wear out at once. You don’t want brand-new leading edge protection on a turbine that’s going to come down in a couple of years. Um, so, you know, that’s, that’s one part of it. And then the other thing is, you know, turbines earlier in their lifetime, how can we optimize the maintenance schedule with leading edge erosion? Um, so, you know, like it’s a lot cheaper to, uh, replace the LEP if you get– catch it early, but then you don’t wanna be catching it too early and replacing it, you know, constantly when you, you don’t need to. So, um, yeah, it, this, having this knowledge will enable a site-by-site operations and maintenance strategy with respect to leading edge protection. We also have some sites who are having trouble. They’ve got a full service agreement, and the OEM is [00:28:00] responsible for, um, doing the leading edge erosion repairs and protection replacement, but the owner is on the hook for paying for it. At the other end, we’ve got people with full service agreements where technically the, um, manufacturer is supposed to be doing the leading edge protection and paying for it, but they argue about what, when does it need to be done. Because, you know, um, the operator might think if there’s no structural risk, then we don’t need to be replacing it. And in the meantime, you’ve got turbines spinning around for years and years and years with, you know, these huge flakes of leading edge protection s- you know, causing the flow at the tip of the turbine to, to detach and to stall, and horrible aerodynamics, huge losses in power generation and revenue. And they’re having a big fight about, you know, is this necessary to do or not? And then, you know, they’re just gonna put the exact same product on again ’cause the [00:29:00] OEMs are re- all really, really wedded to their own particular brand. It’s like, “Well, last time we had this product and it was factory applied, it lasted one year before it s- it was worse than, you know, if it wasn’t there at all. Uh, we don’t really want you to put that one on again.” And so, you know, having the information that they need to be able to, you know, really bring data to these discussions and, you know, makes a, yeah, data not drama. That’s a, a good approach I think, um, for any kind of negotiation and especially in the case of leading edge erosion. And then for the high temperature fatigue part of the problem, aside from, you know, just wanting to know are your blades aging, should you be looking at remediation action or changing the operation, the other really big key thing is, uh, you might need to have a fight with y- your OEM about if this turbine has been designed and operated correctly. And so then having the data from this, um, project is going to give you the information that you need to come into that [00:30:00] argument with, again, the data not the drama. Um, and to, you know, in- increase your chances of succeeding in that kind of really tricky negotiation.  Allen Hall 2025: So if you’re an OEM or a manufacturer of equipment, an ISP, an operator, pretty much all aspects of wind operations, you probably ought to be getting a hold of Pardalote Consulting and Rosemary to talk about the opportunity to participate in this study. How do people get ahold of you to, to do that?  Rosemary Barnes: People can go to our website, pardaloteconsulting.com, and get in touch via the contact form there, or you can, uh, look me up on LinkedIn, Rosemary Barnes. That’s probably the easiest, fastest way to get ahold of me personally.  Allen Hall 2025: Well, Rosemary, congratulations on the Energy Innovation Fund Awards and the new three-year effort. If you are interested in participating with Pardalote Consulting and working with Rosemary and her team [00:31:00] in Australia, reach out to her on LinkedIn and get that process started, because this report and the data from all this analysis that’ll happen over the next couple of years will be important to the wind industry. So you need to spend some time and get ahold of Rosemary and get this process started now. So Rosemary, congratulations. Uh, thanks for being back on the podcast, and looking forward to, uh, the next couple of years. It sh- should be exciting.  Rosemary Barnes: Thanks so much, Allen.

Matt Fanslow - Diagnosing the Aftermarket A to Z
Why You Can't Motivate Someone Into Training [E247]

Matt Fanslow - Diagnosing the Aftermarket A to Z

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 29, 2026 25:34


Thanks to our Partners, Pico Technology, and AutelWatch Full Video EpisodeWhy are some automotive repair specialists resistant to attending training, particularly when it takes place after work or on weekends?The easy explanation is that they are lazy, unmotivated, or unwilling to invest in themselves. Matt argues that this explanation may also be incomplete.In this episode, Matt examines training through the lens of incentives, career development, and systems thinking. A specialist who spends personal time and money developing new skills is often told that the investment will eventually produce better pay, greater opportunities, or increased job security. But what happens when those rewards never materialize?When training does not produce a visible improvement in compensation, working conditions, advancement, or professional stability, declining another class may be a rational decision rather than a character flaw.Matt discusses his own early motivation for attending training, the delayed payoff of that investment, and the importance of the relationships developed through classes, professional forums, and industry events. He also considers what shop owners and managers can do to make continued education feel like part of a legitimate career path rather than another demand placed on an employee's personal life.Topics DiscussedWhy two people who make opposite decisions about training may both be acting rationallyThe traditional expectation that individuals fund their own professional developmentWhether increased knowledge reliably produces increased compensation“Cheap talk,” empty promises, and the loss of trust between employees and employersThe absence of clear career paths in automotive repairWhy keeping a job is not a meaningful reward unless the job is worth keepingMatt's early, ego-driven pursuit of technical knowledgeThe delayed financial return from training and professional developmentThe value of relationships formed through classes, events, forums, and industry groupsThe difficulty of identifying and communicating one's economic valueWhy character judgments should come after examining the system, not beforeProviding training during normal working hoursEstablishing clear expectations for continuing educationCreating positions and responsibilities for specialists throughout every stage of their careersWhy experienced employees should be a shop's strongest advocatesThe shared reputation of the automotive repair professionKey TakeawayBefore assuming that someone's reluctance to attend training reflects laziness or a lack of ambition, examine the incentives surrounding the decision.Does training lead somewhere?Can the specialist see a realistic path toward greater compensation, responsibility, security, or professional satisfaction?Does the organization respect personal time while asking employees to continue developing?Individual shops cannot repair the entire profession alone, but each shop contributes to the larger system. Better career paths, meaningful rewards, workday training, and credible long-term planning can help make professional development feel like an investment rather than an obligation.Resources MentionedRich FalcoMike Allen and Confessions of a Shop OwnerDutch SilversteinRatchet+WrenchScannerDanner PremiumAutomotive SeminarsToday's ClassiATN and other professional automotive communitiesThanks to Pico Technology and Autel for supporting the podcast, and to the Automotive Repair Podcast Network.Thanks to our Partner, Pico TechnologyAre you chasing elusive automotive problems? Pico Technology empowers you to see what's really happening. Their PicoScope oscilloscopes transform your diagnostic capabilities. Visit PicoAuto.comThanks to our Partner, AutelFrom drivability diagnostics and TPMS service to ADAS and advanced safety systems, Autel helps technicians follow OEM procedures and repair with confidence. Learn more at Autel.comContact InformationEmail Matt: mattfanslowpodcast@gmail.comDiagnosing the Aftermarket A - Z YouTube ChannelThe Automotive Repair Podcast Network: https://automotiverepairpodcastnetwork.com/Remarkable Results Radio Podcast with Carm Capriotto: Advancing the Aftermarket by Facilitating Wisdom Through Story Telling and Open Discussion. https://remarkableresults.biz/Business by the Numbers with Hunt Demarest: Understand the Numbers of Your Business with CPA Hunt Demarest. https://huntdemarest.captivate.fm/The Auto Repair Marketing Podcast with Kim and Brian Walker: Marketing Experts Brian & Kim Walker Work with Shop Owners to Take it to the Next Level. https://autorepairmarketing.captivate.fm/The Weekly Blitz with Chris Cotton: Weekly Inspiration with Business Coach Chris Cotton from AutoFix - Auto Shop Coaching. https://chriscotton.captivate.fm/Speak Up! Effective Communication with Craig O'Neill: Develop Interpersonal and Professional Communication Skills when Speaking to Audiences of Any Size. https://craigoneill.captivate.fm/

