In an insightful and revealing two-part extended conversation, two ethnic minority dealers discuss the headwinds they face individually and collectively representing all minority dealers under the current economic climate, where they are encountering stubbornly high interest rates, anti-DEI sentiments, Trump's 25 percent new-car tariffs and shifting electric vehicle commitments from the federal government.

Since the price of entry into this exclusive franchise ownership club for both dealerships and sports teams aren't cheap, we will discuss the current financial state of the minority dealers, too. Ray Fregia Jr., the newly elected chairman of NAMAD, the National Association of Minority Automobile Dealers (NADA), and the owner of the Illinois-based Courtesy Auto Group, joins us for the first time. Fregia's portfolio of dealerships include Jeep, Dodge, Ram, Chrysler, Ford and Nissan.

And Jim Colon, who is the president of Toyota Lexus Minority Owners Dealers Association (TLMODA), last appeared on our program in 2018, after transitioning from a high-ranking executive position at Toyota to a new car dealer. Colon, who was both Lexus and Toyota's first Black vice president of sales in the U.S., is the co-owner of the Washington State-based Marysville Toyota.