2026 TDOY Nominee

Clint Newell is one of a select group of 47 dealer nominees from across the country who will be honored at the 109th annual National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Show in Las Vegas, NV, 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. Newell was chosen to represent the Oregon Auto Dealers Association in the national competition — one of only 47 auto dealers nominated for the 57th annual award from more than 20,000 nationwide. 

A second-generation Oregon dealer, Clint Newell (64) quite literally grew up in the business. “The car business was in my blood,” Newell said. “After college, I wanted to try my hand at selling cars — and I never looked back.”

He earned a B.S. in Business from Oregon State University (1983) and, in 1985, partnered with his father and a colleague to acquire a new-car store. Over time, he became 100% owner of today’s Clint Newell Toyota, employing 80 team members in Roseburg. “When I became a dealer, I borrowed every dollar I could,” he recalled. “It came slowly at first, but we built momentum — and kept our promises.”  

A defining risk came in 1994 when Newell purchased a vacated Montgomery Ward building and converted it into a modern dealership. “It was a big risk at the time,” he said, “but it turned into one of the best decisions in our 40-year history.” 

In 2018, Newell invested $1.8 million to remodel the facility to current OEM standards, focusing on customer-facing areas. “Customers notice when you invest in them,” he said. “We hear it every day.” He also launched a longstanding technician education/apprenticeship program: “We build our own technicians — paying for school, training and tool allowances. It’s one of the best investments we make in people.” 

Innovation continues to drive results. “We’ve implemented AI in our CRM,” Newell noted. “It keeps conversations fresh and timely — and our sales productivity has climbed to 14 units per salesperson per month, with a high of 20. I never thought I’d see productivity that high.” 

Newell’s philosophy is simple: create customers for life. He points to a favorite story: a loyal family’s minivan suffered a transmission failure 300 miles from Roseburg at the start of a month-long trip. “The local store couldn’t look at it for a week,” he said. “So we loaded an identical minivan from our rental pool onto our hauler, drove it 300 miles, swapped their belongings on the spot and brought their van back to repair — no rental charge. They finished their vacation. That’s what support looks like.” 

“When a loyal customer has a problem, we solve it,” Newell added. “There isn’t much we won’t do to stand behind our name.” 

The Great Recession tested the store’s resilience. “2009 was unlike anything we’d seen,” Newell said. “We had to cut expenses drastically — including temporarily suspending paid vacation. We gathered the entire staff and told them the truth.” 

By year’s end, the store had recovered. “We reinstated vacation pay and made it retroactive,” he said. “Our employees were incredibly grateful. That moment strengthened our mutual commitment and our reputation as a good place to work.”  

Service to community is central to Newell’s life and business. In 1992, he founded the free summer concert series Music On The Half Shell, which he still leads as President. “The goal was to bring live outdoor music to our town that you’d otherwise have to travel hours to see,” he said. 

Now in its 33rd year, the series draws an average of 5,000 attendees per show, presenting artists from Lyle Lovett and Alison Krauss to Bruce Hornsby, Trombone Shorty, Emmylou Harris, The Dixie Chicks and more. “It’s free to the public and funded entirely by local sponsorships,” Newell noted. “Each year we raise about $150,000 in cash and $50,000 in in-kind support.” 

Employees regularly volunteer with board service, logistics and fundraising. “Anything that makes our community a better place to live is worth doing,” Newell said. “We give credit to teammates who go the extra distance — that’s the kind of people we want on our team.” 

His long record of civic leadership also includes the Roseburg Executive Association (Director, since 1986), Umpqua Community College Automotive Advisory Committee (Member, since 2015) and Douglas County Baseball Association (Director, since 2024). He previously served as an OADA Director-at-Large under Ed Tonkin, assisting with lobbying and membership recruitment. In 2014, Newell was named Roseburg’s First Citizen. “It was humbling,” he said. “Hearing the list of accomplishments made me grateful for this community and its people.”

Clint Newell was nominated for the TIME Dealer of the Year award by the Oregon Auto Dealers Association. Newell and his wife, Carol, live in Roseburg and have two sons, Cameron and Connor.