Are Dealers Losing the Middle-Income Buyer? AI Car Deals, Fed Hike (09.23.26)

Households earning more than $150,000 now account for 43% of new car sales, what Mark Miller Subaru has learned since the first AI agent-to-AI agent car deal, and what the Fed's first rate hike in three years means for dealers. Jim and Bridget Fitzpatrick are joined by Chris Hudson, General Manager of Mark Miller Subaru, and Dan Varroney, Founder and CEO of Potomac Core. Weekdays at 12:00 PM ET. TODAY'S HEADLINES - Households earning more than $150,000 account for 43% of new car sales so far this year, up from 29% in 2020, while households earning less than $100,000 fell to 36% from 50%, according to Cox Automotive data. - Group 1 Automotive is adding Benjamin Hart, a member of the investment team at shareholder Conifer Management, to its board on November 1, according to an SEC filing. GUESTS - Chris Hudson, General Manager, Mark Miller Subaru. What he has learned since the store's first AI agent-to-AI agent car deal in May, what is live inside the dealership today, and how much authority a dealer should give an AI agent. - Dan Varroney, Founder and CEO, Potomac Core. What the Federal Reserve's first rate hike in three years means for car buyers, dealers and the economy, and what dealers should plan for over the next six to twelve months. THIS WEEK'S SPONSOR Capital One, Navigator Platform: https://www.capitalone.com/cars/auto-financing/dealer/ CONNECT WITH CBT NEWS Website: www.cbtnews.com Instagram: www.instagram.com/carbiztoday/https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUZZTVljRjF1dGN2UnpZZXBaMGo0SUFqZXNSTXxBTl9pYzRmZ1d0VnNRMk1KV3dYYWNEYUJ0bDE1ZmtLYnE2ZDVqS1lhNkhKM0VxYXZxOFdZTF9EQUVZd0FrM2dpdldvYlBFQWticjFzTjlvWVU0a1dpVTE4MmFZSXR0d1ljYkJu&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.instagram.com%2Fcarbiztoday%2F&v=lVgC_vHzZ-0 Facebook: www.facebook.com/CarBizToday/ LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/cbt-news/posts/ TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@carbiztoday X: https://x.com/CarBizToday