New AIADA chairman: We must prepare for battle
Mungenast predicts legislative conflicts as U.S. election looms
Photo credit: JOE WILSSENS
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LAS VEGAS -- AIADA Chairman Ray Mungenast isn't as confident as others that 2012 will be a smooth year for manufacturers.
As the election season kicks into high gear, the spotlight is likely to fall on the auto industry and that could mean more legislative battles in Washington for the foreign brands, Mungenast said, speaking here at the American International Automobile Dealers Association luncheon.
"If recent history is any indication, what we have ahead of us is a battle," Mungenast said. The association must continue legislative clashes over taxes and labor, he said, as well as fight increasingly stringent environmental regulations.
"Our nation is at a divide. Our Congress is divided. Our politics are divided," Mungenast said. "In 2012, those divides will be sharper than ever."
Dealers, especially younger ones, must get involved to protect their business and the industry at large, Mungenast said.
He called for adding "new blood and fresh ideas" to AIADA, which represents dealers who hold import-brand franchises. "That means reaching out to dealers who think politics don't have anything to do with their business," he said.
Photo credit: JOE WILSSENS
Mungenast, a St. Louis native, runs his family's auto group along with his two brothers. Mungenast Automotive Family owns five auto dealerships and one motorsports store in the St. Louis and Alton, Ill., areas.
His father, Dave Mungenast Sr., founded the dealership group in 1965 and was AIADA chairman in 1998.
Mungenast, 50, has made recruiting younger dealers to AIADA a key goal of his term. He also wants to encourage dealers to build stronger relationships with their local elected officials.
He replaces outgoing chairman Jim Smail, who also spoke at the luncheon and took President Obama to task for giving the foreign brands a cold shoulder at the Washington Auto Show last month.
At the show, Obama stopped by exhibits for Ford Motor Co., General Motors and Chrysler Group, but left before visiting any of the Asian brands.
"He never visited a single one of our brands," Smail said in his farewell address. "That just pisses me off."
