Lawrence-based Laird Noller Auto Group landed on a relatively small list earlier this year, but not one any business seeks to make. Laird Noller was one of 97 auto dealer groups in the entire country that received a formal warning letter from the Federal Trade Commission regarding deceptive pricing issues.

In a move that flew under our radar screen, the FTC in March announced that it had sent a warning letter to Laird Noller and the other auto groups. The letter does not make a formal finding that Laird Noller has committed an illegal pricing act, but rather states that the FTC is “concerned your business may be engaging in one or more of these practices.”

“This letter is to advise you that you may be advertising prices for cars that are lower than what you actually charge customers,” the March 11 FTC letter states. “Such deceptive tactics harm not only consumers, but competition, by making it harder for law-abiding businesses to compete on an even playing field.”

Dillon Hunt, CEO of the Laird Noller Auto Group, told me on Thursday that the dealership is taking the matter seriously.

“At this time we are reviewing the matter internally and working through the processes,” Hunt said. “We remain committed to operating with integrity.”

Hunt did not provide information about any findings Laird Noller has come to as part of its review, and said it was premature to provide comments on any specifics related to the inquiry.

“We want to fully review all the information, and we are collecting it,” Hunt said.

The letter provides several examples of illegal pricing practices that the FTC monitors. They include:

• advertising a price that does not reflect all required fees

• advertising a price that reflects rebates or discounts not available to customers

• advertising a price that fails to take into account the amount of an additional required down payment

• conditioning the advertised price on consumers using dealer financing

• requiring consumers to buy additional items not reflected in the advertised price

• advertising unavailable or nonexistent vehicles

The letter advised Laird Noller to review all of its practices. Hunt said Laird Noller’s review comes at a time when the dealership has been going through several changes on other fronts. He said the dealership once again is solely owned by a member of the Noller family, Steve Noller. That ownership change has sparked other changes to the operation, including the sale of Laird Noller’s Hyundai dealership on south Iowa Street. That dealership at 2829 Iowa Street is now being operated by the McCarthy Auto Group, which also has the Lawrence Subaru dealership.

Hunt said Laird Noller is now focusing solely on its Ford dealerships in Lawrence and Topeka, which takes the company back to its roots. The company started in Topeka as a Ford dealership 65 years ago, and has been in Lawrence for approximately 50 years, Hunt said.

“We have full intention of being a local Ford store and nothing bigger than that,” Hunt said.

Laird Noller was the only auto group that has a dealership in Lawrence that was included in the list of 97 dealers that received warnings. The list, though, did include some auto groups that have or previously have had connections to the Kansas City metro area or the Wichita market. Auto groups that have had reported regional presence that received letters in March include Hendrick Automotive Group, Lithia Motors, AutoNation, and Berkshire Hathaway Automotive.

You can see the full FTC list at the agency’s website: ftc.gov/news-events.

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photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

A Kansas Highway Patrol Vehicle blocks the driveway of the Lawrence Kia dealership on Sept. 4, 2025.

The FTC letter reminded me that we haven’t heard much lately about another auto dealership event that raised red flags. Back in September we reported that multiple state and federal agencies were investigating the Lawrence Kia and the Lawrence-based Dream Nissan dealerships for conspiracy, theft and other allegations.

The investigation became highly visible in early September as Highway Patrol agents were turning customers at the Kia dealership away from the parking lot, as agents executed a search warrant.

The next steps in the investigation have been anything but visible. The dealerships reopened for a business a few days later. Eventually, as we reported, Lawrence Kia sold to the Cable Dahmer Auto group, and is now operating under new management that is not connected to the investigation. Dream Nissan moved to a new location — the former Heritage Tractor John Deere location near 23rd and Haskell — as part of that sale.

I checked in with the Kansas Department of Revenue, the lead agency in the investigation, this week for an update on the matter.

“We cannot share any additional information at this time,” a spokesperson for the Department of Revenue told the Journal-World via email. The spokesperson, however, did confirm that the investigation remains active.

Questions about other aspects of the investigation weren’t answered. Those included:

• Whether the investigation still involves all the agencies that were announced in September, including Kansas Office of the State Bank Commissioner, Kansas Attorney General’s Office, Kansas Highway Patrol (KHP), Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and United States Secret Service (USSS)?

• Whether the investigation remains focused on allegations of Conspiracy, Theft and Making False Information, as reported in September?

• Whether any charging documents related to the investigation have been presented to a prosecutor?

The Kansas Department of Revenue spokesperson didn’t provide any timeline or next steps for the matter. I’ll pass along an update as one becomes available.