New Car Dealers Rev Up for NADA Convention in Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 31, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Expo floor sold out with 570 companies exhibiting at convention center

More than 20,000 new-car dealers, automaker executives and exhibitors - including 1,500 dealers from 36 countries - are expected to attend the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Convention & Expo in Las Vegas Feb. 3-6.

New-car dealers will have an opportunity to meet face-to-face with top automaker executives at 26 franchise meetings to discuss their marketing plans, outlook for sales and product launches.More than 100 workshops sessions will be offered for dealers to learn ways to improve their business operations. New-car dealers can also shop the expo floor with more than 570 companies showcasing their latest products and services.Here are some convention highlights:Dealers to Discuss Federal Policy Issues and Consumer Benefits of Dealer-Assisted Financing at AFSA Conference on Thursday, Feb. 2

Continuing a longstanding tradition, NADA will participate in the Vehicle Finance Conference and Expo hosted by the American Financial Services Association. The "NADA Leadership Panel: Top Issues for Dealers in 2012," held from 10:30 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 2, at the Bellagio, will include a wide-ranging discussion on the consumer benefits of dealer-assisted financing, economic uncertainty and the challenges dealers face from federal policy changes and over-regulation. The panelists are new-car dealers William P. Underriner, 2012 NADA chairman (Montana); David W. Westcott, 2012 NADA Vice Chairman (North Carolina); Don Chalmers, chairman of NADA's government relations committee (New Mexico) and Gary H. Reynolds, chairman of NADA's regulatory affairs committee (Connecticut).

Automakers and Dealers to Discuss Retailing at J.D. Power Roundtable on Friday, Feb. 3NADA Chairman Stephen W. Wade, a new-car dealer in Utah and California, joins a 4 p.m. panel discussion at J.D. Power and Associates' International Automotive Roundtable at the Wynn Las Vegas on Friday, Feb. 3. The automaker panelists are Alan Batey, vice president of General Motors' Chevrolet division; Reid Bigland, head of the Dodge brand; and Dave Zuchowski, Hyundai Motor America's executive vice president of national sales. NADA President Phil Brady will make closing remarks.NADA Announces Findings of First-Ever Factory Image Study on Saturday, Feb. 4NADA will announce on the findings of a fact-based, objective study that focuses on the cost effectiveness of factory image programs during a 9 a.m. press conference on Saturday, Feb. 4, at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Glenn Mercer, a well-known industry analyst who conducted the study, will present the findings and answer questions. This is the first study of its kind to take an in-depth look at manufacturer programs that require new-car dealers to invest billions of dollars in facility upgrades.NADA Chief Economist to Provide Outlook for New Car Sales on Saturday, Feb. 4

NADA Chief Economist Paul Taylor will deliver his 2012 sales forecast and economic outlook for new cars and light trucks, including a regional analysis, during a 10 a.m. press conference on Saturday, Feb. 4, at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

NADA Used Car Guide Analyst to Discuss New and Used Vehicle Price Trends on Saturday, Feb. 4

Jonathan Banks, senior analyst with the NADA Used Car Guide, will discuss where transaction prices are headed this year for both new and used vehicles during a 10 a.m. press conference on Saturday, Feb. 4, at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Banks will also discuss the primary market factors that led to record high used-vehicle prices in 2011 and how that will affect prices this year.

Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne to Provide Keynote Address on Saturday, Feb. 4Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne and 2011 NADA Chairman Stephen W. Wade are the keynote industry speakers on Saturday, Feb. 4. Among other topics, Wade will discuss the findings of a factory image study that looks at the cost effectiveness of dealership facility upgrades.

National TIME Dealer of the Year Announced Saturday, Feb. 4The winner and four finalists of the 2012 national TIME Dealer of the Year award will be announced on Saturday, Feb. 4, at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The award recognizes the nation's top new-car dealers across America for their business leadership and commitment to community. Fifty dealers were nominated for the award. The TIME Dealer of the Year program, heading into its 43rd year, is one of the auto industry's most prestigious awards for new-car dealers. It's produced in cooperation with NADA. Ally is the exclusive sponsor.2012 NADA Chairman to Discuss Proposed Fuel Economy Rules on Monday, Feb. 6Incoming NADA Chairman William P. Underriner, a new-car dealer in Montana, will provide the keynote address on Monday, Feb. 6, at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Underriner will stress the importance of vehicle affordability for car buyers in the debate over fuel economy standards for model years 2017-2025.NADA's 95th annual convention runs Friday, Feb. 3, to Monday, Feb. 6, at the Las Vegas Convention Center. For more information, visit www.nadaconventionandexpo.org .

