Despite bad weather, plane woes, people find a way to get here.

Byline: Edward Lapham

The last couple of days have been beautiful here. But the early buzz in the hallway at Friday's J.D. Power and Associates get-together at the Palace Hotel was about how lousy the weather has been in most other parts of the country and the hassle that some people should have had getting here.

Not everybody had the kind of experience that Mike Jackson and Michael Maroone of AutoNation endured.

Maroone and Jackson, who was a moderator at the Power International Automotive Roundtable, had mechanical trouble in midflight and had to turn back. They made it to SFO because Jackson borrowed a plane from AutoNation founder Wayne Huizenga.

Chrysler's …