Day 1: NADA Recap

Day 1 of NADA unfolded in “interesting” circumstances. Delayed shipments, stranded attendees, and a city adjusting to unexpected weather could have derailed everything. But this industry proved once again that resilience is in its DNA. 

If Day 1 taught us anything, it’s this:

We’re tougher than we give ourselves credit for, and when faced with challenges, we find solutions. 

The show must go on—and it did.

On to Day 2. Stay Tuned!

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

It is the end of day one here at NADA in New Orleans, louisiana, in some very interesting circumstances, dare I say. We arrived late last night. And it was late last night because what should have been an eight-hour drive in from Dallas ended up being probably closer to 12 or 13 hours. The roads were horrible. At time of recording this, new Orleans was hit by a freak snowstorm and they are not equipped for this weather. I do not blame them. We are about as far south as you can get in the United States, given some locations in Texas and Florida, and they don't know how to handle this type of situation. Of course, where I grew up in Canada, I mean the plows would have been going all night. That just did not happen. So when we arrived in the city, it was a sheet of ice. I mean, the plows would have been going all night. That just did not happen. So when we arrived in the city, it was a sheet of ice. I mean it was just bizarre. It's bizarre seeing palm trees and snow in the same visual and of course, this has had an impact on this event.

Speaker 1: 1:00

Here we are, this is the annual event, the biggest international automotive event in the world, and we're faced with these circumstances that are not favorable, that are undoubtedly bearing a huge expense displays and shipping assets and collateral and giveaways, that all of those things are delayed, team members are finding themselves stranded, unable to come into the city for this event, and so, in a way, you know, my heart goes out to all of these people because the expense is great and the circumstances not favorable. Out to all of these people because the expense is great and the circumstance is not favorable. But there's something here that I think is so important that I wanted to get out and share with you on this quick play-by-play today, which is that my observation is somewhat hopeful and hope-filled, that here we have another circumstance that is not favorable and yet somehow this industry is figuring out how to pull it together. The show must go on, as they say, and earlier this afternoon we attended the exhibit hall to take a look around, and it was not what you would typically see on a Thursday of NADA. It was still largely in construction mode, a lot of the staff there working tirelessly to build booths, and there were cranes everywhere and people, you know, hustling to and fro, and so to see that felt weird. In a way, it was almost like I showed up early to a church activity and had to help put up the decorations. There was a bit of that vibe, but it also just speaks to the ability to adapt.

Speaker 1: 2:52

Yet again, another scenario that we don't like. That is having an impact on us, and we still are finding a way to pull ourselves together because the show must go on, finding a way to pull ourselves together because the show must go on. And I mean, if we haven't had enough testaments in the last few years of the resiliency and the adaptability of our great retail auto industry, I just don't know what else would need to happen. And so that really stood out to me. It is sad to see that people can't attend. It is sad to see that the OEMs have had to cancel their annual meetings. On the flip side of it, it's cool to see organizations like JD Power and a few of the others who are saying, hey, we're going to adapt, we're going to figure it out. And so where there may have typically been some in-person appearances, they switched them to digital.

Speaker 1: 3:56

People still attended the events, they welcomed more people in and let up the I don't know what you want to call it the gatekeeping of did you register and this, and that they were just excited to have people come and attend. And I think that's actually a really good idea in the long term because people that may have typically not attended that event because they had to register or pay or do whatever, now just got a free taste of what that event is like, what the education and subject matter is like, and may be that much more likely to attend and pay for it or register ahead of time come next year. So that was kind of cool to see that. That continued. Cool to see the exhibit hall being put up. And then, of course, we were fortunate enough privileged to attend the Pure Cars networking mixer this evening. Enough privilege to attend the Pure Cars networking mixer this evening. Shout out to my good pal, aaron Sheeks, the CEO over there at Pure Cars, to see people that we've known for quite some time, to meet some new people, have good conversations, good food, and then to move on to the trade show, the exhibit hall rather, or the convention center where the welcome reception was hosted by the NADA Association or National Automobile Dealer Association, and to see that the energy was good and people were optimistic and it was good to see people that we've known for quite some time. There Again, the underscore to all of this is, if I had to sum up the play by play, it's that we are more resilient than we are giving ourselves credit for.

Speaker 1: 5:25

There is much to look forward to. We are adaptable, we can figure things out. The undertone to my thoughts today that I wanted to share with you, and that this is a solution-oriented, problem-solving industry, of which I love being a part of. There you go. That's the play-by-play. Keep your eyes open. There's opportunities all about to solve problems, and the faster and more effectively you can solve a problem, the more opportunity will come your way. That's exactly what we're observing after the first day here at NADA in New Orleans.