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Scout Motors’ plan to ditch dealers is exactly what customers want

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Scout Motors’ plan to ditch dealers is exactly what customers want

Less than 12 hours after Scout Motors unveiled a pair of buzzy electrified vehicles last week, car dealers started threatening lawsuits.

Scout, which is backed by Volkswagen, thinks that dealers are history. It would rather sell its EVs directly to consumers, following in the footsteps of Tesla, Rivian, and Polestar in completely rethinking the business of car selling. But unlike those brands, it’s doing so while receiving financial support from an incumbent automaker: VW. 

But if the company is nervous about challenging a century-old business model, it isn’t showing it.

“Scout is a 100 percent separate brand, separate entity, separate structure, separate everything,” Scout CEO Scott Keogh said last week, noting that the Scout buying experience will be “transparent, super fast, and super easy.”  

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Digital sales and service

To make that happen, Scout Motors is relying heavily on a digital platform that it’s building in-house. “Scout Motors doesn’t have any legacy apparatus,” Cody Thacker, Scout’s VP of growth, said. “We kept asking ourselves, if an OEM could start over again, what would they do differently?” 

This clean-sheet approach is trying to remake car buying, one of the most loathed financial transactions Americans go through. According to research compiled by Scout, the car-buying experience consumes an average of 13 hours, 31 minutes per shopper. Just 8 percent of consumers have high or very high trust in dealers, resulting in more than 180,000 dealer-related complaints to the Federal Trade Commission every year. And nearly 70 percent of customers prefer independent service shops over dealer servicing because of issues like overcharging and delays. 

Car buying is one of the most loathed financial transactions in America

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Add in the fact that, nationwide, 49 percent of dealers are “not excited at all” to sell EVs, and Scout sees its rationale for smoothing out the experience. It also wants to more closely control customer data, allowing the company to target sales in certain areas, control vehicle supplies, and adjust incentives to keep the company profitable.

“A big point of frustration for consumers is that they want transparency in pricing and they resent all the hidden fees and markups. Only through a direct-to-consumer model can we tackle these head on and resolve them,” Thacker said. 

Scout envisions its sales platform as a place where customers can do all the things they’d normally do at a dealership, like purchase accessories, set up service appointments, and get details about over-the-air updates. But instead of chatting with a human dealer, they may instead encounter an AI-powered chatbot. (AI chatbots have been a mixed bag for a variety of industries, but the automotive space, in particular, has struggled to make them work.) 

Scout says that it will launch 25 brick-and-mortar “Scout Workshops” and “Scout Studios” around the country in the next five years, where consumers can test-drive and check out Scout vehicles. To be sure, automakers have tied themselves in knots, trying to rename and rebrand dealerships and service centers in different ways to avoid the negative connotation they have for consumers and circumvent the roundly hated system. 

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The renderings Scout presented of the workshops are slick-looking and airy, with open work bays in full view of consumer spaces, where vehicle owners can sit and sip coffee while overseeing the work done on their vehicles. In addition to the brick-and-mortar locations, Scout will also offer consumers who live outside of a 45-minute radius of a Scout Workshop the option to book mobile service through Scout-certified partners. Scout will also offer Scout Studios, which will act as marketing and sales locations, much like the Tesla stores located in malls around the country. 

A rendering of Scout’s Workshop.
Image: Scout Motors

It’s the data

The decades-old dealership model evolved in the early 1900s, when companies like Ford and GM used to sell directly to consumers. As the automobile industry took off, there were increasing concerns about monopolistic practices, and state franchise laws arose. 

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Today, dealerships have an iron grip on car sales, though some companies like Tesla, Rivian, and Polestar have found workarounds. Hyundai is testing direct-to-consumer sales via Amazon (albeit with dealers involved), and Honda is selling its Acura EV exclusively online. Dealers have made direct-to-consumer sales as difficult as possible, filing lawsuits and lobbying heavily through their trade group, the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA). 

True to form, as soon as Scout announced its plan to go “Scout-to-Consumer” on Thursday, dealers began to rattle their sabers. NADA announced that it “will challenge this and all attempts to sell direct in courthouses and statehouses across the country.” 

