Attendees varied, from state aftermarket association executives to national aftermarket associations, the European Association of Automotive Suppliers, car manufacturers, aftermarket business owners, executives and managers from California, Nevada and the rest of the nation.

"We must be nimble, flexible and aware to seize the opportunity that is in front of us," Ordoñez adds.

"We are engineering components that will be dramatically different than those in vehicles just a short while ago. As OEs bring these products to reality, the aftermarket has the opportunity to develop plans to meet the replacement needs for these products in the future. We must realize these consumer expectations have caused the whole market to expand from an auto market to a consumer market."

Within the electronics boom, the greatest areas of growth revolve around three major trends, adds Ordoñez: "Safe, Green, and Connected"

"Even with reasonable and affordable powertrain alternatives such as clean diesel, hybrid and fuel cells, the gasoline powered internal combustion engine is not going away anytime soon," he notes. "As of today, no single global technology solution has emerged. That's why it is so important that tomorrow's service providers be prepared for all of these areas."

He notes another prominent electronics trend: telematics.

This very fact presents what I consider to be the biggest challenge for the aftermarket," adds Ordoñez. "The aftermarket industry needs to establish a successful business model for a telematic network or system that can provide remote diagnostics and other information to the drivers. It is critical to our future. Telematics is the common thread that weaves throughout the vehicle electronics of today and the future."

Rodney Pierini, president and CEO of CAWA, served as the master of ceremonies. Jack Hardy of Chris Kouri and Associates inducted the 2008 officers, which include Chair of the Board, Pat Winters, CARQUEST; Vice Chair of the Board, David Finley, NAPA Auto and Truck Parts; Treasurer, Tim Gerrity, General Auto Parts; Secretary, Mary Davis, NGK Spark Plugs (the first woman elected into the officers of the association, and the first person representing the manufacturing segment of the industry — an historic occurrence, says Pierini) and Immediate Past Chair of the Board, Bart Scott, CARQUEST.

Another significant part of last night's dinner was the red vest ceremony — a tradition in which past chairs of the board give the outgoing chair (Bart Scott, CARQUEST) a red vest memorializing his leadership for the 2007 year. This year's red vest ceremony was conducted by Mort Schwartz, the 1994 Chair of the CAWA Board of Directors.
Special recognition also was given to CAWA's major supporters of its government affairs program: Genuine Parts Company – NAPA; AutoZone; General Parts Company – CARQUEST, AAIA and Affinia.

Dinner meeting major sponsors were: Preferred Insurance Company, Delphi and Autologue Computer Systems, Inc. Proceeds will be given over to scholarships.