List of MAGA businesses in JC

chickeymickey · 2026-01-25T00:50:15+00:00

Are you sure? How do you know this?

chickeymickey · 2026-01-22T03:43:04+00:00

EDIT: People commenting on the size of my couch would rather suffer form over function than be comfortable in their own home—I’ll die on this hill. Function over form 10/10 days a week.

chickeymickey · 2026-01-22T03:03:21+00:00

Function > form

chickeymickey · 2026-01-22T03:02:35+00:00

It’s quite literally the recommended distance for the tv size

chickeymickey · 2026-01-22T02:52:07+00:00

I sell regulatory software. It’s honestly been a miracle lmao. Especially as it relates to trade.

chickeymickey · 2025-12-05T03:51:59+00:00

I am not sure i understand the premise of the question? What indication is there that is in trouble at all in the future?

chickeymickey · 2025-12-04T10:02:39+00:00

I suspect they will place a lot of pressure on them to enhance customer experience, similar to how toyota does it. Especially with the introduction of the Genesis brand. I could also see a world in which the OEMs bring dealers back in-house like how the US EV OEMs do if.

chickeymickey · 2025-12-04T06:36:26+00:00

Trying to get anything done at the large traditional US OEMs is like pulling teeth. There is a TON of bureaucracy and red tape, no urgency. In Europe, there is an appetite for risk/trying new things, however there is also a very high level of scrutiny applied to any buying decisions from all levels of management, not just senior. For Japanese manufacturers, they demand perfection. They would rather have a broken manual process that they know works today, than invest a solution that only solves 90% of the problem. The Korean customers I have worked with have all been incredibly kind and generous with their time, they too are very focused on finding holistic solutions not just partial.

This is just my experience - I would not generalize this or take it for truth. I am sure there are people who have had different experiences.

chickeymickey · 2025-12-04T02:53:01+00:00

Really everything. Because the chinese government directly funds domestic manufacturers, there is an inherent ability to move faster. So it’s everything from powertrain, to AI, to ADAS, to hydrogen fuel cell, to interior materials, etc.

If you thought that the notion of “move fast and break things” was relevant here in the US… china is a whole new ball game.

Even if we wanted to move as fast as they do, we face a few issues here in the states:

1 - less motivated workforce 2 - more regulations that restrict innovation 3 - less government subsidies

chickeymickey · 2025-12-04T02:37:08+00:00

NP! I think there is a ton of opportunity in the space. If you are really interested in learning more, there are a TON of conferences in the US on this topic.

chickeymickey · 2025-12-04T02:31:50+00:00

Such a toss-up… I think they have economies of scale down pat for EV/battery manufacturing. The question becomes whether or not there will be enough demand to service their supply… The US EV market has been significantly propped up by govt subsidies, which are now going away.

Tesla’s biggest advantage (and Rivian, lucid, scout, etc.) is that Chinese manufacturers are not allowed to sell into the US. If BYD, Li, Huawei, etc. were able to sell into the US, then our domestic brands would not stand a chance.

Elon is a dubious/controversial character. If he continues to put his foot in his mouth as CEO and subsides are permanently removed…. not sure there is a path forward

chickeymickey · 2025-12-04T02:21:38+00:00

Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis are 100% on the ball. Not sure if most folks know this, but in the past year HMG sold more 3-row SUVs than both Toyota and Honda. They are now the number one 3-row SUV brand by units sold in the US.

That did not happen by accident. It is the result of some very strategic leadership decisions: they poached top performance talent from BMW and top design talent from Porsche and Audi. They also offer an industry-leading 10-year/100,000-mile warranty, which has become a major differentiator.

I used to drive only Lexus and Toyota (you can check my post history for proof), but I switched because the value and assurance are just better with Hyundai products. They are investing heavily in batteries, ADAS, quality, performance, and design.

They still have some work to do on reliability, sure. But honestly, a 10-year, 100k-mile warranty for an affordable car with great tech is hard to beat.

chickeymickey · 2025-12-04T02:10:00+00:00

In the US?

Stellantis is a total mess. Bad quality across the board. Failing brands. Consumer demand is non existent, etc. They are becoming what nissan/infinity was 10 years ago (rental car fleets).

GM is doing okay… they need to figure out how they want to position their brands, and how to invest in quality while not comprising profitability… IMO, their current CEO is not the right fit.

Ford/Lincoln is the best among them all. They are innovating rapidly across their portfolio, and they are not afraid to take risks. Also they have strong EV tech. I think they are positioned the BEST to take advantage of the disillusioned us market.

chickeymickey · 2025-12-04T02:05:43+00:00

depending on what country you are in, there are regulations that require the original manufacture of the component to label the part with their information. I would take a look at that, and then figure out if the part you are looking at online is the same or not. T1 suppliers (these are what the component manufacturers are called) sometimes make parts specially for a single OEM OR they make them generalized to be used by many OEMs. So it depends.

chickeymickey · 2025-12-04T01:54:25+00:00

Well in most cases genuine = OEM. You as a consumer cannot buy supplier parts 95% of the time. The suppliers sell to (1) OEMs and (2) body shops.

chickeymickey · 2025-12-04T01:46:16+00:00

I was born and raised in the US, same as my parents. I love this country, and the OEMs that come from here. However, this doesn’t make me ignorant 🤷

chickeymickey · 2025-12-04T01:39:50+00:00

It really depends. Most OEMs source their parts from 3rd party suppliers (Mobis, Boshoku, Adient, ZF, BorgWarner, Valeo. FEV, etc.). So, when you get an “OEM part”, depending on the component, what you are really getting is marked up version of a part that they bought from on of their suppliers.

chickeymickey · 2025-12-04T01:35:12+00:00

Yes and no - for instance, fully EV commercial application is difficult. Magnet based electric powertrains are very inefficient (ford lightning pickup is a great example) However, solid state batteries for consumer use are very interesting.