The Dan Rayburn Podcast
Episode 177: Roku's Hardware Price Increase; Peacock Turns a Profit; Final FIFA World Cup Numbers from YouTube, TikTok, Fox and Telemundo

The Dan Rayburn Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 29, 2026 28:18


This week, I detail Comcast's Q2 earnings, which, for the first time in six years, showed Peacock had a positive quarter, with $189 million in EBITDA. This positive news was offset by the loss of 280,000 cable TV subscribers and 167,000 broadband residential customers, with total company revenue down 1.2% YoY.I discuss the news that Roku is raising the MSRP of its streaming sticks and boxes from $10-$50, depending on the model, noting that the largest portion of Roku's overall device unit volume comes from the sale of third-party Roku-made TVs by OEM partners, not Roku boxes.Finally, I detail the final FIFA World Cup viewership numbers from YouTube, Cazé TV, TikTok, Fox/FOX One, and Telemundo/Peacock, highlighting the different measurement methodologies used, and mention Telemundo becoming the exclusive U.S. Spanish-language rights holder for the next UEFA men's club competitions.Podcast produced by Security Halt Media

ForbesBooks Radio
J. Michael Coffey: Why Most Acquisitions Fail After the Deal Closes

ForbesBooks Radio

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 29, 2026 30:19 Transcription Available


Most acquisitions look strong on paper. The real challenge begins after the deal closes.In this episode of The Authority Company Podcast, Joe Pardavila sits down with J. Michael Coffey, author of G.A.L.E. Force: Navigating Strategy, Culture, and Value Creation in Modern M&A, to explore why so many mergers and acquisitions fail to meet expectations, and why culture often becomes the biggest obstacle after closing.Michael shares lessons from helping H.E. Parts acquire 14 companies, expand into seven countries, and eventually become part of Hitachi. He explains the principle behind his G.A.L.E. Force framework: global aim, local execution.Joe and Michael discuss the evolution of private equity, the rise of growth through acquisition, the hidden complexity of post-merger integration, and why financial projections often miss the human realities that determine whether a deal succeeds.Michael also shares stories from Chile, global mining operations, competing against industry giants like Caterpillar and Komatsu, and what it feels like to move from acquirer to acquiree.If you're a CEO, founder, investor, private equity leader, operator, or executive involved in M&A, this conversation offers a practical look at how companies can create lasting value after the deal is done.Chapters00:00 Intro00:43 Buffalo Bills vs. Jets01:00 How private equity changed M&A02:55 Why the book opens in Chile03:10 Building H.E. Parts as a David vs. Goliath story04:13 Why mining operations never stop05:10 Why global customers needed H.E. Parts in multiple markets06:21 Expanding into Australia, Chile, Peru, Canada, the U.S., and Zambia07:00 Competing against OEM giants like Caterpillar and Komatsu08:24 The power of being small and agile08:53 Is mining still the Wild West?10:07 Centralized ownership vs. decentralized operations10:26 What “global aim, local execution” means12:49 Why customers wanted an alternative solution13:44 Why culture is the nemesis of modern M&A14:02 How global and local cultures clash after acquisitions15:37 Why you can't force one culture on another16:28 Innovation as a shared cultural principle18:00 The Chile soccer story19:23 Turning local culture into a business advantage20:47 Why culture gets ignored during dealmaking21:36 Why culture ranks low before close and first after close23:04 Why many deals miss their financial goals23:29 The “hockey stick” problem in projections25:00 How G.A.L.E. Force improves post-close success26:16 Moving from acquirer to acquiree26:43 Why leaving H.E. Parts was emotionally difficult28:24 When founders struggle with the decision to sell29:39 Where to find G.A.L.E. Force29:51 Closing