Dealerships have an iron grip on car sales

Part of the issue that makes this battle a bit different is that Scout has close ties to Volkswagen, and VW dealers have long wanted the company to launch a truck in North America because they see it as a cash cow. Indeed, Scout says that at least two-thirds of the reservations that came in since the launch have been for the Scout Traveler SUV and one-third are for the Scout Terra truck. 

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Of course, these are also the same dealers that argued that “Americans aren’t ready for EVs,” in an open letter to the Biden administration less than a year ago, stating that EVs were just sitting on their lots (though another study by Sierra Club showed that 66 percent of dealers have no EVs on their lots). NADA has been in a drawn-out battle with Tesla over its direct-to-consumer model for many years. 

At the heart of the conflict, ultimately, is data and who controls it. “Only through a direct sales model can Scout Motors get a full 360-degree view of the customer,” Thacker said. “This means that we can completely influence the customer journey. We can have unprecedented access to customer data, which drives deep customer insights, which can then drive intelligence throughout the business.” Dealerships currently manage most of the customer data and relationships, including financing, in the current model. 

Scout seems unfazed by dealer threats. In a statement, Scout spokesperson Lindsay Bago said, “Just as utilizing franchised dealers may be appropriate for some brands and their customers, utilizing a direct sales model best supports our customers and our strategic customer-first vision as we launch a new vehicle platform, a new production center, and a new retail network.”

While Scout Motors has opened online reservations for their new Terra and Traveler vehicles that debuted last week, the company hasn’t nailed down details of a financial partner for purchasing or leasing just yet. The company could tap VW’s huge financial arm to handle financing, though Thacker said that portion of the equation is still being figured out. “I think what we can say today is that we want this to be a seamless experience,” Thacker said.

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Keogh, the CEO of Scout, is confident that the model will work and support the consumer in the right way. “Scout wants to be old-school,” he told The Verge last week, “We want a brand that you can have data trust and customer trust, because I think it’s finally into a place that people are apprehensive and rightfully so,” he continued. “We can control the customer data, secure the customer, and not badger our customers. So that’s what we’re looking to do, what it will do.”

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Apple Intelligence will come to EU iPhones in April

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Apple Intelligence will come to EU iPhones in April

Apple Intelligence has finally launched in US English, and if you’re in the EU, you’ll be able to use the new AI features on your iPhone and iPad starting in April, according to an Irish Apple newsroom post.

When the features roll out to iPhones and iPads in the EU, they’ll include “include many of the core features of Apple Intelligence, including Writing Tools, Genmoji, a redesigned Siri with richer language understanding, ChatGPT integration, and more,” Apple says in the post.

However, if EU users want to get a taste of Apple Intelligence sooner, they can try the initial features on their Mac that are now available with macOS Sequoia 15.1. That first batch of features includes AI-powered writing tools, improvements to Siri, and email summaries in Mail.

Apple also announced that Apple Intelligence will launch in localized English in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, and the UK in December. Presumably, they’ll be included with iOS 18.2, which is set to add a bunch more Apple Intelligence features like Siri’s ChatGPT upgrade.

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We could be seeing a Lenovo Legion Go successor soon, if the Ryzen Z2 rumors and price drop are anything to go by

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The Lenovo Legion Go gaming handheld.

The Lenovo Legion Go handheld gaming PC is now on sale, with its price falling to $499 (was $699) at Amazon for the first time amidst rumors of AMD’s Ryzen Z2 handheld gaming chips – and this could be positive news for a potential successor.

Lenovo remains the only brand among recent handheld manufacturers that is yet to build a successor or upgrade to its original handheld device; Asus released the improved ROG Ally X earlier this year and Valve launched the Steam Deck OLED in November 2023. There have been reports of a Lenovo Legion Go ‘Lite’ ‘leak’, which might have a smaller screen and an HDMI output, but would reportedly stick with the Ryzen Z1 chip.

