FRANKLIN, Tenn., Aug. 20, 2024 – Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. (MMNA) is celebrating dealer partners who go above and beyond for their communities. They provide more than just a great place to buy a car – they help their hometowns thrive in the good times and heal in the challenging times. They rise to the occasion, whatever the occasion may be.

Education is a recurring theme throughout the Colonial Auto Group's 79 years of service in Western Pennsylvania. As a third-generation dealer, CJ Spadafora learned the business from his father, who took over from his father before him. Today, the younger Spadafora draws not only on the professional knowledge and skills passed down by his father but also on the inspiration of his family's heritage in education.

Both of his parents were teachers, and those values are reflected in the way he operates Colonial Mitsubishi, in Indiana, PA, today. The store, its employees, and its customers are proud to drive Mitsubishi vehicles and share the Mitsubishi brand with others, and they are equally proud to support their community's next generation and the educators helping to shape their futures.

^{CJ Spadafora (Left) and Mark Hilliard (Right) pose with Indiana County Excellence in Education Award recipients Christine Yurky (Middle Left) and Anna Layden (Middle Right)}

^{Winning student, Anna Layden, accepts her new Mirage}

SIX QUESTIONS WITH CJ SPADAFORA
Dealer Principal, Colonial Mitsubishi, Indiana, PA

1. Can you tell us about the history of your store and dealer group? My grandfather started Colonial Auto Group back in 1946 and ran our family-owned and operated business until 1972 or 1973, when my father took over and was joined by his brother. We joined the Mitsubishi family in the early 1980s, and I joined the business in 1999 or 2000, when I came home from college. We've been family-owned and operated since day one in Western Pennsylvania.
2. How did you get involved in the business? I went to college and played college football and then moved to Colorado for self-exploration. One day Dad called me and said, "I'm thinking about retiring. If you move home, I'll teach you what I know..." and here I am. It was a blessing in disguise, he slowed down but never fully retired like his father did, so I had the joy and pleasure of working with him for the next 19 years before he passed away. We had ups and downs like every family business, but I wouldn't trade it for the world.
3. We're very sorry to hear about your father's passing, do you have any plans for the next generation of your family or successors? Oh yeah, I have three kids. I hope that they would like to take a shot at learning what I know and what my father taught me, but it's their decision. I would love for them to do it, but they're still very young, so we haven't quite had that conversation yet. Colonial has been great. It's allowed my grandfather, my father, and me – and three generations of our family – to have a decent living. I'm hoping the fourth generation wants to learn the business; I think that would be special.
4. What kind of community outreach do you do in the area? Do you support local or national charity operations? When he moved here, my grandfather was responsible for bringing four local manufacturers to Indiana County to boost the economy and decrease unemployment, and he was successful. Then he was part of charity operations such as United Way and our local Chamber of Commerce. We're very involved in our local university, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and actually, the same thing happened with my dad; he was the President of the Chamber of Commerce. Their belief always was that we're here because of our community, so we want to give back and be involved. It's trickled down from there, and I've spent 18 years on the United Way board. I've been on the Chamber of Commerce board twice and various other boards involved with the community. We feel very fortunate that we can give back at the level we can because of our community.
5. Speaking of community, how has the community received the Mitsubishi brand since the store was introduced in the early 1980s? We've been in business with Mitsubishi for about 40 years. At first, our community wasn't very aware of the brand, but over the past few years, we've seen more profound growth, and it's been a nice franchise to have as part of the Colonial Auto Group family. Mitsubishi makes a quality vehicle at the right price, so we can offer a lot of value to our customers.
6. You recently held a Mitsubishi giveaway event, can you tell us about that? I got the idea from a friend of mine who has his own operation out in Oklahoma. He's larger than us, and he started a program that annually gives a vehicle to a deserving student. It just struck me that we might be able to make a similar program possible since Mitsubishi has always backed us, so we got with our local chamber of commerce and tied into their program called, "Excellence in Education." The students take a couple of courses on how to excel in school and then a handful are nominated by a peer or teacher. Throughout the rest of the process, a specialized committee, which excludes chamber and dealership personnel, determines the finalists whose names will be included in a drawing to win a car. I decided to take it one step further and give the same opportunity to a teacher. We ended up giving a new Mitsubishi Mirage to the student and another new vehicle to the teacher. And we found two other businesses to help us with donations for the taxes on the cars and insurance companies who donated one year of insurance for the drivers.
7. What an amazing program. Seems like you're following a family tradition. I have a special place in my heart for teachers. While the idea came from my friend, my mom used to be a teacher before she and my father started a family. And my dad was also a teacher before he started in the family business. I even have a minor in education because I've always wanted to be a teacher and a football coach. With the income that teachers make and for what they put up with every day, our giveaway is something small that can make their life a little bit easier. They certainly deserve our support, and they don't get enough appreciation, so this program is a great way to thank them and another way to let them know that people are watching them and caring about them.
8. Thank you so much for all you do for educators and students. What does the future hold? This is our second year of the giveaway event, and, God willing, we want to continue it for another 34 years. These last two years, we've been able to have about 520 people at the giveaway event, and our goal is to get over 1,000 attendees, so we can make the night extra special for the kids and the teachers there to show them how much they're appreciated. Please come out and support us next year and watch these kids lead us to the future of the next generation.

For more information on the full lineup of Mitsubishi vehicles, visit MitsubishiCars.com.

ABOUT MITSUBISHI MOTORS NORTH AMERICA, INC.
Through a network of approximately 330 dealer partners across the United States, Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. (MMNA) is responsible for the sales, marketing, and customer service of Mitsubishi Motors vehicles in the U.S. MMNA's recently announced five-year business plan – "Momentum 2030" – outlines the brand's mid-term intentions for product and business transformation. MMNA will expand and refresh its vehicle lineup in the U.S. with one new or completely refreshed model to debut each year between now and 2030. Powered by a selection of advanced-technology internal combustion engines, hybrids, plug-in hybrids, and battery electrics, the product line will nearly double from today's four vehicles. Momentum 2030 also includes a vision for a modernized retail sales model and plans for network expansion and sales growth.

MMNA has its headquarters in Franklin, Tennessee, as well as corporate operations in California, Georgia, Michigan, and New Jersey.

For more information on Mitsubishi vehicles, please visit media.mitsubishicars.com.

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