Top Dealers, Remarketing Execs to Tackle Used-Car Industry Challenges at NRC

By Richard Greene, Auto Group Features Editor
August 04, 2008

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SAN DIEGO — While the economy still teeters and new-car sales remain stuck in the doldrums, the certified pre-owned market keeps trending in a positive direction and dealers continue to rely upon their used-car operation to generate necessary revenues to carry them through choppy economic waters.

That will be one of the predominant themes at this year's National Remarketing Conference being held Oct. 22 to 24 at the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego.

To help set the stage for this year's conference, Pete Grady, vice president of fleet and remarketing for Chrysler, with management responsibility over the automaker's CPO program, will deliver one of the keynote presentations. His kickoff address will be Oct. 23.

Taking part in a panel roundtable that same morning will be some of the country's top dealers, including Danny Papakalos, used-car director for AutoNation; Bob Andersen, used-car director of Bergstrom Automotive; Mike Baker, chief executive officer of Bob Baker Automotive; and Adam Simms, dealer principal of Toyota Sunnyvale and Scion Sunnyvale.

Among other topics, they will look at inventory management, the value of the certified brand and the fallout of plummeting residual values, as well as other relevant used-car best practices.

Next up on Oct. 23 will be a panel discussion that takes a deeper look into how some of America's largest remarketing companies are reacting to today's tough market conditions and positioning themselves for future growth and profitability. Featured will be Mark Mathews, director of used-vehicle activities for General Motors; Linda Silverstein, manager of remarketing and rental operations for Ford Motor Co.; and Steve Piccinati, senior vice president of remarketing for Bank of America.

Also scheduled for that same day will be a unique panel that will examine the impact of green initiatives, globalization and gas prices on wholesale markets in North America and throughout the world.

Sharing their perspective will be Warren Byrd, executive vice president of corporate development for ADESA; David Munnikhuysen, vice president of best practices for Manheim; and Nagi Palle, vice president of analytics for OPENLANE.

Additionally, no NRC agenda would be complete without the annual award presentations by ALG and IntelliChoice.com, which will take place on Oct. 23. Jon Blair and Matt Traylen will present the ALG Residual Value Awards. James Bell, publisher of IntelliChoice.com, will hand out the annual Certified Pre-Owned Awards.

And, as always, the 2008 NRC will include several hard-hitting workshops that allow attendees ample opportunity to ask questions and interact directly with the workshop leaders.

These workshops will launch NRC on Oct. 22 and then be repeated on Oct. 24. Attendees will have a choice between two separate hour-long workshop sessions on Wednesday afternoon and then again on Friday morning.

The subprime market and its unique challenges will be the focus of one workshop in the first session. Taking part will be Scott France Sr., vice president of portfolio management for Triad Financial; Jody Hall, vice president of remarketing for Peak 5; and Jerry Kroshus, vice president of remarketing for HSBC.

Moderating this session will be Jennifer Reed, Automotive Group editor, representing SubPrime Auto Finance News and SubPrimeNews.com, the media sponsors for this workshop.

Another workshop will be led by Rob Lange, national sales training director for Kelley Blue Book and Kbb.com. He will look at the evolution of the online buyer and then offer specific online strategies and solutions for matching buyers with the right used vehicles.

A second hour of workshops will feature one led by Stephan Schroeder, senior director of client services for J.D. Power and Associates' Power Information Network; and Jie Du, director of scientific programming and modeling for PIN. They will present PIN's 2009 used-vehicle industry forecast.

Other workshops are also being planned, in addition to plenary sessions. As those details are nailed down, Auto Remarketing will report on those developments.

For the golfers in the group, an outing just for them is scheduled for the morning of Oct. 22.

"We believe we have prepared one of the most compelling and relevant NRC programs that will help dealerships and remarketing companies successfully navigate through some rather significant economic challenges facing the auto industry today," noted Bill Zadeits, associate publisher of Auto Remarketing and conference co-chair.

"We think conference attendees will gain valuable insight as to how they can better leverage the CPO brand as well as other facets of the used-car industry to improve their business, remain profitable and position them for the future," Zadeits added.

Early registration closes Sept 22. Until that time, registration is $795. Afterward, it goes up to $995.

For more information on corporate sponsorships or to register, visit www.autoremarketing.com and click on "conferences," or call Marilu McQuilkin at (800) 608-7500.