It’s been a busy year for the New Jersey auto dealers. From supporting good causes 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.
Philanthropy
A huge thank you to all the dealers who’ve raised more than $57,500 for The Valerie Fund’s 2025 Campaign: The Road Ahead!
Awesome job, DCH Academy Honda, for serving the people in your local communities and helping them fight food insecurity. They teamed up with Fulfill FoodBank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties to help fight hunger right at home. Customers who brought in a bag of non-perishable food and purchased a vehicle received a Lifetime Oil Change Program — a $399 value — included with the purchase!
Since 2014, New Jersey’s franchised neighborhood new car and truck dealers have raised over $3.5 million to help support the more than 6,500 children with cancer and blood disorders treated at Valerie Fund Children’s Centers.
Read the article on NJ CAR’s website on how New Jersey auto retailers united on The Road Ahead for kids of The Valerie Fund in honor of September’s Childhood Cancer Awareness month.
Dealership Highlights
Congrats to New Jersey dealer Fred Beans (pictured center), a 50-year industry veteran and icon, as well as the third-ever recipient of Ford Motor Company’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Beth Beans Gilbert, VP of the Fred Beans Automotive Group, and her husband (and Group COO), Chris Gilbert, formally accepted the Lifetime Achievement Award in Las Vegas on behalf of her father. Representatives from Ford Motor Company also recently visited one of his 30 dealerships to honor Fred in person.
NJ CAR President Laura Perrotta attended the Holman Lincoln Mt. Laurel Grand Opening and enjoyed meeting with Mindy Holman and many other passionate team members at the dealership.
Grassroots
NJ CAR held the 2025 Annual Meeting with our new car and truck dealer members across the State to reflect on the legislative and regulatory successes we had on behalf of dealers.
Special thanks to guest speakers Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli; Assembly Speaker Craig J. Coughlin; NJ CAR Chairman Ron Baus; NJ CAR Incoming Chairman Andy Shapiro; 2026 TIME Dealer of the Year Award Winner for New Jersey David Kull; NJ CAR NextGen Chairman and Automotive News 40 Under 40 honoree Tom DeFelice, III; and NJ CAR CAR-PAC Chairwoman and Automotive News 100 Leading Women for New Jersey Award Winner Judy Schumacher-Tilton.
CAR-PAC hosted an event on September 23 for Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli. It was a great turnout with New Jersey’s franchised new car and truck dealers for this important event.
NJ CAR President Laura Perrotta attended the first New Jersey Gubernatorial debate at Rider University. Jack Ciattarelli and Mikie Sherrill were ready to go with affordability, high taxes, and energy costs being major topics.
On September 11, 2025, Governor Phil Murphy officially signed the “Motor Vehicle Open Recall Notice & Fair Compensation Act” into law! This legislation represents a critical step forward in protecting consumers, leveling the playing field for locally owned dealerships and ensuring automakers fairly compensate the auto techs who fix their mistakes.
On behalf of our dealer members across the state, NJ CAR would like to thank Governor Murphy, Senate President Nick Scutari, and Speaker Craig J. Coughlin for their leadership on this important issue.
Read NJ CAR’s press release on their website.
See the announcement video on Facebook from NJ CAR President Laura Perrotta.
NJ CAR in the News
NJ CAR President Laura Perrotta joined several industry experts on an Automotive News LinkedIn panel to discuss vehicle affordability, including what drives affordability issues and their impact on consumers and small businesses.
NJ CAR President Laura Perrotta recently spoke with CBT News on the NJ CAR-backed “Motor Vehicle Open Recall Notice & Fair Compensation Act” to discuss what this new law will do to support dealers, auto techs, and vehicle owners alike.
This legislation helps address:
- Recall Safety: Ensures consumers receive proper notification for recalls so that they can get their vehicle serviced at a local franchised dealership free of charge
- Labor Time Issues: Ensures manufacturers will provide dealers with fair compensation for the auto techs working on the repair when a vehicle comes under recall/warranty repair
- Grants Standing: Allows NJ CAR to sue on behalf of dealers for violations of the New Jersey Franchise Practices Act
NJ CAR President Laura Perrotta recently spoke with CBT News about NJ CAR’s Technician Advancement Program (TAP) and how the program is tackling the auto tech crisis in New Jersey.
Check out the reel and learn more about NJ CAR’s TAP from the July 29 joint media event held by NJ CAR and the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (NJDOL) at Honda of Toms River. The event celebrated the Pre-Apprenticeship in Career Education (PACE) Grant awarded to NJ CAR’s TAP by NJDOL!
On July 30, NJ Spotlight News covered a joint media event between NJ CAR and New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development to celebrate the PACE Grant awarded to NJ CAR for TAP. This grant will help grow and advance TAP to meet the need for auto techs in New Jersey due to its critical shortage. Check out NJ Spotlight’s coverage of the event.
In July, NJ CAR held a joint media event with the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (NJDOL) to celebrate the PACE Grant that was awarded to NJ CAR’s TAP. This grant will help grow and advance the Coalition’s TAP to fill the need for automotive technicians in New Jersey. We appreciated NJ CAR Chairman Ron Baus’ remarks and leadership.
Special thanks to Honda of Toms River and Executive Vice President Anton Semprivivo for hosting this great event and our newest TAP class at your dealership.
NJ CAR is also grateful for NJDOL Commissioner Robert Asaro-Angelo’s time and leadership toward advancing apprenticeship programs like TAP.
The Coalition appreciates Assemblywoman Tennille R. McCoy for delivering an amazing speech at the event in support of NJ CAR’s efforts to train more automotive technicians. NJ CAR is thankful for the Assemblywoman’s passion for workforce development and her love of cars!
