Skip to main content
Home
Subscribe
BECOME A MEMBER | SIGN IN
  • MEDIA KIT
  • CONFERENCES
    • AR CANADA
    • AUTO INTEL SUMMIT
    • USED CAR WEEK
    • WOMEN & AUTOMOTIVE
  • AUTO REMARKETING
    • Home
    • RETAIL
    • WHOLESALE
    • TECHNOLOGY
    • Financial
    • ANALYSIS
    • MAGAZINE
    • Contact
  • AR CANADA
    • Home
    • Subscribe
    • Conference
    • Magazine
    • Contact
  • SUBPRIME NEWS
    • Home
    • Subscribe
    • Lender List
    • Conference
    • Magazine
    • Contact
  • BHPH REPORT
    • Home
    • Subscribe
    • Conference
    • Magazine
    • Contact
  • AUTO FIN JOURNAL
The News Media of the Pre-Owned Industry
View the Latest Edition
Subscribe
  • MEMBERS
  • MAGAZINE
  • ANALYSIS
  • FINANCIAL
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • WHOLESALE
  • RETAIL
Continue to AutoRemarketing.com now


You will be automatically redirected to AutoRemarketing.com in 10 seconds

Legal News/Legislation

White House Responds to Tesla Petition

Tuesday, Jul. 15, 2014, 04:54 PM
By Auto Remarketing Staff
WASHINGTON, D.C.  - 

It appears unlikely that the federal government will intervene any time soon with Tesla Motors’ desire to adopt a direct-to-consumer sales model on a national scale.

In a response to a We the People petition created on June 5, Dan Utech, special assistant to the president for energy and climate change, outlined a few reasons why the current administration is not presently interested in pursuing an act of Congress to allow automakers to sell vehicles directly to consumers nationwide.

The petition, which was created anonymously and collected over 138,000 digital signatures before being closed, requested that the Obama administration allow Tesla Motors to sell directly to its consumers in the United States.

Utech mentioned the Obama administration’s interest in the electric vehicles that Tesla and other automakers are producing and improving but showed apprehension in taking the issue to the federal level.

“But as you know, laws regulating auto sales are issues that have traditionally sat with lawmakers at the state level,” Utech said in the official White House response.

“We believe in the goal of improving consumer choice for American families, including more vehicles that provide savings at the pump for consumers. However, we understand that pre-empting current state laws on direct-to-consumer auto sales would require an act of Congress.”

To read the entire We the People petition and official White House response, click here.

Teslas in Used Market

Earlier this year, Auto Remarketing reported on some of the used-car market activity among Tesla vehicles and found that postings on AutoTrader.com, for example, were showing significant boosts in shopper interest this spring.

Auto Remarketing gained some insight into how these used vehicles are performing on the site from Mark Strand, industry intelligence manager at AutoTrader.com.

In April, Tesla models showed 929 percent more interest per listing than other vehicles in their competitive set on AutoTrader.com.

That said, “As the number of listings for used Tesla models on our site increases, the interest level will naturally become more consistent with other vehicles in the competitive set,” Strand said in this story from May.

With that in mind, due to the increasing number of Tesla listings, AutoTrader was seeing a decline in the number of views per listing, he explained.

“However, this does not mean that interest is necessarily waning. As of right now, people interested in searching for used Teslas have fewer listings to view, so the percent of views per listing is naturally higher,” Strand said. “As more listings are posted on the site by dealers and private sellers, the percentage of views per listing will normalize.”

Interest in the luxury vehicles is still growing, though, and AutoTrader anticipated the difference in interest per listing to remain high for the foreseeable future.

For further insight into what impact Tesla may have on the used-car market, see the AR story from last month that examines the potential role of Tesla in pre-owned.

Elsewhere, AR's coverage of Tesla this year has included a look into leasing at Tesla and what the options may be there.

 

  • Read more about White House Responds to Tesla Petition

FTC, Mass. Dealer Reach Consent Order

Monday, Mar. 24, 2014, 03:38 PM
By Auto Remarketing Staff
WASHINGTON, D.C. - 

The last of the 10 dealers associated with Federal Trade Commission’s enforcement actions dubbed “Operation Steer Clear,” has agreed to resolve charges involving store advertising of financing.

Officials said a consent order has been reached between the FTC and Courtesy Auto Group of Attleboro, Mass., indicating that the dealership violated federal regulations by deceptively advertising that consumers could lease a vehicle for $0 down and specific monthly payments when the advertised amounts excluded substantial fees.

The FTC also said the ads violated the Consumer Leasing Act (CLA) and Regulation M, by failing to disclose or clearly and conspicuously disclose certain lease related terms.

The proposed consent order prohibits Courtesy Auto from engaging in similar deceptive advertising practices in the future. It prohibits the dealership from misrepresenting in any advertisement for the purchase, financing or leasing of motor vehicles the cost of leasing a vehicle, the cost of purchasing a vehicle with financing, or any other material fact about the price, sale, financing or leasing of a vehicle.

The agency went on to mention Courtesy Auto is further prohibited from stating the amount of any payment, or that any or no payment is required at lease inception, without clearly and conspicuously disclosing the terms required by the CLA.

Officials recapped the case was brought as part of “Operation Steer Clear,” the agency’s nationwide sweep against 10 dealers announced in January that Auto Remarketing recapped here.

The FTC also announced final consents with two additional dealers in February, which Auto Remarketing reported here.

“These cases are all a part of the FTC’s continued efforts to combat deceptive motor vehicle dealer practices, and protect consumers in the auto marketplace,” officials said.

  • Read more about FTC, Mass. Dealer Reach Consent Order

Standardized Audit Checklist Available for Auctions

Thursday, Mar. 13, 2014, 03:41 PM
By Auto Remarketing Staff
FREDERICK, Md.  - 

The National Auto Auction Association sent out an NAAA Update on Thursday afternoon indicating that the International Automobile Remarketers Alliance has implemented a Standardized Auction Audit Checklist that auctions can use to prepare for audits by their IARA member auction partners.

This checklist can be accessed on the IARA website or the NAAA website.

“This checklist is intended to be used as a reference tool and is not intended to define a legally approved audit program,” the update indicated.

“The checklist should not be interpreted as a mandate from NAAA or IARA for compliance with any law or regulation and may not include all items that may be requested by their commercial customers in the event of an audit by such customer.”

  • Read more about Standardized Audit Checklist Available for Auctions
  • first
  • previous
  • …
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11

Copyright © 1990-2019 Cherokee Media Group
All rights reserved. Privacy Policy

X