Ally Financial Reinforces Dealer Excellence at NADA by Sponsoring TIME Dealer of the Year

Ally Strengthens Dealer Ties at NADA Show

Ally Financial is using its platform at the National Automotive Dealers Association (NADA) Show to reinforce its role in promoting dealer excellence across the retail auto sector. The company, represented by Doug Timmerman, president of Dealer Financial Services, is the exclusive sponsor of the TIME Dealer of the Year award for a 15th consecutive year, an announcement made at the 109th NADA Show in Las Vegas. Ally’s sustained sponsorship anchors the award as a marquee industry recognition and signals the firm’s ongoing investment in the health and professionalism of the franchised dealer channel.

Ally frames the sponsorship as consistent with its Dealer Financial Services mission to support stable, community-minded retail operations. Timmerman highlights that nominees for the award are chosen for both industry performance and civic engagement, and Ally’s backing emphasizes those dual priorities. By underwriting the award each year, Ally promotes best practices such as employee retention, customer satisfaction and local philanthropic partnerships that underpin long-term dealership viability.

The sponsorship also functions as an industry-facing initiative to raise standards across the dealer network. Ally leverages the TIME Dealer of the Year platform to showcase replicable models of management and community strategy, encouraging franchised dealers to pursue profitable operations that also deliver social benefits. The company’s visible role at NADA connects its financial services offerings with broader efforts to strengthen dealer reputations and consumer trust in the retail auto market.

Dealer Honored for People-First Culture

Dave Wright, president of Dave Wright Nissan Subaru in Hiawatha, Iowa, is named 2026 TIME Dealer of the Year at the NADA Show. Selected from more than 20,000 franchised dealers and 47 finalists, Wright is recognized for cultivating a people-focused workplace that Automotive News lists among Best Dealerships to Work For 12 times — a distinction unique in Iowa and rare nationally. His dealership is noted for measurable results in employee retention and customer satisfaction.

Community Impact and Industry Signal

Wright’s philanthropy — more than $50,000 annually and ongoing support for Goodwill of the Heartland, To The Rescue, the Boys and Girls Club of the Corridor, Heritage Area Agency on Aging and the Iowa Giving Crew — illustrates the type of civic engagement the award seeks to highlight. Ally’s continued sponsorship at the 109th NADA Show sends a clear signal to franchised dealers that industry leadership now encompasses both commercial success and sustained community investment.