STARLING SEEKS RESPECT FOR AUTO RETAIL

NADA chairman Starling addresses dealers.

January 31, 2004—Respect: It’s what dealers deserve from automakers, government, and the media, said NADA chairman Alan Starling during the opening session. The auto retail industry has contributed a great deal to the country’s economy and growth, and dealers deserve more credit than they get.

Manufacturers need to acknowledge that selling cars and trucks is “enormously complex,” and that their dealers are the real experts. Retailers work closer to consumers than anyone and know what it takes to satisfy them, Starling says. “So please give our business the respect it deserves.”

Government should also give dealers their due, given that they collect and pay more taxes and employ more workers than any other retail sector of the U.S. economy, said Starling. The auto industry has helped pull the U.S. economy “out of the ditch” in the past couple of years, averting a longer, more serious recession. “We don’t just drive America—we drive the American economy.” As a result, government has begun listening to the industry, he said.

And the media should stop focusing on the bad apples in the industry, who, Starling said, get a disproportionate amount of attention. “Sometimes it feels like our industry is a punching bag.” Dealers make plenty of positive, newsworthy contributions to their communities by, for example, promoting child safety seats.

Starling added that his most satisfying mission this year was working to get automaker CSI surveys revised. “CSI doesn’t work as intended—it’s become a gimmick, a marketing tool at best.” Starling met with major automakers over the course of the year and was encouraged to hear many of them say, “ ‘This really is an area that needs improvement.’ ”

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