Former VADA Board Chair Liza Borches, president and CEO of Carter Myers Automotive and dealer principal of CMA’s Colonial Honda in South Chesterfield, has been named Virginia’s nominee for the 2027 TIME Dealer of the Year award.
Borches was nominated by VADA President and CEO Don Hall. She is one of 48 dealers chosen from more than 20,000 nationwide for the 58th annual award, and will be honored at the 110th NADA Show in Orlando, Florida, on Feb. 19, 2027.
“Liza has always led from the front,” Hall said. “Whether she was chairing this association through some of our toughest debates or helping put a single mom behind the wheel of a reliable car, she shows up and she does it the right way. Her people have a real stake in that business, and you can see it in everything they do. She represents the best of Virginia’s franchised dealers, and we’re proud to put her forward on the national stage.”
The TIME Dealer of the Year program honors new-car dealers in America who exhibit exceptional performance in their dealerships and perform distinguished community service. Dealers are nominated by members of the ATAE (Automotive Trade Association Executives) and the winner is acknowledged at the annual NADA Show.
“This nomination is an incredible honor, and I am proud to represent our employee-owners, customers and Virginia’s automotive community,” Borches said. “Everything we have accomplished at Carter Myers Automotive reflects our belief that when people have a genuine stake in the business, everyone can move forward together.”
Learning the business by doing the work
A 1997 graduate of the University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce and a 2005 graduate of the NADA Dealer Academy, Borches started her career with American Honda Motor Co., spending nearly seven years as a district sales manager in dealerships across the country.
She joined Carter Myers Automotive in 2003, when the company operated four stores. She helped negotiate the acquisition of Volvo of Charlottesville, became a minority partner and opened the dealership as general manager on Feb. 14, 2004. At the time, it had 13 employees and sold about five vehicles a month. Within five years, it was selling as many as 45 a month and had tripled the size of its service department.
“Starting in a small dealership allowed me to learn the business by doing the work,” Borches said. “I knew our associates and their families, connected personally with customers and gained an appreciation for every role required to move a dealership forward.”
In 2010, she became vice president of CMA and dealer principal of CMA’s Colonial Honda, and in 2011 she became president, CEO and majority owner. Under her leadership, the company has grown to 26 dealerships representing 18 franchises across nine markets in Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina and Maryland. She remains closely tied to Colonial Honda, the organization’s oldest store, and represents it on Honda’s National Dealer Advisory Board.
Ownership as a culture
Carter Myers Automotive established its Employee Stock Ownership Plan in 1979. Under Borches, employee ownership has grown from a retirement benefit into the core of the company’s culture. CMA associates now own 26 percent of the company, see its financial information and share in its results.
We do not simply acquire dealerships; we welcome more people into ownership.
The results show at Colonial Honda, which employs 105 people and reports annualized turnover of about 17 percent, roughly half the industry average, with customer satisfaction scores that consistently beat the industry. Accounting associate Beth Blalock has been with the store for 47 years and is the company’s largest individual ESOP stockholder.
CMA’s associate-wellness strategy covers tuition reimbursement, technician apprenticeships, weekly professional development and financial coaching, and associates can donate paid time off to colleagues facing extended absences. Borches also created the Moving Lives Forward scholarship, which provides up to $3,000 to children of associates. Every child who applied in the program’s first six years received an award.
Borches has also helped build a training, coaching and mentorship program for women in automotive retail. “Our industry overlooks an enormous amount of talent when women do not see automotive as a place where they can build meaningful careers,” she said.
Closing the transportation gap
For many families, a reliable vehicle is what makes it possible to hold a job, finish school or get to the doctor. Addressing that transportation insecurity has become the center of Borches’ civic work.
- 55 single mothers placed in donated vehicles through CMA’s partnership with Giving Words VA, reaching more than 150 children
- Hundreds of repairs funded for single moms to keep families on the road
- 23 families given fair-rate vehicle loans through Driving Lives Forward, which Borches co-founded
- Additional partnerships with Vehicles for Change, The Fountain Fund and HumanKind across CMA’s markets
Reliable transportation creates access to employment, education, healthcare and greater stability.
A record of service to Virginia dealers
Borches served in VADA leadership roles from 2010 to 2024, including as chair of the board, and sat on the Virginia Motor Vehicle Dealer Board from 2016 to 2022. As VADA chair, she helped guide the association through the debate over Virginia’s proposed adoption of California emissions standards, pushing a collaborative approach built on charging infrastructure, state tax incentives and a multiyear phase-in.
A NADA member since 2004, she has also served on manufacturer advisory boards and product committees for Honda, Nissan and Volvo. Her honors include a spot on Automotive News’ 100 Leading Women in the North American Auto Industry, the Barbara Cox Woman of the Year Award, Virginia Business’ Virginia 500 Power List and the 2026 Women in Automotive Community Impact Award.
Her community service includes the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Virginia, United Way of Greater Charlottesville, Women United in Philanthropy, St. Anne’s-Belfield School, the UVA Health Children’s Advisory Board and Giving Words VA. She and her husband, Peter, have two children, Taylor and Parker.
What comes next
A panel of faculty from the University of Michigan’s Tauber Institute for Global Operations will select one finalist from each of NADA’s four regions and one national Dealer of the Year. The TIME Dealer of the Year award will be presented on Feb. 19, 2027, at the NADA TIME Dealer of the Year Ceremony in Orlando, Fla. Ally, in its 16th year as exclusive sponsor, will donate $1,000 to each nominee’s charity of choice, $5,000 to each finalist’s charity and $10,000 to the winner’s.
Congratulations to Liza Borches and the employee-owners of Carter Myers Automotive.
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