Dealers Can Now Get In Trouble If They Advertise Cars That Aren't Actually Available

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Good morning! It's Friday, March 27, 2026, and this is The Morning Shift, your regular roundup of nan apical automotive headlines from astir nan world, successful 1 place. This is wherever you'll find nan astir important stories that are shaping nan measurement Americans thrust and get around.

In this morning's edition, nan FTC is going aft dealers that marketplace unavailable vehicles, Jaguar-Land Rover is suspending accumulation for astatine slightest 2 weeks successful nan UK, nan Ford F-150 is successful short proviso and nan UAW is unhappy pinch Stellantis complete prize payouts

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There are fewer things much frustrating than seeing a car advertised online, only to get to nan dealership and find retired it's gone. Now, nan Federal Trade Commission is cracking down, saying its forbidden to advertise unavailable vehicles. Oh, happy days. Earlier this month, Christopher Mufarrige, nan head of nan agency's Bureau of Consumer Protection, sent letters to 97 dealership groups connected nan suspicious they violated astatine slightest 1 of six "illegal" advertizing practices. These practices could extremity pinch nan trader getting slapped pinch complete $50,000 fines per discourtesy arsenic good arsenic customer restitution.

Five of those practices impact advertizing vehicles astatine little prices than nan existent out-the-door price, but nan sixth is nan 1 we're willing successful today: "advertising unavailable aliases nonexistent vehicles." Oddly, nan FTC won't springiness an nonstop clip to dealers connected precisely really quickly sold vehicles request to beryllium removed from their websites and different online advertising, citing nan desire not to springiness ineligible advise. Still, it's a measurement successful nan correct direction. From Automotive News:

Dealers besides should debar generic disclaimer statements of, "'Oh yeah, nan car whitethorn not beryllium available,'" [ComplyAuto co-CEO Chris] Cleveland said connected nan webinar. Those were a "red flag" to a regulator, he said.

"You're fundamentally admitting ... you're advertizing cars that aren't disposable for sale," he said.

Jeffrey Greenbaum, managing partner of nan Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz rule patient successful New York City and a master successful advertizing law, thinks regulators will judge a "reasonable" spread successful clip to update a listing "as agelong arsenic that trader is acting properly, to past extremity promoting nan readiness of that car erstwhile it's been sold."

Penalties for advertizing unavailable vehicles tin hap connected a authorities level, arsenic well. What a beautiful point that is.

Swickard Auto Group agreed to salary a $800,000 punishment and judge a $200,000 suspended punishment to settee Alaska Department of Law's allegations of unfair aliases deceptive practices, nan agency announced March 24.

"It is unfortunate that nary of nan colony costs are going to customers," Swickard said successful a statement. "We advocated for that outcome, but nan State is keeping nan costs for themselves. If this were genuinely astir consumers, nan result would person prioritized consumers."

[...]

Swickard Auto advertised unavailable models and refused to waste vehicles astatine nan prices it had advertised, nan agency alleged successful a news release.

"Car dealers don't get to advertise 1 value and complaint different — aliases advertise cars that aren't really there," Alaska Attorney General Stephen Cox said successful a connection March 24. "That's a bait-and-switch, and it's unlawful."

Swickard Auto admitted nary wrongdoing nether position of nan settlement.

[...]

The group besides addressed nan advertizing allegations.

"We disagree pinch nan declare that customers couldn't bargain vehicles astatine advertised prices," Swickard said. "During COVID, vehicles were often pre-sold owed to shortages, truthful nan facts don't support that narrative. And erstwhile they constituent to Facebook aliases societal media posts, those formats don't let for each item of a transaction to beryllium included. We offered to reimburse immoderate customers who felt impacted by these issues. However, we are not alert of immoderate specified circumstances."

I really dream this benignant of inclination continues. I cognize conscionable astir each car enthusiast has a s communicative astir driving to a trader very acold distant conscionable to find retired nan car they were prepared to bargain "just sold." I still deliberation astir what my life would beryllium for illustration if I sewage that Miata alternatively of my aged Z4. I'd astir apt person much money and a amended outlook connected life.

Jaguar-Land Rover

The hits conscionable support coming for Jaguar-Land Rover, man. The troubled Indian-British automaker has temporarily stopped accumulation connected its accumulation lines astatine its works successful Solihull, England because of a parts rumor pinch a supplier. While it's not expected to beryllium a super-long-term issue, nan region will spell connected for astir 2 weeks, pinch accumulation resuming April 8. It'll beryllium worked into an already-planned shutdown for nan Easter holiday.

The automaker builds nan Range Rover and Range Rover Sport models connected this line. In different words, this is wherever its flagship vehicles are produced. From nan BBC:

A JLR spokesperson said: "Due to a portion proviso situation pinch a supplier, we are temporarily pausing accumulation connected definite conveyance lines astatine our Solihull manufacturing facility. We are moving intimately pinch that supplier to resoluteness nan rumor arsenic quickly arsenic imaginable and minimise immoderate effect connected our clients aliases our operations."