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Quantum 'Schrödinger's cat' survives for a stunning 23 minutes

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Quantum 'Schrödinger's cat' survives for a stunning 23 minutes



A typically fragile quantum superposition has been made to last exceptionally long, and could eventually be used as a probe for discovering new physics



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Alienware Aurora R16 gaming PC with RTX 4080 SUPER $700 off

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Alienware Aurora R16 gaming PC with RTX 4080 SUPER $700 off
Alienware Aurora R16 sitting on desk
Jacob Roach / Digital Trends

You already know from the title but I just have to say, I love the RGB design on this desktop gaming PC. No, it doesn’t offer much to performance — which is a real shame — but it does add style points and in a well-placed spot, that’s a big deal for your office or gaming room. And if you’re looking for a powerful new gaming rig for your home, this Alienware Aurora R16 gaming desktop is packed with the latest hardware. You get all of that for $2,500 instead of $3,200. With a significant discount of $700, this is one of the best gaming PC deals around and certainly one not to be missed if you’re looking for a permanent setup. If that sounds like you, keep reading and we’ll break down all the hardware and reasons why you might wish to buy.

Why you should buy the Alienware Aurora R16 gaming PC

Alienware makes some of the best gaming PCs you can buy with a penchant for high-end setups which are great investments for a long time to come. With the Alienware Aurora R16 gaming desktop, you get all the hardware you could possibly want. Never mind all of that, for now. The tasteful RGB adorns the front of the case, which you can see in the image, and although the glass side panel is tinted, you can also see the illuminated fan and components inside. Sexy, I know.

As for power, inside you’ll find a 14th-generation Intel Core i9-14900KF processor paired up with 32GB of memory and 2TB of SSD storage. If we were going to be picky, maybe 64GB of memory would have been preferable here but we’re still pretty happy with a chunky 32GB of extra speedy DDR5 memory running at 5600 MT/s. You can always upgrade and add more later, too. As expected from a gaming rig, there’s also a powerful graphics card involved. Here, you have the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER with 16GB of dedicated VRAM.

Combined, you’re gaining a supremely powerful gaming desktop. It uses Alienware’s Legend 3 design so you get efficient airflow meaning it runs cooler, and quieter, yet still with exceptional performance.

There are larger passageways and optimized internal cable management so you gain 20% quieter operation than previous models as well as lower temperatures. At all times, you’re in control thanks to the Alienware Command Center which allows you to adjust the lighting as well as choose to overclock specific components.

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The minimal chassis still offers up conveniently located ports with things like the front ports providing PowerShare technology and there being a wealth of USB-C and USB 3.2 ports to choose from. All you really need to do besides buy this gaming PC is make sure to add on one of the best gaming monitors to get the best out of the hardware.

The Alienware Aurora R16 gaming desktop usually costs $3,200. Today, you can buy it from Dell for $2,500 so you save $700 off the regular price. A fantastic deal for a gaming PC that is built to last for many years ahead, check it out for yourself by tapping the buy button below. It won’t last for long at this price.



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Netflix allows subscribers to share clips with ‘Moments’ feature

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Netflix allows subscribers to share clips with ‘Moments’ feature

Netflix is now allowing users to share clips of their favorite shows and movies. The streaming giant has essentially introduced a new feature called Moments, but it is limited to the mobile app.

Netflix subscribers can share clips of their favorite content

Netflix is still one of the largest streaming companies. Hence, there are many shows, documentaries, and movies that continue to resonate with its subscribers. Netflix is now rolling out a new feature that allows users to relive moments from their favorite content.

The newly introduced “Moments” feature is similar to the Clips feature on YouTube and Twitch. It lets subscribers save, share and easily rewatch certain scenes from shows and movies.

Netflix has had sharing features for quite some time. There are hundreds of thousands of clips from Netflix floating around on multiple social media platforms. With the Moments feature, Netflix might be trying to boost engagement among its core audience.

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Netflix announced the feature via a dedicated blog post. “Moments will hopefully expand in the future, offering even more ways for members to use and enjoy the feature,” the streaming giant announced.

How to use the Moments feature in the Netflix app?

