A vehicle can look perfectly normal from the driver’s seat while hiding a worn tire, fluid leak, damaged underbody component or patch of corrosion underneath. LaFontaine Automotive Group is betting artificial intelligence can make those problems much harder to miss.
The Michigan dealer group has begun rolling out UVeye’s automated drive-through inspection technology across more than 40 locations, with complimentary scans planned for drivers regardless of vehicle brand or where the vehicle was purchased. The first inspection lane was unveiled September 14 at LaFontaine Buick GMC Highland. UVeye calls its camera-and-AI platform an “MRI for Cars,” although the comparison is more metaphor than medical equivalent: the technology rapidly photographs visible areas of a vehicle and flags potential defects. For Michigan motorists, the result could be a much faster first look at problems that traditionally require considerably more time to find.
The Statewide Rollout Starts With One High-Tech Lane
LaFontaine’s announcement is significant partly because of the scale involved. The automotive group says it operates 43 dealership locations representing more than 60 franchises throughout Michigan, and its agreement with UVeye is intended to bring complimentary scanning to more than 40 locations. The rollout officially started at LaFontaine Buick GMC Highland on September 14, where the companies scheduled a live demonstration and ribbon cutting. Rather than being limited to one luxury dealership or experimental service department, the technology is being positioned as a network-wide customer service that could eventually be accessible across much of the state.
There is an important distinction, however, between announcing deployment across more than 40 dealerships and having every scanner operating simultaneously on launch day. UVeye’s own description says complimentary scans are “coming to participating LaFontaine locations,” while current reporting says the rollout will continue across the Michigan network. That makes this an expanding program rather than 40-plus scanners suddenly switching on at once. Even so, LaFontaine’s footprint gives the project a reach that a single dealership demonstration could not achieve.
What the ‘MRI for Cars’ Actually Looks For
There is no giant medical-style imaging machine involved. A vehicle simply drives through a camera-and-sensor system while UVeye’s computer-vision software examines high-resolution imagery. The company separates the inspection into major zones that include tires and wheels, the undercarriage and the exterior body. Its systems can flag such visible concerns as uneven tread wear, tire damage, foreign objects, fluid leaks, corrosion, missing or broken underbody components, dents, scratches, cracked glass and other surface damage. UVeye says the process takes seconds rather than the extended time required for a conventional manual walkaround.
Current UVeye technical material says some configurations use more than 20 high-resolution cameras to capture more than 1,000 images as a vehicle passes through. The resulting report can highlight suspected trouble spots and preserve time-stamped images for later comparison. The company reports a 96% accuracy rate for its inspection technology, although that figure should be understood as a company-reported performance claim rather than an independent government certification. The most practical advantage may be simpler: both the service adviser and vehicle owner can look at the same photograph instead of relying entirely on a verbal description of a problem hidden beneath the car.
Drivers Do Not Have to Own a LaFontaine Vehicle
The unusually broad part of the Michigan program is its access policy. LaFontaine and UVeye say the complimentary health scans will be available to Michigan drivers regardless of the vehicle they own or where it was purchased. That means a person driving an older Toyota bought privately, for example, would not necessarily need to be an existing LaFontaine customer to use a participating location. The announcement also pairs the scan with a consultation so the images and identified concerns can be reviewed rather than simply handed over as an automated report.
The companies are pitching the service for several everyday situations: checking a vehicle before a family road trip, assessing an older car, examining one after a collision, reviewing a used vehicle or getting more information before handing the keys to a young driver. Those are sensible screening uses because the technology is designed to expose visible conditions quickly. The announcement does not say a driver must authorize repair work after receiving the scan. Still, dealerships clearly have a commercial reason to offer the service: finding worn tires or a leaking component can turn an inspection visit into legitimate service work while also introducing motorists to the dealership’s repair operation.
