DEALER PHILANTHROPY
New Jersey auto dealers care about their communities. From supporting and fundraising for local charities to engaging with elected officials at a grassroots level — they do it all! Giving back is a way of life for them, and New Jersey is better because of it.
DEALER PHILANTHROPY
Awesome job Burke Motors for hosting a successful Automotive Safety Seminar for Middle Township High School. Students received a behind-the-scenes look in their service department and learned about important vehicle safety tips. Thank you for helping educate the next generation and potentially inspire future automotive technicians!
Shoutout to Liberty Subaru for donating nearly $23,000 to the New York–New Jersey Trail Conference and nearly $30,000 to Adopt-a-Soldier Platoon. NJ CAR is proud to represent our New Jersey franchised new car and truck dealers that give back to local charitable organizations and the communities they serve each day.
Thank you, Douglas Infiniti, for hosting a successful kitten adoption event with local organization Pittie Party Rescue to bring your community together and find forever homes for eight kittens.
Congratulations Schwartz Mazda for hosting a successful pet adoption event with RESCUE RIDGE to help animals find their forever homes.
Great job Frank’s GMC Truck Center, Inc. for donating a total of $8,100 to the following local food pantries in an effort to help their local community fight against food insecurity:
- Lyndhurst Food Pantry
- Meadowlands YMCA Food Pantry
- Nutley Family Service Bureau, Inc. Food Pantry
- Queen of Peace Share & Care Ministry
- Rutherford Community Pantry, Inc.
DEALERSHIP HIGHLIGHTS
NJ CAR Trustee Matthew C. Haiken, Dealer Principal and President of Prestige Volvo Auto Group, has been all over the media. The topic of discussion is the impact of the federal policy that essentially bans the sale of Polestar vehicles due to U.S. prohibition on Chinese-linked hardware, software, and ownership.
NJ CAR was honored to join Paul Larson, Jr., Rob Larson, and their employees, as they celebrated the 70th anniversary of Larson Ford in Lakewood, NJ. You don’t reach such an impressive milestone without an incredible commitment to employees and customers. Assemblyman Alexander “Avi” Schnall (D-30) presented Rob and Paul with a Senate and Assembly Resolution acknowledging the milestone. Nearly two dozen staff who have been with the dealership for 10, 20, and 30+ years were also recognized. Please join NJ CAR in congratulating Larson Ford!
NJ CAR is pleased to announce the release of our 2026 Economic Impact Study (EIS), highlighting the critical role New Jersey’s nearly 540 local franchised new car and truck dealerships play in driving the State’s economy and supporting its communities. In 2025, these dealerships were responsible for:
- $43.8 billion generated in revenue
- 444,000 vehicles sold in the State
- $2.1 billion paid in state and local taxes
- 74, 000 jobs provided or supported
- $3.62 billion provided in employee compensation
- $26 million contributed to local charitable organizations
View the Contributions to New Jersey’s Economy and learn more about how dealers are driving the Garden State’s economy.
New Jersey dealers have raised more than $3.5 million over the last 12+ years for The Valerie Fund and the 6,500+ children with cancer and blood disorders they treat every year. Read more about this incredible organization in a recent northjersey.com article repurposed on The Valerie Fund website.
NJ CAR recognizes Fred Beans Toyota of Flemington for being selected as the recipient of the of the 2025 President’s Award for 5th year in a row, marking the highest honor a Toyota dealer can receive. Dealerships awarded this honor shows that they consistently deliver in performance; sales and service satisfaction; and overall customer care. We are proud to represent the New Jersey franchised new car and truck dealers that put their customers first.
NJ CAR ENGAGEMENT
NJ CAR President Laura Perrotta recently spoke with Paul J Daly, Founder & CEO of ASOTU. Laura explained how dealer associations help them navigate evolving regulations, access trusted resources, stay informed when new compliance issues arise, and serve as trusted resources. She also elaborated that associations play a critical role in helping auto retailers understand changing regulations encourage dealer engagement in grassroots and workforce initiatives. Check out the interview Who Do Dealers Call When Compliance Rules Change?
NJ CAR hosted its 1st Annual Dealer Soiree at the Shore Car Club in Ocean Twp. with nearly 200 guests networking while recognizing some of the best dealers across New Jersey! Congratulations to our honorees:
- Kevin DiPiano
- Edward Rossi
- Anton Semprivivo
- David Long (Accepted by Megan Long)
- Romolo Gabrielli
- Thomas J. DeFelice, III
- Judy Vann Karstadt
Thank you to our sponsors who helped make this event possible: CHAMP Titles, Citrin Cooperman, JM&A Group, Priority Commerce Automotive, ACV Auctions, Armatus Dealer Uplift, LLC., AutoTrieve Document Scanning Services, Donnelly Energy, Fox Rothschild, and REDCOM Design & Construction, LLC.
NJ CAR President Laura Perrotta recently spoke with CBT News host Jim Fitzpatrick on Inside Automotive. In this episode, they discussed brokering, FTC Rules, NJ CAR’s upcoming Value of the Franchise System PR campaign, Direct Sales, Chinese EVs, NJ CAR’s Technician Advancement Program (TAP), and the overall state of the auto retail market. See the full episode of NJ CAR goes on the offensive as brokers, regulators, and direct sales pressure dealers.
The automotive technician shortage isn’t unique to New Jersey. The state needs 9,300 technicians by 2028. That’s not a typo. It’s a crisis — and NJ CAR is working to fix the problem through the Technician Advancement Program or TAP. The program is a blueprint every dealer association and dealer group in the country should be studying right now.
NJ CAR thanks Paul J Daly and Kyle Mountsier with More Than Cars at ASOTU for affording President Laura Perrotta the opportunity to share all the benefits this program has to offer.
For more information on TAP, reach out to NJ CAR Workforce Development Manager & TAP Coordinator Brandon Jurakhan at tap@njcar.org or view the NJ CAR Technician Advancement Program (TAP).
Automotive News recently spoke with NJ CAR President Laura Perrotta, Workforce Development Manager Brandon Jurakhan, dealership representatives, and TAP graduates about the Coalition’s successful Technician Advancement Program (TAP). The article highlights the success we’ve had with it and addresses the positive impact the program is having on our dealers as well as the people in their communities who are graduating from our TAP classes. To learn more view the following articles:
New Jersey dealers launches free service technician training to fill the talent gap.
Dealer funded technician training program hopes automakers will help it grow.