The NADA Story

The NADA story began in 1917 when 30 auto dealers traveled to the nation's capital to convince Congress not to impose a luxury tax on the automobile. They successfully argued that the automobile is a necessity of American life, not a luxury. From that experience was born the National Automobile Dealers Association. Today, NADA represents nearly 16,000 new-car and -truck dealerships with 32,500 franchises, both domestic and international. For more information, visit www.nada.org .

FBI arrests 7 in Amish haircut attacks in Ohio

Those arrested include Mullet; his sons Johnny, Lester and Daniel; Levi Miller; Eli Miller; and Emanuel Schrock. The charges carry a penalty of up 10 years in prison.

The men appeared in U.S. District Court in Youngstown on Wednesday afternoon, and Magistrate Judge George Limbert ordered them detained by the U.S. Marshals Service pending hearings next week.

Attorneys for Johnny and Lester Mullet and Levi and Eli Miller said they could not comment Wednesday on the details of the case. Messages seeking comment were left for attorneys representing Daniel Mullet and Emanuel Schrock.

Lawyer Andy Hyde, who represents Sam Mullet in the state case, said Mullet would contest the federal charges but said he didn't know if he would represent Mullet in federal court.

Holmes County Prosecutor Steve Knowling, who filed state charges against five of the same defendants last month, said he would dismiss those counts and let federal prosecutors take the lead in the case.

In the state case, an Amish bishop and his son said they were held down while men used scissors and a clipper to cut their beards.

The seven men were sleeping when the FBI and local police showed up at their homes before dawn Wednesday, the sheriff said. Three men initially refused to come out of their rooms, but all seven were arrested without incident, he said.

An FBI affidavit said Johnny, Lester and Daniel Mullet and Levi and Eli Miller all confessed in early October to taking part in at least a couple of the attacks.

Johnny Mullet told detectives that it was his idea to cut the hair and beards and that he discussed the idea with his father, who gave him the addresses of two victims, the affidavit said.

Lester Mullet told detectives that after two attacks in late September, the men went home and told Sam Mullet what happened. He said his father laughed and called them nuts, the court document said.

Abdalla, the sheriff, said he didn't know the specifics of the religious disagreements that prompted Mullet to form his own community in 1995.

But the heart of his recent dispute with Amish bishops stemmed from his desire to excommunicate several members, the FBI said. Other bishops concluded the excommunications weren't consistent with Amish teachings and scripture and decided not to recognize the penalties, the FBI said.

One of Mullet's daughters-in-law and a former brother-in-law told investigators that Mullet controls everything that happens within the community outside Bergholz and that he allowed others to beat members of the group who disobeyed him, according to the affidavit filed in federal court Wednesday.

Mullet punished some by making them sleep in a chicken coop for days and was sexually intimate with married women in the community so that he could "cleanse them of the devil," the two said in the affidavit.

Both said they left the community because they did not want to live under Mullet's control.

The FBI affidavit detailed four hair-cutting attacks. The attacks occurred against a couple in Trumbull County on Sept. 6; on Oct. 4 against a man and his son in Holmes County; later on Oct. 4 against a man in Carroll County; and on Nov. 9 against a man allegedly lured to the Mullet complex in Jefferson County.

Authorities said previously that some Amish refused to press charges, following their practice of avoiding involvement of the courts.

Dettelbach alluded to the issue, saying: "It is not the victim's job to decide or to bring charges. I think that's a message I would like people to understand. These charges in this case are the result of our independent determination that crimes occurred."

Stephen Anthony, head of the FBI in northern Ohio, said hate crimes are a priority for the agency.

"The message we'd like to send should be clear that the FBI and all of our law enforcement partners represented here today take civil rights violations very, very seriously," he said.

Ohio has an estimated Amish population of just under 61,000 — second only to Pennsylvania — with most living in rural counties south and east of Cleveland.

They have a modest lifestyle and are deeply religious. Their traditions of traveling by horse and buggy and forgoing most modern conveniences distance themselves from the outside world and symbolize a yielding to a collective order.