Pub. 1 Issue 1

5 Q&A with Incoming Chairman – Mark Tysinger How did you become a car dealer? Did you always aspire to be part of the automotive industry? Well, no and yes. My path to becoming a dealer was certainly not linear. My grandfather, John Lloyd Tysinger ran the Economic Meat Market on Queen Street. But his true passion was in automobiles and he took great pride in being able to identify cars just by the sound of their engine. In 1926 he opened up Tysinger Motor Company as a General Motors dealer, behind his meat business, so he would leave one to attend to the other. He eventually switched to Chrysler in 1932. In 1964, he took a huge risk in becoming a Mercedes-Benz dealer in a blue-col- lar town. Naysayers tried to convince him otherwise, saying a Mercedes-Benz dealership would never be successful in Hampton. My grandfather proved them wrong, becoming a very successful and well-respected business in the community. My grandfather passed away in 1977, and my dad, Lloyd, took over the dealership along with my uncle, Bob Tysinger. They ran the dealership together for many years. I worked in the dealership in 1979 and 1980, selling cars. Selling cars at the dealership at the time involved a lot of standing around and waiting, and I just don’t stand and wait very well. I left the dealership to go to law school – for some reason I thought I would stand less! I practiced law in Norfolk for a while, and enjoyed it. Then, in 1986, I got the call. My dad and uncle were retiring, and if I wanted to buy the family business, now was the time. It was then or never. I am very fortunate. I think a lot of people never have the opportunity to choose between two really good life options, and thanks to my family business I did. As I look back, I had been away from the family business, making my own way, for enough time to objectively look at the dealership and weigh the family legacy as a fit for me and my family. I chose the dealership, and I am happy I did. I love this industry. Do you have family members in the auto industry? I do. Two of our three kids work in the business. Our daughter, Markley is involved in the ecommerce side of our dealership, and our son Blake is the GM of our Audi line. Describe your educational back- ground. What did you study? I went to UVA. I graduated with a degree in Accounting and Finance. I passed my CPA exam, and worked at Coopers & Lybrand before moving on to law school at William & Mary. Are there any specific individuals that had a major impact on your career? My grandfather and my dad. My grandfa- ther followed his passion. He weathered the depression as a small business, which I find inspiring. I think it took a lot of courage. My grandfather was a visionary man. He was actually one of the eight founding members of VADA. Multi-generational businesses are by nature hard, in addition to the business operations, there are also family concerns. My dad and my uncle took over for my grandfather, and they grew the business successfully, and passed it on to me. What is the most rewarding part of your career? For me the best days are when I can see one of our team members enjoying their success. A principal goal of mine involves envisioning the day I retire. On that day I really want to be able to look back at a group of my teammates and to feel that because of my interaction with them, that their lives were fundamentally changed for the better. To be part of someone’s success story is very important for me personally. What do you think will be some of the dominant trends within the auto industry in the next 5-10 years? Well, I think the fight with Tesla will continue. And I want to be clear – it’s not about Tesla per se, it’s about preserving the benefits of the franchise system for the consumers, for dealer entrepreneurs and for the thousands of Virginians who work at the dealerships. I firmly believe that the experience of purchasing, and owning a vehicle is different – positively different – for the consumer because of the franchise business model. As franchise dealers, we compete passionately every day to earn the consumer’s business, and we’re uniquely situated to be an advocate for the consumer in service, warranty and recall matters. I find the one-price business model discussions fascinating. A segment of the population does not like negotiating the price of cars, and will often voice a desire for factory direct sales so they won’t have to negotiate. However, most car prices are negotiated in the US, not because of the distribution system, but because cars are expensive, and