MSADA, One McKinley Square, Sixth Floor, Boston, MA 02109
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FIRST CLASS MAIL US POSTAGE PAID BOSTON, MA PERMIT NO. 216
November 2018 • Vol. 30 No. 11
The official publication of the Massachusetts State Automobile Dealers Association, Inc
The Road Ahead
2019 New England International Auto Show Preview
Ma s s a c h u s e t t s
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S ta f f D i r e c t o r y Robert O’Koniewski, Esq. Executive Vice President rokoniewski@msada.org Jean Fabrizio Director of Administration jfabrizio@msada.org Peter Brennan, Esq. Staff Attorney pbrennan@msada.org Auto Dealer MAgazine Robert O’Koniewski, Esq. Executive Editor Tom Nash Editorial Coordinator nashtc@gmail.com Subscriptions provided annually to Massachusetts member dealers. All address changes should be submitted to MSADA by e-mail: jfabrizio@msada.org Postmaster: Send address change to: One McKinley Square, Sixth Floor Boston, MA 02109 Auto Dealer is published by the Massachusetts State Automobile Dealers Association, Inc. to provide information about the Bay State auto retail industry and news of MSADA and its membership.
Ad Directory Bellavia Blatt & Crossett, P.C., 25 BlumShapiro, 2, 24 Boston Herald, 32 Lynnway Auto Auction, 23 O’Connor & Drew, P.C., 31 Southern Auto Auction, 21 ADVERTISING RATES Inquire for multiple-insertion discounts or full Media Kit. E-mail jfabrizio@msada.org Quarter Page: $450 Half Page: $700 Full Page: $1,400
Back Cover: $1,800 Inside Front: $1,700 Inside Back: $1,600
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The official publication of the Massachusetts State Automobile Dealers Association, Inc
Table of Contents
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From the President: MSADA Wants to Help You Help Others ASSOCIATE MEMBERS DIRECTORY THE ROUNDUP: State Elections Bring No Surprises Legislative Scorecard TROUBLESHOOTNG: Surveying Labor Law Changes after Busy Legislative Session LEGAL: Anti-Discrimination and Harassment Policies Are Not Enough AUTO OUTLOOK
16 Cover Story: New England International Auto Show Preview
20
SOUND OFF: Buy Your
Health Insurance Smarter and at a Lower Cost
21 26 28 29
NEWS From Around the Horn nada Market Beat TRUCK CORNER: Built Around Your Interests nada update: A Moment of Thanks
Join us on Twitter at @MassAutoDealers www.msada.org
Massachusetts Auto Dealer
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From the President
MSADA
MSADA Wants to Help You Help Others By Chris Connolly, MSADA President As we pass through Thanksgiving and look forward to the holiday season, we dealers have an important opportunity to consider about how fortunate we are. Every day, we are living our dream of working in this great industry. Now is a great time to help out those who have less than we do. Our work is all-consuming. It can be difficult to imagine adding on tasks to our daily routine, especially if it means reaching out to a new group to inquire about donations or other charitable giving. So why not let your Association help? As you continue to see in the pages of this magazine each month, MSADA offers its members up to $1,500 in matching funds to you for a charitable contribution made in your hometown. We continue to see the number of dealers taking advantage of this opportunity grow. This is an important point to remember: As business owners who drive one of the most important economic vehicles in the Commonwealth, we all have a spotlight on any opportunity we find to lend a helping hand in our communities. Whether we are donating hundreds, thousands, or millions to charity each year, or giving our time and effort to good causes, our work has a ripple effect throughout our communities. And while we should applaud those among us who are regularly doing this kind of work, I want to make sure we encourage those who never have to reach out. It can be as simple as picking up the phone, calling your favorite organization, and asking if there is some small need they have that you might be able to fill. When it comes down to it, dealers are integral to communities across Massachusetts, including both our daily operations and the more intangible ways we help improve lives. As we enter the holiday season, I encourage you to give charity a try if you have never done so. For more information about our matching program, call Executive Vice President Robert O’Koniewski at (617) 451-1051 or email him at rokoniewski@msada.org.
Preparations for Preview Night During the next two months you will continue to see more information about the New England International Auto Show Charity Gala and the Dealer Summit on January 18. As usual, Bob and the rest of the MSADA staff are planning a fantastic event. I encourage all of our dealer members to attend and our Associate Members to get in touch with Jean Fabrizio in our MSADA office for information about sponsorship opportunities. She can be reached at (617) 451-1051 or by email at jfabrizio@msada. org. We look forward to seeing you that day. t
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Massachusetts Auto Dealer www.msada.org
Msada Board Barnstable County
Brad Tracy, Tracy Volkswagen
Berkshire County
Brian Bedard, Bedard Brothers Auto Sales
Bristol County
Richard Mastria, Mastria Auto Group
Essex County
William DeLuca III, Woodworth Motors Don Sudbay, Sudbay Motors
Franklin County
Jay Dillon, Dillon Chevrolet
Hampden County
Jeb Balise, Balise Auto Group
Hampshire County
Bryan Burke, Burke Chevrolet
Middlesex County
Chris Connolly, Jr., Herb Connolly Motors Frank Hanenberger, MetroWest Subaru
Norfolk County
Jack Madden, Jr., Jack Madden Ford Charles Tufankjian, Toyota Scion of Braintree
Plymouth County
Christine Alicandro, Marty’s Buick GMC Isuzu
Suffolk County
Robert Boch, Expressway Toyota
Worcester County
Steven Sewell, Westboro Mitsubishi Steve Salvadore, Salvadore Auto
Medium/Heavy-Duty Truck Dealer Director-at-Large [Open]
Immediate Past President [Open]
NADA Director
Scott Dube, Bill Dube Hyundai
Officers
President, Chris Connolly, Jr. Vice President, Charles Tufankjian Treasurer, Jack Madden, Jr. Clerk, Steve Sewell
Associate Members MSADA A ssociate M ember D irectory ACV Auctions Will Morris (860) 670-7867 ADESA Jack Neshe (508) 626-7000 Albin, Randall & Bennett Barton D. Haag (207) 772-1981 American Fidelity Assurance Co. Dan Clements (616) 450-1871 American Tire Distributors Pamela LaFleur (774) 307-0707 Armatus Dealer Uplift Joe Jankowski (410) 391-5701 AutoAlert Jessica Gates (816) 506-0515 Auto Auction of New England Steven DeLuca (603) 437-5700 Auto/Mate Dealership Systems Troy Potter (877) 340-2677 Automotive Search Group Howard Weisberg (508) 620-6300 Bank of America Merrill Lynch Dan Duda and Nancy Price (781) 534-8543 Bellavia Blatt, PC Leonard A. Bellavia, Esq (516) 873-3000 Bernstein Shur PA Ned Sackman (603) 623-8700 Blum Shapiro John D. Spatcher (860) 561-4000 BMO Harris Bank Steve Gagnon (813) 447-1723 Boston Globe Anthony Merullo (617) 929-2337 Boston Magazine Leah Palone/Dave Garland (617) 275-2021 Broadway Equipment Company Fred Bauer (860) 798-5869 Burns & Levinson LLP Paul Marshall Harris (617) 345-3854 C-4 Analytics LLC Rob Stoesser (617) 250-8888 Capital Automotive Real Estate Services Daniel Garces (703) 394-1313 CDK Global Chris Wong (847) 407-3187 Construction Management & Builders, Inc. Nicole Mitsakis (781) 246-9400 Cox Automotive Ernest Lattimer (516) 547-2242 CVR John Alviggi (267) 419-3261 Dealer Creative Mike Otis (315) 382-3675 Dealerdocx Brad Bass (978) 766-9000 Dealermine Inc. Jane Webb (800) 304-3341 DealerSocket Shelly Del Rosario (949) 900-0300
