NJ Auto Dealers Acknowledges Contribution Of Shau-Wai Lam of DCH Auto Group - Its About Time

SOUTH AMBOY, N.J., Nov. 19, 2003 -- The New Jersey Coalition of Automotive Retailers (NJ CAR) has named Shau-Wai Lam as its nominee for the 2004 TIME Magazine Quality Dealer Award (TMQDA). Mr. Lam is president and CEO of the DCH Auto Group. The TMQDA program annually honors outstanding franchised new car dealers, both domestic and imported, for exceptional performance in their dealership combined with distinguished community service. The program is sponsored by TIME in cooperation with NADA.

Mr. Lam's selection was recently announced by James B. Appleton, President of NJ CAR. As New Jersey's nominee, Mr. Lam will represent our state's auto dealers in the national competition, and the winner will be announced during the NADA Convention in late January 2004.

"This award is made possible only with the tremendous support of all of my team members," said Mr. Lam, whose expanding DCH company owns and operates 13 of their 26 nationwide dealerships in New Jersey. This is a great honor for the entire DCH team.

Mr. Lam speaks with pride about how his dealerships operate. "We hold true to our Mission Statement in everything that we do," said Mr. Lam. "We strive to be an innovative industry leader, totally committed to customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction, integrity and teamwork."

He also speaks with pride about the many honors and awards his dealerships have won from their respective manufacturers and from others. For example, in 2003, J.D. Power and Associates honored more than 80% of the DCH franchises with their prestigious Certified Retailer Award. This distinction recognizes the nation's truly outstanding retailers in new-vehicle sales satisfaction based on the voice of the customer. To qualify as a Certified Retailer, franchises must match the national benchmark of the current Sales Satisfaction Index. For the consumer, the Certified Retailer program leverages the value perceived in certification, providing buyers "peace of mind" and clear signals of where to shop for their next car.

TMQDA winners are chosen by a panel of deans from the University of Michigan Graduate School of Business Administration. In appreciation of the University's participation, TIME Magazine makes a grant of scholarship funds to the Graduate School of Business Administration in the names of TIME, NADA and all TMQDA winners. Mr. Lam joined DCH more than 35 years ago and helped to establish the company's presence in the retail automotive market with the opening of its first New Jersey dealership, DCH Paramus Honda in 1977. In 1988, he became president of the company and has since piloted its way to a current sales level in excess of $1 billion.

Mr. Lam is especially appreciative of the support that his dealerships have received from the communities in which they do business, and he places a very high level of importance in giving back to those communities. In that spirit, he requires each Dealership to provide financial support for well-deserving charitable causes such as health organizations, schools and museums, youth groups, and police and fire and other community support groups. Such beneficiaries number in the hundreds each year.

Mr. Lam, together with his wife Marie, also place a high level of importance on supporting organizations that provide service to the Chinese community and promote the understanding of Chinese culture. Some of the organizations that have benefited from the Lam family's generosity include the Chinatown Health Clinic Foundation, the Chinese-American Planning Council and the China Institute in America.

Involved in community affairs, Mr. Lam serves as a Director of Toyota-Lexus Minority Dealers Association, New Jersey Chinese American Chamber of Commerce, Hong Kong Association of New York and American Friends of the Shanghai Museum.

Mr. Lam resides in New Jersey and holds a Bachelor's degree from Purdue University. In addition, he holds Masters degrees from Purdue (in mathematics) and New York University (in business administration).