Automotive News - February 4, 2008 - (Page 62) 62 • FEBRUARY 4, 2008 INSIGHT A ‘doggoned good year’ Outgoing NADA chief cites political success, improved relations with factories Edward Lapham elapham@crain.com Dale Willey Age: 66 Dealership: Dale Willey Automotive (Buick-Pontiac-GMCCadillac), Lawrence, Kan. 2007 sales: 351 new, 429 used Quote: “We’re not overdealered, we’re underprofited. It was the dealer’s choice to get in. … It should be the dealer’s choice to get out.” I t has been a heck of a year for Dale Willey. Like most of his recent predecessors, Willey spent much of his time as chairman of the National Automobile Dealers Association on the road. He zigzagged across the country, visiting state dealer associations. Willey also traveled outside the country, visiting dealer groups in Mexico and England, spreading good will and building relationships. But it was more than just a year of flying the flag from coast to coast and around the world. There also were issues facing dealers in the United States: the sale of Chrysler to private equity investors, a change in political control of Congress, a softening economy and serious talk that there are too many dealerships in some metropolitan markets. So last year, Willey spent time in Washington. Here at Dale Willey Automotive in Lawrence, Kan., he began a further expansion of his dealership. It’s Willey’s third location since he became a dealer in 1970 in this college town that is home to the 2008 Orange Bowl champion Kansas Jayhawks. To-do list — done During an interview in his dealership office above the showroom, you might not have realized that Willey, 66, is the boss. That’s because he shares the office with Toby, a beautiful, hyperactive golden retriever that Willey calls his 80-pound lapdog. “It’s been a pretty doggoned good year,’’ said Willey. On his watch: NADA used its political clout on Capitol Hill to back the industry- ERNIE BLOCK Dale Willey says NADA played an important role in getting members of Congress behind fuel economy legislation. friendly Hill-Terry bill on fuel economy standards, during the political run-up to energy legislation signed by President Bush in December. “When the association got involved last spring, there were six cosponsors on the Hill-Terry bill,’’ Willey said. After NADA started flexing its lobbying muscles, the bill wound up with more than 170 cosponsors. Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC scrapped programs that paid dealerships per-vehicle bonuses based on total sales volume. That was due in part to NADA’s moral suasion — and perhaps because each automaker hired former Toyota executives who appreciate the value of healthy, profitable dealerships. Overall dealer-factory relations improved. More dealers took advantage of NADA’s “Lifeline to Profits” workshops, designed to help dealers maximize profits, especially in tough times. About 500 dealers have participated in the program, which NADA launched in mid-2006. Despite his busy schedule, Willey took time last March to attend a 2½-day regional workshop in Topeka, Kan., along with two of Lawrence’s five other dealers. Willey said the workshop moved the needle for his dealership. “You’re not going to write one more repair order, you’re not going to talk with one more up on the showroom floor, you’re not going to sell one more car,’’ he said of the workshops. “But you’re going to minimize your expenses and maximize your income opportunities, based on no increase in volume.’’ Last year, Dale Willey Automotive sold 351 new and 429 used vehicles. to Mexico.” Willey said part of the problem with getting the bill passed may have been that it was a Republican initiative that lost political steam when Democrats took control of Congress last year. That change of control has prompted NADA to work a little harder at building relations with Congress, Willey said. “We were in a comfort zone when the Republicans were in control,” he said. “We probably talked to them a lot more. When the other side takes control, you say, ‘We’d better get acquainted.’ ’’ That easygoing attitude seems typical of Willey, who didn’t have a secretary at his dealership until two years ago, when he got more involved with NADA’s leadership. Willey said the most important question he asked in the job interview was, “How are you with dogs?’’ Still, all the talk about automakers needing to shed as many as one-third in a comfort zone when the Republicans were in control. We probably talked to them a lot more. When the other side takes control, you say, ‘We’d better get acquainted.’ “ We were DALE WILLEY Outgoing NADA chairman ” Biggest downer Willey said the biggest disappointment of his yearlong tenure as chairman was NADA’s failure to win congressional approval of “total loss disclosure” legislation. The bill NADA sought would have required that every vehicle declared a total loss by an insurance company be listed in a publicly accessible database. Willey said the need for the bill was hammered home on his trip to Mexico. He said dealers told him, “Stop exporting your flood-damaged cars of their U.S. dealerships gets Willey going. “We’re not overdealered,’’ he said. “We’re underprofited.” Willey said he is encouraged by current efforts at dealership consolidation. The trick, he said, will be for automakers to let dealers sort things out for themselves. “It was the dealer’s choice to get in,” Willey said. “And when he did, the manufacturer welcomed him. It should be the dealer’s choice to get out.” c
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