On June 16, dealer principals, executives, legal experts, and policymakers gathered in Washington, DC for the inaugural CBT News Auto Leadership Summit: Fair Pricing & Compliance. The consensus was clear: compliance has become a core operating discipline.

Thank you to everyone who joined us. The work continues — and so does the summit. Join the waitlist to be the first to know about our next event.

From the summit.

Highlights from a day of hard conversations, dealer principals, policymakers, and industry leaders in Washington.

The sessions.

A day of panels and a fireside on the hardest questions in dealership compliance. Read the full recap from each session below.

The FTC's Enforcement Playbook

The FTC's Enforcement Playbook

What the Bureau of Consumer Protection is signaling, where enforcement is heating up, and the operational changes dealers should make now.

Read the recap
The Dealer's Perspective

The Dealer's Perspective

Three dealers on what changed in the store, in F&I, and in their marketing — and how they built transparent pricing into the operation.

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Advertising in the Crosshairs

Advertising in the Crosshairs

Online listing compliance, doc fee disclosure, and the “all-in pricing” standard — with live examples of what passes and what gets flagged.

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Culture, Compliance, and Accountability

Culture, Compliance, and Accountability

Building an FTC-ready dealership through training, reviews, and AI. How strong leadership and accountability create a compliant organization.

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Transparency as a Competitive Weapon

Transparency as a Competitive Weapon

Scott Painter on how upfront pricing and compliant digital merchandising are moving the needle on CSI, gross, and close rates.

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AI, Digital Retailing & the Next Frontier of Pricing Transparency

AI, Digital Retailing & the Next Frontier

How AI-powered tools are reshaping pricing, deal structuring, and customer engagement — and where the compliance bar lives for automated conversations.

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The Industry's Voice in Washington: Senator Bernie Moreno and Jim Fitzpatrick

The Industry's Voice in Washington

Senator Bernie Moreno in conversation with Jim Fitzpatrick on FTC enforcement, dealer advocacy, and what's coming next.

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The Road Ahead: Washington, Regulation & Dealer Advocacy

The Road Ahead

Paul Metrey (NADA) and Don Hall (VADA) on what the FTC really wants from dealers, where state policy is headed, and how dealer associations are shaping the conversation.

Read the recap

What attendees said.

An amazing event — everything was so well done. The coordination, the energy, and the conversations were all worth it. I cannot wait for future events.

Informative, enjoyable, and exactly the kind of conversation our industry needs in Washington every year. Given how quickly our business is changing, the topics here are only going to matter more.

I don’t usually fly home from a conference still mentally in the room. Sitting in the airport after the summit — notes scattered, phone full of screenshots — I couldn’t stop thinking about what I’d just heard.

We had incredible panel experts led by CBT News, and the conversation did not disappoint.

An important conversation focused on transparency, accountability, consumer trust, and the evolving regulatory environment dealers are navigating every day.

Thank you to our 2026 sponsors.

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Interested in sponsoring Auto Leadership Summit 2027? Contact Matt Miller · mmiller@cbtnews.com · (770) 954-8609

More summits ahead

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