Feb. 4, 2026 | NASCAR champ Joey Logano on Ford dealership partnership; J.D. Power profit forecast

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Visit Goobagoo.com slash Curator to learn more. Welcome to Daily Drive for Wednesday, February 4th,

2026. I'm Kellan Walker, coming to you from the NADA Show floor in Las Vegas. Today on the show,

JD Power forecast dealer profits will drop 12 percent this year. One venture capitalist predicts

Chinese automakers will enter the U.S. this year through joint ventures. An NADA backs efforts to

keep Chinese brands out of the market. Plus, three-time NASCAR champion Joey Logano talks about

his partnership in a Ford dealership. At this point, I want to take advantage of the platform

that I have and be able to grow and learn while I'm still racing. Let's run through all the news

you need to know to keep up in the auto industry. JD Power expects U.S. dealer profits to drop 12

percent this year to $25.4 billion. That's down $28.9 billion in 2025. Thomas King is president

of Automotive and OEM Solutions at JD Power. He says profitability remains strong despite the decline.

We do acyclic all over the contraction on per-unit profitability, so obviously bad news

that it's declining, but context, it's still a very well-must-number. King was speaking at the

JD Power Auto Forum here in Las Vegas ahead of the NADA Show. JD Power projects U.S. flat sales

at 16.3 million vehicles this year, with average incentives rising to $3,500 per vehicle. King

says higher cost, lower trade equity, and subprime credit availability are key headwinds, though

lower interest rates and higher lease returns could help offset those challenges. At least one

venture capitalist predicts that Chinese automakers will enter the U.S. market this year through

joint ventures with legacy automakers. Steve Greenfield of Automotive Ventures spoke Tuesday

at the American Financial Services Association Vehicle Finance Conference here in Las Vegas.

He said these deals would include U.S. plants and workers. The key benefit? Manufacturing know-how.

I think what they'll do is they'll reverse the strategy they had with U.S. automakers 20 years

ago. Allow them in. They have to build U.S. factories employing U.S. employees, do it only

through JVs with legacy automakers, and share the IP because they have figured out how to build cars

faster and cheaper. That is electoral prominence. We share Dr. Legacy Automakers.

Greenfield said Chinese brands would likely use dealers and need a local captive finance partner.

Meanwhile, NADA is backing efforts to keep Chinese automakers out of the U.S. market.

CEO Mike Stanton says 95% of NADA's board agrees with the stance.

We simply think it's bad for dealers first, bad for our industry, bad for consumers,

and most importantly bad for our country. Stanton was speaking at Hague Partners'

maximizing value conference and made similar comments at a number of other events

Tuesday ahead of the NADA show. The group's top priority remains fighting direct-to-consumer

sales from companies like Scout Motors, with ongoing legal battles already underway in Florida,

California, and Colorado. And those are today's headlines. You can find more details on all

those stories at AutoNews.com. Dealer Make meetings are underway here at the NADA show in Las Vegas.

It's where automakers share future product plans and other info with retailers and field questions.

At Nissan's meeting on Tuesday, the automaker told dealers that it's targeting a million U.S.

sales by 2027. How realistic is that? Irvash Kakaria is Atlanta bureau chief for Automotive News.

He joins me now to talk about it. Irvash, welcome back to Daily Drive.

Thanks for having me, Kel.

So Irvash, Nissan is aiming for a million sales by the end of 2027. How realistic is that goal?

And what would it take to get there?

Yeah, it's definitely a challenge for Nissan, not just because of its own internal operational

problems, but more importantly, because of the macroeconomic trends. So you've got the tariffs

hanging like the sort of democles over the brand. That's definitely affecting their ability to drive

volume. Even though they are ramping up U.S. production, they're trying to get about 65%

of U.S. sales produced in the U.S. So that'll give them some tariff mitigation.

But other than that, 26 and 27 is going to be extremely competitive.

All brands are focusing on North America as they're struggling in China and even in Europe.

So Nissan will really have to nail the execution. At the same time, they are financially struggling,

they are deep in a financial hole, and so they have to do their own cost-cutting,

which will then again affect profitability as well as throughput. On the plus side for Nissan,

they are making a lot of changes. They've essentially overhauled their product development

cycles. They're trying to get new product to market faster. They're also doing a better job

of car flow management, essentially making sure that the right cars go to the right market at

the right time. And then they have some tailwinds on the product side. So Nissan has completely

missed the hybrid boat. They're finally rectifying that with a hybrid version of their bestseller,

the Rogue crossover. So that's going to launch late this year. However, once again,

because it's being imported from Japan initially, volumes will be limited this year,

and production will begin in the US and ramp up next year. But that's definitely going to

deliver a significant amount of volume for Nissan. And then of course, some of their other models

are getting redesigns and facelifts, which we can talk about later that will also drive consumer

interest. So dealers seem cautiously optimistic about Nissan's turnaround. What are they most

excited about in the product pipeline? And are there still some concerns about execution?

