NADA chairman decries cost burden from Washington
When NADA Chairman Jeff Carlson spoke to the Detroit Automotive Press Association, he said he would talk about taxes. But his speech was really about the cost imposed on dealers and consumers by current and potential Washington regulations and directives. Some examples Carlson gave:
« The harm done to trade-in values by the federal requirement that a dealer canêt resell or wholesale a vehicle under open safety recall.
« Dramatic increases in fuel economy that raise the price of a new car by thousands of dollars.
« An increase of hundreds of dollars to the retail price of a new car because Washington thought it was no longer beneficial to consumers to have multiple, independent retailers competing with each other.
To preserve fair and affordable auto financing for consumers, Carlson said NADA is urging the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to enforce the NADA, NAMAD and AIADA Fair Credit Compliance Program. NADA also wants Congress to support S.B. 2663, which would rescind the CFPBês auto finance guidelines.
We agree that 100 percent of recalled vehicles should be fixed, said Carlson, but we cannot make trading in a vehicle so costly that it drives more consumers toward the unregulated private sales market, and away from the very dealers who are entrusted by Congress and our customers to make these repairs.
As for the fuel economy standards, Carlson said, We agree that we should reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but we cannot make new fuel-efficient cars and trucks so expensive that consumers canêt afford to buy them.
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