Colleagues will beryllium attending tract arsenic usual.

It is nan latest disruption to deed nan West Midlands manufacturer, aft a awesome cyber onslaught forced it to unopen down its machine networks for respective weeks past year.

The institution antecedently said accumulation had since returned to normal levels.

I cognize it's only going to past for a fewer weeks, but I can't deliberation of thing JLR needs little correct now than another accumulation pause. Between nan pauses and monolithic tariff bills, I wouldn't want to beryllium a Jaguar-Land Rover accountant correct now.

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Everybody wants a Ford F-150, and its causing a headache for nan Blue Oval. Despite adding a displacement astatine its Dearborn Truck Plant to dress up for mislaid accumulation during last fall's occurrence astatine an aluminum supplier, Ford conscionable cannot support up. Now, that tight inventory intends buyers whitethorn person to salary much if they want a caller F-150.

The logic for this is simple: Ford is pushing retired much high-end versions of nan F-150, They're much profitable pinch an mean database value of astir $87,000 a pop, and it's building acold less entry-level F-150s, which person an mean database value of astir $52,000. It makes consciousness from Ford's perspective. Aluminum is still successful short proviso — and President Trump's 50% aluminum tariff is surely not helping things — truthful why not ore connected nan models that make you nan astir money? From the Detroit Free Press:

To offset higher costs, Ford besides is expanding nan transportation fees connected nan vehicles, Greene said, moreover arsenic it lowered nan manufacturer's suggested unit value connected immoderate 2026 F-150s.

[...]

Ford spokesperson Said Deep said of nan transportation fees: "These charges ... are reviewed and adjusted arsenic basal to support accordant pinch nan industry. We mean nan complaint truthful nary matter wherever a customer lives successful America, nan destination and transportation is nan same."

Meanwhile, nan warfare successful Iran is not helping automakers because it's disrupting nan world proviso of aluminum, causing value volatility and making it much competitory to get. But Ford's activity said it is moving pinch its aluminum supplier Novelis to get it backmost online — though it could beryllium later this twelvemonth earlier F-150 inventory stabilizes.

[...]

[A]ccording to Cars.com data, F-150 proviso astatine dealerships was down 34% successful February compared pinch nan year-ago period.

Since October of past year, inventories of nan F-Series statement person slid by 29% from 241,300 vehicles to 172,400 vehicles, and they're presently astatine their lowest level successful 2 years. I conjecture if you really want an F-150, you're either going to person to hold aliases beryllium consenting to pay up for a much well-appointed model than you would person different gotten. It's unusual times we're surviving in.

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After telling its United Auto Worker union-represented employees past period that location wouldn't beryllium immoderate 2025 profit sharing checks for them since nan automaker, well, didn't move a profit, nan automaker decided to springiness immoderate of its salaried labor capacity bonuses anyway. As you whitethorn imagine, nan UAW's activity and its rank and record members didn't return excessively kindly to that. 

Now, a group that includes on-site managers, firm staffers and salaried waste and acquisition workers will beryllium getting capacity bonuses astatine nan extremity of March contempt nan fact nan institution took a $26.5 cardinal nonaccomplishment successful 2025, but there's nary connection connected really galore labor really sewage bonuses The news was confirmed by a Stellantis spokesperson. From the Detroit Free Press:

A salaried, nonunionized worker astatine Stellantis tin suffice for a capacity prize successful 3 categories: company-wide, divisional and individual. No company-wide bonuses are going retired for nan automaker's mediocre capacity successful 2025, but nan institution confirmed that immoderate divisions and individuals will person bonuses for their capacity past year.

"The compensation package for immoderate non-bargaining portion labor includes a Stellantis Annual Incentive Plan (SAIP) payment, which is driven by 3 capacity pillars — company, section and individual — pinch circumstantial financial and non-financial yearly targets arsenic good arsenic results from nan divisions to which they are aligned and individual goals," Stellantis spokesperson Jodi Tinson said successful a statement. "As Stellantis' wide 2025 capacity results did not meet nan established targets, nan institution constituent of SAIP will not beryllium paid. Payment of nan divisional and individual payments stay straight conditional connected nan results achieved."

[...]

Rich Boyer, United Auto Workers vice president who oversees nan Stellantis section of nan union, told nan Detroit Free Press he was "disgusted" to perceive that immoderate managers would beryllium getting bonuses.

"The UAW, arsenic good arsenic I personally, americium disgusted that we were conscionable informed that guidance labor will beryllium receiving a prize cheque while Stellantis UAW members did not person a profit-sharing check," Boyer said. "Our members thief thrust this company's occurrence each and each twelvemonth and they merit to stock successful its success."

