On March 30, 2026, Force and Friends hosted the second annual State of the Automotive Union at Casa Tua in New York City, bringing together dealer leaders, automotive executives, OEM and association partners, media partners, and technology leaders for a focused industry conversation ahead of the New York International Auto Show.
The State of the Automotive Union was built around a belief Force has continued to invest in: the automotive industry needs better rooms for better conversations.
In remarks from the evening, Force Marketing CEO John Fitzpatrick described the concept as bringing together “brilliant minds working really hard from a variety of different angles” in a non-selling environment where meaningful relationships can form.
The goal was not to force transactions. It was to create the kind of room where operators and partners could compare what they are seeing, pressure-test ideas, and leave with stronger industry relationships.
Event photography captured leaders including Bernie Moreno, John Fitzpatrick, Marco Schnabl, Devin Daly, Daniel Kim, Matt Leone, Jamel Ages, Eric Mercado, Randy Seiger, Matthias Stoever, Michael Eager, William Berkery, Skip Dowd, Kyle Brooks, Jim Fitzpatrick, Bridget Fitzpatrick, Jay Healey, and Brian Benstock, among others.
The evening also featured a discussion with U.S. Senator Bernie Moreno, whose automotive background and public-sector perspective brought the conversation into larger industry territory: retail demand, manufacturing, tariffs, jobs, and the future of automotive growth.
For Force and Friends, the value of the event was the mix. Dealer principals, manufacturers, vendors, media leaders, and partners were not separated into their usual corners. They were in one room, around one conversation, with enough trust to talk about where the business is actually going.
That matters in 2026. Automotive leaders are navigating changing consumer demand, fixed ops opportunity, first-party data, AI, media fragmentation, inventory pressure, and shifting expectations from customers and OEMs. None of those issues lives in isolation.
The State of the Automotive Union gave the industry a setting to connect those dots.
“The concept was simple: bring great folks in the automotive industry together in a non-selling environment where we can build relationships that are meaningful.”
– CEO John Fitzpatrick
On March 30, 2026, Force and Friends hosted the second annual State of the Automotive Union at Casa Tua in New York City, bringing together dealer leaders, automotive executives, OEM and association partners, media partners, and technology leaders for a focused industry conversation ahead of the New York International Auto Show.
The State of the Automotive Union was built around a belief Force has continued to invest in: the automotive industry needs better rooms for better conversations.
In remarks from the evening, Force Marketing CEO John Fitzpatrick described the concept as bringing together “brilliant minds working really hard from a variety of different angles” in a non-selling environment where meaningful relationships can form. The goal was not to force transactions. It was to create the kind of room where operators and partners could compare what they are seeing, pressure-test ideas, and leave with stronger industry relationships.
Event photography captured leaders including Bernie Moreno, John Fitzpatrick, Marco Schnabl, Devin Daly, Daniel Kim, Matt Leone, Jamel Ages, Eric Mercado, Randy Seiger, Matthias Stoever, Michael Eager, William Berkery, Skip Dowd, Kyle Brooks, Jim Fitzpatrick, Bridget Fitzpatrick, Jay Healey, and Brian Benstock, among others.
The evening also featured a discussion with U.S. Senator Bernie Moreno, whose automotive background and public-sector perspective brought the conversation into larger industry territory: retail demand, manufacturing, tariffs, jobs, and the future of automotive growth.
For Force and Friends, the value of the event was the mix. Dealer principals, manufacturers, vendors, media leaders, and partners were not separated into their usual corners. They were in one room, around one conversation, with enough trust to talk about where the business is actually going.
That matters in 2026. Automotive leaders are navigating changing consumer demand, fixed ops opportunity, first-party data, AI, media fragmentation, inventory pressure, and shifting expectations from customers and OEMs. None of those issues lives in isolation.
The State of the Automotive Union gave the industry a setting to connect those dots.
“The concept was simple: bring great folks in the automotive industry together in a non-selling environment where we can build relationships that are meaningful.”
– CEO John Fitzpatrick