Downey & Company Paul McGovern (781) 849-3100 Eastern Bank David Sawyer (617) 897-1125 Eastern Insurance Group William Gross (508) 620-3349 EasyCare New England Greg Gomer (617) 967-0303 Ethos Group, Inc. Drew Spring (617) 694-9761 F & I Resources Jason Bayko (508) 624-4344 Federated Insurance Matt Johnson (606) 923-6350 First Citizens Federal Credit Union Joe Ender (508) 979-4728 Fisher Phillips LLP John Donovan (404) 240-4236 Joe Ambash (617) 532-9320 Gatehouse Auto Jay Pelland (508) 626-4334 Gulf State Financial Services Tom Foster (832) 628-1916 GW Marketing Services Gordon Wisbach (857) 404-0226 Hireology Kevin Baumgart (773) 220-6035 Hub International Insurance Brokerage Jim Walsh (603) 494-9016 Huntington National Bank John J. Marchand (781) 326-0823 JM&A Group Jose Ruiz (617) 259-0527 John W. Furrh Associates Inc. Kristin Perkins (508) 824-4939 JP Morgan Chase Bank Alex Khademi (404) 375-4504 Key Bank Mark Flibotte (617) 385-6232 KPA Tim Whelan (303) 802-3019 Leader Auto Resources, Inc. Curt Murray (978) 201-4797 Lynnway Auto Auction Jim Lamb (781) 596-8500 M & T Bank John Federici (508) 699-3576 Management Developers, Inc. Dale Boch (617) 312-2100 McWalter Volunteer Benefits Group Shawn Allen (617) 483-0359 Micorp Dealer Services Robert Calhoun 617-285-4833 Mid-State Insurance Agency James Pietro (508) 791-5566 Mintz Levin Kurt Steinkrauss (617) 542-6000 Murtha Cullina Thomas Vangel (617) 457-4000
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Nancy Phillips Associates, Inc. Nancy Phillips (603) 658-0004 NEAD Insurance Trust Charles Muise (781) 706-6944 Northeast Dealer Services Jim Schaffer (781) 255-6399 O’Connor & Drew, P.C. Kevin Carnes (617) 471-1120 Performance Management Group, Inc. Mark Puccio (508) 393-1400 PreOwned Auto Logistics Anthony Parente (877) 542-1955 R.L. Tennant Insurance Agency, Inc. Walter F. Tennant (617) 969-1300 Reflex Lighting Daryl Swanson (617) 269-4510 Resources Management Group J. Gregory Hoffman (800) 761-4546 Reynolds & Reynolds Mike O’Connor (860) 462-7958 Robinson Donovan Madden & Barry, P.C. James F. Martin, Esq. (413) 732-2301 Samet & Company John J. Czyzewski (617) 731-1222 Santander Bank Richard Anderson (401) 432-0749 Chris Peck (508) 314-1283 Schlossberg & Associates, LLC Michael O’Neil, Esq. (781) 848-5028 Sentry Insurance Company Eric Stiles (715) 346-7096 Shepherd & Goldstein CPA Ron Masiello (508) 757-3311 Southern Auto Auction Joe Derohanian (860) 292-7500 Sprague Energy Robert Savary (603) 430-7254 SunPower Christie McCarthy (408) 457-2357 Kristin Hodges (707) 694-7759 SunTrust Bank Michael Walsh (617) 345-6567 Target Dealer Services Andrew Boli (508) 564-5050 TD Auto Finance Marc Gerhart (781) 697-1525 TrueCar Pat Watson (803) 360-6094 US Bank Vincent Gaglia (716) 649-0581 Wells Fargo Dealer Services Deb Hogan (508) 951-8334 Windwalker Group Herby Duverne (617) 797-9316 Zurich American Insurance Company Steven Megee (774) 210-0092
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The Roundup
State Elections Bring No Surprises By Robert O’Koniewski, Esq. MSADA Executive Vice President rokoniewski@msada.org Follow us on Twitter • @MassAutoDealers
On November 6 voters across the Commonwealth went to the polls to make their selections for numerous federal and state offices, including Governor and U.S. Senator, and the results surprised no one. As expected, Republican Governor Charlie Baker and Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito easily vanquished their Democrat rivals, to win re-election to a second term, with 67 percent of the vote. That, however, was the only bright spot for the anemic state Republican Party. Democrat incumbents holding the other four constitutional offices – Secretary of State William Galvin (who was the state’s highest vote getter), Attorney General Maura Healey, Treasurer Deb Goldberg, and Auditor Suzanne Bump – all handily defeated their GOP opponents. In the state Legislature, Democrats held on to their super-majorities in the House and Senate. In the House, the Democrats picked up two seats – an open seat and defeating incumbent GOP Rep. Jim Lyons of Andover – to put their total number at 127 of the 160 members. Republicans will hold 32 seats, and there will be one independent (who switched from Republican earlier this year). In the Senate, the Democrats will control 34 seats and the Republicans 6, dropping one as incumbent Sen. Richard Ross of Wrentham lost in a surprise to Democrat Rebecca Rausch. Readers may recall that it was Ross who replaced Scott Brown in the state Senate when Brown went on to become U.S. Senator several years ago. The last time the GOP held a veto-proof minority in the Upper Chamber was 1991-1992, when they were NOVEMBER 2018
Massachusetts Auto Dealer www.msada.org
at 14 when Gov. William Weld was first elected. However, what everyone thought would be a blue wave really did not materialize. Although the Democrats gained two seats in the House and one in the Senate, several Republican incumbents fought off Democratic challengers and Republican candidates were able to defend a few seats left open by Republican members who did not seek re-election. Baker will be starting his second term with fewer members of his own party in the Legislature than when his first term began. Bottom line for the Governor: Once inaugurated, he can do whatever he wants legislatively as long as Democrats in the General Court agree. A couple of additional notes: First, women will hold 57 of the 200 legislative seats, which is a new high and five more than served in 2017. The 46 women (40 Dems and 6 GOP) elected to the House surpasses the previous high of 42 in 1999. The 11 women to serve in the Senate, however, will fall two short of the previous high of 13 seen in 2017. Overall, a total of 15 new women and 42 female incumbents prevailed in their elections. The Senate GOP caucus will have no woman member. Second, 18 House members opted against running for re-election or lost their re-election bids in the September primary. One of those, Rep. Diana DiZoglio (D-Methuen), chose to leave the House and run successfully for the state Senate. The Senate will see three members leave that chamber – in addition to Ross, Sen. Barbara L’Italien (D-Andover) lost in the Democrat primary for her bid for Congress, and Sen. Kathleen O’Connor
MSADA Ives (D-Newburyport) chose not to seek re-election (her replacement – Sen.-elect DiZoglio). Looking ahead, the Senate will continue to be led by President Karen Spilka (D-Ashland), who took over that body’s reins in July after a contentious season that saw three senate presidents this year. In the House, Speaker Robert DeLeo (D-Winthrop), the longest serving speaker in the Commonwealth’s history, is expected to stand for re-election. Further, due to so many leadership openings in the House, between retirements and primary losses, the speaker and his team will be busy slotting representatives into all important committee chair and vice-chair slots. The new 2019-2020 session will begin on Wednesday, January 2, 2019, upon the completion of the current session at midnight on January 1. At that point, let the games begin. Finally, at the federal level, auto dealer nemesis U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren comfortably won her re-election bid against GOP hopeful state Rep. Geoff Diehl. On the House side, Democrats will continue to hold all nine congressional seats with two newcomers – Democrat Lori Trahan of Westford won the seat being vacated by the retiring Democrat Niki Tsongas, and Ayanna Pressley was elected to fill the seat of longtime Rep. Michael Capuano, whom she easily defeated in the September Democrat primary. As for the veteran members of our state delegation, should Nancy Pelosi return to the House speakership, that would be great news for her allies – Richard Neal of Springfield should move up to the House Ways and Means chairmanship, and Jim McGovern of Worcester should take over the chairmanship of the powerful House Rules Committee. And Rep. Katherine Clark of Melrose is vying for a leadership slot within the Democrat caucus. Once the minority leader vanquishes any challenge to her speakership, members of the Massachusetts delegation should be sitting pretty well on many levers of power in the House.
