Past Meetings
2010 Calendar

July 26
Monthly Meeting: Ford Motor Company
Newseum
Ford reveals the 2011 Ford Explorer. Press conference, lunch, and interviews.

CANCELLED
June 16
Monthly Meeting: David Strickland, NHTSA Administrator
Join WAPA for lunch with special guest David Strickland, NHTSA Administrator, for a discussion of recalls, distracted driving and other safety issues.

May 20
Monthly Meeting: John Krafcik, Hyundai CEO
JW Marriott
Krafcik shares the inside story on how the Korean carmaker became one of the most successful brands in the U.S.

April 21
Monthly Meeting: Michael Stanton
Association of International Automobile Manufacturers
National Press Club
Stanton translates the new fuel economy regulations into consumer-friendly terms and looks at their impact on the auto industry.

March 25
Monthly Meeting: Tamara C. Darvish Vice President, DARCARS Automotive Group
National Press Club, Zenger Room
Well known to Washingtonians, Darvish has been leading the charge of Toyota dealers at recent hearings on Capitol Hill. Join us in what can be expected to be a lively presentation.

February 23
Monthly Meeting: Consumer Reports
J.W. Marriott, Russell Hart Cannon Room
WAPA announces its new board and presents the Golden Quill award. Consumer Reports reveals its 2010 annual auto issue top picks and car manufacturer's report card.

January 26
WAPA at the Washington Auto Show
Washington Convention Center
The 2010 Washington Auto Show Press Day, Tuesday January 26th at the Washington Convention Center. At 9:50 am, along with WANADA, WAPA sponsored the keynote address featuring Alan Mulally, President and CEO of the Ford Motor Company. WAPA also presented their John Lynker/Golden Gear award after Mr. Mulally’s address.

2009 Calendar

December 16
Monthly Meeting: Alternative Fuels
National Press Club

Representatives from the Electric Drive Transportation Association, Clean Fuels Development Coalition (ethanol), Natural Gas Vehicles for America and Fuel Cells 2000 (hydrogen) will give brief updates on their industries, followed by Q&A.

November 18
Monthly Meeting: Jim O'Donnell, President of BMW North America
JW Marriott, 1331 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20004

BMW knows the global and US auto markets will rebound. But what will be the role of the premium automakers in this new and reconstituted world? It is the belief and the commitment of the BMW Group that the premium market – and the BMW Group as the leader of this segment – will continue to fill an important and necessary role of bringing innovation and technology to market first, to meet customer, social and regulatory needs and provide direction for the entire industry. Premium companies also have a particular responsibility to give back to the communities in which they do business, contributing to the US economy and demonstrating a long standing commitment to investment in America.

October 21
Nissan LEAF and Zero Emissions Mobility
National Press Club

Tracy Woodard, Director of Government Affairs, will be speaking about the Nissan LEAF and Nissan’s plans for launching the zero-emissions vehicle. She will also discuss Nissan’s development of public and private partnerships needed to create the infrastructure necessary to make zero-emissions mobility a success.

October 18
WAPA Rally
Point of Rocks, MD to Summit Point Raceway, WV

The 2009 WAPA Rally will take place on Sunday, October 18th. We will begin at the picturesque Point of Rocks, MD MARC train station and drive to Summit Point Raceway in Summit Point, WV. At Summit Point we will be treated to advanced driver training demonstrations by the folks at BSR, Inc. As a hands-on follow-up to our September WAPA meeting, BSR will be driving us on portions of their Accident Avoidance training. As always, we will have the driving treasure hunt questions to answer and win great prizes!

September 17
Monthly Meeting: Bill Scott and Bill Reichardt, President BSR, Inc.
JW Marriott. 1331 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20004

Bill Scott and Bill Reichardt will be presenting the results of a highly disciplined scientific study that proves the effectiveness of advanced driver training for youth. BSR believes that this unique nonprofit initiative exposes the missing link in highway safety. Although not equipped with statistical proof, others in the field have sought for some time to demonstrate the benefits of advanced training. Come and determine for yourself whether our country is doing all it can to make our highways safe by focusing almost exclusively on vehicle crashworthiness.

July 15
WAPA Get Together: Lima Restaurant & Lounge
1401 K Street, NW, Lower Level, Washington, DC 20001

Get together with your fellow WAPA members to talk about the auto world and network. The meeting schedule will revamp in September. Watch your email for updates

June 17
Robert Davis, Mazda’s Senior Vice President for Product Development and Quality
JW Marriott, Hart Room, 1331 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20004

Robert will be discussing how Mazda is not only surviving, but solidifying its position during the current economic crisis. Robert will also speak on the “heart and soul” of Mazda’s DNA, racing! Please join us for an interesting and informative luncheon!

Directions to Hart Room: From the main lobby take the elevator to - 2 (meeting room level) and the Hart Room will be located on the right side from the computer kiosk stations.

May 27
IIHS's Adrian Lund
National Press Club

WAPA welcome Adrian Lund, President of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). Mr. Lund will be speaking on recent safety research and testing programs at the Institute.