HVAC School - For Techs, By Techs
Selecting a Replacement Motor - Short #296

HVAC School - For Techs, By Techs

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 28, 2026 19:22


In this short podcast episode, Bryan covers the points to consider when selecting a replacement motor, particularly blower motors and condensing fan motors in residential and light commercial applications.  Horsepower and amperage both matter for matching, but they are not the only items to consider. We also have to consider phase (three-phase vs. single-phase), voltage, and RPM; those must match exactly (barring VFDs and ECMs with variable RPMs). Frame size, shaft size, mounting, rotation, capacitor (for PSC motors), bearing type, temperature rating, enclosure (or Air Over Motor rating), and operation all matter. The failed motor is also NOT the only source of information; if it is an aftermarket motor, it might not have the correct information, so you are better off using an OEM motor or checking the manufacturer's data. Single-phase motors are common for residential condensing fan motors and will need a run capacitor. Three-phase motors tend to be more common in commercial settings, and these will not have a run capacitor. Voltages must be appropriate for the application, and if the RPM is fixed, it must match the same general range because it represents the motor speed and is based on the number of poles. However, RPM may be variable in several applications. Horsepower is the mechanical output rating (ability to do work); we CANNOT use a replacement motor with less horsepower than the OEM motor (and be careful with fractions; 1/3 is greater than 1/4). Amperage is NOT horsepower; amps are electrical input current. We want the amp rating to be close to the original motor, but it won't always match, particularly in the case of ECMs. If it doesn't match, we want to know why that is; if it's an ECM, then it's likely not a problem because ECMs can do the same work as a PSC with fewer watts. Power factor indicates motor efficiency for PSC motors, but the rules aren't quite the same for ECMs, which will have a much lower power factor (or lower wattages with higher amperages). However, if the amperage is off because we have the wrong motor, then that is a problem.   The physical aspects matter for fitting the motor properly and delivering the right airflow. Rotation should match (though most universal motors can run in either direction). Airflow is especially important for blower motors, so factory replacements or ECM replacements are the way to go in those cases (it's also good to confirm airflow with a TrueFlow grid and by checking static pressure). The speed taps also need to be correct. Noise is also a factor; ball bearing motors tend to be louder than sleeve bearing motors. Temperature ratings also matter because heat can significantly reduce the lifespan of motors, and we need motors that can handle the operating conditions.    Here is the podcast episode about ECM blower amps and watts with Steve Rogers: https://www.hvacrschool.com/podcasts/what-is-up-with-blower-amps-watts-w-steve-rogers/  Have a question that you want us to answer on the podcast? Submit your questions at https://www.speakpipe.com/hvacschool Purchase your tickets or learn more about the 8th Annual HVACR Training Symposium at https://hvacrschool.com/symposium. Subscribe to our podcast on your iPhone or Android. Subscribe to our YouTube channel. Check out our handy calculators here or on the HVAC School Mobile App for Apple and Android.

Acquisitions Anonymous
Would You Pay $6.75 Million for a Magnet Company?

Acquisitions Anonymous

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 28, 2026 46:28


In this episode, the hosts analyze a highly profitable industrial magnetics company with $1.3M EBITDA, debating whether its recurring demand, outsourced model, and durable niche justify a premium valuation.Business Listing – https://www.websiteclosers.com/businesses/lender-pre-qualified-industrial-magnetic-equipment-company-50-repeat-order-rate-42-net-margin-zero-ad-spend-semi-absentee/119091/Welcome to Acquisitions Anonymous – the #1 podcast for small business M&A. Every week, we break down businesses for sale and talk about buying, operating, and growing them.Looking to build a professional website in minutes? Try Wix: https://wix.pxf.io/c/6898629/3115214/25616?trafcat=templateHubSpot is the backbone for how businesses scale without chaos. Try them out here: https://go.try-hubspot.com/OeG9VrSubscribe for more episodes: https://www.youtube.com/@AcquisitionsAnonymousPodcast?sub_confirmation=1Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://www.acquanon.com/newsletter

Millionaire Car Salesman Podcast
EP 12:04 How Relentless Follow-Up and Customer Service Built a 40-Car Month Salesman

Millionaire Car Salesman Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 28, 2026 76:48


