Pub. 3 2021-2022 Issue 1

6 BRIAN MAAS President California New Car Dealers Association President ’ s Message A s we kick off 2021, it is my honor and privilege to enter another year of leading CNCDA. This is my 19th year at the association and the 8th year as your president. As the years go by and the experiences continue to mount, I am continuously remind- ed of the importance of our core missions — advocacy and compliance. The uncertainties dealers faced last year with the pandemic only underscored our need to provide members with timely, thoughtful and accurate compli- ance guidance. I remain proud of our team and dealer leadership for taking on unprecedented challenges and remaining committed to bettering California’s automotive retail industry. It is with this valuable lesson that we plan to forge ahead into a successful 2021. As we continue to navigate the ever-changing Coronavirus landscape, always keeping it top of mind, we are also charg- ing ahead through increasingly tough political, legal and regu- latory climates. If you have been doing business in California, this is no surprise to you or any of us at CNCDA. To address these challenges, CNCDA has prioritized a proactive and comprehensive plan aimed at improving and modernizing au- tomotive retailing in the state of California. This will be a long- term program to tackle California’s outdated retailing process and the existing unlevel playing field that dealers are currently operating in. We have already developed a Dealer Working Group to better inform our efforts and will continue to work closely with this group as we refine our strategy and tactics, ultimately targeting a 2022 legislative solution. We are eager to get this program underway as one of our top priorities and look forward to keeping you updated on developments. There are still many uncertainties about what this year will hold for all of us and when we can get back to “business as usual.” As we all maintain hope that we will resume in- person events sooner rather than later, we have decided to hold this year’s Dealer Day virtually, taking place on April 21st. We still plan to have a robust program, includ- ing informative policy discussions, guest speakers, and critical meetings with your legislators. This event remains just as important as ever, if not more so. Policymakers need to hear from you; this is your opportunity to share your compelling stories and urge them to continue support- ing dealer efforts. Stay tuned for more information on this event coming your way soon. Additionally, we are planning for our Annual Convention to take place at the Fairmont Kea Lani on Maui October 3-6. With cautious optimism that travel will resume by the Fall and the health and safety of our mem- bers won’t be in jeopardy, we are planning for this event to take place as it has in the past and will share with you in the spring an exciting agenda and the compelling speakers we are lining up for the California dealer event of the year. Every January, as we evaluate the year that lies ahead, we recognize anticipated challenges and opportunities and then there are those that we can never plan for. Thanks to the foresight of our dealer leadership and our dedicated professional staff, I am confident that we are incredibly well-positioned going into 2021 to continue serving our dealer members with the utmost discipline and flexibility to take on any trials or tribulations that may come our way. I speak for the entire team at CNCDA when I say we look forward to another successful year focused on protecting and promoting the interests of the nearly 1,400 franchised new car dealers across California. Thank you for your membership, and as always, I look forward to your partici- pation and engagement in 2021. 3 Best, Brian Maas President, CNCDA Policymakers need to hear from you; this is your opportunity to share your compelling stories and urge them to continue supporting dealer efforts.