These are interesting times we live in. Who would have thought just a few short years ago that today two of the Big Three automakers would be largely owned by the U.S. government? Who could have guessed that GMAC would provide wholesale financing for Chrysler? Or that Saturn and Hummer would disappear and Volvo would be owned by the Chinese?

Perhaps stranger still are programs like Cash for Clunkers and rebates from Uncle Sam for first-time home buyers. Remedial measures to fix problems in the economy are more an effort to be seen as doing something about the problem and less about the efficacy of the fix.

The U.S. Post Office and Amtrak come to mind; we’re made to feel better because we still get mail and the trains run. Underneath the band-aid, however, the business models are unsustainable and unless service is dramatically cut, these programs (we can’t call them businesses, can we?) will continue to hemorrhage cash.

For providers and administrators, bailouts, creative accounting and deficit spending are not on the horizon. Nor is the likelihood of being too big to fail. We have the admirable task of surviving by our wits and planning, with no safety net. The challenge is there and will be met by creative and forward-thinking individuals and corporations that can adapt and thrive even in times of uncertainty and increased government intervention.

Our vertical niche is under increased scrutiny from regulators and consumer protection advocates. One wonders when an enterprising group of individuals will form a self-regulating body and preempt the state attorney's general and FTC’s efforts to impose their will on our industry?

An association, once formed, could offer training and certification for individuals and corporations. Much like AFIP (Association of Finance and Insurance Professionals) has done for F&I certification, an association for providers and administrators, staffed with legal and industry heavy-hitters, would have the credibility and horsepower to successfully lobby on behalf of its constituents, establish standards of ethical and business conduct, and most importantly, give its members the opportunity to police themselves.

Benjamin Franklin once said, “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” The premise behind Franklin’s quote is the reason P&A Magazine was created—as a forum for our readers to promulgate knowledge and expertise, as a platform to share best business practice and as a vehicle to network the companies that serve our industry. The results so far for P&A have surpassed all expectations in terms of subscriptions and click-throughs. There appears to be a healthy thirst for the knowledge Franklin spoke of among our readers.

There is little doubt that the success of the magazine would carry over to the success of an association, together laying the foundation for “paying the best interest.” What would some of the benefits be? One, an association implies a clarity of purpose and unity that, from a technological standpoint, could expedite the arrival of seamlessly integrated digital workflows and standardization. Adopting standards is also the key to combating external and onerous regulatory mandates that would likely be imposed without preemption.

One could argue that a well-run association would, by its very nature, put even more distance between wholesale product providers and some of the direct-to-consumer providers that have received entirely too much attention recently.

Lastly, an annual members' meeting would be easy and economical to participate in if it were combined with an event like the Vehicle Service Contract Administrators Conference (VSCAC) that most prospective members already attend. The P&A Magazine staff will be happy to assist in any way with the formation of an association should our readership indicate this to be a direction it would like to pursue.

Let us know your thoughts by commenting. As the publisher, it is a pleasure serving the P&A community. Your input and comments are of great value to the magazine and we look forward to a prosperous 2010 for our readers.