Yeah. So Nissan dealers, based on my calls with them yesterday, there seems to be a shift in

sentiment from frustration with the brand to more cautious enthusiasm as Nissan tries to

streamline operations, improves the dealer compensation, and most importantly, introduces

products that they say will really sell in this market. One of those models that dealers are most

excited about is the return of the XTERRA SUV. It was an iconic brand that was discontinued,

but Nissan's bringing it back in 2028 in the second half of 2028. And dealers got a preview

of the XTERRA at the meeting yesterday. One of them described it as radical looking,

it's going to be sort of beefy, full-sized SUV with big tires, a muscular grille.

Another dealer said it still has the DNA of the original XTERRA, but it has a modern twist.

And he described it as having an aggression to it, I presume, talking about the design.

This will be electrified, so it'll have a hybrid system. And it's expected to have a V6 engine,

but according to a source, Nissan may be considering putting in a V8, which would be

interesting. But I suspect V6 is more likely. I guess on a less critical point, the Altima,

which is Nissan's mid-sized sedan, that was supposed to be put to pasture this year,

but it looks like they're going to extend the Altima to late summer 2027, and they're going

to put marketing support and also pricing support. So this gives dealers at least one other sedan

in the market besides the volume center. Perfect. Irvash, thank you so much for joining me.

Thank you for the time. Coming up next, three-time NASCAR champion,

Joey Logano, talks about why he's entering the dealership business. That's next on Daily Drive.

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Back to Daily Drive. I'm Kellan Walker. Three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Joy Lagano has a new

title, dealership partner. The Ford Racing legend has partnered with Huntsville Ford in North Carolina,

a store he's worked with for years. Our own Michael Martinez sat down with Lagano to talk

about what drew him to automotive retail, how he plans to balance racing with a new venture,

and what he's learned about the business side of selling cars.

Just curious from your own words, why does a three-time NASCAR champion want to get into

automotive retail? Well, I like cars to start with. I'm a car guy. Since I was a little kid,

I've been into unique cars, fast cars, old cars. I enjoy that a lot. As a race car driver,

you're around that a lot as well. I've raced for Ford for the last 13, 14 years of my career.

I've created a really good relationship with Ford. I worked a lot with Huntsville Ford,

as I'm with my hometown area, and worked with Stacey a lot over there. I built a relationship

over time when Stacey brought this up. I was like, yes, I want to do this. It sounds like fun.

I'm trying to figure it out. We connected with Vernon and Zach Krauss. It's been a bit of a

process just trying to understand everything. For me, I had to learn a lot, trying to go through

the financials and understand what a dealership's really worth and how the business model actually

works. It's far more complicated than I would have thought going into it, but it's a big business.

These guys are running real businesses and they're large. I took a solid year or so to educate myself,

to try to make the right decision. I had some good people around me to help advise me

and then be able to ultimately make the decision to jump as a partner into Huntsville Ford.

I'm looking forward to it. Like I said, a lot to learn, but I also feel like I can bring a lot

to the table. As a race car driver, I say this all the time, you have an unfair advantage in business

because I'm able to pretty much connect with about anyone I want to connect with, which is a great,

great tool to have. If you can use that to grow your own portfolio, but also

help other businesses get to the next level, that's my goal here. The goal here is to take what

Huntsville Ford is already is in the cross-automotive group that's grown an incredible business

and try to add a little bit more to it. Usually, people are stronger together.

So Stacy was telling me a bit yesterday, but would love to hear your perspective.

Seems like your relationship with Huntsville Ford goes back a long ways, years, right? Could you

talk a bit about that partnership and what you've gone to them for and what you like about the business?

Yeah, I think there's been quite a few unique scenarios where we've worked together in the

past. A lot with my studio, Clutch Studios and TA Films, there's many opportunities throughout

the time that, hey, we needed to borrow a car. And Stacy was always like, yeah, you can borrow

this car. A lot of times it was Mustang, but it was sometimes other things. And Stacy was always

quick to help us out, and that's what always built that relationship. It was doing those type of

things, whether it was the Hot Wheels World Record that we set, we needed a Mustang to try to

finish off that video, or just random stuff that we shoot there. As a Ford driver, we need

four vehicles quite a bit. And so that worked out well. And then obviously, there's been a lot of

car deals in the time of cars that I've bought and sold and traded and all the stuff that we've

done there. So that's the most important thing about a partnership is having that trust and taking

the time to build that trust. It doesn't happen overnight. It doesn't happen over one transaction

most of the time. It's over years of working together. It's been up to this point a great

partnership. So we're just taking it to the next level. So how would you define your role? It sounds

like from everything I've heard, you intend or you already have, and intend moving forward to be

pretty hands-on? I like to be. There's only a certain amount I can do. I still have a day job

of driving the race car, and that has to take priority while I'm driving the car. I was very

clear about that from the get-go is that if we don't win on Sundays, my help isn't as much.

