Pub. 15 2016-2017 Issue 2

N E W J E R S E Y C O A L I T I O N O F A U T O M O T I V E R E T A I L E R S I S S U E N O . 3 , 2 0 1 6 6 new jersey auto retailer As my term as NJ CAR Chairman comes to a close, I can’t help but reflect on how quickly it went by, how much was accomplished, how hard the staff worked, how fortunate we are to have so many dealers willing to serve our industry, and how our mission is never fully accomplished. To ensure we have the resources to do this job, our staff has de- veloped products and services to serve dealer needs and generate revenue that limits our dues to about five percent of our budget. If you are not using NJ CAR’s services, please reconsider. These products and services are competitive and support our mission to protect the interests of our members. Manufacturers rely on the franchise system because it works. Consumers also rely on dealers because we stock, sell and finance vehicles, take trades, store off-lease vehicles, and provide invaluable maintenance, warranty & recall services. There are those who criticize dealers, but the overwhelming majority of customers like and appreciate their dealer. That’s because each dealership is its own “best practice” development center. While dealers are a resourceful lot, we need NJ CAR to serve our common interests. Amanufacturer can overwhelm an individual dealer if not held accountable. The same could be said about regulatory and legislative proposals that impact the industry. The association needs to be effective at both ends of the court in order to satisfy its mission. Our defense is as important as our offense. Fortunately, we have NJ CAR as a watchdog to understand the challenges and address them before they do irreparable harm. During the past legislative session, our industry faced many threats. There was proposed legislation to limit doc fees and revoke the ban on Sunday Sales. Tesla was granted permission to sell direct to consumers. The CFPB continued its attempt to define customer finance in a way that threatens a key revenue stream and undermines a consumer’s right to negotiate better rates. We faced legal actions alleging TCWANNA violations in our Buyers Orders. Record recalls and stop sales have stressed dealer facilities while adding thousands of unsellable vehicles to dealer inventory. Manufacturers continue to roll out unfair demands, pricing schemes and incentive programs. NJ CAR actively represents our interests in all of these matters and more. In the case of the doc fee and Sunday sales, we arranged meetings with legislators and dealers in their districts and were successful in getting them off the docket. In cooperation with NADA, we lobbied hard to slow the CFPB down. We have seen favorable initial rulings in several TCWANNA cases. We’ve made manufacturers aware of their state and federal obligations to fund extra dealer expense related to stop sales and continued to lobby legislators to hold manufacturers responsible for supporting zero- emission vehicle sales with adequate incentives. One major disappointment has been our inability to get an updated franchise bill enacted. Our bill passed the Assembly in the last legislative session but was never posted for a vote by the Senate President. We continue to work at moving a bill forward but have Chairman’s MESSAGE | BY LAWRENCE W. KULL Building a Bridge between Past and Future NJ CAR Leadership CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE  continued on page 9