KAIN QUESTIONS AUTOMAKER 'RIGHT-SIZING' THREATS

NADA chairman Kain praises hurricane relief efforts.

February 11, 2006—Amid speculation about automaker restructuring and potential dealer downsizing, NADA chairman Jack Kain assured dealers at Saturday's general session that the association has "carried a very clear message to manufacturers—any right-sizing should only be driven by market forces."

What is also clear is that dealers won't hesitate to help out when disaster strikes: After hurricanes Katrina and Rita hammered the Gulf Coast, Kain said, NADA and dealers around the country rushed money, water, food, and other support to their devastated compatriots. Even dealers whose lives and businesses were in shambles did what they could to help their communities, he added: One dealer let doctors turn his showroom into a clinic to give out tetanus shots.

Kain thanked attendees for the record contributions to NADA's emergency relief fund, which distributed almost $4 million to thousands of dealership employees in Louisiana and Mississippi—"'manna from heaven,'" he quoted one as saying. "We're survivors," Kain said. "We like to make things happen. It's this kind of resilience that makes our industry strong."

Other NADA 2005 achievements included federal title-fraud legislation, clarifications to the national Do Not Call rules, creation of the AWARE coalition to raise public understanding of dealership financing, and expansion of Automotive Career Week, which brought thousands of students to dealerships around the country. And, in recognition of the increasingly global nature of auto retailing, NADA has established an International Affairs office, which will monitor developments around the world that affect the industry, Kain said.

General Session (audio/video)
Year In Review (audio/video)

audio/video provided by Autonetwork.com