ALEXANDRIA, Va. –

As I prepare to pass the American International Automobile Dealers Association’s chairman’s gavel on to my successor Jim Smail in San Francisco, I find myself reflecting on all that our association has accomplished over the past year, and the challenges that still lie ahead.
When I became AIADA chairman last year in Orlando, I never could have predicted some of the issues we would face, or the way dealers would band together to protect our businesses.
In February, AIADA was instrumental in bringing Toyota dealers to Washington D.C. and turning the tide against the media-hyped panic surrounding allegations of unintended acceleration.

Thanks to AIADA’s efficient and nimble structure, we were able to act quickly and decisively in orchestrating press conferences, meetings with congressmen and media interviews.

Those hectic but productive days in Washington are the very reason AIADA exists, and the results we achieved are reason enough for every single international nameplate dealer in the United States to support our work.

In the spring, dealers again came under scrutiny as Congress attempted make them part of its financial reform legislation. Dealers from every corner of the country joined me on Capitol Hill in May during our Auto Summit as we urged the Senate to exclude dealers from this oversight. After a few weeks of non-stop meetings, letters and press conferences, we got that exclusion.

In November, on Election Day, the dealer community saw another triumph when three dealer candidates were voted into Congress. Their victories doubled the dealer presence in the House of Representatives, and are a powerful indicator of how far dealers have come in getting involved in the political process. It is clear to me now that even in these tough times, there is very little dealers cannot accomplish.

The auto retail industry in America has undergone significant change over the past few years, and more lie ahead. There is still a free trade agreement with South Korea that needs to be passed. There are still threats from the UAW that must be faced. There is still a death tax that should be reduced and national environmental and safety standards that need to be established. There are also plenty of issues that we haven’t predicted, but are fully prepared to face.
It’s hard to believe that this is it, my final word. This has been a great year for AIADA. Chairing this dynamic organization run by a dedicated staff has been one of the high points of my career. By nature, I am not a person easily humbled, but I am sincerely humbled by the support shown to me by the board members and dealers around the country. Thank you for giving me this extraordinary opportunity.

I will miss my time at AIADA’s helm, but I leave confident that dealers are in good hands with AIADA, and AIADA is in good hands with Jim Smail.