ATLANTA, May 29, 2026 — CBT News, the automotive retail community’s leading source for industry news and insight, will host the Auto Leadership Summit: Fair Pricing & Compliance on June 16, 2026, at the Salamander Hotel in Washington, D.C.
The one-day summit comes as regulatory scrutiny of dealership advertising and pricing practices intensifies. Earlier this week, the Federal Trade Commission publicly identified 97 dealership groups that received warning letters in March regarding alleged deceptive pricing practices, including some of the nation’s largest automotive retailers.
The FTC said advertised vehicle prices must include all mandatory fees and outlined several practices it considers unlawful, including excluding required fees from advertised prices, promoting discounts not available to all consumers, and requiring consumers to purchase undisclosed add-ons. While the agency issued the same form letter to each recipient, the public release of dealership names marks a notable escalation in enforcement activity.
The CBT News Auto Leadership Summit will bring together dealers, legal and compliance experts, franchise association representatives, and elected officials, including Ohio Senator Bernie Moreno, to provide practical, actionable guidance on operating in this new regulatory environment. Attendees will leave with compliance frameworks, advertising best practices, and a clear operational roadmap for the second half of 2026.
“The FTC’s ruling has created real uncertainty at the dealership level,” said CBT News Co-Founder Jim Fitzpatrick. “Now that the agency has put names to those warning letters, including some of the biggest operators in the country, the urgency is undeniable. This summit exists to cut through the noise and bring every stakeholder together to ensure the retail auto community gets the answers they’re looking for.”
Summit session topics include:
- In-depth analysis of the FTC ruling and its operational implications
- Best practices for transparent pricing and consumer disclosure
- Compliance frameworks for dealership advertising and operations
- Legislative outlook from elected officials and NADA policy advocates
Confirmed panelists include Brian Benstock, Davin Daly, Aaron Baldwin, Don Hall, Senator Bernie Moreno, Paul Metrey, Brian Bennett, Tianna Mick, Laura Perotta, Shannon Robertson, Kevin Frye, Scott Painter and John Fitzpatrick. Summit sponsors include Force Marketing, Impel, automotiveMastermind, AFIP and Autotrader.
Registration and sponsorship
Dealers and industry professionals can register at cbtnews.com/auto-leadership-summit. Sponsorship and speaking opportunities remain limited as organizations are encouraged to contact Matt Miller at mmiller@cbtnews.com or (770) 954-8609 for more information.
About CBT News
For more than 13 years, CBT News has been the automotive retail industry’s premier source for news, insight, and analysis. Launched in 2012, the platform delivers daily coverage, video programming, and data-driven analysis to more than 1.1 million automotive retail professionals. To learn more, visit cbtnews.com.