What separates an average automotive salesperson from someone capable of selling more than 40 cars per month? "The more you familiarize yourself with the customer, the more you're going to be able to use that for yourself to build your business as a car salesman." - Josh MacPhee In this episode of the Millionaire Car Salesman Podcast, Sean V. Bradley sits down with Josh MacPhee, a top-performing sales consultant at McDonald Buick GMC Cadillac in Moncton, Canada, who sold an incredible 326 vehicles in only his second year in the automotive industry and went on to achieve a 40-car month. Josh reveals the mindset, daily habits, customer-service strategies, and modern tools that helped him rapidly build a powerful client base. From relentless follow-up and constant availability to using social media as a relationship-building engine, his approach challenges the traditional way many sales professionals operate. "Be kind, be honest, really help people, and care about what they're trying to accomplish in buying a vehicle from you." - Josh MacPhee You'll also hear how Josh transformed his experience working in a skateboard shop into a thriving automotive career, multiplied his results far beyond industry averages, and created relationships that continue producing business long after the initial sale. Whether you are brand-new to the showroom or an experienced salesperson looking to break through a performance plateau, this episode delivers practical strategies you can immediately adapt to generate more conversations, strengthen customer loyalty, and sell more vehicles. The numbers are impressive, but the process behind them is where the real value lives. Listen now to discover what Josh does differently. Key Takeaways: ✅ Building strong customer relationships and offering exceptional service are central to achieving consistent high sales figures. ✅ Utilizing social media platforms such as Facebook and Facebook Marketplace can significantly increase referral-based sales. ✅ Regular and effective follow-up is critical in maintaining customer interest and converting leads into sales. ✅ Working closely with managers and leveraging their expertise can help refine sales techniques and improve results. ✅ Embracing technology and community engagement can create additional pathways to expand a personal brand and reach in automotive sales.   About Josh MacPhee Josh MacPhee is a dynamic and successful automotive sales consultant at McDonald Buick GMC Cadillac in Moncton, Canada. With a notable track record of selling 326 units in his second full year and achieving a remarkable 40-car month, Josh has swiftly risen as an influential figure in car sales. Prior to his career in the automotive industry, Josh honed his customer service skills by working at a retail skateboard shop, where he was responsible for cultivating customer relations and building sales initiatives. His commitment to customer service, strategic use of social media for networking, and relentless follow-up tactics are key elements of his sales approach, enabling him to far exceed the national sales averages within his industry. Josh continues to push boundaries and set new records in automotive sales by constantly evolving and adapting his strategies.   Embracing the Grind: How Relentless Follow-Up and Customer Service Revolutionize Car Sales   Key Takeaways: Emphasize the importance of continuous growth and development, even in challenging markets. Foster a relentless commitment to customer service and follow-up. Leverage technology and team dynamics to excel in sales performance.   Relentless Customer Service and Follow-Up in Car Sales In the competitive world of car sales, consistency is key. Josh MacPhee's story illustrates how relentless follow-up and exemplary customer service can create extraordinary success in an environment where most salespeople average less than ten cars monthly. The approach is simple yet profound: make it easy for the customer and be accessible, whether on weekends, late at night, or even during holidays. MacPhee, a sales consultant at McDonald Buick GMC Cadillac in Moncton, Canada, credits his success to these values. "I just talk so much and create such a personal level with my conversations that they want to come back," explains MacPhee. His willingness to take calls late a night and work during off-hours underscores a broader principle: in a performance-based industry, accessibility can set you apart from competitors. This dedication to being available whenever the customer needs support leaves a lasting impact, evidenced by customers who choose him because he's consistently available and knowledgeable. "You wasted no time to get back to me and talk to me the whole time you were off on vacation," a customer reportedly said, highlighting trust and reliability as cornerstones of MacPhee's successful strategy.   Building a Sales Network through Referrals and Community Engagement Effective car sales extend beyond the dealership floor—into community networking and robust referral systems. For MacPhee, referrals significantly contribute to his sales numbers. "We offer $200 for a referral," he states, a small investment when aiming for a fruitful long-lasting business relationship. Beyond financial incentives, MacPhee emphasizes relationship-building by engaging customers on social media platforms like Facebook, maintaining the connection long after the initial sale. Moreover, MacPhee leverages local insights and community relationships. "If it's legit, think about this: why the hell would you not want to incentivize somebody?" he argues, stressing the value of forging lasting connections within the community. Understanding local relevance, he primes his sales strategy by ensuring his presence is acknowledged beyond the transactional relationship, positioning himself as a reliable advisor in the community. By fostering deep ties, both digital and personal, MacPhee's strategy aligns with broader community-focused practices that drive sustained success. His approach taps into a natural cycle—prioritize existing relationships to expand business, maximizing opportunities for referral-based prospects in a strategy that feeds itself.   Harnessing Technology and Team Dynamics In an era where technology plays a transformative role, integrating modern tools into traditional sales processes offers a distinct advantage. However, at McDonald Buick GMC Cadillac, MacPhee sees a fusion of personal effort and minimal tech dependence. "Artificial intelligence? What do you mean?" Queries MacPhee, indicating an opportunity for technological advancement that complements his human-centric approach. Still, the power of a cohesive work environment shouldn't be underestimated. Through collaboration with managers and peers, he builds a reservoir of sales knowledge and refined tactics. Allying with mentors and learning actively, MacPhee draws from a collective base of expertise that deepens individual knowledge, especially for complex negotiations. "It's important because you're getting a second person in to talk," MacPhee shares, emphasizing the value of team-based sales processes. Such environments promote skill sharing and adaptive learning, as colleagues become resources rather than competitors. Thus, success grows not only from independent initiative but from thriving in a supportive team context.   Josh MacPhee's story champions the idea that diligence, customer engagement, and a strategic approach to relationships can transcend the industry norm, catapulting sales beyond expected metrics. Insights from his journey reveal that relentless dedication to customers and collaborative learning environments can redefine success. Though not overly reliant on modern technology, salespeople like MacPhee showcase the power of grinding hard, building a network, and making each customer interaction meaningful. Through this lens, car sales emerge not as a routine job, but as a dynamic business driven by personalities who exceed boundaries through sheer tenacity and astute connection-making.       Resources + Our Proud Sponsors:   ➼ Podium: The AI Platform Powering the Modern Dealership. From instant lead response to seamless test drive scheduling, Podium's AI Employee Jerry works 24/7 to turn every lead into a conversion, so your team can focus on closing. Trusted by thousands of dealerships nationwide and proudly featured on the Millionaire Car Salesman Podcast. Learn how Podium can help you sell more cars, book more service appointments, and grow your dealership. Discover how Podium's innovative AI technology can unlock unparalleled efficiency and drive your dealership's sales to new heights. Visit www.podium.com/mcs to learn more!   ➼ The Millionaire Car Salesman Facebook Group: Join the #1 Automotive Sales Mastermind Facebook Group with over 29,000 automotive professionals worldwide. The Millionaire Car Salesman Facebook Group is the go-to community for car salespeople, BDC agents, sales managers, general managers, and dealer principals looking to increase performance, income, and leadership skills. Inside the group, members collaborate daily on automotive sales strategies, lead handling, phone scripts, closing techniques, CRM best practices, dealership leadership, and accountability systems. Learn directly from top automotive trainers, industry mentors, and high-performing sales leaders who are actively winning in today's market. If you're serious about growing your automotive career, increasing car sales, and building long-term success, join The Millionaire Car Salesman Facebook Group today! ➼ Dealer Synergy: Dealer Synergy is the automotive industry's #1 Sales Training, Consulting, and Accountability Firm, with over 20 years of proven dealership success nationwide. We specialize in helping car dealerships increase sales, improve processes, and build high-performing Sales, Internet, and BDC departments from the ground up. Our expertise includes automotive phone scripts, rebuttals, CRM action plans, lead handling strategies, BDC workflows, Internet sales processes, management training, and accountability systems. Dealer Synergy partners directly with dealership leadership to align people, process, and technology, ensuring consistent results and scalable growth. From independent dealers to large dealer groups and OEM partnerships, Dealer Synergy delivers measurable performance improvements, stronger teams, and sustainable profitability. ➼ Bradley On Demand: Bradley On Demand is the automotive industry's most advanced interactive training, tracking, testing, and certification platform for car dealerships — built to develop top-performing teams across Sales, Internet Sales, BDC, CRM, Phone Skills, Leadership, and Management. In addition to LIVE virtual automotive training classes and a library of 9,000+ on-demand dealership training modules, Bradley On Demand now includes AI Phone Roleplaying and Coaching to help salespeople and BDC agents practice real dealership conversations before they ever get on the phone with customers. This AI-powered roleplay technology strengthens phone scripts, objection handling, appointment setting, lead follow-up, and closing skills, while providing measurable coaching feedback for continuous improvement. Bradley On Demand empowers dealerships to train faster, coach smarter, improve call performance, increase closing ratios, and sell more cars more profitably — all through structured, trackable, modern automotive training.