Michigan Conditions Make Tires and Undercarriages Worth Watching
The tire portion of the system is more than a technology demonstration. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that 511 people were killed in tire-related U.S. traffic crashes in 2024. NHTSA warns that inadequate inflation and poor maintenance can contribute to flats, blowouts and tread separation, while its road-trip guidance recommends regularly inspecting tread and sidewalls for cuts, punctures, bulges and other damage. Michigan authorities make similar recommendations, particularly during winter, when temperature drops reduce tire pressure and adequate tread becomes especially important for steering and braking on slippery roads.
The underbody scan also has obvious relevance in a northern state. Michigan uses salt and other deicing materials to keep roads passable during winter, and both Michigan transportation material and Federal Highway Administration research recognize the corrosive properties of common chloride-based deicers. FHWA specifically notes that road salt can contribute to corrosion of motor vehicles as well as highway infrastructure. A drive-through camera cannot tell an owner everything about the structural health of an aging car, but visible rust, leaks and damaged or missing components are precisely the kinds of abnormalities UVeye’s underbody system is designed to flag.
Showing the Problem Could Matter as Much as Finding It
A major challenge for dealership service departments has always been credibility. A service adviser can tell an owner that a tire is worn or an underbody component is leaking, but the customer may have no easy way to confirm the recommendation. Automated inspection changes that conversation because the owner can be shown an image of the actual vehicle. J.D. Power’s 2026 U.S. Customer Service Index found that 64% of customers would like photo or video evidence with their multi-point inspection results, yet only 26% of mass-market customers and 44% of premium customers reported receiving it.
There is also a measurable business incentive. Cox Automotive’s fixed-operations research found that consumers who received photos or videos of recommended dealership repairs reported average out-of-pocket repair-order spending of about $640, compared with $410 among those who did not. Nearly half said visual evidence made them more likely to approve recommended service. Those results do not prove that pictures alone caused higher spending, but they illustrate why dealers are interested in tools that document defects visually. A clear image can make a recommendation easier to understand while simultaneously making unsupported upselling harder to defend.
The AI Scan Still Cannot Replace a Mechanic
The “MRI” nickname risks making the system sound more comprehensive than it really is. UVeye is exceptionally image-focused: it inspects tires, wheels, visible underbody areas and exterior surfaces. That means a clean scan should not be interpreted as proof that every mechanical or electronic system inside a vehicle is healthy. Reporting on UVeye installations has specifically noted that the technology cannot directly identify every internal engine problem, while components such as brakes can still require a technician to inspect them manually. UVeye itself describes its results as AI-assisted findings that help people make decisions.
That distinction matters before a long trip or when evaluating an unfamiliar used car. NHTSA recommends checks extending well beyond exterior condition, including coolant, engine oil, brake fluid, transmission or clutch fluid, batteries and charging systems. Those tasks cannot all be replaced by photographing the underside of a moving vehicle. The strongest use case is therefore complementary rather than competitive: AI performs a rapid, standardized visual screening, identifies suspicious areas and creates documentation, while a qualified technician investigates anything requiring hands-on diagnosis. Michigan drivers receiving a free scan should view it as additional information, not a substitute for a complete mechanical inspection when one is warranted.
UVeye Is Already Far Beyond the Experimental Stage
LaFontaine may be creating a particularly broad public-access network, but UVeye itself is not an unknown laboratory project. The company says more than 1,000 of its systems are deployed worldwide and that they collectively process more than 3 million vehicle scans each month. UVeye lists more than 700 customer locations and relationships involving major automotive and fleet names such as General Motors, Volvo, Toyota and Amazon. General Motors began working with and investing in UVeye several years ago, while Amazon has incorporated automated inspection technology into parts of its delivery-fleet operation.
The ecosystem has continued expanding in 2026. Cox Automotive’s vAuto launched deeper integration with UVeye this year after initial testing involving 125 dealers and more than 850 vehicle acquisitions using automated inspection processes. That broader adoption helps explain why the Michigan program matters. The technology is shifting from something motorists might encounter accidentally while visiting a technologically advanced dealership into something being actively offered as a consumer service. If LaFontaine succeeds in making routine scans easy to access across its Michigan network, vehicle inspections could begin resembling automated airport security or car washes: drive through, collect the data and investigate whatever the cameras find.