Employment Law Seminars Dec. 6, Springfield; Dec. 14, Dedham
MSADA will conduct two employment law seminars with attorneys Joe Ambash and Jeff Fritz of Fisher Phillips to get dealers up to speed on new laws that took effect in 2018 and those that will commence in 2019. We will be at the Tower Square Hotel in Springfield, on Thursday, December 6, at 9:00 a.m., and on Friday, December 14, we will be at the Dedham Hilton Hotel, at 9:00 a.m. Use the registration form that has been emailed to you multiple times to sign up.
MSADA-Blum Shapiro CFO & Controllers Summit Dec. 13, Natick
As 2018 nears to a close, we at your Association continue to field calls from our members regarding a host of issues – • What can we expect with the tax reform roll out, and are there any more changes coming? • What updates on human resources issues and wage-hour litigation do I need to know about? • New developments are popping up regarding non-retail vehicle transactions such as subscription services – what do I need to know to be prepared for these? • Will health care ever be “fixed” by Congress and the Trump administration? These are just a small sample of what we hear, and I am sure you share some, if not all, of these concerns. To address dealers’ questions (as well as those of your CFO and/or controller), we are partnering up with our associate member, Blum Shapiro, for a one-day CFO & Controllers Summit, designed to tackle a host of legal, accounting, and tax issues, as detailed in the enclosed program agenda. This event will be held on Thursday, December 13, 2018, 8:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m., at the Verve Hotel, 1360 Worcester Street (Route 9), Natick. Check out our ad on page 2 in this month’s magazine. We are offering this www.msada.org
one-day summit at the MSADA-subsidized price of $125/person. The registration fee covers continental breakfast, lunch, and various materials. Plus, for each dealer principal who registers and attends, he or she can bring one key manager at no charge. Do not pass up this wonderful opportunity, sponsored by your MSADA, to protect your dealership and get a handle on a number of issues roiling our industry presently. Should you require any additional information, please do not hesitate to contact me.
2019 Auto Show, Dealer Summit & Charity Gala
Circle the dates now – MSADA’s 62nd edition of the New England International Auto Show will run January 17-21, 2019, at the Boston Convention and Exposition Center in South Boston. In order to celebrate our Auto Show, dealers, their families, and key employees are invited to attend on Friday, January 18, our Twenty-Second Annual Auto Show Charity Gala at the BCEC, from 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. The Gala benefits our Charitable Foundation’s Automotive Technician Scholarship Program. Prior to the Charity Gala we will conduct the Dealer Summit at the BCEC from Noon to 5:00 p.m., at which we will have several speakers discuss on-going events in our industry.
MSADA Dealer Support Programs Re-Approved for 2018 – Are You Using Them?
Since 2014 your association has administered a program in which we subsidize the cost of certain compliance efforts dealers go through at their stores. Through this program, we have supported dealers’ use of Fisher Phillips for employment law services, such as pay plans, employee handbooks, etc.; KPA and Furrh Associates for OSHA and environmental compliance; and O’Connor & Drew for tax compliance and cybersecurity protections. Your Board of Directors voted at
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The Roundup its December board meeting to continue these programs for 2018. In addition to the compliance assistance, your Board voted to reauthorize the community outreach program for 2018, in which we assist dealers’ efforts for up to $1,500 annually. Do not hesitate to contact us regarding these programs so you do not lose out on these services supported by your association.
MSADA Auto Tech Competition Kicks Off On Monday, November 19, almost 200 auto tech high school students from 13 schools from across the Commonwealth gathered at the Courtyard Marriott in Marlborough to take the written test portion of our auto tech competition, designed to determine which two-person team will represent us at the National Auto Tech Competition, held at the NY Auto Show in April 2019. The written test is used to determine the top ten two-person senior teams from the schools, as well as the top four two-person junior teams. The top ten senior teams then compete at the hands-on portion of the competition, with the winning team wearing the crown of Massachusetts champion and representing us in NYC. The 2019 hands-on competition will be held at our auto show, on Saturday, January 19, at 9:00 a.m. This represents a return to the auto show for the competition, which we used to hold with our show when it was at the Bayside Expo Center. Here is the list of winning teams that will compete in January: Top Ten Senior Teams: Assabet: Douglas Lindstead Kevin Zacarias Blackstone: Team 1 - Styles Pickering Jake Martin Team 2 - Nick Uhlman Aidan Luelkemeyer Bristol Plymouth: Michael McCarthy Amber Worsley Cape Cod: Thomas Eldridge Brett Meservey Diman: Al Fitzgerald, Kiehl Kantelis NOVEMBER 2018
Old Colony: Devon Amaro Timothy Bourque Upper Cape: Team 1 - Wilfred Ouellette Michael Poulin Team 2 - Hayden Hunt Jared Lewis Worcester: Benjamin Brandli Jared Anderson Top Four Junior Teams: Blackstone: Justin Carnaroli Ryan Johnson Nashoba: Domenic Cura, Bobby Pawl Pathfinder: Kyle Thomas, Ryan Foster Worcester: Mathew Burns, Jame Ngo
Congratulations – Joey Logano, NASCAR Champ
On Sunday, November 18, at Homestead-Miami Speedway, driving a 2018 Ford Fusion for Team Penske, Joey Logano, nicknamed “Sliced Bread”, won his third race of the year on the way to capturing NASCAR’s top crown, the Monster Energy Cup. Congratulations to the Middletown, Connecticut, native, who extends the recent long-list of non-Southerner champs, such luminaries as Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Tony Stewart, the Busch brothers, and last year’s Cup winner, Martin Truex, Jr., to name a few. (On a related note, Truex’s team, Furniture Row Racing, the only Cup team headquartered west of the Mississippi River, announced in September it was shutting down after the completion of the 2018 season.) The 61st running of the Daytona 500 on February, 17, 2019, to start the next season will be here before you know it.
