The Present and Future of Electric Vehicles in the U.S.

Dane Goddard is the General Manager and Co-owner of Douglass Mazda Volkswagen in Bryan, TX.  The Douglass Automotive Group took ownership of these two franchises in January of 2020 shortly before selling the Nissan franchise in College Station later that same year.  Dane has been employed with the Douglass Automotive Group for 22 years in total.  The first 18 of those were with their Nissan dealership.  During his time in the automotive industry, he has held every position on the variable side of dealership operations including Sales Consultant, Internet Manager, Sales Manager, General Manager, and Executive Manager. 

Dane grew up in a small town in Northeast Texas named Gilmer where he spent most of his time playing outdoors with his two siblings, Keith and Jennifer.  Dane was always active in sports throughout his childhood including baseball, football, and track.  He started his first real job at 15 as a pharmacy technician in Longview, TX and held that position until he graduated high school.  His journey in the automotive industry began in College Station shortly after completing his BA in Psychology at Southwest Texas State University after his brother convinced him to move to the area.  

"When I started in sales, I worked underneath some very good managers but also under a few that were the stereotypical used car sales manager.  I have made it my life's work to conduct business in a transparent and honest manner while mentoring my employees to do so as well.  Our dealership slogan is the Home of the Nice Guys, but it is much more than that to us.  It's one of the guiding principles of how we do business and how we treat our customers.   It is an honor to have a customer put their faith and trust in you to assist them with what is generally the second largest purchase of their lives.  Now that I've been doing this for so long, I've been able to assist multiple generations from some of the same families, which is simply amazing."

Beyond professional pursuits, Dane spends his time at home with his wife of 16 years, Angela Goddard, and their three young daughters Kaylee, Robyn, and Gabriella.  He and his family enjoy being outside, vacationing on the beach, doing all manner of things related to Girl Scouts, reading, and cooking.   When not working or playing with his daughters he enjoys watching college sports, especially baseball and football.  In the future, his plans include retiring somewhere near the water back in Northeast Texas where he can fish with his family and write a book about his experiences in the automotive industry.