Episode #1452: It’s Friday as we look at where dealer service scheduling still breaks down, how Ford wants dealers turning connected technology into service opportunities, and Warren Buffett passing the Berkshire Hathaway chairman’s seat to his son Howard.

Today’s show is made possible by AutoHub, giving dealers a faster way to appraise, make offers, and acquire vehicles from customers across the showroom, service lane, and online. Learn more at AutoHub.io

Show Notes with links:

• Volkswagen dealers lead Pied Piper’s 2026 study of how easy it is for customers to schedule service, but the results show plenty of opportunities for the process to break down. Across brands, customers encountered failed websites, unanswered calls and trouble getting from AI to a human.

  • VW dealers earned the highest overall Service Scheduling Effectiveness score at 73 out of 100, followed by Volvo at 71; Acura, BMW, Mazda and Nissan each scored 70.

  • Website scheduling failures averaged 5% industrywide but ranged from less than 1% to 31% by brand, with website errors, broken calendars and requirements like entering a VIN among the barriers.

  • On the phone, 16% of callers couldn’t set an appointment. Independent service centers connected callers with an advisor in 38 seconds on average, versus 66 seconds for dealerships.

  • AI handled routine inquiries efficiently, but one-third of attempts to transfer from AI to a person failed, sending customers to voicemail, disconnecting them or leaving them on hold.

  • Pied Piper VP Cameron O’Hagan said, “Top-performing brands and dealers remove friction.”

• Ford is putting dealers at the center of its growing software and connected-services business, with Mike Aragon saying the opportunity goes beyond subscription revenue. 

  • BlueCruise has 530,000 paying subscribers, up 40% year over year, while post-trial subscribers have jumped 170% to 200,000.

  • Ford Pro Intelligence has 900,000 subscribers at $10 a month, with software designed to flag upcoming maintenance, schedule service and make sure the needed part is available at the dealer.

  • Ford is investing in dealer training, compensation and tools for feature activation and service onboarding; Aragon said he spends more than two days each month with dealers.

  • Aragon on demonstrating autonomy features at dealerships: “The best way to scale those aha moments, you can’t do them on a YouTube video. You’ve got to do it in real life. Our dealers are best equipped to do that.”

• Warren Buffett is stepping down as Berkshire Hathaway chairman, closing another chapter in a transition that began when he handed the CEO job to Greg Abel last year. His son Howard Buffett takes over as chairman immediately, while Warren remains a director and becomes chairman emeritus.

  • Buffett, 96, led Berkshire for more than six decades, transforming it from a struggling textile maker into a $1 trillion conglomerate spanning insurance, railroads, energy, manufacturing, auto and public-company investments.

  • Howard Buffett, 71, has served on Berkshire’s board since 1993. Warren had previously said his son would eventually succeed him as chairman.

  • Buffett has been explicit about age driving the transition, writing in his final shareholder letter as CEO that declining balance, sight, hearing and memory meant “Father Time is in the neighborhood.”

  • Buffett wrote Friday: “Serving as your Chairman has been the privilege of a lifetime, and I have never taken your trust for granted.”

0:00 Intro with Paul J Daly and Kyle Mountsier

4:20 Pied Piper Service Scheduling Survey

6:58 Ford Leaning Into Software Subscription Sales

11:08 Warren Buffett Steps Down As Berkshire Chair, Son Howard Takes Over