WAGONER WANTS CONSOLIDATION TO BE A MUTUAL DECISION

Keynote speaker: Rick Wagoner

February 9, 2008—Keynote speaker Rick Wagoner, GM chairman and CEO, spoke at the opening session Saturday about dealer consolidation, saying he agreed with NADA chairman Dale Willey’s premise: “At GM, we believe the decision to close or consolidate dealerships has to be a mutual decision between individual dealers and their OEMs.” GM, he said, wants dealers to be profitable “so that you can invest in world-class facilities and a top-notch workforce.”

Wagoner also said dealers and manufacturers must work together to reduce the growth in U.S. oil consumption, oil imports, and greenhouse gas emissions. First, together they can “create the right regulatory environment” by pushing for a single national standard on fuel economy and greenhouse gases. Second, they can push for creation of the infrastructure for electric, hydrogen, and E85 vehicles. “Ethanol fueling stations today represent less than 1 percent of the 170,000 gas stations in the U.S., despite our best efforts to grow this number,” Wagoner said.

The GM chief mentioned GM’s joint manufacturer-dealer dealer profitability task force, whose work resulted in the recent increase in dealer margins and wholesale floor plan.

Wagoner cited AYES (Automotive Youth Education Systems) as a program dealers and manufacturers have successfully worked on together since 1995. Since then, 4,500 dealers have mentored some 13,000 students who became techs.

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