Thanks to NADA, automobile dealers are slated to be exempted from oversight by the federal consumer protection agency being proposed by Sen. Christopher Dodd, (D-Conn), chairman of the Senate Banking Committee. But whether this remains the case will be determined as Congress weighs pressure from a variety of consumer groups and the Department of Defense to include them. The Dodd measure comes after months of haggling on Capitol Hill about whether such an agency needs to exist at all, though President Obama has made it the cornerstone of his plans to square away the banking system and credit providers so consumers get more respect.[FULL ARTICLE]

General Motors, in an apparent move to jumpstart new vehicle sales and avoid costly arbitration with more than 1,100 dealers seeking to reverse their dismissal in the bankruptcy of the company last year, has offered reinstatement to 661 of them, no questions asked. The catch is that the dealers must sign new franchise agreements and comply with GM's "usual core business criteria" before they can proceed. It is unclear how many of these dealers are still in a financial position to be able to comply with those requests, given the passage of eight months since most were able to order new vehicles. [FULL ARTICLE]

About 150 Toyota dealers from across the U.S. came to Washington this week to meet with Toyota executives, including Toyota Motors president Akio Toyoda, and to show support for their franchisor, which was in town by order of Congress for hearings to investigate widespread reports of “unintended acceleration” of Toyota vehicles.
The dealer rally, organized through AIADA by WANADA immediate past chairman and Washington area Toyota dealer Tamara Darvish, culminated in a morning press conference last Tuesday, February 23, in the U.S. Capitol, immediately preceding Toyota’s first congressional appearance before the House Energy Commerce Committee. [FULL ARTICLE]

WANADA dealer members joined their compatriots in Orlando, Fla., this week for the 2010 NADA Convention. Optimism and a bright outlook ran rife among the convention-goers, despite the atypical cold and rainy Florida weather.
Stefan Jacoby, CEO of Volkswagen of America and Mike Jackson, president of AutoNation, keynoted the first general session, with Mark Reuss, president GM NA and Susan Docherty, VP GM sales, service and marketing keynoting the second session several days later. The gavel passed from outgoing NADA chairman and Iowa dealer, John McEleney to incoming chairman and Oregon dealer Ed Tonkin, both second generation chairmen of NADA. [FULL ARTICLE]

The 2010 Washington Auto Show (WAS) and its organizers achieved what they set out to do on Public Policy Days, Jan 25-26, in bringing together the key public and private sector players who will decide how the auto industry will evolve in the years ahead. They also successfully assembled a show floor exposition that vividly displayed its direction, particularly within the Advanced Technology SuperHighway, the show’s signature pavilion. Those attending Public Policy Days included leading industry executives, federal officials, congressmen, local elected representatives and affiliated auto industry associations. Together they produced one of the most meaningful public policy forums in the show’s history. [FULL ARTICLE]

Chrysler President and CEO, Olivier Francois arrived at the Auto Show today determined to see his personal company car auctioned off for as much as $1 million to aid in the relief effort for Haiti. The 300C features the autographs of more than 200 Hollywood celebrities who put pen and ink to the vehicle at the recent Golden Globe awards. They included George Clooney, Jennifer Aniston, Sandra Bullock, Tom Hanks and many more who are part of the Stars for a Cause organization. [FULL ARTICLE]

Secretary of Energy Steven Chu came to the 2010 WAS today to announce that the federal government has closed a loan agreement with Nissan to build its new LEAF electric car. The total of the loan is $1.4 billion, which will be used to support the modification of Nissan’s Smyrna, Tenn., manufacturing plant to produce the all electric Nissan LEAF, and the lithium-ion battery packs to power the vehicle. Secretary Chu, a 1997 Nobel Prize winner in physics, also took the time to tour the Advanced Technology Superhighway and discuss energy usage issues with some of the exhibitors. [FULL ARTICLE]

The world media arrived at the WAS today ready to record and write about the many significant announcements made here today as automakers, regulators and industry executives from the automotive safety, drive train, and environmental disciplines took to their podiums to tout the latest developments in the greening and safeness of the automobile. [FULL ARTICLE]