Netflix has launched the Moments feature on its mobile app. Moreover, only Apple iPhone users will be able to use the feature for now. Android smartphone users will have to wait for a few days. Netflix hasn’t indicated if the new feature will make its way to smart TVs.

Netflix has assured that using the Moments feature is as easy as tapping on the smartphone screen. Whenever subscribers see a scene that they want to save or share, they just need to tap the Moments button at the top of the screen. The Netflix app will save a short snippet to the My Netflix tab.

Users will be able to jump back to Moments on your phone whenever they like. Netflix has indicated that episodes and films will start playing from bookmarked scenes when subscribers rewatch them.

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The My Netflix tab could also be helpful to share content from Netflix on social media platforms. Even while creating a Moment, the Netflix app will allow users to share the bookmarked content on social media platforms or in messages. With Moments, Netflix has reportedly added an easy way to help users revisit favorite scenes and share them with friends

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Apple Intelligence is now available with iOS 18.1 and macOS 15.1

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The wait is finally over. Apple Intelligence is making its proper debut with the public releases of iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1 and macOS Sequoia 15.1 today. Typically, point-one versions of Apple operating systems add minor features and fix bugs, but this year it brings a major update since Apple Intelligence features weren’t quite ready in time for the rollout of iOS 18. Considering the new iPhone 16 series was touted as “built for Apple Intelligence,” but launched without the features they were built for, this release has been long in the making. Those with older devices are likely to find iOS 18.1 to be less dramatic of an update, since the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max are the only previous-generation iPhones that will support Apple Intelligence.

You’ll know you can use Apple Intelligence when you get a notification from the company. The initial generative AI features you can check out include writing tools like proofreading and rewriting, as well as text summaries.

There are live transcriptions available for phone calls and audio in the Notes app. Apple can helpfully generate summaries of these transcriptions. In addition, Apple can reorganize your photos and videos around memorable events such as trips and special events in the overhauled Photos app. You can create your own Memories in the app as well.

The beginnings of a Siri overhaul are here too. You can now type requests and questions to the previously voice-only assistant. If you still prefer speaking to it, Siri should be able to understand requests if you stutter or interrupt yourself. The Siri UI has been tweaked, as you’ll see a glowing border around the screen when you activate it. However, you’ll need to wait a bit longer for other Siri-driven features, such as the assistant’s ability to have a better understanding of your personal context.

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Apple Intelligence is currently available on iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max and the iPhone 16 lineup. M-series iPads and Macs also support Apple Intelligence, as does the new A17 Pro-powered iPad mini.

Bear in mind that access is currently limited to those who set their device and Siri language set to US English. Apple Intelligence will start to become available in more countries and languages in December. Apple doesn’t plan to broadly offer the AI tools in the European Union or Chinese mainland right away due to regulatory issues, though as of September it was in talks with officials in both markets to make Apple Intelligence available there.

In addition to Apple Intelligence, iOS 18.1 adds support for other new features, such as a hearing test and the ability to use AirPods Pro as over-the-counter hearing aids. It should be easier to change the mail email address that’s linked to your Apple Account as well.

You’ll need to wait a bit longer for other promised Apple Intelligence features. The company released the iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2 and macOS Sequoia 15.2 developer betas last week. Along with additional writing tools, the betas include Genmoji (a custom emoji generator), Image Playground (animated- and illustrated-style image generation), the Google Lens-like Visual Intelligence and ChatGPT integration.

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As for those who want to use Apple Intelligence in other countries and languages, Apple says that it is adding support for localized English in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa and the UK in December. A bigger update in April will expand language support beyond English — Chinese, English (India), English (Singapore), French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish and Vietnamese are among the new languages that’ll be supported. Apple also says that unspecified “other languages” will be added, as well.

  1. Open the “Settings” app and tap “General.”

  2. Tap “Software Update.”

  3. Your phone will load the latest software update available. From there, you can either tap “update now” or “update tonight.”

  4. Enter your iPhone’s passcode to start the update.

Update, October 28 2024, 12:15PM ET: This story was updated with notes on how to update your iPhone to iOS 18.1.

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