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.
Philanthropy
Paul Sansone, Sr., owner of Sansone Auto Mall and a well‑respected figure in the auto retail industry for 60+ years, spoke with CBT News about the importance of charitable giving, leadership, and his views on the future of the auto industry.
NJ CAR recognizes Burke Subaru for committing to giving back to the community they serve by donating care packages of patient blankets for Cooper Health Cape and The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society — New Jersey.
Burlington Chevrolet hosted “The Heroes of Burlington County Car Show” on Sunday, September 22, at their dealership.
The car show benefited the Joint Base MDL Police/Department of Defense Federal Police Lodge #168, Fraternal Order of Police; the City of Burlington, New Jersey, and Police K9 Unit; and the Burlington County Military Affairs Committee.
Shout out to Fred Beans Family of Dealerships for their commitment to donating to a variety of charitable organizations for every vehicle sold from Black Friday through the end of this year. Fred Beans’ goal is to fund 100,000 meals to local food pantries in an effort to give back to the community that they serve each day.
Congratulations to Kundert Volvo Cars for supporting Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of New Jersey in Bergen County. CASA is a nonprofit supporting and court-appointed volunteer advocacy for children in the foster system. View the post.
NJ CAR recognizes Circle BMW for its record-breaking year of donating more than $101,000 to a variety of community charities in Monmouth and Ocean counties!
NJ CAR recognizes Burke Subaru for hosting a Cape May County Chamber Women’s Only networking event that brought more than 100 women together. The group also collected donations for C.A.R.A., Inc., a local women’s shelter.
Dealer Highlights
Neighborhood new car and truck dealerships bring value to the car-buying experience by:
- Walking customers through the maze of legal and regulatory requirements.
- Offering a wide variety of financing options that are often more affordable than a consumer could get on their own.
- Providing a hassle-free market for trade-ins.
- Saving customers the time and hassle of completing title, registration, and regulatory paperwork.
- Providing personalized customer service.
Visit https://ow.ly/Woos50SkjAE to learn about even more ways franchised dealerships benefit consumers.
NJ CAR recognizes ACE Ford Woodbury, who donated a new Ford Explorer to Gloucester County Institute of Technology (GCIT) to help educate the next generation of skilled automotive technicians.
Congratulations to DCH Paramus Honda for receiving a Gold Level PlugStar EV Certified Dealer title!
See how your dealership can achieve Gold Level PlugStar status by visiting pluginamerica.org/plugstar.
In April 2024, Lester Glenn Auto Group hosted its first-ever Pit Stop Challenge Finale. The original Pit Stop competitions were hosted at each of the nine service centers in late 2023, showcasing M-Level technicians in a competition judged by the senior technicians they work alongside in their shop. For the finale, the winners from each service center faced off in another friendly competition, putting their speed, skills, and accuracy to the test.
With three Ocean County Vocational Technical School District (OCVTSD) alumni participating in the finale, instructors and administrators from the OCVTSD’s Automotive Technology program served as judges.
All of the competitors did an amazing job representing themselves and their home service centers in front of a crowd of their peers, managers, family, and friends. A big thank you to the competitors for their hard work, for rising to the challenge every day, and for being an incredibly important part of the Lester Glenn team.
Congratulations to the winners:
- 1st Place: Yonathan Saavedra from Lester Glenn Hyundai.
- 2nd Place: Tyler Smolski from Lester Glenn Chevrolet of Freehold.
- 3rd Place: Ken Reynolds from Lester Glenn Honda.
Grassroots
NJ CAR President Laura Perrotta and six Coalition members — Frank Pezzolla, Douglas Hoover, Romolo Gabrielli, Joseph Cambria, Spencer Campbell, and Jack Licata — testified in front of the Assembly Transportation Committee in support of Bill A4967, which would delay implementation of the Advanced Clean Truck (ACT) Rule for two years to allow more time for manufacturers and the state to address a variety of obstacles.
See Laura’s written testimony at https://ow.ly/ZH5l50Uqhoy.
Thank you to the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) for your full-throated support of the Motor Vehicle Open Recall Notice and Fair Compensation Act (A4380/S3309).
This bipartisan bill will ensure thousands of automotive technicians in New Jersey are paid the same wages for their work, regardless of whether it is warranty repair paid by the manufacturer or a customer-paid repair service.
Former NJ CAR Chairman Rick DeSilva, Jr. (Liberty Subaru) and NJ CAR President Laura Perrotta were part of the NJBIA 4th Annual Energy Conference, discussing how New Jersey can realistically meet its electric vehicle goals.
Assemblywoman Jessica Ramirez visited Andy Shapiro with Hudson Auto Group at one of his dealerships. Andy offered refreshing insights to see you enjoy what you do! She also sat down with Jim Appleton and Magdalena Padilla from NJ CAR, where she learned a lot about the needs of the industry, where they are now, and where they are headed. She is grateful for opportunities where she gets to learn from members of the community firsthand and build relationships. New Jersey’s 520 franchised dealerships are proud to serve the mobility needs of all their customers.
New Jersey’s franchised dealerships are concerned that Governor Murphy’s EV mandate will negatively impact consumer choice and vehicle affordability.
Check out the video and article for more details at https://ow.ly/pOEq50SlPPq.
Assemblyman Al Barlas had the pleasure of taking a comprehensive tour of the state-of-the-art Mercedes-Benz of Caldwell facility in the company of representatives from NJ CAR. Thank you, Assemblyman Al Barlas, for taking the time to visit a New Jersey dealership and learn more about the automotive retailing industry.
Plug-in hybrids are a viable option for many New Jersey consumers who have continuing concerns about range anxiety or vehicle affordability when it comes to a fully electric vehicle.
Read more about this topic in a Forbes article titled “Study Reveals The Hybrid Lifeline For EV-Challenged Automakers.”
On May 21, another successful NJ Sustainability Summit and Electric Vehicle Ride & Drive was held. Local dealerships and vehicle providers showcased 16 EVs, which produced over 125 test drives. Attendees were able to experience the following EVs:
- Audi Q4 e-trons from Audi Eatontown.
- BMW iX from BMW of Freehold.
- B4 Electric Truck from Bollinger Motors.
- Chevrolet Blazer EV and Hyundai Ioniq 5 from Circle Auto Group.
- Ford F-150 Lightning and Mustang Mach-E from George Wall Ford.
- Hyundai Ionic 5 from Freehold Hyundai.
- Lucid Air and Lucid Air Grand Touring from Lucid Motors Short Hills.
- Nissan Ariya from Raceway Nissan of Freehold.
- Porsche Taycan from Porsche Monmouth.
- Tesla Model 3 and Tesla Model Y from Tesla Eatontown.
- Tropos Motors LSV from Tropos Motors.
The event also featured an impressive exhibition of medium- and heavy-duty EVs:
- Bollinger Motors B4 Class-4.
- Box Truck (LSV) from Tropos Motors.
- Electric School Bus from BYD.
- Ford F-150 Lightning from EV Resource Group.
- Front Loader from HEVI, Corp.
- Landscaping and lawn equipment from Kenvil Power and American Green Zone Alliance.
A HUGE THANKS to Sustainable Jersey for hosting us and for helping secure local dealerships, and the New Jersey Electric Vehicle Association (NJEVA) for coordinating the showcase and supporting the event.
