Advocacy that protects your franchise
We track and shape legislation and regulation at the state and federal level — franchise law, titling, advertising rules, and more.
See our advocacy →Our story
A century of showing up.
From a handful of Akron dealers to the unified voice of an entire region — the same mission, decade after decade.
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1927
One voice, from the start
Northeast Ohio's franchised dealers charter the association in Akron — the same year Ford retires the Model T and launches the Model A, opening the modern era of the American showroom.
Ford Model A debuts -
1933
Keeping the doors open
As the Great Depression grips the country, installment financing and trusted local dealers keep cars within reach — and keep neighbors working.
Auto financing matures -
1942
The home-front pause
Civilian auto production stops as factories build for the war effort. Dealers keep the nation's existing cars and trucks running until the lines restart in 1945.
Production stops for WWII -
1956
America takes to the highways
The Interstate Highway Act launches the greatest road-building program in history — and with it, a postwar boom in cars, travel, and the neighborhood dealership.
Interstate Highway Act -
1966
Safety becomes standard
Congress creates the federal vehicle-safety program (soon NHTSA) and the first national standards. Seat belts, then far more, become part of every car dealers sell.
NHTSA & the first safety standards -
1975
The fuel-economy era
After the oil shocks, the first fuel-economy (CAFE) standards become law and imports surge. Northeast Ohio dealers adapt their lots — and their advice — to a changing buyer.
CAFE fuel-economy standards -
1996
The computerized car
On-board diagnostics (OBD-II) become standard on U.S. vehicles, turning the service bay digital and making the franchised dealer's trained technicians more essential than ever.
OBD-II standardized -
2008
Weathering the downturn
The Great Recession shakes the auto industry to its core. Franchised dealers — rooted in their communities — endure, rebuild, and keep serving local buyers.
Recession & recovery -
2015
Electrification and the screen
Hybrids and electric vehicles move into the mainstream and car-buying moves online. Dealers become guides through new technology — and NOADA's AUTO KNOW tracks the shift in real time.
EVs go mainstream -
2026
Ninety-nine years on — add your voice
The mission hasn't changed since 1927: a unified voice, real savings, and resources no single dealer can assemble alone — now with AUTO KNOW data, statehouse advocacy, and the Akron BMV we operate for the whole community.
AUTO KNOW · Akron BMV · advocacy Join NOADA today
Automotive-history milestones — the Model A, the Interstate Highway Act, NHTSA, CAFE standards, OBD-II, the 2008 downturn, and electrification — are real industry history; NOADA was founded in 1927. NOADA's specific role across the decades is described in general terms pending verified association records.