Flag Time
105. Double Mustard Hot Dog Plz

Flag Time

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 28, 2026 84:31


Dont buy ebay airbags holy crap dude. Check your car for airbag recalls. Better yet check if it has an actual OEM airbag installed. Doing that may save your life.Also dont drive into oncoming traffic in blind corners you lazy bum.This week on Flag Time. All of that and more. Including car genres and guesting on other podcasts.Video version of this episode over on the Flag Time Patreon. Go Support us if you wanna.

The Road to Autonomy
Episode 433 | Autonomy Markets: Tesla's Robotaxi Ramp Comes Down to One Number

The Road to Autonomy

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 25, 2026 38:28


This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss Tesla's Cybercab validation timeline, Tesla Semi FSD Supervised, Alphabet's quiet quarter on Waymo, and the Mobileye CEO stepping down after 27 years.Tesla disclosed 380,000 unsupervised miles, but those miles were logged on Model Y and do not transfer to Cybercab. The new chassis has to earn its own validation miles before commercial service begins, and Tesla is pacing production to that validation rather than building a fleet ahead of it. The ramp is slower than the market expects.Best case, that puts Tesla at 100 cars in Austin or a Florida market by year end. Elon Musk also offered an aggressive timeline for autonomy on the Semi, where Tesla is the OEM and removes the largest structural risk in autonomous trucking, creating an overhang for Aurora and every capital dependent competitor.Alphabet reported Other Bets revenue of $380 million against a loss of $1.8 billion, with the smallest amount of Waymo commentary from Sundar Pichai in roughly six quarters and no milestone announced. Mobileye is abandoning its asset light model for full vertical integration, putting it in direct competition with the OEMs it needs as customers.On the Foreign Autonomy Desk, Momenta secured approval for driverless commercial operations in Shenzhen as China resumes issuing robotaxi permits.Episode Chapters0:00 380,000 Unsupervised Miles and What That Number Leaves Out03:13 The 250,000 Validation Miles Cybercab Still Has to Earn05:22 Cybercab Production Is Pacing to Validation Miles10:20 Tesla Semi FSD Coming Soon (Maybe Year End?)14:29 The Case for Vertical Integration16:24 Reading the Fine Print on Aurora's Driverless Announcement22:22 Alphabet's Other Bets and the Waymo Spin Non Answer25:50 How Tesla Runs Airport Curbside Pickups in California27:44 Zoox Recalls Software That Could Not Handle Smoke30:15 Mobileye Abandons Asset Light for Vertical Integration36:14 Foreign Autonomy Desk: China Resumes Robotaxi PermitsFollow The Road to Autonomy Indices--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy is the leading applied intelligence platform covering the convergence of automation, autonomy, and the Autonomy Economy.™.Through our podcasts, newsletter, and proprietary applied intelligence, we set the narrative for institutional investors, industry executives, and policymakers navigating the convergence of automation, autonomy, and economic growth.Join institutional investors and industry leaders who read This Week in The Autonomy Economy every Sunday. Each edition delivers exclusive insight and commentary on the autonomy economy, helping you stay ahead of what's next.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletterSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Gettin' Salty Experience Firefighter Podcast
GETTIN' SALTY EXPERIENCE PODCAST Ep. 299 | FDNY LIEUTENANT | SERGE BURACK

Gettin' Salty Experience Firefighter Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 24, 2026 93:28 Transcription Available


Be sure and join us with our special guest, 20 year FDNY veteran, Lieutenant Serge Burack. Serge started his career as a Junior firefighter with Elmont Fire Department in 1977, and in 1981 was sworn in to the Elmont Fire Department on Engine 4. Serge took the FDNY test and began Probie school on August 3rd,1985. In September of 85, right out of probie school, he was assigned to Engine 76. In 1988 he transferred across the floor to 22 Truck. Then in 1994 Mr. Burack would transfer to Ladder 126. In 1997 Serge was promoted to Lieutenant, assigned to the 15th Division. In 1998 Lt. went to Engine 234. In 2002 - 2003 he was detailed to OEM for a short time. After that, transferred across the floor again, to 123 truck, ultimately retiring in 2005. No doubt Lt. has some great stories for us and we can't wait to hear them. Especially working on the 4th of July in 1991. Gonna be another great show. We will get the whole skinny. You don't want to miss this one. Join us at the kitchen table on the BEST FIREFIGHTER PODCAST ON THE INTERNET! You can also Listen to our podcast ...we are on all the players #lovethisjob #GiveBackMoreThanYouTake #Oldschool #Tradition #Learyfirefightersfoundation #firefighter #FDNYBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/gettin-salty-experience-firefighter-podcast--4218265/support.

Everyone Racers
Before You Strip, Watch (OK, Listen to) This...

