Pub. 19 2020-2021 Issue 1

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 S P E C I A L E D I T I O N , 2 0 2 0 6 new jersey auto retailer Chairman’s MESSAGE | BY ROBERT SICKEL How Well We Sanitize Vehicles and Facilities May Decide If We Are Shut Down Again 2020 has not been the year any of us expected, but individuals, businesses and industries show their true colors when faced with a crisis. The 39,000 men and women that work at New Jersey’s 510 neighborhood new car and truck dealerships are an in- credible example of how a critical industry ( and economic driver ) can quickly adapt to safely serve its customers during a crisis. In a matter of days, dealerships ramped up or expanded their digital sales capabilities and instituted contactless delivery and increased sanitization protocols that met or exceeded State and federal guide- lines to safely operate and mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 virus. How well we sanitize vehicles and our facilities may decide wheth- er Governor Murphy shuts us down or restricts our sales activity AGAIN, if the COVID-19 virus re-emerges in New Jersey. It happened to the restaurants and it could happen to dealers if we aren’t careful. Every dealership needs to embrace aggressive sanitization protocols that ensure every transaction ( ser- vice visit, test drive, delivery, etc .) is carried out safely EVERY TIME. Dealers also need to make a point of advertising their actions to customers using hang tags, window stickers, floor displays, digital advertising, social media posts and every other communications vehicle available to them. We need to make sure EVERYONE knows that New Jersey dealers are committed to employee and customer health and can safely sell and service cars. It is also critical that dealers, employees and supporters sign up for NJ CAR’s grassroots political action network. The Coalition has worked with legislators on both sides of the aisle for decades to build relationships. Just look at what NJ CAR was able to accomplish in the past few months. The Coalition was able to keep dealership service departments open from the very beginning of the crisis, get online sales approved early on and finally got the Governor to allow showrooms to reopen. None of that happened by accident. NJ CAR worked hard, using the media and other political assets to pressure the Governor to do the right thing. The more people who participate in our grassroots network, the greater the Coalition’s political influence on issues important to the industry. We activated our Grassroots Net- work several times over the past few months, and the results were encouraging: • In the earliest days of the pandemic, NJ CAR ran a campaign targeting Bergen County Executive Jim Te- desco, who shut down Bergen County retail ahead of the statewide shutdown. Within two days, 300 people sent 300 emails and he rescinded his Order. • When the CARES Act was being debated, NJ CAR ran a campaign asking Senators Booker and Menendez to support the legislation. Nearly 450 people sent 900 emails. • After the Paycheck Protection Program was launched, we ran a campaign asking legislators to align federal economic stimulus policy with State public health policy and fix some shortcomings in the PPP. In the end, nearly 250 people had sent nearly 850 emails. Growing the size of NJ CAR’s Grassroots Network from 2,500 to 5,000 and to 10, 20 or 30,000 will increase the impact of the industry’s voice exponentially in Trenton. This support will make sure our position is heard on issues related to COVID 19, doc fees, Sunday Sales, direct sales and many other tax, environmental and consumer affairs issues affect- ing our businesses.