Episode #1434: Today, host of the Autotown podcast Jamie Butters joins to talk about how a Subaru dealer built its own Carvana-style buying experience. Walmart hits 100 locations in its growing EV charging network, and Google bids $10 million for 34 years of Spirit Airlines data to help train AI.

Show Notes with links:

• Mark Miller Subaru has essentially built its own Carvana competitor right on top of the franchised dealership model. GM Chris Hudson and his team have redesigned the digital journey around the same promise that made Carvana famous: buy the car online, skip the salesperson, and have it show up at your door.

  • Their new Promise Path is intentionally built around a Carvana-like experience: choose a vehicle, see upfront pricing, value a trade, arrange financing, complete documents, and schedule delivery without interacting with a salesperson.

  • The website leads with “keep the dealership, skip the salesperson.” Customers who want assistance can bring a human into the process at any point, including using the 24/7 AI concierge appropriately named “No Sell Nell.”

  • The experience currently requires 13 integrations, including Roadster and internally developed technology. About 40 transactions were run through the system before launch.

  • Hudson says they’re working toward becoming “the UberEats of the franchised auto dealership.”

• Walmart is turning its massive retail footprint into an EV charging network, opening its 100th company-owned fast-charging site. It’s another example of retailers realizing charging doesn’t just have to be an amenity—it can be another reason for customers to spend time and money on their property.

  • Walmart’s network now spans 20 states, with most locations offering 8 to 16 stalls and chargers capable of delivering up to 400 kW.

  • The retailer wants thousands of Walmart and Sam’s Club locations equipped with charging by 2030, leveraging a footprint that puts a store within 10 miles of roughly 90% of Americans.

  • Charging is integrated into the Walmart app, while Walmart+ members receive discounted rates—tying EV charging directly into its existing loyalty ecosystem.

  • Walmart’s Adam Happel said, “We’re proud to reach 100 sites, but our focus remains on building a network customers can count on every time they charge with us.”

• Google is bidding $10 million for something you don’t normally see at a bankruptcy auction: 34 years of Spirit Airlines’ corporate data. Google wants the information to train AI systems, but thousands of former Spirit employees are pushing back over exactly what happens to their data once AI gets ahold of it.

  • The purchase could include more than 175,000 employee records, employment contracts, tax records, crew scheduling and time-card data, emails and even Microsoft Teams records.

  • The union representing 5,500 former Spirit flight attendants has objected, arguing that Google’s promises around removing personally identifiable information don’t adequately protect former workers.

  • The union also argues that even anonymized information could potentially be re-identified by AI when combined with other datasets.

  • A bankruptcy court is expected to decide on the sale in early September.