IRS Proposes Rule on Pass-Through Entities
The IRS recently proposed a rule to implement the new 20% deduction for qualified business income for pass-through entities that was included in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. In responsive comments that were prepared on NADA’s behalf by Crowe LLP with input from Boyer & Ritter and Moss Adams, NADA raised several issues requiring clarification and
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MSADA urged the IRS to allow dealers flexibility in the grouping of separate dealer-owned entities for purposes of applying the deduction. Crowe further emphasized these points on NADA’s behalf in oral testimony that was presented to the IRS on October 16. The IRS has also recently issued a reference guide: Tax Cuts and Jobs Act: A Comparison for Businesses. As you know, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) changed deductions, depreciation, expensing, tax credits, and other tax items that affect businesses. The side-by-side comparison is designed to help businesses understand the changes and plan accordingly. Some provisions of the TCJA that affect individual taxpayers can also affect business taxes. The IRS advises businesses and self-employed individuals to review the tax reform changes for individuals and determine how these provisions work with their business situation.
RIP David Pearson
The NASCAR family lost one of its greatest pioneers on November 12 when David Pearson died at the age of 83. Nicknamed the “Silver Fox”, Pearson won Cup championships in 1966, 1968, and 1969, finishing his career in Cup racing with 105 wins, 366 top tens, and 113 poles. His 105 wins is second place all time to King Richard Petty’s 200. In fact, Petty and Pearson accounted for 63 first/second-place finishes, with the edge going to Pearson. He was inducted in NASCAR’s Hall of Fame in 2011. Shaking the memory tree, in his second start in Cup racing, rookie Trevor Bayne ran Pearson’s old paint scheme in the Wood Brothers #21 Ford car to victory in the 2011 Daytona 500. Pearson won 11 of 18 races for the Wood Brothers in the #21 Ford in 1973. He died in his home town of Spartanburg, South Carolina, leaving behind three contemporary rivals and living legends—the King, Bobby Allison, and Cale Yarborough. t
Troubleshooting
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Troubleshooting
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Surveying Labor Law Changes after Busy Legislative Session By Peter Brennan, Esq. MSADA
Staff Attorney The 2017-2018 legislative session of the Massachusetts General Court will officially conclude on Tuesday, January 1, 2019, and the new biennial legislative session will be gaveled at Noon on the following day. Those that have been paying attention know that this session saw a flurry of activity that imposed a complex set of new requirements on Massachusetts employers. In conjunction with the release of the new “MSADA Guide to Wage and Hour Compliance (November 2018 Edition)”, here is a look at the new laws that were passed or took effect in 2018. The Pay Equity Law Passed in 2016, this law went into effect on July 1, 2018. The law requires that men and women be paid equally for “comparable work”. While the law is complicated, a dealership can protect itself from liability if it conducts an audit of its pay practices and takes steps to correct any inequities. All dealerships should perform this audit if they have not already. It is important to note that, if the audit reveals that a woman is being paid less than a man for “comparable work”, the salary of the man cannot be adjusted downward to eliminate the inequity. Additionally, as a result of this law, employment applications should no longer include questions about the applicant’s salary history. The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act This law went into effect on April 1, 2018, roughly nine months after it was signed by Governor Baker. The law reNOVERMBER 2018
quires employers to offer reasonable accommodations to employees who are pregnant or require accommodations to deal with conditions related to a pregnancy, such as the need to recover from giving birth or time and space at the workplace to express breast milk. Employers are prohibited from retaliating against an employee who seeks an accommodation under this act and cannot deny any employment opportunity to an employee or job applicant as a result of the person’s pregnancy. The “Grand Bargain” Under the duress of proposed ballot questions that would expand paid family and medical leave, raise the minimum wage, and reduce the sales tax from 6.25% to 5%, respectively, the General Court passed the so-called “Grand Bargain” – the most substantial rewrite of laws impacting Massachusetts employers in many years. As a result of the Grand Bargain, dealers must adjust their pay plans to ensure compliance with the following changes to the law, some of which will go into effect on January 1, 2019: • Minimum Wage: The state hourly minimum wage will increase to $15 over five years in the following increments: Current - $11; 1/1/2019 - $12; 1/1/2020 - $12.75; 1/1/2021 - $13.50; 1/1/2022 - $14.25; 1/1/2023 - $15. The tipped hourly minimum wage will also increase from the current rate of $3.75 to $6.75 over five years. • Sunday/Holiday Premium Pay Requirement: In a win for employers, the state requirement that businesses pay most retail workers at 150% of their regular hourly rate for hours worked on Sundays and certain holidays will be eliminated gradually over the next five years in the following increments: Current - 150%; 1/1/2019 - 140%; 1/1/2020 - 130%; 1/1/2021 - 120%; 1/1/2022 110%; 1/1/2023 - 100%. • Paid Family and Medical Leave: Most workers in Massachusetts will be eligi-
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ble to receive job-protected paid family and medical leave beginning in 2021. The benefits to employees include 12 weeks available for family leave and 20 weeks available for medical leave, for a maximum of 26 weeks in the aggregate. To fund this new paid leave requirement, a payroll tax of 0.63% (which will be adjusted annually) will be paid into two trusts overseen by a new department within state government - the department of family and medical leave. Contributions to the paid medical leave and paid family leave trusts will begin on July 1, 2019, with benefit payments beginning on January 1, 2021. Employers will be allowed to opt out of the paid family and medical leave program if they provide benefits through a private program that are the same or better than the state plan. It is expected that the Commonwealth will soon be issuing regulations pertaining to the implementation of this law, and MSADA will keep its members apprised of any new developments. Non-Compete Reform On October 1, new restrictions on non-competition agreements between employers and employees went into effect. Among the provisions of the new law, non-competes are limited to one year in duration, employees must receive adequate consideration for entering into the agreement, and an employee must be given at least ten days to review the agreement. Your Association has been conducting employment law seminars in conjunction with Fisher Phillips to ensure that all members are aware of these new laws. The next seminars will be held in Springfield on December 6 and in Dedham on December 14. For more information, please contact Robert O’Koniewski, MSADA Executive Vice President, rokoniewski@ msada.org or Peter Brennan, MSADA Staff Attorney, pbrennan@msada.org or by phone at (617) 451-1051. t
MSADA
Legal
By Joseph W. Ambash and Jeffrey A. Fritz
Anti-Discrimination and Harassment Policies Are Not Enough Benjamin Franklin said, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.” A couple hundred years later, in his 1962 State of the Union Address, John F. Kennedy noted, “The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining.” If your dealership has had to defend against a discrimination or retaliation claim, you know they can be tricky and very costly, even if you did nothing wrong. If your dealership never has had such a claim brought against it, you should consider yourself lucky and understand the possibility of having to defend against (and pay for) such a claim remains ever-present. Certainly, once a claim is made and counsel is engaged, you will have to develop a specific plan for defending against it. But the time for planning against such claims more generally starts well before then. The time for planning against such claims is before they are even made. Fortunately, such proactive planning (and its implementation) is not particularly onerous. And it can go a long way toward minimizing the risk of a claim, a sizeable settlement, and/or significant liability exposure.