Everyone Racers

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 23, 2026 87:51


Before You Strip, Watch This…Think ripping out your race car's wiring harness will make your build simpler? Think again.In this Volvo PV444 episode, Mental encourages you to buy two race cars, Tim is excited by lobster napkin holders and makes a great trade, Chrissy is an advertiser for an exclusive F1 experience and Chris schools us on wiring harnesses and how to work through someone else's mess. This week on Everyone Racers, Chris shares years of hard-earned experience simplifying race car wiring harnesses without creating the electrical nightmares that strand teams in the paddock. Whether you're building a 24 Hours of Lemons, ChampCar, Lucky Dog Racing, SCCA, NASA, or any grassroots endurance race car, this episode is packed with practical wiring advice that could save your next race weekend.We cover why keeping more of the factory wiring harness is often the smartest approach, how to identify circuits you can safely remove, why factory wiring diagrams matter, depinning connectors, organizing wiring projects, proper grounding techniques, CAN Bus considerations, and the common electrical mistakes that plague amateur race car builds.But that's only the beginning.We also dive into the latest progress on Chris' Lotus race car project, Tim's unbelievable 1941 Lincoln project car that started with a boat trade, turbo Miata ownership adventures, NHRA Sonoma experiences from inside the pits, Formula 1's outrageous traveling luxury dining experience, the hilarious QR code parking scam that took an unexpected turn, RacingJunk treasures, and the latest grassroots endurance racing news from around the country.If you love race car builds, automotive projects, grassroots motorsports, endurance racing, project cars, garage engineering, and automotive comedy, you've found your people.In this episode:

Millionaire Car Salesman Podcast
EP 12:03 Part-Time Car Salesman Sells 64 Cars per Month Solely by Community Involvement and Self-Generated Traffic

Millionaire Car Salesman Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 21, 2026 60:10


