New Jersey’s Rick DeSilva Jr. is 2021 TIME Dealer of the Year.
Second-generation dealer and all-round community do-gooder Rick DeSilva Jr. wins the 2021 TIME Dealer of the Year award sponsored by Ally Financial.
The owner of Liberty Subaru in Emerson, NJ, is cited for a long list of charitable works as well as COVID-19 pandemic safety efforts last year.
Looking at the impressive list of fellow nominees in the running, “I didn’t prepare an acceptance speech,” DeSilva says of the award presented to him at an online ceremony during the National Automobile Dealers Assn.’s annual convention. State and local dealer associations nominated 40 dealers nationwide.
Apr 13, 2021
Wes Lutz says his dealership sells lots of Jeeps. Despite stepped-up electric-vehicle efforts of many automakers, his customers aren’t particularly interested in EVs.
‘Thoughtfulness’ a Job Requirement for NADA Chairman “You have to realize you are representing 17,000 dealers, and your view on a particular topic is not necessarily NADA’s,” says Wes Lutz, the trade group’s 2018 chairman.
Veteran car dealer Wes Lutz speaks his mind more times than not.
After nearly 45 years in the auto industry, he knows it well. He’s expressive in voicing opinions as an auto retailer who’s been around.
But as the 2018 National Automobile Dealers Assn. chairman, Lutz offers talking points on discretion to Paul Walser, who assumes the trade group’s chairmanship.
GettyImages
Salesman Cheyen Shilletto (right) hands Chevy Camaro keys to customer Julio Larrea at East Hills Chevrolet in Freeport, NY, in June.
Lessons Learned in Auto Retailing During COVID-19 The pandemic has spurred a number of changes in sales, service, inventory management and the overall customer experience. Along the way, dealers struggled initially to be profitable.
Good habits are formed in bad times, and looking back, the dealer business upside to this year’s tragic COVID-19 pandemic should be a lot of good habits, born out of necessity.
Here are some examples, according to numerous phone interviews, industry conference calls and webinars throughout 2020: