Pub. 54 2013-2014 Issue 2

25 2013 WINTER one of the jobs I reflect on as beginning my deep love for this business and for creating lifelong relationships with our customers. Are there any specific individuals that had a major impact on your career? I have to say that every family member has been a great mentor. I have learned a great deal from all of them. We are still very close and connected. We grew up together with weekend trips to our Frio River home and ranch in Leakey, Texas. We vacationed together, celebrated holidays together, played golf together, and hunted in South Texas together. Those relationships that were built are important to this day. I learned a lot from my family. We share issues about our business on a daily basis. We also are constantly helping each other with customer referrals and business op- portunities. I have to say that my father Jimmy has taught me a great deal about personal attention to customers and that warm greetings and inked letters of appre- ciation really do matter in this business. At age 83, he still comes in to our Audi store every day to write thank you letters to our customers. My brother Stephen and I work together closely. I have learned a great deal from him and I respect and appreciate all he has done to expand our operations with a high regard for the customer experience. Both, I might add, have served in the role as TADA Chairman, 1983 and 2012 respectively. What’s the most rewarding part of your career? That each day we have celebrations! It’s funny to say that but I have the opportunity to say thank you to folks who are driving away in a new or used car with a smile after a pleasant experience. And I can sense and share in their excitement. I have an office with windows on my Service Customer Lounge and I really enjoy saying hello and visiting with my customers. In fact, sometimes I even take my guitar or banjo out there and play them a little song! What do you see as the dominant trends for the industry in the next 5-10 years? I think the next 5 years will be dominated with alternate fuel discussion and imple- mentation as we direct this industry to the efficiency and emission standards that the government has mandated. Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards require automakers to hit an average of 35.5 mpg across their vehicle lineups by 2016. And Electric and hybrid vehicles will undoubtedly be key in meeting CAFE's long-term target of 54.5 mpg by 2025. Plug in hybrids, hydrogen cell technology and diesel enhancement and availability will certainly come to market. Technologies will improve with highly advanced voice recognition elements and smart phone inte- gration that will allow the driver to literally tell the car what to do. And as crazy as it may sound, technology is in place now to create a driverless car. Imagine within the next five years you will drive to a downtown parking garage, drive in to the entrance, pay for a parking place, push a button and send your car to the 5th floor, parking slot 35! I also see entry level segments creating new buyers in high line makes. Truck sales will remain in great demand as the Shale discoveries and exploration in our state rise to new levels. I also see short term lease programs with guaranteed future value growing to allow customers an alternative to conventional financing. This will be a positive develop- ment for dealers to allow shorter financing terms and increased owner loyalty. After experiencing and surviving the industry’s most challenging economic period in its history a few years ago, what lessons did you learn? Are you doing anything different now than you did before the economic crisis to better prepare your dealership for futuremarket fluctuations? 2008 and 2009 taught us all to prepare for all scenarios that may happen. In Decem- ber of 2009, I was the last person to turn the lights off at our Saturn facilities. It was a very challenging time. But we turned a bad situation into a positive by hosting a Cavender Auto Family job fair for our displaced employees. Each of them had the opportunity to interview at another Cavender store and many were rehired. The crisis taught us many things. First, we know that the economy will ride with highs and lows. In the low times, we will miss opportunities as consumers will draw back from decisions on auto purchases. But on the positive side, what we saw in the latest recovery was a demand that was deferred and people came back to the market. Our auto industry came back before many other segments in the recovery. We now have sales returning and sustaining. Inventory levels are back. Our lenders are partnering with us and credit is flowing. And we are helping Texas by providing 6% of the entire state tax base with sales tax collection. Do youhave past experiences that help your leadership in TADA? I have been involved with TADA from the first days I took employment in our organization. My father involved me in all TADA events early on. In the late ‘80s, I joined the TADA Future Dealers Group and met many lifelong friends. I have served on the Board level and Executive Committee. What inspired you to serve as a leader in the Association? TADA gives voice to over 1,100 members. This Association provides a platform of unity for all dealers. Small town dealers meet large metro folks. Big truck dealers have issues and are involved. Even though we are different in size and scope, our issues are similar. Working with TADA allows us to meet and work with endorsed companies who can show us better services and products. What are your priorities and goals as TADA Chairman? What’s in store for the TADA in the short term and/or long term? We will continue to provide protection to the franchise system. We will be lobbying to defeat any attempts to provide direct sales to consumers or factory ownership of lines. We will continue to support the dealers who are burdened with factory property control issues. We will build on the very positive relationships we have with our legislators with AutoPAC support and DEAC support. We promote and imple-