Educate Your Workforce For many employers, general workforce education on discrimination and retaliation consists merely of employees acknowledging receipt of the handbook, which may contain an anti-discrimination/harassment policy. That said, many employees say they never actually read the employee handbook (and many employers likely know that is probably not untrue). Accordingly, you should consider duplicating your anti-discrimination/harassment policies in a stand-alone document, and have each new employee review and sign it separately upon hire. And you should re-distribute this document (and any updates) yearly to all employees (and require them to review and sign it) to reiterate what is acceptable and unacceptable conduct in the workplace, and remind them about the potential consequences for the latter.
Train Your Managers While managers certainly must abide by your anti-discrimination/harassment policies themselves, they also need to know they play a central role in ensuring a workplace free of such conduct, and how to perform effectively in that role. Your managers need to understand part of their job includes monitoring employee conduct, recognizing potentially-inappropriate behavior, taking prompt and appropriate steps to address and remediate the same, and that they can be held personally liable for any shortcomings in these regards. In short, they need to (1) be able to recognize problematic behavior (even if not specifically complained about), and (2) immediately report it to Human Resources. The best way to ensure your managers have the skills and sensibilities necessary for this aspect of their job is yearly, in-person training, conducted by a seasoned HR professional or employment lawyer. In addition to a recitation of what the law requires on these issues, such training should walk through hypothetical scenarios and require participation by your managers in determining appropriate courses of action. And, of course, each manager’s annual anti-discrimination/harassment training should be documented (and such documentation retained).
Ensure Appropriate HR Procedures Are in Place Some dealers have a robust HR department, with seasoned HR professionals. Many do not. In any event, you need to ensure you have appropriate HR procedures in place, they are communicated to all employees, and they are followed. Certainly each situation is going to be different, but maintaining appropriate HR procedures and following them helps ensure consistency and effectiveness. Whatever your procedures, you should be sure they include your HR employee conducting an appropriate investigation into the allegations raised. Such investigation could be as simple as speaking to one www.msada.org
or two people (and documenting those discussions). Depending on the circumstances, it may need to be significantly more robust. Your HR employee needs to know how to conduct such investigations effectively, follow the evidence adduced, draw reasonable conclusions from the evidence, and make reasonable recommendations to management based on those conclusions. The process here is just as important as the result. Well conducted investigations can really help in defense of a claim. Conversely, poorly conducted ones can actually hurt the defense of a claim, potentially leaving you worse off than if you had not conducted one at all. Paying lip service to a workplace free of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation is simple enough. But taking proactive steps to ensure you have an educated workforce, a trained management staff, and clear and effective HR procedures shows a commitment to that ideal. And showing is always more effective than telling, which is especially true when it comes to judges, juries, and administrative agencies. Conversely, not doing these types of things gives the other side the opportunity to point that out, to try to give the impression the company does not really care. How does your dealership’s “HR roof” look? If it appears penetrable, you should not wait until it rains to fix it. Taking proactive steps now can really help minimize risk. t
Joe Ambash is the Managing Partner and Jeff Fritz is a partner at Fisher Phillips, LLP, a national labor and employment firm representing hundreds of dealerships in Massachusetts and nationally. They can be reached at (617) 722-0044.
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AUTO OUTLOOK
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RACE TO THE FINISH COVER STORY
The Road Ahea
Meet the vehicles disrupting the status quo at the 2019 New England Int Acura ILX This powerfully-styled premium sport sedan features an aggressive exterior re-design, along with a beautiful interior wrapped in Milano leather and Ultrasuede trim.
Ford F-150 This constantly updated classic makes tough tasks look easy, whether it’s working on the job or heading out on a weekend of recreation.
GMC Sierra With capabilities, modern technologies, and a strong, confident appearance, the 2019 Sierra light-duty pickup truck is the ultimate mix of brain and brawn.
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Honda Civic Sedan The 2019 Honda Civic impresses with aggressive lines, a sophisticated interior and refined features that stand out from the traditional compact sedan.
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ternational Auto Show Chevy Blazer A classic name has been resurrected for an all-new SUV crossover that is sure to turn heads.
Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye For an update on this successful model, Dodge added 90 more horsepower, totaling 797 horsepower and 707 pound-feet of torque. Hyundai Santa Fe Hyundai’s most tech-advanced SUV ever, the 5 passenger Santa Fe has been completely re-imagined with a fresh new design.
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RACEROAD TO THE FINISH THE AHEAD
2019 Nissan Kicks A crossover that is big on attitude and self-expression, featuring dynamic styling with a personalized feel.
VW Atlas This one-sizefits-all SUV has 96.8 cubic feet of cargo space. You may need more stuff just to take advantage of it.
Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk The Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk is ready for a challenge. A muscular front end is accented by striking red tow hooks and the iconic seven-slot grille. NOVEMBER 2018
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Kia Sorento The all new Kia Sorento mid-size SUV provides comfort, versatility, and innovation designed to fit any lifestyle.
MSADA Lexus UX Challenging everything that came before it, the first-ever Lexus UX crossover juxtaposes bold urban style with unmistakable strength.
Lincoln Aviator Among the many luxury features in this soon tobe available revamp, warning and indicator sounds have been contributed by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.
Volvo XC40 Volvo’s first crossover SUV features strong, contemporary styling with a confident urban look.
Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid The all-new Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid is the SUV you can plug in when you are running errands around town, or gas up for your long weekend road trip. Audi RS7 With a twin-turbo, 4.0-liter V8 engine that cranks out up to 605 horsepower, the Audi RS7 is a luxury sedan dressed for the track.
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Sound Off
MSADA
Buy Your Health Insurance Smarter and at a Lower Cost
By Shawn Allen McWalter Benefits Group
Are double-digit increases and a lack of options an issue for you when it comes to offering health insurance to your employees? That no longer has to be the case. There is a way for your mid-sized company to realize the same great premiums that larger organizations see today. The use of a health care purchasing coalition, or HPC, gives you the purchasing power of a large company needed to achieve greater “The path for cost savings. If you are a your mid-sized member of MSADA you now have access to a local company to HPC. obtain a lower Large companies pay on average eight to cost on health eighteen times less the insurance must amount smaller ones pay provide health care go through an to insurance, according to information provided by HPC.” the National Conference of State Legislatures. This means that there is a huge disparity between what large employers pay for their employee’s health care benefits and the cost of these benefits for mid-sized and small firms.
