Incoming AIADA Chairman John Connelly will lean on Capitol Hill, law experience

As Acura dealer John Connelly takes over as chairman of the American International Automobile Dealers Association this month, he'll settle into a role once held by his late father, Edward.

"He was actually one of the original founders of AIADA with my uncle," said Connelly, president of Acura Columbus in Dublin, Ohio — a store previously owned by his father.

Despite early exposure to auto retailing as a kid, Connelly's path into the business wasn't so linear. After earning his law degree, Connelly spent time on Capitol Hill and then opened a law practice as a criminal defense attorney.

In 2008 — amid economic crisis — Connelly bought into the Acura store.

"It was a big risk, and I could have fallen flat on my face, but central Ohio is Honda country," he said. "Ohioans are pretty loyal people, and they want to support Honda and, in turn, they support Acura. So it all worked out, thank goodness."

Connelly, 50, spoke with Staff Reporter Audrey LaForest about his priorities and concerns for the year. Here are edited excerpts.

Q: How has your experience on Capitol Hill influenced you?

A: I was a congressional page my junior year in high school, so I worked on the House floor for my junior year, and I loved that. And then going to Georgetown, I loved being in D.C. then. I always knew that I wanted to go back, so I worked for a senator. Just like anybody else on the Hill, it didn't matter that I had past experience or that I had a law degree. I was opening mail for a senator. Then I went from opening mail to legislative correspondent, where you answer the mail. I had a lot of experience helping to put together legislation. The biggest bill I was part of was the Higher Education Act of '98.

So I understand the machinations of trying to turn an idea into actual legislation. Having that experience helps me in the car business, and helps me with working with AIADA. And the legal stuff helps me because since I was in court every day for a decade, I know how important it is to actually take care of customers right off the bat.

What is your first priority as chairman?

The manufacturers are so invested in America. That's sort of my theme for the year: the amount of billions of dollars being spent on manufacturing facilities in the United States of America. There really isn't a stronger time for our organization. AIADA started in 1970 when they had a big trade act, and they were trying to put impositions on foreign manufacturers. Fifty-two years later, we're sitting here and the administration is trying to indicate that if an [electric] car is made by a union worker, it should get a larger tax credit. That's what AIADA is here for: to stand up for the dealers and manufacturers, to point out the silliness of that type of proposal.

What kind of EV incentives would AIADA like to see?

That's completely up to the government — and different state governments — and how they want to support the transition to EVs. If the government's objective is to have us all move to EVs, it does make sense to come up with some type of incentive.

But what AIADA would say is please don't make it a two-class system, where manufacturers with union labor would get a $4,500 advantage. It would just deeply hurt the over 9,000 international dealerships in this country. It'd be difficult to compete against a Ford or a General Motors that could offer an additional $4,500. It just doesn't make any sense. Hopefully, the proposal won't go anywhere.

Sen. [Joe] Manchin was very helpful in this. It's not a partisan thing. It's a free-trade thing. It's a fairness thing. It's a commonsense thing. We'll support anybody that can see it doesn't make common sense to give additional dollars for this. This isn't just for cars. Right now, this is the big talking point, but what's next? Are they going to give additional rebates for union-made furniture? Union-made refrigerators? Union-made TVs? That's where it leads to. It's not just the UAW.

How are dealers feeling about the business climate in 2022?

This is the best time to be in the car business as far as new ideas and excitement. There's something new almost every day. The car business is involved in every aspect of the economy. It's pretty amazing. You really can't go a day without reading the newspaper where the car business isn't mentioned one way or the other. It's so exciting all the digital retailing opportunities, all the new ways to make things easier for customers.

Since the pandemic began, the car business has become a lot more fun because we're now able to explore new ways of making things easier. It's not the old way of doing things in the car business. Every day brings a new story, a new technology. I think car dealers are very excited.

How is AIADA helping dealers navigate inventory challenges?

Car dealers always adapt. They go with the flow, and we're able to go from a very high inventory environment — too high — to now a very low inventory environment, and soon enough, it will even itself out.

I think that we're in a better environment now where the manufacturers are going to see that we can adapt to this. We don't need to have over 100-day inventory. If we can operate in a 30- to 40-day term, that's going to be optimal for everyone. That will help the factories because they'll be able to build in time, and they'll be able to build what customers want, rather than trying to put a bunch of cars out there and trying to find a customer for that car.

What's on your radar for President Joe Biden's second year?

We want to work with President Biden to get things accomplished. Instead of just inviting General Motors and Ford to come speak at different events, why not include all of us? If you include all of us, then maybe we'll get something accomplished because we all want to clean the air. We all want to protect the environment. That shouldn't necessarily be a partisan thing. But let's work together to get these things done.

The investment made in EVs is incredible. The amount of technology, it's coming along so fast. If we can all work together, if the government can support all of us, then we're going to get it done quicker, and it's going to be fantastic.

Speaking of electrification, how do you expect the role of franchised dealers to evolve?

We're ready. I would say all car dealers are ready. We went from 100-day inventory to two-day inventory in nine months, and we managed it. We can manage this. It would just take some investment in having the right tools and education for our technicians, but we're ready for it.

The future is so exciting. The car business is right in the middle of changing the world. As the manufacturer evolves, the franchise model can evolve too. Everything's changing quickly — very quickly — and the franchises are going to be there because you need to have someone to call.

There are very few people in communities who are more well-known than the local car dealer and the people that work there. You need the ability to be there for the customers. I actually see a much greater future for franchised car dealerships than anything that exists today. I think it's only going to grow and grow. It's going to be really neat.