Missouri Automobile Dealers Association

IV BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 10, ISSUE 6 MISSOURI AUTO DEALERS ASSOCIAT ION About a decade after their inception, another like- minded group formed—the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA). The 1910s had seen such a boom in car production that showrooms and maintenance centers started popping up in major cities all over the country. With them, the first franchised automobile dealers were born. NADA very quickly became ‘the voice’ of those small, local businesses, sponsoring laws like the Dyer Act, which made it illegal to steal a car and drive it across state lines. Since then, ADAs have evolved to improve most of the educational and commercial trade activities in connection with the sales, marketing, promotion, delivery, repair, and use of motor vehicles. Out of all the states, Missouri has demonstrated an especially strong kinship with its car dealers as integral parts of cultural life and its state history. Many Missouri dealerships have been family-owned for multiple generations, some even reaching 100 years of sales and service. Approximately 80% of MADA’s membership is family-owned Missouri families that have been in operation for decades. Their estimates show that around 45,000 Missourians (out of a population base of 6.3 million) work, or are related to employment, in automotive retail. “That may be a technician, a salesperson, a detailer, a porter, or a parts distributor, but that’s a pretty large chunk of our overall workforce,” insists President and CEO, Doug Smith. “We’re the primary trade association for automotive retail in Missouri, representing roughly 380 franchise dealers across the state.” Around the late 1930s, MADA commands a rather hefty presence at the Missouri legislature on all matters of the car buying process, particularly when it comes to advocating for what an auto dealership does for the local community. MADA primarily serves the two large metropolitan areas of St. Louis and Kansas City, which roughly make up two-thirds of their membership, in addition to the small towns and rural counties that give the state its particular flavor.