Greater Purchasing Power Large employers pay less for their health insurance than smaller companies, such as mid-sized employers of 100–499 employees. You certainly understand as a CEO or CFO that the greater number of buying units available means higher demand and lower costs. Since as a mid-sized employer you lack a critical mass in numbers, you lack the ability to force insurers into bringing their prices down to where they become competitive and affordable for your business.
The Power of Large Numbers The Law of Large Numbers is a basic insurance concept that states that expected results are easier to predict within a large sample or data set of similar units. Specifically, the greater
your employee pool, the more predictable claims are and the easier it is for an insurer to price the riskiness of your group. Large companies benefit greatly from their large numbers. Mid-sized companies do not bring the same level of numbers to the table needed to drive the cost of their health care down to pay what large companies do.
Breaking the Status Quo Organizations regularly have their insurance consultant conduct a market analysis. These typically result in an annual increase in cost, a decrease in coverage, or a need to change carriers. Break away from the “norm” and implement strategies that can have an immediate impact on reducing your claims without hurting your employees’ coverage.
Turning Your Mid-Sized Company into a Large Health Care Purchaser The path for your mid-sized company to obtain a lower cost on health insurance must go through an HPC. The coalitions are designed to provide your mid-sized business with a large company’s purchasing scale. As a member of the HPC, not only are your costs for coverage lower, you also benefit from being able to demand greater price transparency from your insurer and the various participants in your health care supply chain. A health care purchasing coalition provides you with the mechanism needed to fight for cost-effective benefits that do not break the bank or shift cost burden from you as an employer to your employees. HPCs have greater flexibility when it comes to implementing cost containment strategies, as an HPC does not require the approval of an insurer to meet the cost savings needs of its coalition members. The result for you is a better way to obtain a lower cost of coverage without having to add 500 or 1,000 employees. Rising health care costs and the negative impact it has on your bottom line is not sustainable for most. Implementing proactive strategies, such as biometrics and independent nurse care management coupled with increased purchasing power (Health Care Coalition), are a powerful and proven solution to one our biggest business concerns today. The time has come that lower cost benefits with great coverage for your employees is no longer based solely on size. If you want the insurance carriers to treat you like a fortune 500 company, then look to join a coalition. t
Have an opinion you want to share? Email rokoniewski@msada.org. NOVEMBER 2018
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NEWS the NEWS from Around Around the Horn Horn from Around NEWSfrom SOUTH DEERFIELD
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TommyCar Auto Group Supports Anti-Bullying Initiative TommyCar Auto Group served as the official partner for Unify Against Bullying for the month of October, in support of National Bullying Prevention Month. Each of the company’s dealerships donated $20 for every car sold. Thanks to customer involvement, TommyCar Auto Group was able to donate $4,200. “On behalf of the entire Board of Directors, and all the families of Unify Against Bullying, we could not thank enough Carla Cosenzi and the TommyCar Auto Group for thinking of Unify,” says Christine Maiwald, Executive Director of Unify Against Bullying. “Her faith and support mean more than you might realize, especially to those families struggling with this pervasive issue. Our organization’s mission is to end bullying through the celebration of true diversity, and her generous check in the amount of $4,200 helps us get one step closer to accomplishing that mission.” “Bullying happens way more than it should, but we have the power to make a difference,” Cosenzi said. “We need to
continue to talk about bullying openly and freely, and not be scared to address the issues that happen to us, our family, our friends, or our co-workers. Unify is changing the culture within our communities, and the way people are addressing bullying, and I knew we had to be a part of that.”
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In Memoriam: Richard A. Mastria, Sr. Richard A. Mastria, Sr., 89, passed away peacefully on Sunday, November 25, 2018, at the Tidewell Hospice Center. Son of the late Silvio and Frances (Donato) Mastria, he was the youngest of three boys, Vincent (Jimmy) Mastria and the late Louis Mastria. He was the devoted husband to his lifelong beloved wife Diana (Bove) Mastria, to whom he was married for over 66 years. He was educated in the Red Bank school system in Red Bank, NJ, where he was a New Jersey all-state athlete and captain of both his high school basketball and baseball teams. He was named 1st team guard for the 50th anniversary all-time team of Red Bank High School. After high school he enlisted in the U.S. Army and served
during the Korean War. Upon completing his tour of duty, he married his high school sweetheart. He and his wife moved to start their new business, Richard Chevrolet, of Taunton, where he served as President and Dealer Operator for almost 30 years. Upon retirement, he moved to Cape Cod, and wintered in Florida. He served as member and chairman of the Finance Committee for the Town of Raynham as well as a board member of the Raynham Department of Assessors. He was also a member of the Chevrolet Dealer Council and Taunton Jaycees. He was an avid sports fan and golfer who had two hole-in-ones over his lifetime. He would tell you his greatest accomplishment and delight in life was spending time with his wife and family. He was the kindest and most considerate person to all that knew and loved him. He is survived by his wife, Diana, and his four loving children, Richard Jr., Robert Sr., Michele, and Susan. He was Papa to nine grandchildren and three great grand-daughters. Memorial services will be held on December 13, at St. Ann’s church in Raynham, MA at 10:00 AM, followed by a “Celebration of his Life”, at Mastria Buick Cadillac GMC, at 1525 New State Hwy, Raynham, from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations or memorials can be made to the special caregivers at the Tidewell Hospice Centers, 220 Wexford Blvd., Venice FL, 34293.
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Automotive News Names David Rosenberg to All Star List National industry journal Automotive News named Prime Automotive CEO David Rosenberg to its 2018 All Star list under the category “Dealer-Private.” “David Rosenberg, 56, has had a busy year leading a large and growing dealership group and overseeing the launch of Prime Flip, a new vehicle-subscription program,” the magazine writes. The changes propelled Prime Automotive up 53 spots to No. 13 on the Automotive News list of the top 150 dealership groups based in the U.S., with retail sales of 46,163 new vehicles in 2017. NOVERMBER 2018
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Herb Chambers Supports Fourth Annual Arredondo Foundation Turkey Giveaway The Herb Chambers Companies recently partnered with the Arredondo Family Foundation for its fourth annual Turkey Giveaway. Volunteers distributed nearly 70 turkeys to military veterans and their families at Herb Chambers Lexus of Sharon. Carlos and Mélida Arredondo founded the Arredondo Family Foundation in 2015, based on work they began doing in 2005 aiding veterans and military families. Carlos is known by many as “the man in the cowboy hat” after his heroic efforts to aid victims following the Boston Marathon bombing. The Arredondo Family Foundation was launched in 2015 to empower military families, friends, and the community in the prevention of military related suicides and to provide education and support services to military families. The annual Arredondo Family Foundation Turkey Giveaway was open to active duty, veterans, military families, and families of the fallen who are experiencing economic hardships. Families
received a food packet containing a turkey and gift card. In addition to providing a host location, Herb Chambers donated $10,000 to help make this event possible. Each year before Thanksgiving, Chambers gives a turkey to every one of his 2,500 employees, Mélida Arredondo, Execumany of which end up being donat- tive Director & Co-Founder ed. This year, he asked that any of of the Arredondo Family Foundation; Alan Mcthe employees who would normally Laren, CEO of the Herb donate their turkey consider contrib- Chambers Companies. uting to the Arredondo Family Foundation. As a result, 224 people donated the monetary equivalent of those turkeys as part of Chambers’ donation. “The Herb Chambers Companies and our employees are proud to team with the Arredondo Family Foundation for this worthwhile cause,” Herb Chambers said. “This foundation does incredible work raising awareness surrounding military related mental health issues – and supporting those families affected. This is a mission our company is proud to support, especially around Thanksgiving time.”
