August 2016 SDADA Column

I believe the next fight coming between the automobile industry and federal regulators is on the fuel economy front. The battle will be over whether to relax the Obama administration’s future mileage targets. While the direct combatants may be the feds and the OEMs, the dealers (and our customers) will be in the crossfire.

The Wall Street Journal reported last month that government regulators said that U.S. auto makers aren’t on track to meet the administration’s fuel-economy standards, but added that the "industry does have the technical ability to meet them" even in the face of cheap gasoline prices.

Last November, the New York Times suggested the reason there aren't more electric cars on the road is because that car dealers won't sell electric cars. We have not hit Obama's goal of 1 million electric cars on the road because of the nation's car dealers.

I'm guessing that you're like me in that you just want to sell whatever your customers want to buy. If there was an overwhelming demand for electric vehicles, dealers across the country would be stocking more of them and selling more of them. But there isn't and we're not! We know that the competitive forces among OEMs compel them to do the same thing - build the vehicles customers want to buy.
My real concern in this upcoming fight is the plight of the light duty truck - specifically the pickups our South Dakota customers drive on a daily basis.  They need a full size truck to do their work. It is work station, an implement, an office and perhaps, even their family vehicle.

While I hope I'm wrong, I don't believe we will see a full-size pickup that will get 50 miles per gallon anytime soon. If we do, I just hope that the OEMs that I represent can offer one!

In the mean time, we do not want the federal regulators to handicap ag producers, working people, outdoorsmen and other truck buyers by downsizing and depowering their pickups.

NADA Plans Yearlong Celebration

NADA (1917-2017) will kick off yearlong events commemorating its 100-year anniversary beginning with the NADA 100 Carnival at the 2017 NADA Convention & Expo in New Orleans.

The NADA 100 Carnival is an exclusive, opening event for NADA and American Truck Dealers members, international affiliates and guests. It will be held at Mardi Gras World from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Thursday, January 26. It will feature cuisine from New Orleans’ top restaurants and entertainment from local jazz musicians and Cowboy Mouth and headlining band Foreigner.

Online registration and hotel selection for NADA 100 open on Monday, July 25. NADA members and their managers who register by September 9 will receive a $100 discount from the onsite rate. The member dealer and manager registration fee include admission to the NADA 100 Carnival and convention badges must be presented at entry.

The four-day NADA convention, which runs from Thursday, January 26, to Sunday, January 29, at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, is considered the automotive industry event of the year. It includes dealer franchise meetings, workshops, keynote speakers, an exhibitor showcase and numerous networking events. To register or for more information, visit http://www.nadaconvention.org.