Last month saw the election of Bob Vail, president of Vail Buick GMC in Bedford Hills, to the National Automobile Dealers Association”™s (NADA) executive committee as vice chairman for Region One, representing the Northeast states. Vail is a third-generation auto dealer ”” his grandfather opened a Chevrolet dealership in Ossining in 1918 and Vail entered the family business in the 1960s as a mechanic in his father”™s Studebaker dealership.
In this edition of Suite Talk, Business Journal Senior Enterprise Editor Phil Hall speaks with Vail about his experiences in the automobile dealership trade and the state of his industry.
Congratulations on your NADA election. This isn”™t your first time at the helm of a trade group ”” you were also chairman of the Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association. Why is it important for you to be involved in the leadership of trade groups?
“I served as chairman of Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association from 2014 to 2016, and I”™ve also served on several boards, including the board of the New York State Auto Dealers for about 15 years.
“When you”™re in the automobile business, you feel like you want to be a part of a bigger thing. I have a single dealership ”” which these days is fairly unusual, at least in this part of the country ”” and I felt that it”™s given me everything I have, I was raised in the auto business, spent my life in it and I”™m dedicated to it.”
In your new role as vice chair for Region One, what are your duties going to be?
“I participate in the executive committee, which reviews topics that will be addressed. The NADA headquarters are in Tysons Corner, Virginia, which is right outside Washington, D.C., and they maintain an office in downtown D.C. that is right outside the Capitol Building. So, there are topics that come up including franchise laws, auto shows, relations between manufacturers and dealers ”” these are all topics which are discussed in regard to tax policies and government incentives. We want to make sure that the government works for the 18,000 independent franchisee dealers in the United States.”
You said that yours is a single dealership and that was unusual. Why is that unusual?
“In the country right now, there are large dealer groups, which are acquiring dealers. The single dealerships right now represent around 40% of the dealerships in the United States. So, there”™s still a lot of us out there, but there”™s no doubt in these days of large capital requirements and government laws that the depth of size is a very big advantage.”
We”™re going into the first anniversary of the pandemic. What is this been like for your business?
“For the first three months, it almost put us out of business, except for repairs and parts sales. After that, working with New York state and then working in D.C., we were able to establish that the sales process could at least be open through appointments and through the internet. And then after that, as long as we complied with the CDC guidelines, we could actually open the showroom ”” first by appointments only.
“But after that, as long as you adhered to the guidelines, you could open up and then business kind of came back. There were a lot of people that either needed cars or their lease was up. And there were also people who, with everything that was going on, had get to work and needed their cars.”
How is business today for you?
“I would put it into fairly good category. We”™re certainly not back to where we were over a year ago or two years ago. Everyone”™s operating with less people ”” my employee count is probably down 20%, but I have enough people to take care of all my customers. And we”™re just taking everything day by day.
“The supply of new products is definitely off… But what makes it good is that we don”™t have to carry that much inventory. Used car sales are definitely up and servicing continues to be fine.”
There is a big push now to increase sales of electric vehicles. What is your view on this product?
“We”™re looking forward to selling electric vehicles. GM is doing quite well with them now with the Buick line in China and our first one is going to be the Hummer, which was introduced last February. We”™re taking reservations for them.”
You mentioned that you spent your career in the automobile dealership trade. What is it about this line of business that has invigorated you for all these years?
“I”™m sure some of it”™s just being in the right place at the right time. I started in the shop as a mechanic in my father”™s Studebaker dealership and right now, I”™m lucky enough to have a son in the business with me who”™s now my partner. And I have a general manager who”™s been a very good friend of mine for years.”
What do you expect 2021 will be like for your business?
“We”™re being very cautious about it. A lot of it depends on the supply line of the vehicles we”™re getting. People seem to be increasing their inquiries on our vehicles and we can tell by counting our internet leads and phone calls.
“We think people are gradually warming up to the fact that they”™re going to need new vehicles and may be feeling like they want to get back out. I”™m sure with the vaccine situation and opening up different businesses is going to continue to help us. We will grow with that.”
