2026 TDOY Nominee

Bill McDaniels is one of a select group of 47 dealer nominees from across the country who will be honored at the 109^th annual National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Show in Las Vegas, Nevada, on February 5, 2026.

The TIME Dealer of the Year award is one of the automobile industry’s most prestigious and highly coveted honors. The award recognizes the nation’s most successful auto dealers who also demonstrate a long-standing commitment to community service. McDaniels was chosen to represent the South Carolina Automobile Dealers Association in the national competition — one of only 47 auto dealers nominated for the 57^th annual award from more than 20,000 nationwide.

A U.S. Air Force veteran (1967–1971), McDaniels built a five-decade automotive career from the ground up — earning his education on the GI Bill, selling cars to support a young family and steadily rising through leadership roles before becoming a dealer. After early success in sales and management at VanYork Pontiac Mall and Flow Automotive, he became managing partner/owner of Flow Acura (Greensboro, NC) and later acquired what is now McDaniels Acura (Columbia, SC) in 1991. Today, the McDaniels organization includes McDaniels Acura of Charleston, McDaniels Porsche (Columbia), Audi Charleston, McDaniels Subaru of Columbia, McDaniels Volkswagen (Columbia), McDaniels Acura of Newnan (GA) and McDaniels Ford (Orangeburg, SC).

“I came from the sandhills of the Pee Dee without even twenty cents for lunch,” McDaniels said. “The Air Force taught me discipline; this business taught me to invest that discipline in people. Any success I’ve had is measured by the opportunities we create for employees, customers and our community.”

McDaniels cites his first Columbia Acura buy-sell as the defining risk of his career. “When my partner passed, the deal changed overnight,” he recalled. “I had to decide whether to accept 49% or bet everything on 100% ownership. I chose all-in. That moment set our course and reaffirmed my belief that clarity, conviction and faith matter.”

In late 2010, McDaniels built the first Gen 3 Acura store in the United States (Columbia, SC), showcased at Acura dealer meetings beginning in 2011. He later developed the first Gen 4 Acura store east of the Mississippi (Newnan, GA) and contributed to Acura’s Dealer Intent Document.

“Facilities aren’t just buildings,” McDaniels said. “They’re commitments to our teams, to our manufacturers and to the guests who trust us with their time.”

McDaniels prioritizes team wellness and growth with a no-cost Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for all employees (regardless of health-plan enrollment), employer-paid Short-Term Disability (effective 2025), a voluntary Holiday Fund Club with company matching and a Technician Education Reimbursement program.

“Family is priority one,” McDaniels noted. “We back our people so they can build great lives and great careers. When they thrive, our customers feel it every day.”

At the onset of COVID-19 (March 2020), McDaniels pledged normal hours and no layoffs, paying the team through uncertainty and committing that no customer would be charged over list. “In a crisis you show people who you are,” he said. “We chose stability for our employees and fairness for our customers — and that loyalty came back to us tenfold.”

Over the past 18 months, McDaniels established an Executive Team to mentor managers across Variable, Fixed, HR, Marketing and Operations; integrated Cox Automotive’s Deal Central to streamline purchases; and continued the group’s 36-year streak of learning-driven improvements from the NADA Convention.

“Our managers are multipliers,” McDaniels said. “When we invest in them, they elevate every guest experience in the building.”

At McDaniels Acura, leaders are not permitted to deny a customer request without exploring solutions. “We don’t default to ‘no,’” McDaniels emphasized. “We listen, problem-solve and find a path that respects the guest. That’s how trust is built one decision at a time.”

Since 1992, the McDaniels Golf Classic & Gala — co-chaired by McDaniels — has raised over $7 million for the fight against cancer, with an additional $4.2 million generated in recent years through partnership with the Lexington Medical Center Foundation. In 2019, the event raised $450,000 to purchase a prenatal ambulance for Prisma Health, serving rural and underserved communities. Recent funding supports early-detection screenings, transportation assistance, emergency aid, support groups, comfort care bags and new infusion chairs (2024). Through the Bill McDaniels Foundation, every dollar raised benefits Prisma Health Children’s Hospital, including Camp Cole and the Ronald McDonald House.

“Business is a platform,” McDaniels said. “If we’re blessed to build something lasting, we’re responsible for lifting others with it.”

McDaniels was nominated for the TIME Dealer of the Year award by the South Carolina Auto Dealers Association. Bill has two children, Tracey McDaniels-Miller and Rob McDaniels. He lives with his life partner Suzanne Pucci in Columbia, SC.