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Gov. Baker Lights Christmas Tree with Help from Brynn Cartelli
Massachusetts State Senator Proposes AV Tax
It is officially the holiday season at Faneuil Hall. Thousands turned out for the annual Holiday Spectacular and Christmas tree lighting on November 27. The show featured Brynn Cartelli of Longmeadow, winner of the 14th season of The Voice and daughter of Father’s & Son’s Auto group owner Damon Cartelli, as well as the Mayor’s Community Gospel Choir, and a visit from Santa and the kick-off of the New England Patriots Holiday Toy Drive. The show was hosted by WBZ-TV’s Lisa Hughes and David Wade. Mayor Marty Walsh and Governor Charlie Baker joined Santa and Mrs. Claus to help flip the switch to light the 60-foot tree.
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Responding to fears that autonomous vehicle development will create a horde of four-wheeled passenger-less “zombies” searching for parking, Massachusetts State Senator Jason Lewis recently proposed a flat 2.5 cents per mile tax on all self-driving vehicles. The 2.5 cent tax is meant to offset state revenue from gasoline taxes, as well as limit “zombie cars,” or autonomous vehicles that drive around to avoid parking fees or because parking is unavailable. Lewis’s bill would also require all autonomous cars in the state to be electric. “Since this is such whiz-bang technology already, requiring that they all be electric seems like a reasonable thing to ask,” Lewis told local news outlets. The Democratic State Senator said he wants to continue to “move away from fossil-fuel vehicles and to zero-emission vehicles.” The bill focuses on two types of autonomous cars: completely self-driving cars, and level 3 autonomous vehicles, which means a driver can take over driving if necessary. According to the bill,
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MSADA if human drivers want to cop out of parking fees by having their autonomous cars circle around the block a couple dozen times with no one inside, there will still be a cost. The 2.5 cent fee “can be increased for every mile traveled without a passenger or for daytime travel within a severe congestion zone.” The fee can also decrease for situations like traveling in places that lack public transit options, vehicles with multiple passengers and others. The bill also would place restrictions on testing autonomous vehicles. It states that if the Registrar of Motor Vehicles allows autonomous vehicles to be tested on public streets without a passenger inside, only freight and emergency vehicles would be allowed to travel more than one mile continuously without any passengers. DANVERS
RMV Opens New Service Location After more than two years without a Registry of Motor Vehicles customer service center on the North Shore, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and legislators from across the region celebrated the opening of the new Danvers location with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on October 31.
“This has to be the first time in my entire career that the entire legislative delegation North of Boston joined us in this effort. We sent a letter to the registrar and the governor that was signed by every legislator from Gloucester to Saugus,” said Rep. Ted Speliotis, of Danvers, explaining the collaborative work that went into getting a service center back on the North Shore. “It did not matter whether you were Republican, Democrat, conservative, liberal. You knew that we needed to find the right place, and this is the right place ... This is a day that we will never forget.” The service center replaces the facility that the RMV closed at Liberty Tree Mall in June 2016. “We had a location in Danvers previously that did not offer our customers the service that they deserved,” said Registrar of Motor Vehicles Erin Deveney. “And we knew that, thanks to Gov. Charlie Baker, Lt. Gov. Karen Polito, and Secretary Stephanie Pollack from MassDOT, that we should be in the business of always thinking of our customers first. So that is what we have done with this new Danvers service center.” The new facility, at 6,983 square feet, is over twice the size of the former site, which had only 3,135 square feet. And the location is fully accessible, featuring over 850 parking spaces, plenty of customer seating, free Wi-fi, 10 dual counter workstations and two registration-only counters. t
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Patrick Manzi
NADA Senior Economist
Boyi Xu
Economist
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Built Around Your Interests ATD’s mission is to always meet the changing needs of our dealer
By Jodie Teuton Chairwoman, American Truck Dealers ATD Chairwoman Jodie Teuton is vice president of Kenworth of Louisiana and Southland Truck Leasing in Gray, Louisiana.
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representatives to disWith Thanks“ATD is committed to cuss our most pressgiving just behind strengthening our community ing issues, like our us, we are remindby extending our lines of industry-wide worked that the spirforce shortages. it of community communication outward Finally, there is no and contribution and onward.” better place to bring are holiday tradeour entire communimarks, much like ty together than ATD the trademarks of Show 2019 in San Francisco from January 24-27. our great industry. One of the many survival lessons Our make meetings have been heralded as a top reaof the first Thanksgiving was understanding the son for ATD member dealers and managers to attend need to cultivate relationships and broaden lines of the show. We are proud to provide our members a communication for achieving goals. I encourage all forum to convene with OEMs and work together to members to foster strong relationships throughout overcome challenges for the upcoming year. our industry by participating in our ATD surveys, ATD is committed to strengthening our commuattending industry-wide events, and staying active nity by extending our lines of communication outwith the ATD community. ward and onward. I cannot emphasize this enough: ATD’s goals are built around your interests, so we need to understand your dealership’s individual challenges. I want to thank all those who participated in our annual Dealer Attitude Survey of Manufacturers. Your input each year is critical. The greater the response rate, the broader our scope. We have taken all your great feedback into account, and our ATD line representatives and staff have been diligently meeting with OEMs in person to discuss your concerns and ideas. These presentation meetings include senior OEM management and dealer council chairs. We also are currently distributing our annual Supplier Attitude Survey. Understanding one another’s challenges will help us build a better industry for the future. Our work is ongoing. Throughout the year, ATD board members host events and teleconferences to find the best ways to reach our member dealers, association leaders, and industry partners. The bi-annual Industry Legislative Roundtable allows us to explore the greatest challenges coming out of Capitol Hill, whether it is repealing the federal Finally, in November we marked the centennial excise tax (FET) on trucks or getting the latest inof the end of World War I, during which the Fedformation on the upcoming infrastructure bill. ATD is also well represented at partner events eral Excise Tax on trucks contributed to the war like the monthly Motor Carriers Luncheon hosteffort. Your ATD continues to appeal to Congress to bring a long overdue end to this program. ed by the American Trucking Associations. This is another opportunity to meet with fellow industry t Massachusetts Auto Dealer www.msada.org
NADA Update
By Scott Dube
A Moment of Thanks Scott Dube, President of Bill Dube Hyundai and MSADA Immediate Past President, represents NADA’s Massachusetts members on the NADA Board of Directors. He can be reached at scott@dubecars.com. As we round the corner from Thanksgiving, I want to take a moment to thank you, our dealer members, for making both MSADA and NADA the strong organizations they are. Without your continued involvement, our presence on Beacon Hill and Capitol Hill would not be anywhere near where it is. I also want to thank you for the opportunity to continue to serve my fellow dealers as NADA Director. It is a privilege to represent such a strong group of businesses on a national scale. As we continue in the holiday season, this is one of many things I remain thankful for as we continue to seek prosperity in this rewarding industry.
