History
AIADA was established in 1970 as the Volkswagen Dealers Association in response to a growing protectionist movement in the United States. On September 10, 1970 the first Board of Directors meeting of the Volkswagen American Dealers Association (VADA) was held. The officers elected were David H. Gezon, President; Ken Sowles, Vice President; Richard Kronman, Secretary; and Bob Miller, Treasurer. Bob McElwaine became VADA's first Executive Vice President.
On January 30, 1970 VADA opened membership to any franchised dealer of imported automobiles and changed its name to the American Imported Automobile Dealers Association (AIADA). "Imported" was later changed to "international." Ken Sowles became the association's second president. Its current president is Cody Lusk.
Today AIADA represents more than 10,000 international dealers and over 500,000 of their employees. AIADA is also a supporter of Americans Well-informed on Automobile Retailing Economics (AWARE), in order to further consumer education on automobile financing.
Read more about this topic: American International Automobile Dealers Association
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