Image

NEW ORLEANS (Jan. 25, 2025)—Tom Castriota addressed the country’s franchised new-car dealers for the first time as the NADA chairman at the NADA Show 2025, setting the tone for a year of advocacy and emphasizing the community impact of dealerships. 

“Yes, you are individuals who compete against each other – and that’s a good thing,” Castriota said to a room of thousands of dealers, managers, and automotive retail industry leaders in New Orleans. “But you are also part of something bigger – the U.S. auto retail industry and franchised dealer network.”

Castriota’s term commences at a significant time for franchised auto dealers, with the transition of presidential administrations, threats to the franchise system from manufacturers, and the rocky consumer shift to electric and hybrid vehicles. In his keynote address, Castriota shared his experiences as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps and how it has informed his perspective on his business, leadership and the industry. 

“My decades in the military taught me the simplest definition of service: being unselfish,” he said. “From my days as a company commander, to working in special operations out of Central Command in Iraq, the Marine Corps taught me that when you take care of the troops, they take care of you. While I no longer have troops, I do have employees and a community to serve. And like all of you, at my family’s dealership, we prioritize taking care of them."

Castriota shared that franchised new-car dealerships support charitable organizations with a half billion dollars each year, amounting to 5 billion dollars over a decade. 

“Large companies can write a check, but none can do it like the thousands of local dealers who live in, work for, and care about their communities,” Castriota said. “That’s another reason the franchise system is so important. And more proof that a strong franchise system is key to a strong America.”

Castriota, owner of Castriota Chevrolet, Inc. in Hudson, Fla., will succeed Gary Gilchrist, president of Gilchrist Chevrolet Buick GMC, Inc. in Tacoma, Wash. as NADA chairman. Castriota has been on the NADA Board of Directors representing Florida since 2016.