UAW President Shawn Fain, too, called nan news nan "epitome of firm greed" successful a connection to nan Free Press.

Bonuses for nan non-bargaining portion labor astatine Stellantis are portion of nan yearly compensation package and paid retired if an worker aliases section tin meet definite goals. On nan national side, however, profit-sharing checks trust connected 1 cardinal metric: adjusted operating income.

Even though Stellantis made headlines pinch a $26 cardinal loss, nan national negotiated to salary retired profit-sharing checks according to adjusted operating income, a word utilized to picture a typical look that exempts unsocial costs nan institution faced successful a fixed year. The company's $26 cardinal write-down, mislaid arsenic it pivoted distant from electrical vehicles, was deemed an bonzer disbursal and is exempted from adjusted operating income, nan bucket of rate UAW labor tie from.

Nonetheless, Stellantis' adjusted operating income — pinch nan monolithic write-downs exempted — was still a nonaccomplishment of $2.2 billion.

At slightest CEO Antonio Filosa and Chairman John Elkann missed retired connected immoderate large chunks of their multimillion-dollar paydays. Don't worry, though. They were still paid handsomely.

 Filosa, who took complete nan institution successful June, made $6.3 cardinal for his activity successful 2025 — a operation of his $1.6 cardinal guidelines salary, a $2.2 cardinal relocation stipend, astir a cardinal dollars successful benefits and a $1.7 cardinal assistance from nan company. In total, Filosa came successful awkward of nan astir $12 cardinal he could person made had nan institution deed each of its targets.

Filosa, arsenic good arsenic Stellantis Chairman John Elkann, missed retired connected multimillion-dollar paydays for missing their capacity goals, according to Stellantis' filings. Filosa could person earned astatine astir $6.4 cardinal successful bonuses atop his $1.6 cardinal salary, and Elkann would person made $2.7 cardinal if nan institution could person grown sales, accrued quality, lowered warranty costs, and accrued rate travel and income.

Warranty costs was nan only metric successful which nan institution exceeded goals, falling short of each others. Elkann and Filosa did not person immoderate prize payouts.

Both Boyer and Fain called it a "massive slap successful nan look and nan epitome of firm greed." 

Usually, I prime 1 historical arena to item in "Reverse," but aft looking done today's offerings, I was dumbfounded. There are nary little than 14 awesome humanities events and a smattering of personage birthdays that are worthy of highlighting. Because of that, I'm conscionable going to database retired each chaotic point that happened today:

• 1775: Thomas Jefferson elected to nan Continental Congress
• 1865: Lincoln, Sherman and Grant scheme nan last stages of nan Civil War
• 1912: Japanese cherry trees planted on nan Potomac successful Washington, D.C.
• 1929: Herbert Hoover has first telephone installed successful nan Oval Office
• 1939: First Men's NCAA "March Madness" Champion crowned (my bracket was wrong)
• 1952: Kiichiro Toyota, Toyota founder, dies
• 1958: Nikita Khruschev becomes nan Soviet premier
• 1963: Quentin Tarantino is born
• 1964: Strongest earthquake successful U.S. history — a 9.2 — hits Alaska
• 1969: Mariah Carey is born
• 1973: Marlon Brando declines his Best Actor Oscar for "The Godfather"
• 1977: Two Boeing 747s clang into each different successful Tenerife, sidesplitting 583 passengers and unit members
• 1979 Pattie Boyd and Eric Clapton get joined (George Harrison needs a gun)
• 1980 123 Oil workers drown successful nan North Sea
• 1984 Hot Pockets trademarked
• 1998 FDA approves Viagra

What a Goddamn time this is. Who nan hellhole knows what March 27, 2026 has successful store? Nothing good, I'm sure. If you want to study much astir each these chaotic events, caput complete to History.com.

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We're now connected time 3 of state prices stabilizing astatine and astir $3.98 per gallon. It seems nan $4 boogie man is conscionable a spot excessively overmuch for astir state stations to inquire for. Still, Brent crude lipid prices person cracked $110 per barrel, truthful I don't expect this plateau to past overmuch longer.

In immoderate case, overnight we saw nan mean value of a gallon of state erstwhile again retreat a fraction of a cent from $3.981 to $3.978, according to AAA. It won't mean overmuch to normal folks for illustration you and me, but I conjecture it's amended than having them spell up.

If you were wondering, nan past clip state was complete $3.98 was backmost successful August of 2022, according to information from nan Energy Information Administration, and, nan mean value of a gallon of state is now up a afloat dollar — aliases astir 28.7% — since nan warfare first collapsed retired connected February 28, erstwhile it was $2.98.

Here's wherever nationalist mean prices guidelines correct now, according to AAA:

History.com