The Last Weekend Of The Month Means Great Deals! Top-Selling Vehicles, Plus All-New 2025 Subaru Forester, 2024 Toyota Prius and all-new 2024 Toyota Tacoma Test Drives

July 26, 2024

Hello Car Pro family, I hope you and yours are doing well. Welcome to this last Car Pro newsletter for the month of July. Did you realize that Santa Claus is coming just 5 short months from yesterday? Where oh where does the time go? We have another jam-packed edition for you today, so be sure to look through all the info, I don’t want you to miss anything.

We kick it off with the audio of last Saturday’s interview with Mark Truby, the Chief Communications Officer for Ford. It is already the last weekend of the month, and our overstocked CarPro Dealers are quite eager to move the metal off the lots and into people’s driveways. I have the top models sold in America for the first half of 2024, and don’t miss looking at the stunning 2025 Cadillac Escalade! A crook steals an 18-wheeler loaded with 10 brand new Corvettes, see how that turns out!

Which state’s Troopers drive the coolest cruisers? Enjoy scrolling through pictures of them all, then vote for your favorite. Voting ends Monday, so hurry! Ford is taking an electric vehicle assembly plant and converting it to build the big Super Duty pickups, a move heavily applauded by Ford dealers. Hyundai lovers, we have all the 2025 changes to every model they assemble. Last Saturday I warned you about the dangers of financing a car loan for too long at high interest rates, with used car values falling, and how doing so could come back to bite you. This week I have the proof in a story about a growing number of car buyers being "upside down" on their trade-ins.

I told you last Saturday that people who were financing too long at high interest rates, with used car values falling, was going to bite them, and I have the proof in a story about more people are upside down on their trade-ins today.

Don’t miss Kim Komando’s very useful Tips of the Week. She had a lot of really great ones this week, and as always, I encourage you to subscribe to her terrific and very useful newsletter that you’ll get seven days a week.

In advice today, I have tips on resolving problems at a dealership and it is based on my own experience as a car dealership owner. I hope you will read my tips just in case it ever happens to you.

In reviews, I have the redone 2025 Subaru Forester Premium, always one of my favorite SUVs. It’s a Toyota two-fer for our Amy Plemons this week as she gives you full reviews of the 2024 Toyota Tacoma Limited, and the 2024 Toyota Prius Limited hybrid.

We have another True Story from a Former Car Dealer below. This is a series of 40 stories written by me. Today, #29 is titled: Blue Oval. Ford approached me when I was the Ford National Dealer Council Chairman about a new program coming out and warned me not to endorse it. It had some good elements, so the Council helped to revamp it. I became the subject of personal attacks and criticism from some Ford dealers. It was the most contentious issue of my two-year chairmanship.

You’ll find the following stories and more info as you scroll down the newsletter:

We so appreciate all of you who take this newsletter and listen to the show every week. We know that without you, there is no Car Pro Radio Show. So always let us know when we can help you. If you have not been there lately, take a look at our website, www.carpro.com, it changes all the time!

If you missed the interview with Mark Truby, Ford's Chief Communications Officer, last Saturday, you can listen to it below. Mark was gracious and explained the challenges automakers face in the future meeting government compliance issues. I appreciated his time and CEO Jim Farley asking him to reach out.

Mark gave very thorough answers, but they were not short answers. I had a number of questions I couldn’t get to, but I still felt it was enlightening. Getting a top executive to talk, especially on the weekend, is never an easy task.

I hope you enjoyed the interview and hope we all learned something together. I don’t envy any of the car companies having to make long term, expensive decisions that they face.

Here we are again, the end of the month! We have seen some incentive enhancements this month, and things are heating up for a big finish to July. That is always good news for people who are in the market to get a new or used set of wheels. All of the incentives run through Wednesday, July 31st.

It’s a buyers’ market right now for the first time since Covid. Dealers are jammed with cars that are costing them a lot of money to stock. Trade values are still higher than a year ago but dropping at a pretty steady pace every week, and the incentives continue to grow, so your net bottom line will likely be less than it was even two months ago.

To recap, the end of the month is always a good time to buy. Use our dealers if possible, it helps our show AND will result in a better overall deal. You’ll find them all under BUY A CAR at CarPro.com.

THE NEXT CARPRO | VEHICLE FOR GOOD SWEEPSTAKES is officially on! We're calling this one the “PORSCHE WITH A PURPOSE” campaign. Here are some of the highlights:

HELP BEAT HOMELESSNESS and enter for your chance to WIN A 2024 PORSCHE 718 CAYMAN OR $70K CASH!
Promotion runs for 10 weeks -ENDING SEPTEMBER 12TH
MSRP IS $124,000 FOR THIS ARCTIC GRAY BEAUTY!
OR… The winner can TAKE $70,000 IN CASH INSTEAD!
ALL ENTRIES ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE!

The non-profit beneficiary is an organization called “WHEN WE LOVE” -- serving youth, single parent families and veterans experiencing and recovering from homelessness. “WHEN WE LOVE” HELPS PEOPLE BEAT HOMELESSNESS!

