Auto Collabs
Collaboration through connection.
Hosted by Paul J Daly, Kyle Mountsier, and Michael Cirillo, Auto Collabs is your connect point to the human side of the retail automotive industry: what motivates its leaders, how they navigate change, and what keeps them pushing forward. It’s beyond-the-business-card conversations with real people powering dealerships, technology platforms, and everything in between.
From the team behind the More Than Cars movement, this podcast is built on one big belief: thriving people create thriving businesses. With candid conversations, industry insight, and just enough unfiltered banter to keep things interesting, Auto Collabs delivers authentic stories that inspire real collaboration.
// Auto Collabs is produced by Automotive State of the Union (ASOTU). Learn more at https://www.asotu.com
Auto Collabs
What Chinese Vehicles in Canada Means For The USA | Public Policy Day 2025
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Live from the Washington, DC Auto Show at Public Policy Day 2026, Paul J Daly sits down with John Bozzella, CEO of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, to unpack the rapidly shifting landscape of U.S. auto policy. With fuel economy rules under revision, autonomous technology advancing, and affordability under pressure, Bozzella shares what he’s most focused on ahead of an upcoming conversation with Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy—and why the stakes for consumers, dealers, and manufacturers have never been higher.
The conversation expands into global competitiveness, with a sharp focus on China, tariffs, and the ripple effects of Canada opening its market to Chinese vehicles at dramatically lower rates. Bozzella offers context on why a “6% tariff” now sounds shockingly low, how this move could influence USMCA negotiations, and why election-year politics complicate long-term auto policy decisions. The episode closes with a look ahead to the NADA Show, where collaboration—not surprises—remains the guiding principle between policymakers, OEMs, and dealers.
Timestamped Takeaways:
0:00 – Live From the DC Auto Show at Public Policy Day 2026
0:34 – What John Bozzella Wants to Ask the Secretary of Transportation
1:20 – Fuel Economy Rules and Their Impact on Price and Choice
1:51 – What the Alliance’s Merge Conference Set in Motion
2:15 – Why Competitiveness Became the Core Auto Policy Theme
3:29 – Chinese Vehicles Enter Canada at Low Tariff Rates
3:57 – Why a 6% Tariff Now Sounds “Ridiculously Low”
4:35 – Is Canada Testing the Waters Ahead of USMCA Review?
5:30 – How This Could Affect U.S. Negotiating Leverage
5:50 – What Bozzella Focuses On at the NADA Show
6:20 – Coordinating With Dealers, OEMs, and State Associations
6:52 – Why Better Questions Lead to Better Auto Policy
Connect with John Bozzella: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-bozzella/
Learn more about the Alliance for Automotive Innovation: https://www.autosinnovate.org/
Public Policy Day 2026 is brought to you by Saferide. Learn more at Saferide.ai: https://www.saferide.ai/
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