Auto Press Must Dig Deeper on ‘Mobility’ By Wes Lutz, NADA Chairman Last month, I had the privilege of addressing the Automotive Press Association in Detroit. I told the leading journalists covering our industry that they have an important job to do: Challenge every assertion they come across, especially as it relates to personal vehicle ownership, ride-hailing services, autonomous vehicles, and even electric vehicles. Because, as dealers know directly from our own customers, personal vehicle ownership is not going away. Ever. The past few years have been truly eye-opening for the global auto industry, as electric vehicles are now mainstream, vehicles with semi-autonomous features are currently on the road, and ride-hailing services are more popular than ever. But let us not lose sight of the picture—the accurate picture—of how these entities will truly shape our landscape. I shared some critical facts with the press in hopes that it captures a more complete narrative for the retail auto industry.
One of these facts is based on a AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety study, which found that the cost of relying on ride-hailing services as a primary mode of transportation—in 20 of the biggest metro areas in the U.S.—was, at minimum, more than twice as much as the cost of owning a personal vehicle. This is at odds with what Silicon Valley, mobility think tanks, and Wall Street venture capitalists have been purporting. However, after looking at a quarter of a million economy-level, single-rider ride-hailing trips in these urban areas (the bulk of the trips that are being taken by real people), AAA found that the average cost of relying on these services as a primary mode of transportation was $20,118. In comparison, the average annual cost to own and operate a new vehicle in these same urban areas—the only setting in which using ride-hailing services are a practical full-time transportation option—was $10,049. And that includes the cost of parking. I urged the men and women of the press to take note of these enlightening stats, because they disprove one of the central pillars of the argument that people are going to stop buying cars. The truth is, it is not cheaper to use ride-hailing services. And furthermore, dealers understand a cardinal truth about vehicle ownership: people equate it to personal freedom. The American car-buying public enjoy having the ability to go where they want, when they want. They value the freedom, flexibility, convenience, and control that only owing their own car or truck can provide. Another assertion I asked the press to challenge is that self-driving vehicles are immeasurably safer than humans behind the wheel. We do not know if this is true, because there just is not enough data to prove it one way or the other. But we do have this data: There were 37,000 fatalities on the roads last year, and 94 percent of those fatal accidents were the result of human error. But Americans drove more than 3.2 trillion miles. So even with fatalities considered, those are not bad safety odds when humans are behind the wheel. Humans are phenomenal drivers. This is just a small piece of the larger pie I served up in Detroit. Despite how our industry issues change and challenges arise, the reporting on our industry should be rooted in reality and facts. The fact is that people will continue to
“It is a privilege to represent such a strong group of businesses on a national scale.”
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NADA Update purchase cars, and auto dealers will continue to serve the car-buying public for the next century to come.
NADA’s Lutz, Gilchrist Meet Trump for White House Discussion on Economy, Workforce Training NADA Chairman Wes Lutz and Vice Chairman Charlie Gilchrist joined other business leaders at the White House this month for a discussion with President Trump and senior administration officials about the nation’s growing economy and the Administration’s comprehensive workforce development efforts. The event came on the heels of a previous White House announcement that, since the establishment of the Administration’s Pledge to America’s Workers to improve workforce development and increase vocational training opportunities for students and workers over the next five years, more than 160 companies and organizations have pledged to create 6.39 million new enhanced career opportunities for America’s workers. NADA has been a part of this important effort since it was launched in July through an executive order that established the President’s National Council for the American Worker and the American Workforce Policy Advisory Board. In August NADA leaders met with the White House to discuss the NADA Foundation’s own Workforce Initiative to promote the value of careers at new-car dealerships – especially service technicians – in the retail-automobile industry, and to explore ways in which the administration, NADA, and franchised dealers across the country could work together to help close the urgent skills crisis affecting auto retailing and other industries. Local dealerships employ nearly 400,000 technicians nationwide, at median salary of more than $59,000, in jobs that provide health care and retirement benefits without a four-year college degree. However, local dealerships face an industry-wide shortage of nearly 70,000 workers. “President Trump and his team clearly understand how this economy works and what we need to keep it growing,” said Lutz, who is also president of Extreme Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram in Jackson, Michigan. “Some of the best-paying and most stable jobs in America do not require four-year college degrees but are instead had by smart, hard-working people who get trained on the job and at technical schools. We need them at my dealership and I applaud President Trump for prioritizing this key issue.” Encouraging private-sector investment in vocational training “represents an enormous opportunity for us to think about making sure that every American worker is equipped with the skills they need, whether they are in high school and they are looking to graduate and have a job ready for NOVEMBER 2018
MSADA them upon graduation, or whether they are a mid- to late-career worker who is looking for an opportunity to learn a new skill or learn a new trade,” said Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter and senior adviser, during the discussion at the White House.
NADA Confirms Show Dates for Next Five Years Following the major U.S. auto shows in Los Angeles and Detroit, the focus of the global automotive industry will center on the NADA Show in San Francisco, which runs from January 24-27, 2019, at the newly-renovated Moscone Center. Thousands of U.S. new-car dealers and their managers – including dealers from 38 countries – automaker executives, exhibitors, and media will convene in the City by the Bay, which has hosted the NADA Show 16 times since 1949. “We’re encouraging more dealership managers to attend the upcoming show, which offers numerous career development opportunities, such as the educational workshops and training sessions, including the new NADA Professional Series training program designed specifically for new and high-potential dealership managers,” said Annette DiLorenzo Thayer, chairman of the NADA Show committee. Considered the Automotive Industry Event of the Year, the NADA Show includes keynote speakers, hundreds of educational workshop sessions, dealer franchise meetings, an expo with 500 exhibitors, and numerous networking opportunities. Dealers and their managers who register online by January 18 will save $75 off the onsite registration rate. Future NADA Show Dates ● 2020 – Las Vegas (February 14-17) ● 2021 – New Orleans (January 21-24) ● 2022 – Las Vegas (March 10-13) ● 2023 – Dallas (January 26-29) ● 2024 – Las Vegas (February 2-5) “NADA’s board of directors has decided to add Dallas back to the list of cities that host the NADA Show,” said Steve Pitt, NADA senior vice president of conventions and expositions. The NADA convention was held in Dallas in 1992 and 1995. “Dallas is now one of the top five convention cities in the country,” Pitt added. “The convention center has expanded. Economic development has revitalized the downtown area with new hotels, restaurants, and entertainment districts.” For more information about NADA Show 2019 in San Francisco or to register to attend, visit nadashow.org. t
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