LAS VEGAS – Moderated by AAIA President and CEO Kathleen Schmatz, the 2012 AAIA Town Hall meeting was perfectly timed less than one week before one of the most important presidential elections in many years, as it relates to our businesses and personal lives. Sponsored by Polk, the event was held yesterday morning in the Palazzo Ballroom in The Venetian Hotel.

More than 1,000 attendees experienced a lively dialogue on the presidential election from political pundits, combined with trends facing the aftermarket from Polk, and exclusive data from Google about the aftermarket shopper and the impact of consumers keeping their vehicles longer.

Tim Rogers, Polk president, presented the popular annual “5 Trends in 5 Minutes,” outlining the top trends Polk sees impacting the automotive aftermarket today and going forward, including new vehicle sales, changes in vehicle age and mix, the OEMs’ impact through globalization of platforms and acceleration of model families and technologically advanced vehicles and telematics that will offer increased repair and service opportunities for the aftermarket.

With light vehicles sales on the rise, and projected to hit 14.3 million in 2012 (a 13 percent increase) and 15 million in 2013, there will be 240 new model introductions, redesigns and facelifts over the next 12 to 18 months, said Polk. CUVs and mid-size vehicles are driving this recovery in new vehicle sales. The average age of light vehicles at 11.3 years, combined with the average length of new vehicle ownership at 58.2 months, will continue to fuel the number of parts and service opportunities for the aftermarket.

Google’s Industry Director, Automotive, Danielle Russell shared exclusive Google data and analysis to reveal motivations, interests and influences as consumers shop for automotive maintenance products and services online, advising the audience to harness the power of the Web to make more informed business decisions and to drive their businesses forward. Google sends more than 24 million visitors to aftermarket sites every month.

Russell discussed “seasonality” as it relates to automotive online purchasing, citing the times of the year when battery purchasing behavior is greatest and where there are pockets of local opportunity for certain items, like tires. Cross-shopping, where related parts are searched during the same search session, can help define business strategies for complimentary parts sales like oil, coolant and spark plugs, and brakes and shocks. New search behaviors were reviewed as Russell indicated that the searches for parts on smart phones and tablets increased by 800 percent in the past three years.  

Political pundits Terry McAuliffe, former chairman, Democratic National Committee, and Haley Barbour, former governor, Mississippi, sparred on key issues, from predictions about who will win the presidential election to what public policy changes are ahead. Their insight and experience provided an insider’s look at what’s ahead for the nation, the economy, politics and small business.

While McAuliffe and Barbour volleyed back and forth on key issues like the role and size of the government (noting the two fronts have never been farther apart), government intervention as it relates to small business viability, whether or not you can “buy” an election, pushing political agendas by regulation, who’s really to blame for the budget deficit, the impact of tax cuts and whether a “divided” government can get things done, the two engaging speakers did agree on a few things that are needed to move this country forward:

• We need to get back to innovative thinking, so we can get “back in the game;”

• We need to think bigger and work better together in a bi-partisan way;

• Amend regulations that are preventing us from best competing in a global marketplace;

• More economic stimulus package dollars need to go into our “infrastructure;” our roads and interstates are in dire need of repair, to the tune of $688 billion for repairs and upgrades.