Happy New Year to all! Well, it is the start of a new year and my hairs graying trend continues unabated! But that is par for the course in publishing, or so I am told!

On a more serious note, the automotive industrys premier retail automotive event is around the corner, and if you are like most savvy dealers, you are probably planning to attend. Expectations for a solid retailing year are far from the lofty levels of just a few years ago- however, manufacturers and dealers alike are working hard to protect and maintain market share. With such a tough marketplace, what can you do to help improve your dealership and find ways to hold your own this year? The first thing that comes to mind is the upcoming 2008 NADA Convention and Exposition (February 9-12) in San Francisco. I have been attending the NADA conventions for the last 10 years, and each year has represented a new opportunity for me to learn from and interact with successful dealers, while evaluating products and services from industry vendors whose goal is to help you succeed. Your goals, Ill bet, are no different. If you invest the time to attend this years convention in San Francisco, chances are you will come away better equipped, with new ideas and solutions to help garner your share of the marketplace and be successful.

If you plan to attend, when you are cruising the exhibit hall lanes, we encourage you to stop by the Dealer Marketing Magazine booth (1823, in the West hall) to say hello. We find NADA is always a great opportunity to interact and mingle with our dealer readers to learn more about both their business challenges, and their success stories. Oh-and we love to listen to your comments about our magazine! They help us tailor our editorial content to meet your ongoing demand for quality how-to driven articles.

Your feedback and support of our magazine is truly appreciated and is confirmed by the results from our recent audit by the Circulation Verification Council (CVC). According to dealers who were randomly polled, 391 of 391 indicated they received Dealer Marketing Magazine and 356 of 391 (or 91 percent) indicated they regularly read or look through Dealer Marketing Magazine. For the other nine percent of you who have yet to read our magazine&hellip-the check is in the mail-start reading.

If you are wondering who the Must-See Vendors are, we are distributing a helpful NADA exhibit hall map at our booth (1823W) highlighting the must-see vendors and where you can find them. In the interim, and with five different exhibit halls (North, South, and three levels in West hall), chances are you will need a handy resource to help you seek out the vendors who have the solutions you are looking for. A copy of Dealer Marketing Magazines NADA Must See Vendors exhibit hall map has been made available to our franchise dealer readers, inserted in the center of both this issue and next months magazine. Please thank our sponsors by making a point to stop by their booths to say hello and to hear them out- they might just have what you are looking for.

See you in SF!