After settling back in to our office in Ohio and recovering from the whirlwind show we all have grown all too familiar with – I believe its a time of reflection seeing the ever changing marketplace fueled by the Automotive Industry.
Everything is determined by 1 thing – the car sale. Thats right. Our entire industry, american jobs, future innovation, and even our economy rests on the shoulders of car sales. Without it, we are all on a lost ship heading for another crash. Not this year. Records set back in 2000 seemed to be a distant memory, but this coming year is poised to beat that and then some.
No this year showed the glitz, glamour, and gross display of money that we all remember circa 2007. Its been a long time since I’ve seen this and frankly didn’t think I ever would again.
Did you know at 1 point the Automotive Industry touched more than 60% of the American economy?
Its been against the ropes for way to long, but just as Rocky says “It’s not how hard you hit, but how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.” This year’s NADA was a perfect display of that.
It wasn’t all roses however. The dealer attendance was low, regardless of what it says on paper. However, the dealer engagement was a bit higher than in years past. Dealers & Managers who were there on the floor were genuinely engaged in the market changes, innovations, and roll ups.
Speaking of which, holly consolidation batman! I guess the vendor world follows suite on nearly everything the dealership retail world does, including massive buy outs, roll ups, and consolidations. One particular aisle, not mentioning names, looked like the downtown Manhattan of the convention center all owned by 1 company. Oh and by the way, if someone asks you what they do? – and you don’t know. Just tell them they are a CRM and you will probably be right. Hello, 2009 called and they want their buzz word acronym back!
All in all, it was great to see the resiliency of the market we grow up in and hope to see future for the little guys who aspire to leave their mark in the business as well.
Take Care,
The SoundFox Team