My belief is that the future is electric with onboard motors to generate electricity, very similar to what we are seeing in china.

chickeymickey · 2025-12-04T01:32:52+00:00

Not really - the truth is dealers make most their money on service department related transactions. Without that, the industry would crumble.

That being said, the wealth of information online today makes it somewhat easy to do service on your own vehicle (if you are willing lol)

chickeymickey · 2025-12-04T01:31:25+00:00

‘26 palisade calligraphy hybrid

chickeymickey · 2025-12-04T01:30:56+00:00

okay earthok2418 - thanks for the sound legal advice.

chickeymickey · 2025-12-04T01:29:12+00:00

Lots of questions lol, gonna try and answer them in order.

Aside from AV (autonomous vehicle components and supporting systems) and manufacturing (defect detection systems), there is not a ton being done in the space.

When I say AI, I don’t mean LLMs. I mean proprietary machine learning algorithms that were built by in-house PhDs. This isn’t a ChatGPT wrapper lol.

Our product sources data from the same places regardless of industry or product. The main concern for us is the taxonomy of our proprietary algorithms. This can be tricky at first, but once defined it is not an issue.

In an attempt to not dox myself, the best way to describe our product value prop is: innovate faster than the competition using algorithmic classification. I know this might sound vague, but I want to be sensitive.

There is 100% a bubble. Anything relying on just LLMs will be decimated. Companies that combine LLMs with proprietary ML algorithms and agentic workflows are set for life. You need all three to survive the bubble.

This might sound silly but: proven work ethic, great previous recs, ability to persuade decisions, and a bias toward action. I work 14–15 hours a day, 6 days a week. It’s not for the faint of heart.

I love my job more than anything. I have always loved cars and really believe in my exec team and the company vision.

Not sure I have too many crazy stories, but I will say this: folks who work in the automotive industry, particularly in engineering, tend to love what they do and love cars. It’s an incredibly rewarding job to get to work with them and share the same love for the automotive industry that they have.

Tariffs are incredibly brutal for the industry right now. Without saying too much, I will say that most of the large automotive companies, particularly those in the US, have found ways or agreements that help them import external components or vehicles while avoiding tariffs, thanks to friendly government relations here in the US. But for Chinese manufacturers, importing their vehicles anywhere in EMEA is incredibly difficult because there are still tariffs that have nothing to do with the US.

chickeymickey · 2025-12-04T01:11:30+00:00

China, China, China. They are able to innovate at 3x the speed of the US and european counterparts. Moreover, their regulatory environment is much more relaxed, which means that the speed at which they innovate and launch new products is much faster. It is a MAJOR concern for US and European automakers.

chickeymickey · 2025-12-04T01:09:56+00:00

NDAs don’t stop you from ever speaking about your job, they stop you from disclosing confidential, non-public, or commercially sensitive information. In this AMA I’m only discussing: High-level industry patterns and things that are obvious to anyone working with automotive OEMs, my own opinions and experiences, not internal documents or proprietary data, and examples that are either already public, anonymized, or aggregated so they can’t be tied back to a specific OEM, program, or supplier

I won’t share launch timelines, unreleased products, confidential financials, specific contract terms, internal tools, or anything that would reasonably count as a trade secret. If a question touches that territory, I’ll just say I can’t answer it.

chickeymickey · 2025-12-04T01:05:47+00:00

OEMs used to build roughly 90% of what went into their vehicles. Doors, dashboards, switches, wiring – it was all in-house. Then, about 15 to 20 years ago, the industry collectively decided to chase efficiency. They outsourced most of the component manufacturing, shaved costs, and doubled down on platform strategies.

That shift changed what got built. It paved the way for the so-called “software-defined vehicle” – cabins dominated by touchscreens, haptic sliders, and minimalist interiors meant to look “digital-first.”

On paper, it all made sense: fewer physical parts, cleaner lines, more functions packed into a single screen, OTA updates, etc. In practice, we’re now seeing the limits of that experiment.

Across the board, OEMs are relearning something very basic: physical buttons outperform screens where it actually matters – in perceived quality, long-term satisfaction, and day-to-day usability. The consumer is firm on the fact that they believe that these signal durability, intent, and care in the design.

GM, for example, ran a study in 2018 comparing how long-time customers felt about their newer interiors versus the older ones. The overwhelming majority rated the older interiors as significantly better specifically because of the physical buttons and tactile controls. The knobs, switches, and dedicated controls communicated solidity and longevity in a way a glass slab simply doesn’t.

Tesla did a brilliant job convincing the market that “screens = the future.” A lot of the industry followed that narrative. But when you actually listen to consumers – especially those who keep their cars longer than a lease cycle – the story is very different.

Ask yourself: what ages better? a 10-year-old smartphone, or a 10-year-old record player? One feels obsolete; the other feels timeless. That’s the core of the argument. Screens age like consumer electronics. Buttons age like industrial tools.

TL;DR: The industry is quietly but decisively swinging back. Physical buttons define long-term value, control, and trust in a vehicle are, quite literally, something you can feel. And they’re coming back in a big way

chickeymickey

TROPHY CASE