February 6
2009 WAPA Awards Luncheon
National Press Club

Please join us on Febuary 6 as WAPA honors the winners of the Golden Quill award for outstanding automotive journalism and the John Lynker/Golden Gear awards for outstanding contributions to the auto industry.

While the Golden Quill winner will be announced at the luncheon, WAPA will be presenting the John Lynker/Golden Gear awards to the following:

* Tom Purves (for “Automaker--MINI”). Purves had the foresight to bring the MINI brand to the United States at a time when “big” seemed to rule the day. But as overall auto sales have plummeted, MINI sales continue to soar.

* Henrik Fisker (for “Automotive Design”). For more than 20 years, Fisker has designed cars for various automakers, including Ford, Aston Martin, and BMW. His Karma concept car wowed auto shows last year and goes into production late this year.

* Roger Penske (for “Lifetime Achievement”). During the past 50 years, Penske has become an automotive icon. He has been a well-known race-car driver, owns numerous auto-related companies (including Penske Racing and Penske Corp.), and is exclusive American distributor for the Smart car.

November Event CANCELLED
Annette Sykora
Chairman NADA

Due to recent developments on Capitol Hill, our featured speaker Annette Sykora, chairman of the National Automobile Dealers Association, will be testifying before Congress that day. She will be speaking at the hearing on ³Stabilizing the Financial Condition of the American Automobile Industry² at 10:00 A.M. in room 2128 of the Rayburn House Office Building.

October Event
WAPA Rally
Red Hot & Blue in Leesburg, VA

This year's WAPA Rally will see the "Over 30" crowd take to the roadways! No, that doesn't refer to our members' ages, rather that most vehicles put into the rally will be capable of at least 30 mpg – some of them way, way more! We're featuring vehicles that demonstrate that the manufacturers make lots of models to address the latest fuel crisis and help keep some change in the pockets of consumers. Anything goes, and that's what we'll see on the rally route. Hybrids, variable valve displacement, diesel, sail (just kidding) - you name it!

June Event
Automotive Materials Panel
National Press Club at Noon

The WAPA Automotive Materials Panel on June 18 will feature subject matter experts from the aluminum, magnesium and composites industries who will discuss how they currently use lightweight materials and what the future holds for lightweighting in the automotive industry.

With soaring gas prices expected over the long term, leading car companies have indicated their renewed interest in reducing vehicle weight through greater use of lighter weight materials to boost fuel economy and cut emissions. Against this backdrop, the U.S. Department of Transportation recently proposed for tough new fuel economy standards for cars and light trucks. There are questions by some about whether or not the auto industry can achieve DOT’s targets by power train advances alone – and they argue reducing vehicle weight is a vital complementing other vehicle improvements. To answer what this might mean for future vehicle design, WAPA has assembled top execs in the various low weight materials industries for a panel discussion. The panel will address today’s trends and tomorrow’s potential in the context of fuel economy, emissions, recycling, safety, performance and cost.

May Event
Challenge X
Smithsonian Institution Castle Building - Commons Room
1100 Jefferson Drive SW
Washington, D.C.
Metro Station: Smithsonian (Mall exit)

WHO:
• Cristián Samper, Acting Secretary, Smithsonian Institution
• U.S. Department of Energy Representative
• Elizabeth Lowery, Vice President, Environment and Energy, General Motors Corporation

WHAT:
Co-hosted with the Smithsonian Institution, General Motors, the U.S. Department of Energy and other sponsors the May luncheon for the Washington Automotive Press Association will feature results from the culmination of the four-year university engineering competition, Challenge X: Crossover to Sustainable Mobility, and will outline the next multi-year competition, EcoCAR: The NeXt Challenge, including the announcement of the universities chosen to participate.

In the Challenge X engineering competition, 17 university teams from across North America received the opportunity to follow the vehicle development process to create advanced propulsion technology solutions that will increase energy efficiency and reduce environmental impact. Each team has re-engineered a Chevy Equinox with a range of hybrid, plug-in or fuel cell propulsion systems, powered by alternative fuels such as biodiesel, ethanol and hydrogen.

EcoCAR is the latest advanced technology vehicle competition. The goal of the program is to develop and demonstrate a wide range of advanced technology vehicles that dramatically reduce energy consumption and are capable of production-vehicle performance levels. The vehicle development will be based on addressing the California Air Resource Board’s (CARB) zero-emissions vehicle (ZEV) regulations.

Through both programs, the students involved are gaining real-world engineering skills and hands-on learning that will better prepare them for their future engineering careers and will help seed the industry with engineers who are committed to advancing vehicle technology to address the energy and transportation challenges of the 21st Century.

In additional to luncheon:
10:30: Brief Program and Winner Announcement as Challenge X Vehicles Cross the East Coast Road Rally Finish Line at Department of Energy (across from Smithsonian Institute)

11:00-11:45: Opportunity for media ride and drive in Challenge X (at Department of Energy across from Smithsonian Institute)