CLICK THE BUTTON BELOW AND START DOING SOME GOOD WHILE EARNING A CHANCE TO WIN A BRAND-SPANKING-NEW PORSCHE – OR… SEVENTY THOUSAND DOLLARS IN CASH!

DISCLAIMER: NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. Sweepstakes open to U.S. residents 18+. Ends 9/12/24. Void where prohibited. For Official Rules visit www.VehicleforGood.com. Sponsor: Vehicle for Good Inc.

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When most of us see a State Trooper Cruiser, we immediately hit the brakes. Perhaps you don’t pay attention to what Troopers are driving when you see your Highway Patrol Troopers out on the highways, but by and large, they are proud of what they drive.

That brings us to a really cool contest! The 11th annual American Association of State Troopers “America’s Best-Looking Cruiser” Calendar Contest is underway NOW through MONDAY, July 29th at 12 pm EST. It's your chance to vote on your favorite state trooper police cruiser! The top 13 states with the most votes will make the 2025 wall calendar and, of course, the top cruiser will be featured on the cover.

So, scroll through all the entries from the link below and pick your favorite, you’ll see some terrific looking state cruisers.

2024 Best Looking Cruiser Contest - Voting Ends MONDAY→

Besides the Car Pro Show and our weekly newsletter, my other favorite radio show and newsletter is Kim Komando’s. We are on many of the same radio stations across America. She does for her listeners and newsletter subscribers exactly what I endeavor to do: Give you useful information to keep you up to date on the latest in cars, only she does it with technology and there is nobody who does it better. Not sure how she puts out a top-notch newsletter seven days a week, but she does

Here are some various tips & information I picked up from Kim’s newsletter this week I hope you find as useful as I did:

$22,000 price tag for a 22-year-old Camry with 17,000 miles. That’s only a few grand off its original retail price. The 2002 commuter classic sold on Bring a Trailer, an auction site for “vintage and classic” cars. Feel old yet?
Elon’s smiling: The Tesla Cybertruck is now the bestselling electric truck in America, dethroning Ford's F150 Lightning. There were 3,907 Cybertrucks registered in May, compared to 2,353 F150s. Chopping fingers aside, it looks like folks don’t mind paying that $100,000 price tag after all.
It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s a cop! Police in California used a drone to nab a burglar near the Santa Monica Pier. The little guy spotted a car thief using a screwdriver to punch open locks in a parking lot, and it called in officers and directed them to the exact location. Here’s the video.
The FBI opened it in 40 minutes: Former President Donald Trump’s would-be assassin, Thomas Matthew Crooks, used a Samsung smartphone. The FBI cracked it with Cellebrite software and found photos of Trump, President Biden and other officials. Crooks also searched for info about major depressive disorders and Princess Kate.
That email you got from Social Security is legit. It’s time to update your login info. Make sure you do it securely.

A few years ago, I started writing a series of True Stories From A Former Car Dealer. Over 40 weeks, I wrote about experiences I had from my days as a dealership owner. Some will make you laugh, others will make you cry. The reaction was beyond my wildest expectations.

For our new subscribers, and for those of you who may have missed one or perhaps simply forgot the details, we’ll bring these to you in the order they were written.

In this episode, I tell you about the time a Ford exec called me to tell me about a new program they were going to launch and warned me not to endorse it. This was a first. I later found out why, but was able to make sweeping changes to the Blue Oval Certification program and it gained acceptance, too much, in fact. I took a LOT of heat from some Ford dealers who publicly attacked me.

Read True Stories #29 →

If you are searching for a particular new or used vehicle, we can help you! The best news is, if you use CarPro to search, when you find the car of your dreams it will be at a CarPro approved dealership.

Best of all, it’s simple to use. Choose new, used, or certified. You can select the make and model, or find a price range you are looking at. Choose the number of miles you are willing to travel and enter your zip code.

From there, you can look through all your matches, knowing you are shopping at a dealership I have handpicked that adheres to the high standards I require.

Start your search on the front page of CarPro.com. If you don't find the car of your dreams, check back regularly.

Let’s be honest. Some people just should not be driving a car, much less a 40-foot motorhome towing an SUV. The driver of the RV pulls across a busy highway in front of an 18-wheeler and STOPS. I’m the first to point out bad truck drivers, but in the less than a minute video, here’s one that did a helluva a job and saved lives.

Here are some of the best and funniest commercials of all time from all over the world. Betcha can’t watch just two or three of them; starting with “Honey, we need to talk”.

You have 5 hours to call the show! From 9AM- 2PM Central, 7AM-Noon Pacific, and 10 AM to 3 PM Eastern, the phone numbers are:

DFW Show: 9 AM to 11 AM Central, 1 (800) 288-9227
National Show: 11 AM to 2 PM Central, 1 (800) 926-7777

Add the numbers to your cell phone; you never know when you are going to need straight talk and honest answers about everything automotive.

