The mission of the Detroit Auto Dealers Association (DADA) is to support its membership through legislative and industry representation, educational programs and communications, and community relations activities. Founded in 1907 by a group of five Detroit-area auto dealers after they hosted the very first Detroit Auto Show in the same year, today, the DADA membership includes 221 new-vehicle dealers who own 221 dealerships-selling 39 different vehicle lines in 69 cities throughout the greater Detroit area. The dealers are affiliated with the DADA through one or more of 15 vehicle line groups, or through individual membership. Currently, DADA members collectively employ more than 16,500 people. Ninety-eight percent of new-car and new-truck dealers in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb Counties are members of the DADA. Currently, DADA members have an average of 26 years experience in the auto industry.

One of the chief goals of the association is to promote the integral role that the motor vehicle plays in the economy of our nation and the world. Many of the members of the Detroit Auto Dealers Association participate in the NAIAS, LLC, which is responsible for the production of the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS).

The DADA members support their communities through charitable involvement. In fact, more than 75 percent of them donate their time and resources to two or more charitable organizations. The most significant charitable venture of the DADA is the annual NAIAS Charity Preview, which has raised more than $82 million for children's charities in southeastern Michigan since 1976, with over $37 million of that in the past seven years alone. In 1998, the DADA founded the DADA Charitable Foundation Fund, one of the benefiting charities of the NAIAS Charity Preview, to support charitable organizations and activities that assist children and youth.