What if selling more cars didn't mean working MORE hours? In this episode of the Millionaire Car Salesman Podcast, Sean V. Bradley sits down with Kevin Rudolph, an automotive sales professional who has sold more than 60 vehicles in a single month while working only four days a week! "Selling cars nowadays is about being part of the community more than it is about sitting by your desk and making phone calls." - Kevin Rudolph But Kevin's success is not built on chasing leads, discounting vehicles, or living at the dealership. It comes from something far more powerful: becoming deeply connected to the people and organizations within his community. Kevin shares how building an authentic personal brand, supporting local causes, and creating meaningful relationships helped him develop a business where customers no longer feel like transactions. They feel like family. "I don't WANT to write a $5,000 check. But now you just literally got yourself into the most loyal customer base there is!" - Kevin Rudolph Sean and Kevin explore what it truly means to become the "mayor of your community," why generosity can become one of the strongest drivers of long-term sales success, and how automotive professionals can create more opportunities without sacrificing their personal lives. "Stock the pond with the fish you want to catch." - Kevin Rudolph This conversation will challenge the traditional dealership grind and reveal why the most valuable relationships are often built far beyond the showroom floor. Key Takeaways: ✅ Community Involvement: Establish deep connections through community service and support, fostering a reliable and loyal customer base. ✅ Personal Branding: Create a memorable and trustworthy personal brand that resonates with your community, encapsulated by Kevin's "Ride with Rudolph." ✅ Work-Life Balance: Adopt strategies that allow a fulfilling work-life balance while maintaining high sales volume, like working four days a week. ✅ Relationship-Driven Sales: Focus on building lasting relationships with customers, leveraging these for high sales without resorting to hard selling. ✅ Innovative Networking: Engage with local institutions such as schools and fire departments to become a recognized and valued community member.   About Kevin RudolphKevin Rudolph is a seasoned automotive sales professional known for his remarkable ability to sell over 60 cars in a month. With a deep-rooted background in the community as a humane law enforcement officer and a volunteer first responder, Kevin leverages his extensive community connections to fuel his successful career at Royal Buick GMC in Sussex, New Jersey. He actively engages in community service initiatives, establishing himself as a prominent figure in the local area, synonymous with trust and reliability.   Unleashing the Power of Community to Sell Cars and Build Loyalty In the ever-evolving world of car sales, there's an emerging philosophy that redefines how success is cultivated. Kevin Rudolph, with his record-breaking achievements in car sales from a small dealership in Sussex, New Jersey, underscores a profound shift from conventional selling tactics to community-driven, relationship-centric approaches. His narrative exemplifies the transformative power of engagement, personal branding, and strategic community involvement in creating a loyal customer base and redefining sales success. Key Takeaways Community Engagement is Crucial: Connecting with diverse local organizations and causes fosters robust relationships and boosts business growth. Personal Branding is Vital: Building a unique personal brand can significantly impact your sales career, highlighting distinctiveness and expertise. Work Smarter, Not Harder: Discarding the 'grind' mentality in favor of strategic, community-oriented work boosts both sales and life quality. Immersing in Community for Sales Success Building Local Trust and Loyalty Kevin Rudolph's strategy of embedding himself within the community revolutionizes traditional car sales methods. By partnering with local organizations, such as first responders and charitable events, he not only cultivates trust but also ensures repeated business and referrals. He explains, "Selling cars nowadays is about being part of the community more than it is by sitting by your desk and making phone calls." Creating symbiotic relationships with local entities like fire departments and youth sports leagues not only garners loyalty but also establishes a brand synonymous with community care and support. For example, his innovative program of donating $20 per car sold to a local fire department epitomizes a strategy that benefits both the dealership and the community. His efforts highlight, "Proper ad spend when it comes to things like that… is better than anything because… now I'm their walking, talking billboard." The broader implication is clear: integrating into the community creates a positive feedback loop. Such involvement not only enhances brand awareness but also makes the business an integral part of the local fabric, leading to sustained growth and loyalty. The Power of Personal Branding in Automotive Sales Making a Name for Yourself Creating a powerful personal brand is crucial for distinguishing oneself in any field, particularly in car sales. Kevin Rudolph's "Ride with Rudolph" campaign serves as a successful model of combining personal identity with business goals. His brand capitalizes on his unique name, making it memorable and distinguished in the crowded marketplace. As Rudolph shares, leveraging one's personal narrative and strengths can lead to substantive career achievements, helping transform sales encounters into meaningful relationships. He asserts, "Create a brand that is personal to you… and then you have to live, breathe, and be that brand." In the broader landscape, personal branding presents pronounced benefits in enhancing visibility, establishing authority, and crafting a niche audience. It pushes sales professionals beyond the daily grind, allowing them to connect more personally with customers and inspire trust and reliability. Strategic Networking and Public Engagement Creating Events that Foster Connections A key element in Kevin's strategy is leveraging strategic community events and partnerships to amplify outreach and build a robust referral network. By organizing car seat safety checks and sponsoring sports teams, Rudolph intertwines everyday business operations with public service and engagement. For instance, Kevin's involvement with the local prevention and counseling center demonstrates how aligning business interests with community needs can drive remarkable outcomes. He positions this involvement within his broader brand strategy — attending events and providing tangible support. "You have to be present at these events, whether it's your high school basketball team or whether it's your whole youth sports league administration side," Kevin emphasizes. This tactic reinforces the potential impact of proactive networking and establishing oneself as a community leader. It highlights that successful sales are less about selling products and more about building relationships, trust, and brand loyalty through meaningful interactions. Reflections on Success Beyond Conventional Sales Car sales, often perceived as a transactional business, is undergoing a transformation driven by relationship-building and community immersion. Kevin Rudolph's journey magnifies how adopting a community-focused ethos, coupled with strategic personal branding, reshapes traditional approaches. Rudolph demonstrates that success can be achieved without compromising personal satisfaction, balance, and genuine community impact. His insights are a clarion call for sales professionals to rethink their strategies, emphasizing that empowering connections and purposeful brand building can yield both personal and professional fulfillment. Through civic engagement and strategic outreach, Kevin exemplifies a business model that is as profitable as it is personally rewarding, forging a path for continued success in the dynamic world of car sales.     Resources + Our Proud Sponsors:   ➼ Podium: The AI Platform Powering the Modern Dealership. From instant lead response to seamless test drive scheduling, Podium's AI Employee Jerry works 24/7 to turn every lead into a conversion, so your team can focus on closing. Trusted by thousands of dealerships nationwide and proudly featured on the Millionaire Car Salesman Podcast. Learn how Podium can help you sell more cars, book more service appointments, and grow your dealership. Discover how Podium's innovative AI technology can unlock unparalleled efficiency and drive your dealership's sales to new heights. Visit www.podium.com/mcs to learn more!   ➼ The Millionaire Car Salesman Facebook Group: Join the #1 Automotive Sales Mastermind Facebook Group with over 29,000 automotive professionals worldwide. The Millionaire Car Salesman Facebook Group is the go-to community for car salespeople, BDC agents, sales managers, general managers, and dealer principals looking to increase performance, income, and leadership skills. Inside the group, members collaborate daily on automotive sales strategies, lead handling, phone scripts, closing techniques, CRM best practices, dealership leadership, and accountability systems. Learn directly from top automotive trainers, industry mentors, and high-performing sales leaders who are actively winning in today's market. If you're serious about growing your automotive career, increasing car sales, and building long-term success, join The Millionaire Car Salesman Facebook Group today!   ➼ Dealer Synergy: Dealer Synergy is the automotive industry's #1 Sales Training, Consulting, and Accountability Firm, with over 20 years of proven dealership success nationwide. We specialize in helping car dealerships increase sales, improve processes, and build high-performing Sales, Internet, and BDC departments from the ground up. Our expertise includes automotive phone scripts, rebuttals, CRM action plans, lead handling strategies, BDC workflows, Internet sales processes, management training, and accountability systems. Dealer Synergy partners directly with dealership leadership to align people, process, and technology, ensuring consistent results and scalable growth. From independent dealers to large dealer groups and OEM partnerships, Dealer Synergy delivers measurable performance improvements, stronger teams, and sustainable profitability.   ➼ Bradley On Demand: Bradley On Demand is the automotive industry's most advanced interactive training, tracking, testing, and certification platform for car dealerships — built to develop top-performing teams across Sales, Internet Sales, BDC, CRM, Phone Skills, Leadership, and Management. In addition to LIVE virtual automotive training classes and a library of 9,000+ on-demand dealership training modules, Bradley On Demand now includes AI Phone Roleplaying and Coaching to help salespeople and BDC agents practice real dealership conversations before they ever get on the phone with customers. This AI-powered roleplay technology strengthens phone scripts, objection handling, appointment setting, lead follow-up, and closing skills, while providing measurable coaching feedback for continuous improvement. Bradley On Demand empowers dealerships to train faster, coach smarter, improve call performance, increase closing ratios, and sell more cars more profitably — all through structured, trackable, modern automotive training.

