Important Dates

The NADA Fair Credit Compliance Program
Thursday, April 24, 2014

Strengthen your dealership's efforts to comply with the CFPB's fair credit requirements. A special presentation by NADA Chief Regulatory Counsel Paul...

DealersEdge Webinar
Thursday, April 24, 2014

How Employee Satisfaction Can Drive Customer Loyalty and Retention! The proven way to improve customer retention is to focus on your employees and to...

Live Credit Pre-Screening: How it Works
Thursday, May 15, 2014

How to get the exact credit score of every customer who walks into the showroom -- no Social Security number is needed and it doesn't affect the...

The 360-Degree View of the Customer
Thursday, May 22, 2014

A discussion of newer online platforms such as live chat, social media, consumer reviews and reputation management.

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History of the CATA

Founded in 1904, the Chicago Automobile Trade Association is the oldest and largest metropolitan new-car dealer association in the nation. Today, it lists 400+ new-car dealers as members.

Mission of the CATA

For more than a century, the CATA has stood for high principles of business. Its basic tenets remain as steadfast today as they were a hundred years ago: Promoting honesty and dependability in business operations; Employing truth and accuracy in dealer advertising; Standing by guarantees; Improving business methods and ethics and keeping competition fair so that dealers and the public are well-served; and Refraining from practices detrimental to the industry or contrary to the public interest. Currently, CATA dealerships employ more than 20,000 people in Chicagoland. Over the past century, these locally based small businesses have provided good paying jobs for their employees, who, in turn, contribute to their communities. The CATA’s commitment to excellence in automotive retailing remains its core value and will remain so through the next century.

Chicago Auto Show

First staged in 1901, the Chicago Auto Show is the largest auto show in North America and has been held more times than any other auto exposition in the world. 2014 will mark the 106th edition of the show.

Since 1935, the CATA has had the honor of presenting the the Chicago show. Over the years it has grown with the city moving from the Colisium to the International Amphitheatre to the original McCormick Place and then to the current McCormick Place. Today, the show occupies two exibition halls with more than 1 million square feet of exibition space.

The CATA’s generosity and commitment to the community is shown not only at the Chicago Auto Show’s "First Look for Charity" where this year more than $2 million was raised in one night for local beneficiaries, but throughout the year in countless episodes of humanitarianism and community involvement.

Latest News

April 11, 2014
Leased-vehicle tax bill nears law
Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn is poised to sign the legislation April 17.

April 11, 2014
Free employment litigation webinar
A free webinar, "Wage & Hour: Employment Litigation," is at 12 p.m. CDT April 23.

April 11, 2014
Don't let the employee handbook become a straightjacket
Unless they are written carefully and updated regularly, employee handbooks can create headaches for the employer.

April 11, 2014
Do U.S. drivers care about improving mpg?
The average fuel economy of new cars in the U.S. hit an all-time high 25.4 in March. Do Americans really care?

April 11, 2014
In Memoriam, April 14, 2014
Frank Mauro Gesualdo, patriarch of a family that operates 24 dealerships in Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin.

March 28, 2014
Road Dealer named a CATA preferred provider
Road Dealer's auction alternative services program offers all networked dealers the ability to buy and sell an unlimited number of vehicles from...

March 28, 2014
Tesla, Ohio dealers reach a deal
Tesla would be allowed to keep operating two company-owned retail stores and open just one more. The deal requires approval from the Ohio state...

March 28, 2014
NADA: Used-vehicle values to peak in March
Monthly column by Chicago Metro NADA Director Mark Scarpelli.

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Important Dates

History of the CATA

Mission of the CATA

Chicago Auto Show

Latest News

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