Pub. 19 2020-21 Issue 3

NJ CAR appreciates the support of the 237 dealers
who contributed to CAR-PAC, the Coalition’s political action committee, between January 1, 2020 and August 31, 2020. CAR PAC needs the contributions of ALL dealers to ensure it has the necessary financial resources to support candidates (on both sides of the aisle) who support the franchised retail automotive industry in New Jersey and ensure the dealers’ voice is heard in Trenton on a wide variety of important public policy issues.

Hopefully, all dealerships have made the appropriate investment in training and reviewing their staff’s behavior to ensure all personal and non-public information is protected as required by Federal Privacy and Safeguard Rules. Written policies and procedures should consistently go hand in hand with employee actions. However, the gaps between what is expected and what actually happens in showrooms still vary greatly from dealership to dealership. Let’s consider some facts.

The NJ CAR Workers’ Compensation Program is focused on serving the risk management and insurance needs of New Jersey’s new car dealerships that are members of NJ CAR.

NJ CAR’s Automotive Technician Apprenticeship Program started strong in 2020. Going into February, the program had already enrolled 80 apprentices since launching in September 2019. Four individual training sessions had commenced and were well under way when the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

Dealerships are required by law to maintain a qualified Compliance Management System. Meeting the legal requirement is essential. But equally important is protecting your dealership from potential lawsuits, damage to your reputation, or triggering continuous audits. One mistake is all it takes to harm your dealership.

Remember when? That is a phrase many of you reading this can identify with. Remember when you would tape six sheets of legal paper together to make a full-page newspaper ad? You would spend hours with your ruler, pencil and current list of inventory to build out the ad for the upcoming run on Sunday.

With flu season upon us, operating safely during the COVID-19 pandemic is more important than ever. Surrounding states are already considering area shutdowns and other extreme measures to slow the spread of COVID-19. Further, with more frequent international travel and an expanding world population, it is becoming obvious that there has been an explosion in the transfer and spread of infectious diseases over the last two decades.

Automotive retailers have a long history of adapting to the industry’s changes and challenges and re-energizing their operations. The COVID-19 shut down early this year and how it has continued to impact day-to-day business are prime examples of how New Jersey dealers can survive even the toughest business environments.

By now, you’ve probably heard that the NADA Show 2021 is going virtual and will not be held in New Orleans, as initially planned this coming January. Instead, the Auto Industry Event of the Year is coming to YOU (wherever that may be) Feb. 9-11, 2021, making it easier than ever to access all the education, networking and Expo connections you’ve come to expect from NADA.

NJ CAR’s mission is to serve New Jersey’s franchised dealerships in three major areas — advocacy, education and training and member services. The COVID-19 pandemic has tested the Coalition’s capabilities on all three fronts like few other challenges in our 102-year history. And NJ CAR staff have shown, time and time again, how valuable the Coalition is to dealerships operations, particularly when the industry faces unanticipated challenges. Let me highlight just some of the work done by NJ CAR in 2020.