March 2017 | Business View Magazine

82 83 The NADA Story tion ceremony to name NADA headquarters the Frank E. McCarthy Building. NADA was in the midst of its 26th annual Washington Conference the next day when terrorists struck the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.With uncertainty after the 9/11 attacks and airports closed,many dealers and NADA staff hunkered down for days at the Capital Hilton in Washington,D.C. The National Automobile Dealers Charitable Foundation quickly established a survivors’ relief fund to help meet the educational needs of the victims’ dependents. When Hurricane Katrina and later Rita smashed into the Gulf Coast in 2005,NADA helped deal- ership employees by distributing more than $4 million through the Emergency Relief Fund.Three years later, the National Automobile Dealers Char- itable Foundation presented a $400,000 check to the Lusher Charter School in NewOrleans to restore acres of athletic fields damaged by Hurri- cane Katrina. In 2009, the association held its con- vention in NewOrleans, the first time since the hurricanes,with former presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton,who together had spear- headed critical relief efforts for the area. For years,NADA had been pushing for total-loss disclosure on vehicles that had been totaled, stolen or damaged by flood.The 2005 hurricanes were the unfortunate catalyst for trying to move this legislation forward.Along with vehicle iden- tification, there was now a consumer-identifica- tion issue after the FTC issued “red flags” rules to prevent identity theft. 1960 - Promoting the N.A.D.A. Official Used Car Guide at the convention inWashington, D.C. But another stormwas brewing, though this one was financial.The Great Recession officiallybegan in late 2007,thoughmanydealers had alreadybeen struggling for years.When the health of thousands of GMand Chrysler dealerships was threatened in 2008,NADAorganizedmultiple fly-ins toWashing- ton to influence Congress on auto-industry relief bills and held dealership-survival workshops at the 2009 convention. An NADA Industry Stabilization Task Force was formed to encourage the government to act quickly to stimulate the economy.This includ- ed bridge loans for Chrysler and GM, as well as expanded SBA loan guarantees and a “Cash for Clunkers”program to bolster new-car sales.NADA leadership testified before Congress and met with regulators andWhite House staff. While many dealerships were saved, some were not. And it would take many more years for dealers and the country to truly find their financial footing. 2010s: Bouncing back In early 2010, as part of financial reform leg- islation passed after the Great Recession, NADA strongly supported an amendment protecting dealer-assisted financing from further regu- lation. As a result, Congress soon passed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which excluded dealers from the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. But the next year, NADA had to defend deal-