Pub. 18 2019-2020 Issue 3

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 . 1 , 2 0 2 0 6 new jersey auto retailer Chairman’s MESSAGE | BY ROBERT SICKEL Even In The Midst of a Pandemic NJ CAR is There to Support and Guide Its Members I must have drawn the short straw, or it’s just dumb luck that I happen to be NJ CAR Chairman during a global pandemic that has turned everyone’s personal and pro- fessional lives upside down. There is anxiety about so many things — the coronavirus’s potential impact on the health of our family and friends, the widespread shutdown or curtail- ing of virtually all business activity, and, of course, concern about the economic impact on personal and dealership fi- nances. Not to mention, for many of us, figuring out how our dealerships will navigate this unanticipated disruption and what things will look like when we emerge on the other end of this crisis. Personally, I have had many of the same worries and anxi- eties as all of you. And, like you, I have had to make some difficult, but necessary decisions, in consultation with my management staff, attorney, accountant and other profession- als. The one constant during this time of tremendous upheav- al has been the unwavering support of NJ CAR. The Coalition is in its 102nd year. Previous chairmen have guided the organization through wars, recessions and other generation-defining challenges. Our industry will survive this challenge. It may look a bit different on the other side, and business practices may be modified going forward, but we are strong and the industry will rebound. As chairman during this challenging time., I have had a front-row seat to see how our Coalition’s staff brings incredi- ble value to our operations, especially in our times of greatest need. They may not have answers to every single one of the hundreds of questions we have, nor should we expect them to have ALL the answers. Remember, the Coalition is also dealing with the impact of the shutdown and stay-at-home order on their own operations but has managed to quickly adapt and continue to keep up with the rapidly changing information on legal, regulatory, legislative and other fronts. It’s times like these that I hope you truly appreciate what the Coalition does for us. NJ CAR staff are constantly gathering information from the Small Business Administration, CDC, NADA, AIADA, the Governor’s Office, NJMVC, Attorney General, State Police and many other federal, State and private resources. The in-house attorneys and other staff are distilling the f lood of information and disseminating a constant f low of communi- cations to keep New Jersey new car and truck dealers up-to- date and aid in our business decisions. In addition to email communications, posts to the NJ CAR website, social media channels, many Coalition Headquar- ters and Motor Vehicle Operation staff continue to respond to phone calls, direct emails and other requests from dealers and their support personnel on legal, regulatory, motor vehi- cle issues and other questions. NJ CAR’s lobbying efforts are also more important than ever, and the Coalition continues to get results for our industry, even in the face of the impact the ongoing crisis is having on all levels of government. The Coalition managed to get dealers named as essential businesses and partially exempt from the Governor’s original shutdown of all nonessential businesses. They helped convince Governor Murphy’s admin- istration to allow online sales for those dealers who choose to modify their operations to take advantage of the exemption. They worked to get the Motor Vehicle Commission to extend temporary registrations for an additional 60 days and relax a whole slew of other requirements and deadlines to help our businesses navigate our way through this crisis. The Coalition can’t make our business decisions for us. Still, they continue to provide us with as much information as they can gather to help us make difficult choices under incredibly unusual circumstances.