Cesar Stark started with a single car, very little capital and a determination to provide for his family. While working as an insurance agent visiting auto dealerships across El Paso, Texas, he saw an opportunity, bought a vehicle to resell, and turned that one car into two. Two became several, and in 2000 he opened S&S Motors.

One car at a time, he built it into a trusted El Paso dealership.

Now 26 years after that first sale, Stark was named the National Quality Dealer of the Year during the NIADA Award Luncheon on Monday, sponsored by Black Book, at the NIADA Convention & Expo at the Gaylord Rockies in Denver.

“Standing here today as the recipient of the National Quality Dealer Award is both humbling and deeply meaningful,” Stark said. “I accept this honor with sincere gratitude and appreciation for the many people whose faith, guidance, and support made it possible.”

Stark was selected from a field of state Quality Dealer Award winners from across the country. He earned his place as a nominee after being named the 2025 Texas Quality Dealer of the Year.

Stark dedicated the award to his late father.

“I would also like to thank — and dedicate this award to — my father who passed away last year. He was the one who taught me the value of hard work, integrity, and strong principles. His influence is reflected in I everything I do.”

Stark credited his wife, Adriana, and their four children for their support throughout his career, along with the team at S&S Motors. He employs 10 full-time team members, his longest-serving employee marking 20 years with the dealership and his newest just six months — a span he points to as a sign of both stability and continued growth.

Built on in-house financing and a focus on customer relationships, S&S Motors retails roughly $3.7 million in vehicles each year, selling 319 used cars in the past year. Stark says his approach is rooted in integrity, transparency and long-term relationships over short-term profit, anchored by responsible underwriting, ethical collection practices and genuine care for customers and employees.

A 2001 graduate of the University of Texas at El Paso with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, Stark remains an active participant in NIADA’s 20 Group and other dealer development groups, and he regularly hosts training events for fellow dealers in both English and Spanish.

Stark has been an NIADA member for more than 15 years and has devoted much of his career to giving back to the industry. He has served in every office of the El Paso IADA, including president, a role he has held since 2020. At the state level, he has served on the Texas IADA board as vice president from 2021 to 2024, treasurer in 2025 and secretary in 2026, helping shape the association’s work in awards, finance, education and legislative advocacy.

In recommending Stark for the award, Texas IADA executive director Trevor Jennings described him as a natural leader who is always looking to help others and give back to his community, profession and association — a dealer who constantly seeks out ways to help his fellow dealers and a true advocate for the independent automobile industry.

“Cesar leads by example in everything he does, whether he’s mentoring a new dealer, stepping up for our association or showing up for his community,” Jennings said. “He has earned the trust and respect of dealers across Texas because he genuinely wants to see them succeed. No one is more deserving of this recognition, and we could not be prouder to have him represent our state.”

Stark’s service extends well beyond the showroom. He founded the El Paso IADA’s annual charity golf tournament, which raises funds for a local children’s hospital and the Rio Grande Cancer Foundation, and he leads an annual Christmas toy giveaway for underprivileged children in his community. In 2017, the El Paso mayor appointed him to the city’s Building and Standards Commission. He has coached and mentored youth football and baseball, supported his local high school booster club, and remains active in his church’s men’s ministry, including ministry work in Mexico.

For Stark, that commitment is the point. He describes service not as an event but as a continuous responsibility — consistent actions that positively impact families, employees and the broader community.