Episode #1450: The FTC gets specific about what dealers need to put in advertised prices, GM reverses course and brings CarPlay and Android Auto back.

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Show Notes with links:

• The FTC just handed dealers a much more detailed road map for vehicle-price advertising. The Sept. 15 FAQs follow warning letters sent to 97 dealership groups in March and spell out how FTC staff says the agency’s long-standing advertising rules apply in practice.

  • Price means the price anyone can pay: Dealer-required charges must be included, including leasing fees, while government-required charges such as taxes paid by the consumer can be excluded. MSRP, rebates and conditional discounts can appear, but the universally available price must be the most prominent amount.

  • The rule follows the ad: The FTC says the standard applies to dealership and third-party websites, social media, print, roadside signs, phone calls and texts.

  • Doc fees: Mandatory doc fees must be built into the advertised price. State-required doc-fee disclosures can still appear, but they don’t change the FTC’s requirement that every dealer-required charge be included.

  • Negotiating and add-ons are still allowed: Customers can negotiate below the advertised price, and dealers can sell optional products. But the advertised price must be available without negotiating, and optional products cannot be represented as mandatory.

  • In-transit and offsite inventory can be advertised: The ad must clearly say the vehicle isn’t physically on the lot. An in-transit vehicle must actually be available when it arrives, not already allocated to another customer’s paid order. Dealers cannot advertise unavailable or recently sold vehicles.

  • Representative photos: Stock photos can work when they accurately represent the vehicle and consumers understand they’re illustrative. For used and antique vehicles, the FTC says consumers can reasonably expect to see the actual vehicle being offered.

  • Responsibility extends beyond the dealership: Dealers, third-party advertisers and OEMs can all be responsible when they have control over the advertising.

  • There’s no grace period: The FTC says price transparency isn’t a new requirement. Dealers that believe competitors are violating the rules can submit reports, including supporting ads or contracts, to the agency.

• Get the receipts out! GM is reversing course on Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, bringing both back in the new infotainment system debuting on the 2027 Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra. The system will start with GM’s highest-volume vehicles before expanding across the broader portfolio.

  • GM announced in 2023 that it would phase CarPlay and Android Auto out of EVs, and Mary Barra said late last year that the plan would eventually extend across GM vehicles.

  • The new system keeps CarPlay and Android Auto inside a smaller card rather than letting them take over the entire display, while GM’s native system remains alongside phone mirroring.

  • One American Trucks study found 55% of CarPlay users and 36% of Android Auto users considered losing the feature a new-car dealbreaker; among GM owners, 42% said the same.

  • GM software boss Mike Wahlstrom: “We heard from customers that they want that same simplicity while still having quick access to everything their vehicle can do.”