Part of AIADA's Automotive Congress

     Leveraging Technology for Larger Profits Is Focus of Automotive News
                         Dealership Technology Forum

    DETROIT, May 8 Dealers from across the country will
descend on Washington, D.C. May 22 - 23 for the 24th Annual Automotive
Congress, the largest grassroots lobbying event in the automotive industry.
The two-day conference -- sponsored by the American International Automobile
Dealers Association (AIADA) -- brings together nearly 600 dealers and industry
executives for issues briefings, workshops and speeches by political and
business leaders, culminating in meetings with members of Congress. The event
is slated for the J.W. Marriott Hotel.
    The Automotive News Dealership Technology Forum kicks off the Automotive
Congress Tues., May 22. Industry experts will spotlight the technology many of
the country's most successful auto dealers are using to develop better, more
profitable customer relationships. The day-long program begins with a
high-energy presentation by Jeffrey Kaufman, MTV's vice president of research
and planning, focusing on the effect that value systems have on purchase
decisions over a consumer's lifetime.
    The morning session will feature the use of technology in finding, selling
and retaining customers. Sharing their insights will be:

    * Chris Denove, partner, J.D. Power and Associates
    * Stephen Polk, chairman and CEO, The Polk Company
    * Jon Lancaster, founder and chairman, Car America Systems

    Maryann Keller, noted analyst, author and automotive e-commerce veteran,
will highlight technology's role in customer relationship management in a
keynote luncheon speech.
    An afternoon super panel of manufacturing, dealer, consumer affairs,
regulatory and technology leaders will analyze the impact of technology on a
variety of issues, including privacy, factory/dealer relationships and
third-party models. Participants will include:

    * Michael Charapp, partner, Charapp, Deese & Weiss, LLP
    * Joan Claybrook, president, Public Citizen
    * Rhett Dawson, president, Information Technology Industry Council
    * Fritz Hitchcock, chairman and CEO, Hitchcock Automotive Resources
    * John Hawkins, chairman, Computer Technology Committee, AIADA
    * Michael Rouse, corporate manager for customer information for the
       Center for Customer Knowledge, Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A., Inc.

    Larry Kelsey, partner, Information Risk Management at KPMG, will introduce
the panel and address security concerns with conducting online business
transactions.
    The Automotive News Dealership Technology Forum will close with remarks by
Peter Brandow, president of The Brandow Group, reinforcing how technology
issues relate to automobile dealers.
    The day's events continue with the All-Star Dealer Awards Reception and
Banquet. Sponsored by Newsweek and the Washington Post, the gala evening
honors the contributions that automobile dealers make to their communities
through civic volunteerism and charitable giving. The keynote speaker is
legendary collegiate football coach Lou Holtz, with remarks from Newsweek
Chairman and Editor-in-Chief Richard M. Smith.
    The Super Session opens the Automotive Congress' second day. The focus
will be on legislative issues, including the repeal of the estate tax and
support for trade and the benefits it provides. Super Session speakers will
include:

    * Tony Snow, political analyst and host of "FOX News Sunday"
    * Stuart Rothenberg, editor and publisher, The Rothenberg Political
       Report

    Dealers will then proceed to Capitol Hill to gather with colleagues from
their state or home district for afternoon meetings with their members of
Congress to make their voices heard on key industry issues.
    "The timing for this year's Automotive Congress could not be better, as
the Senate is scheduled to vote during the week of May 21 on whether to
eliminate the death tax," said AIADA Chairman of the Board Richard Kull,
"Earlier this month, AIADA-backed legislation to phase out this onerous tax
over the next 10 years was passed by the U. S. House of Representatives.
During the Automotive Congress, we are encouraging all dealers to visit with
their senators to urge them to vote to eliminate the death tax."
    Details about Automotive News and the Dealership Technology Forum are
available at http://www.retailtechforum.com . For a full Automotive Congress
schedule, or to register for the event -- which includes admission to the
Automotive News Dealership Technology Forum -- visit http://www.aiada.org or call
800-GO-AIADA.

   The American International Automobile Dealers Association (AIADA) is the
trade association representing America's 10,000 international nameplate
automobile dealerships and their more than 365,000 employees. These retailers
sell and service automobiles manufactured both in the U.S. and abroad, and
have a positive economic impact both nationally and in the local communities
they serve.
    Automotive News is a newsweekly that provides in-depth coverage of the
auto industry and is written for OEMs, their franchised dealers and suppliers.
Automotive News employs 50 reporters and editors in Detroit, Mich.
headquarters and bureau offices in New York; Washington, D.C.; Los Angeles;
Nashville; London and Tokyo. Automotive News is the industry's only
100 percent paid publication, with circulation exceeding 81,000. The
newsweekly is published by Crain Communications, which publishes more than
33 titles including Automotive News Europe and Automotive News International.

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