Author: Automotive News n Feed

People in Washington often forget that the beauty of our system of government is rooted in the notion that our citizens get to choose how they are governed.

Some of the biggest news stories in the industry have broken during NADA’s annual convention. Here are some examples from recent decades.

NADA held its first annual meeting in 1918 in Chicago, adding an exhibition in 1948, again in Chicago. Since World War II, the convention has traveled to 14 cities, with the exhibition functioning largely as a hardware and equipment show.

In February 2008, I began my term as NADA chairman. Mention that year to people in the auto industry, and their facial expressions will reveal the challenges it presented.

U.S. mass production of low-cost cars in the early 20th century gave the automobile far more impact here in this country than it had anywhere else in the world. And 1917, NADA’s founding year, was an inflection point.

I have been fortunate to work for more than 35 years in the U.S. auto industry, leading to my role today as partner with more than 1,500 U.S. Toyota and Lexus dealers.

There is little doubt that the yearly NADA conclave serves as a family reunion for the retail side of the auto business. At NADA, you see people you don’t see anywhere else.

Very few trade associations enjoy the respect accorded to NADA. This respect has been earned through decades of constructive, effective engagement in the public policy arena.

Many organizations suffer from ‘mission creep,’ steadily adding staff and spending for services unrelated to the original mission. NADA is not one of them.

A list of presidents and chairmen of the National Automobile Dealers Association