Trump Tries To Tackle Affordability, Hybrids Carry the Month, ChatGPT Hits Code Red

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Episode #1210: President Trump moves to unwind fuel-economy rules, hybrids surge while EV sales stumble across major brands, and OpenAI hits “code red” as the AI race heats up.

Show Notes with links:

• The Trump administration is preparing to undo Biden-era fuel economy rules, arguing the standards have inflated new-car prices and forced unwanted EV adoption.
  • Proposed rules expected to significantly soften the Biden-era 2031 target of ~50 mpg.
  • Detroit automaker execs, including Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa, will attend Wednesday’s announcement.
  • Trump frames the rollback as necessary to reduce vehicle prices, despite economists noting price drops wouldn’t be immediate.
• Trump said he’s “bringing back the automobile business,” predicting the industry will be “bigger than we’ve ever been.”
• He noted he likes EVs and believes hybrids “are working really well,” but defended ending what he called the “insane electric vehicle mandate” to ensure buyers “have a choice.”
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• November delivered a clear message from American shoppers: hybrids are in, EVs… not so much. Across Toyota, Ford, Honda, Hyundai and Kia, strong hybrid gains couldn’t offset steep EV drop-offs after the loss of federal tax credits—shaking up sales trends as dealers prep for year-end pushes.
  • Toyota sales rose 2.7%, powered by light trucks, but EV volume cratered; electrified sales (mostly hybrids) still made up 44% of all deliveries.
  • Ford deliveries dipped 0.7% as F-150 Lightning sales fell 72% and Mustang Mach-E dropped 49%, while hybrids climbed 14%.
  • Honda sales slid 15% on semiconductor shortages; EVs collapsed—Prologue down 87% and ZDX down 98%.
  • Hyundai-Kia stayed mixed: Hyundai down 2.3% as EV demand tanked again, Kia up 2.7% on strong hybrids and core crossovers.
  • “With more tariffed products replacing existing nontariffed inventory, prices are drifting higher, leading to slower sales… and this may last through the remainder of the year and into next year,” said Cox Automotive’s Charlie Chesbrough.

• OpenAI is hitting the panic button—literally—declaring a “code red” to overhaul ChatGPT’s quality as Google’s Gemini surge and Anthropic’s business traction close the gap. With massive data-center spending, user expectations rising, and now early signs of ads coming to ChatGPT, the pressure is officially on.
  • Sam Altman told staff OpenAI is pausing other projects to focus entirely on ChatGPT’s speed, reliability, personalization, and question-handling, including starting a daily call for those responsible for improving ChatGPT.
  • Competitor pressure is mounting: Google’s latest Gemini model beat OpenAI on

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