Thursday, January 19, 2017

January 2017 SDADA Column

NADA began when a group of 30 dealers came to Washington to fight a proposed 5% luxury tax on new vehicles. Advocating for their customers, these dealers successfully argued the automobile is a necessity, not a luxury. Those dealers won that argument and NADA is still fighting for dealers, their employees and their customers 100 years later.

In a time when all trade associations are struggling to find a way to be relevant to their members, NADA still boasts a 90%-plus membership rate. NADA truly is the "Voice of the Dealer" in all it says and does.

Our association has, in Peter Welch, a President and CEO second to none. We have an exceedingly knowledgeable and ultimately professional staff that is always "looking around the next corner" to help protect and advise dealer-members of both threats and opportunities.

I have been fortunate to serve as your NADA Director since August of 2007. In the 9+ years that I have served as director, I have had occasions to fight on the front lines with many of these fine people against threats from the manufacturers, legislators, regulators and disruptors that face our business. I can report that I'd much rather have them on my team than be facing them. They are formidable foes!

The National Automobile Dealers Association is us. It is the dealers in all 50 states; large and small; multi-point dealers and single point dealers; import and domestic; in metro areas and in rural communities; publicly owned and privately held; working together to make our industry better for our businesses, our employees and our customers.

Let us all celebrate that! As we look forward to our nest century, let us remind ourselves that our success lies in our employees and our customers. When we serve them, our industry thrives!

Happy birthday, NADA!



Welch Tells Automakers to End 'Unfair' Incentive Programs 

Earlier this month, Peter Welch gave a keynote address at the Automotive News World Congress in Detroit, where he challenged OEMs to end “unfair incentive programs,” “unfair stair-step programs” and other unfair multi-tier pricing schemes that harm trust between local dealerships and their customers. Welch also warned of brand erosion for manufacturers who fail to quickly provide parts for recalled vehicles, and government threats to vehicle affordability.

Full text of the speech can be found here. NADA's Facebook livestream of the video can be found here.


NADA Urges Trump Administration to Reverse Obama EPA’s Final Determination on Fuel Economy 

NADA recently issued the following statement in response to the Obama Administration’s issuance of a final midterm evaluation of light-duty greenhouse gas standards for model years 2022-2025:

“The Obama Administration today just made new cars and trucks thousands of dollars more expensive for America’s working men and women. Expensive and unaffordable new cars will drive Americans into less efficient, less clean and less safe used cars – undermining the very goals of this policy. We urge the incoming Trump Administration to withdraw today’s action, and we look forward to working with the new Administration to ensure that working families can choose the cleaner, safer new cars and trucks they need at prices they can afford.”


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