The Collision Vision
Getting ADAS Right From the Ground Up with ADAS Calibrations of Hawaii

The Collision Vision

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 21, 2026 44:37


Welcome back to The Collision Vision, driven by Autobody News. I'm your host, Cole Strandberg. Few areas of collision repair have evolved as quickly — or carry as much responsibility — as ADAS calibration. As vehicles become increasingly complex, calibration is no longer just another line item on the repair order. It's a critical part of returning a vehicle to the customer safely and correctly. Today's guests are Gerard and Fox of ADAS Calibrations of Hawaii, a business built from the ground up with one purpose: performing OEM-compliant ADAS calibrations the right way. While Gerrard brings decades of collision repair experience, Fox came into the industry from a completely different background, offering a unique perspective on process, precision, and continuous improvement. We'll talk about why they chose to build a dedicated calibration center, what it really takes to create an environment capable of accurate calibrations, and why they believe process, not equipment, is the true foundation of a successful ADAS business. We'll also explore how the technician's role is changing, what shop owners often misunderstand about calibrations, and how operators should think about building or partnering for this rapidly growing segment of the industry. Because as vehicles continue to evolve, the shops that succeed won't just be the ones with the latest tools. They'll be the ones with the right systems behind them. Let's get into it. Contact Gerard: gerard.ahquin@calibrationcentersofhawaii.com https://www.instagram.com/adas_coh/

The Smoking Tire
Flock vs the Range Rovers; Ferrari 849 Testarossa Spider Review

The Smoking Tire

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 17, 2026 99:43


Matt Farah has some spicy thoughts on his drive in the new Ferrari 849 Testarossa Spider; he and Zack Klapman discuss the terrifying situation between Flock cameras and Range Rovers; the Manx is even better now; and Patreon questions include: When will Audi etron GTs bottom in price? Quirk battle: Pajero vs Jimny Should a seller supply the PPI? Should this Canadian trade their car for a motorcycle? Mercedes used to be the tech leader. Who is it now? Common car enthusiast financial mistakes. The car with the most diverse fan base is... The OEM we think would "win" the Goodowood FOS Ugly cars that drive great Do nannies REALLY ruin the thrills? Is carbon fiber trim the boomer chrome of our time? And more! Recorded July 15, 2026 Tickets now on sale for our LIVE Show, Aug. 18 in Irvine with Richard Porter and Jonny Smith:https://improv.com/irvine/event/the+smoking+tire+live+feat.+smith+and+sniff+with+matt+farah%2c+zack+klapman%2c+richard+porter%2c+and+jonny+smith/14213624/#showinfo Show Notes DeleteMe Get 20% off your DeleteMe plan when you go to www.joindeleteme.com/ TIRE and use promo code TIRE at checkout. Casper Right now, save up to 20% on mattresses and up to 25% on everything else when you go to Casper.com. #sponsored Avants Go to Avants use code TST for 10% off your membership! Use Off The Record! and ALWAYS fight your tickets! For a 10% discount on your first case go to https://www.offtherecord.com/TST Want your question answered? Want to watch the live stream, get ad-free podcasts, or exclusive podcasts? Join our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thesmokingtirepodcast Instagram:https://www.Instagram.com/thesmokingtirehttps://www.Instagram.com/therealzackklapman Enter to WIN our AMAZING 2025 Porsche 911 Turbo S!! https://www.dreamgiveaway.com/tickets/porsche?promo=SMOKINGTIRE Promo Code Offer: Get 4X bonus tickets with any donation of $25 or more. With every donation you are helping benefit some wonderful veterans' and children's charities. Podcast Promo Code: SMOKINGTIRE Want your question answered? Want to watch the live stream, get ad-free podcasts, or exclusive podcasts? Join our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thesmokingtirepodcast Use Off The Record! and ALWAYS fight your tickets! Enter code TST10 for a 10% discount on your first case on the Off The Record app, or go to http://www.offtherecord.com/TST. Watch our car reviews: https://www.youtube.com/thesmokingtire Tweet at us!https://www.Twitter.com/thesmokingtirehttps://www.Twitter.com/zackklapman Instagram:https://www.Instagram.com/thesmokingtirehttps://www.Instagram.com/therealzackklapman

The Interchange
Bigger turbines, bigger consequences: how wind is rethinking risk, insurance, and predictive maintenance

The Interchange

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 14, 2026 45:41


Wind remains fundamentally healthy: electricity demand is rising, decarbonised power is still needed, and both Europe and the US continue to pull new projects forward, albeit for different reasons. But the industry's center of gravity is shifting. The conversation is no longer just about building faster or installing more megawatts. As turbines get larger, OEM competition broadens, and project economics tighten, the consequences of failure are becoming much harder to ignore.Host Sylvia Leyva Martinez is joined by Alexis Grenon, CEO of Onyx Insight, and Olly Litterick of Tokio Marine GX to examine what that shift means in practice. Their core argument is that the wind sector is moving from a development-at-speed mindset toward operational efficiency, where every dollar of ROI matters and risk has to be quantified far more precisely. They unpack why insurers still struggle with newer turbine classes despite two decades of renewables underwriting: the machines are scaling faster than the loss history, the supply chain maturity is lagging to price them confidently, and in wind, bigger hardware often means not more failures, but far costlier ones when they do occur.A large part of the discussion focuses on blades, where exposure and difficult inspection regimes make early detection especially valuable. Grenon argues that the industry has relied too heavily on periodic inspection and not enough on continuous monitoring, contrasting the lack of standardised turbine monitoring with the smoke detector logic used elsewhere in insurance. The promise of better instrumentation, integrated SCADA and condition data, and physics-informed AI is not simply smarter dashboards. It is the ability to detect structural issues earlier, prevent minor damage from escalating into six-figure or seven-figure failures, and make better-informed decisions about maintenance, underwriting, and asset life.The episode also looks ahead to the next set of decisions facing wind owners: how to handle aging fleets, when to extend life versus repower, and how much independent real-time data can change the balance of power between owners, OEMs, and insurers. The takeaway is that better data and earlier visibility can help the industry move from reactive maintenance and blunt underwriting toward a more preventative, risk-based model, one that should improve insurability, reduce downtime, and make the next phase of wind deployment more durable.This episode is brought to you by twentytwo & brand -- a marketing and PR agency built specifically for energy leaders.Lots of agencies say they work with energy companies, twentytwo & brand was built for them. They've partnered with more than 120 companies driving the energy transition — from growth-stage startups to globally recognized industry leaders. Media relations, brand design, video, paid advertising, and community engagement — they cover it all under one roof. No onboarding lag, no industry crash course -- they speak your language on day one.If you're ready to sharpen your story and supercharge your marketing, find them at twentytwoandbrand.com/woodmac.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.