My tool and my resource that I'm able to bring to the table comes from winning on Sundays in

the race car. So I told Stacy and everyone there, I said, treat me as special teams. That's

that I am. I'm not going to go in there and completely change the place and tell everyone

how to do everything, but use me as a little bit of fuel that can be on the fire that's already

there. So whether that's certain relationships, if it's leveraging my brand somehow, trying to

take my two cents here and there, that's kind of where I see myself making an impact quickly,

immediately. And then as I dive deeper, I think I'll be a more of an asset and some other things.

And as my career ends, I would want to be even more involved when I get to that point and have

time. But I don't see that in the near future. Don't take that the wrong way. At this point,

I want to take advantage of the platform that I have and be able to grow and learn while I'm

still racing. So obviously, you have a strong affinity for Ford products and the strong relationship

with the Ford brand. Put on the dealer hat for a second, though. Sell me on, you know, sell

the readers who are going to read the story. Why is now a good time to be in the Ford business

specifically? I think you look at their vehicles. That's the number one thing I look at when you're

wanting to buy a new vehicle. What do you want? Do you want something? Well, it probably depends

on who you are. But if you're asking me as a racecar driver, I want something fast. I want

something reliable. I want something that's unique and cool. Those are the things to me that are

super important. And when you look at the Ford lineup that they have for vehicles right now,

I think Jim Farley said this the best a few years ago. No more boring cars. All their cars are very

cool. And even the practical cars are really cool. My wife has an expedition. We drive that a lot.

I got an F-150. I drive that as my everyday driver. Obviously, I'm a Mustang guy. Drive that. I got

GTD getting delivered here next week. So I'm excited about that one. So, you know, you look at the

whole portfolio of cars that they have now. It's pretty good cars, right? And the Dark Horse SC

just being released, that's going to be obviously a win, I think, as well. So they have a good mix

of cars that Americans want these days. And so I'm excited about being a part of that, that family

even more so than I already am. It's been pretty interesting learning from the other side, right?

I've been on the Ford racing side for so long. And you only see one part of the business, right?

You see the marketing side. You see the racing side. But I've never really seen the money making

side, right? Like the selling cars, the important side. You know, so it's been fun to see both ends

of that and how everything intermingles. You know, I'm wondering without divulging any,

you know, state secrets or anything. I'm wondering, you mentioned you've learned a lot

in getting to know the retail business. Is there anything in particular you could share that you've

been surprised by, whether that's, you know, on the selling cars side or the service side or the FNI

office or anything in particular you could point to there? Yeah, still a long ways to go, right?

I want to say that first. And Stacy's done a good job at helping educate me. But, you know, mainly

just the business model itself, you know, it's very complex because there's so many streams of

revenue coming in from different little, little businesses within the big business, right? If

you will. It's a lot of different departments. So, yeah, it's definitely, you know, different looking

at it, you know, from our other businesses where it's a little bit simpler, right? The other things

have been involved with it's, you know, you don't have, you know, if you look at our studio business

for example, right, there's no, you know, Ford looking over you, right? And being a part of,

like, a bigger picture thing. It's just a small little mom and pop. That's us. This is how we do it.

And you move on. The pure size of Ford is one thing, but also just one dealership, right? The

size of hundreds of Ford is no small dealership. I mean, just learning the financials of that

and understanding where all of it is. That's a long ways to go, but I am definitely picked up on

it a lot. Stacey's a wizard with that stuff is what I figured out. That's his like, it's his lane.

That's where he's deep into the financial statements. But, you know, definitely I look

forward to learning that side of it. I'm interested in that. But also just as much in the operations

of how it works, you know, I think there's a lot of things from the motorsport side,

you know, when you look at how a race team is run, there's a lot of similarities. There's also a

lot of differences, but there's a lot of things that can help on both sides. You know, how we

execute and how we get things done efficiently in motorsports can be applied into the automotive

industry from the dealership perspective. That's Daily Drive for today. I'm Kellen Walker coming

to you from the NADA show in Las Vegas. Thanks to Automotive News executive producer Jake Nier,

as well as our own Ervash Kakaria, Michael Martinez, John Hutter and Melissa Burton for

their reporting for today's podcast. You can get the latest news on dealer profitability,

everything happening here at NADA and everything happening in the auto industry at AutoNews.com.

We'd love to hear from you. Let us know what you think of the show and the topics we cover today.

Send us an email at Daily Drive at AutoNews.com or leave us a voicemail at 313-444-2774.

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Feb. 4, 2026 | NASCAR champ Joey Logano on Ford dealership partnership; J.D. Power profit forecast

About this episode

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joint ventures

tariffs

U.S. production

hybrid

Nissan Rogue

Nissan XTerra

V6 engine

Nissan Altima

NASCAR Cup Series

Ford Mustang

performance vehicles

Ford Expedition

Ford F150

Ford Mustang GTD

Ford Dark Horse SC

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