So, what is the CarPro Radio Show?

Confused about the car buying process? Worried you won’t get a fair deal? Wondering about which vehicle is best for you? Then tune in to the Car Pro Radio Show every week where Jerry Reynolds and Kevin McCarthy will guide you through the car-buying process with confidence.

No matter where you listen to the show or which station you listen to, you have five hours to call in and ask your questions. We take calls every Saturday from 9 AM-2 PM Central time, 7 AM to Noon Pacific. The phone number is different the first two hours, then changes, so keep that in mind.

We would love to help you in any way possible! Keep in mind, we don’t take mechanical questions, but everything else is great!

The Car Pro Radio Show is heard every weekend all over the United States, and every weekend we deliver straight talk and honest answers about everything automotive. We would greatly appreciate it if you would take a moment and tell a friend about the show.

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This week, we welcome KXRA Newstalk Radio Alexandria, MN to the Car Pro Show family! You tune in on Sunday 3-6pm and 9p to Midnight CST on 1490 AM/100.3 FM/105.7 FM.

We've also recently welcomed these new markets:

KTLR 890 AM/103.7 FM Oklahoma City: Sunday 4-5pm CT (replay)
The Mountain WSYY 1240 AM/ 102.5 FM Millinocket, ME:

Saturday 9AM- 12PM PT
KUFO: Portland, Oregon: Saturday 9AM- 12PM PT
Nevada Talk Network - THE Rural News Source: KELY 1230am/98.5fm, Ely; KPVM-TV 25.7, Pahrump, KAVB 98.7 FM, Hawthorne, KPKK 101.1 FM, Amargosa Valley, NV, KDJJ 94.1 FM, Fernley-Fallon all three hours live 9AM- 12PM PT
KFIR 720 AM, Sweet Home, Oregon: Sunday 4PM - 7PM PT (replay)
KBAR 1230 AM, Burley, Idaho: Saturday 6PM – 9PM MT (replay)
KACT 1360 AM, Andrews, Texas: Saturdays 7PM – 10PM CT (replay)
WDOC 1310 AM, Prestonsburg, Kentucky: Time TBD
KLXX 1270 AM, Bismarck, North Dakota: Sunday 10PM – Midnight CT (replay)

Most of our listeners tell us that they never thought they would look forward to a show about cars. You may have friends or relatives who feel the same way in the cities below, please make them aware.

Here are the DFW markets the show airs in, times, and stations, and don't forget you can now listen to WBAP on the FM dial at 93.3 FM!

Dallas, TX: WBAP 820 AM/93.3 FM/99.5 HD 2, Saturday 9am to 11am Central
Dallas, TX: KRLD 1080 AM, Saturday 2pm to 4pm Central (replay)
Granbury, TX: KPIR 1420 AM, Saturday 11am to 2pm Central

WBAP DFW Podcast Here →
FOR ALL OTHER MARKETS, CLICK HERE→

My Interview With Ford COO Mark Truby

It's Already the Last Weekend Of The Month!

U.S. Auto Sales

Mid-Year Sales: Ford F-Series Leads Top 20 Models So Far in 2024

More People "Upside Down" On Their Trade-In

Straight Talk And Honest Answers

This week, I walk you through how to handle a problem at a dealership, whether it's a parts/service issue, sales issue or one involving a warranty.

WIN A PORSCHE! Help Beat HOMELESSNESS!

Robber Attacks Semi Driver & Steals 10 'Vettes!

Vote For Your Favorite State Trooper Cruiser!

Check Out Our Newsletter Archive Page!

On The Road: Test Drives

The all-new 2025 Subaru Forester arrives with new styling and some terrific updates!

A fantastic overall redesign brings us the most capable Tacoma ever! Though a bigger back seat would be nice.

No, your eyes aren't deceiving you. The sleekly styled sedan you see to your left really IS the Toyota Prius!

Bumper to Bumper

Check Out The Breathtaking 2025 Cadillac Escalade

It goes into production in the fourth quarter.

2025 Lucid Air Achieves Record 146 MPGe Rating

Used Car Dealer Vroom Agrees to $1M FTC Fine

Stellantis Offers EV Buyers Free Charger or Charging Credits

See All The Changes On the 2025 Hyundai Models

Weekly Recalls

True Stories From A Former Car Dealer

Our Factory Incentive Guide

Miss the Show? Catch Our Podcast!

Sell Your Car Through GiveMeTheVin!

Exclusive Approved Products & Services

FAQ: Research Your Questions Before You Shop

Our FAQ page offers answers to questions CarPro Show host Jerry Reynolds is asked most frequently.

Searching for a New or Used Vehicle?

Classic Car Contest: Win An AutoHeatShield!

Videos of the Week

Subscribe to the Free DFW Newsletter

CarPro Guide To Online Car Buying

Buying a vehicle online has never been easier.Our step-by-step guide will help you buy a car from the comfort of your living room, starting with selecting your CarPro Friend.

On The Air

Where To Find Us

Closing Message From Jerry Reynolds