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April 28, 2017

Loaner Car Bill S.488 – “Full Court Press” Needed!

Please take time to call all legislators from your area and ask them to vote to recall our bill S. 488 (franchised new car dealer loaner car bill) from the House Education and Public Works Committee on Tuesday, May 2.

There are only six legislative days left in the legislative session and we have to move quickly to get this bill passed this year.

Tell legislators:

1. We want S. 488  recalled from Education and Public Works Committee.
2. The Committee Chair, Rita Allison, is supporting us recalling the bill from her committee.
3. After recalling the bill onto the House floor, we need legislators to then take the bill up on the house floor and give it a second reading as soon as possible.
4. We do not want any amendments to the bill. We want the bill to pass “as is” from the committee.

Also, please be sure to let Sims know of your results when you contact your legislators.

View S.488 talking points HERE.
View House members contact info HERE.

April 21, 2017

House Education and Public Works Committee to Take Up S.488 – Loaner Car Bill on Wednesday on April 26

Dealer calls are still needed!

The full House Education and Public Works Committee will meet Wednesday afternoon on S.488, our loaner car bill. If the bill passes the full committee, it will then go to the House floor for a vote. We need help from Dealers calling legislators to educate them about why we support and need this legislation.

This is a sizable task – there are 124 House members. We need your help. Please call your House members.

View talking points HERE.
View House members contact info HERE.

April 18, 2017

In Memoriam

SCADA is saddened to inform you of the death of Lynn W. Cooper, Jr. of Clinton Motor Company in Clinton on Easter Sunday.  Mr. Cooper is the father of Palmetto District Regional Vice President Chip Cooper.

Visitation is today at First Baptist Church of Clinton from 5PM to 7PM, 301 S. Broad Street, Clinton.

In lieu of flowers please make memorials to the Mr. & Mrs. Lynn Cooper, Sr. Scholarship, Presbyterian College, 503 S. Broad Street, Clinton, SC  29325 or Martha Franks Baptist Retirement Center, 1 Martha Franks Drive, Laurens, SC 29360 or Laurens Memorial Home for the Aged, P. O. Box 638, Laurens, SC 29360.

Our deepest sympathies go out to Mr. Cooper’s wife Jeral, their daughters Jerri Lynn, Leslie Anne, Missi, and his son Chip Cooper and his grandchildren.

With Warmest Regards,

E. Sims Floyd, Jr.
Executive Vice President

April 18, 2017

S.488 – Loaner Car Bill Passes House Education and Public Works Subcommittee

Bill S.488 passes House Education & Public Works Subcommittee 4-0!

The bill now heads to the House Education & Public Works Full Committee next week.

Dealer calls are still needed!

View talking points HERE.
View Education and Public Works members contact info HERE.

April 12, 2017

Critical Push Needed on Senate Bill 488 – Loaner Car Bill

Senate Bill 488 has successfully passed the state Senate. Now it is in an Education and Public Works Subcommittee in the House of Representatives.  The bill will be taken up for review on Tuesday, April 18.  It is critical that Dealers contact committee members before April 18 to express their need and support of our bill. Talking points are attached.

Please talk to these legislators until you get a “yes I will vote for the bill.” Also, please tell them we do not want any amendments to the bill. The bill needs to move quickly since there are only 12 legislative days left in this session.  A list of Education and Public Works Committee members and their contact info is attached.

Remember, if we cannot take the time to educate these legislators on why we support and need this legislation, then they are not likely to vote for it and the bill will not pass. We have an opportunity to pass meaningful legislation that will absolutely help Dealers save thousands and thousands of dollars! Please take time to email me with any responses you get from legislators. Thank you in advance for your help on this critical push.

View talking points HERE.
View Education and Public Works members contact info HERE.

April 10, 2017

South Carolina Automobile Dealers Association: Make a Splash

80th Annual Convention: May 18–21, 2017
The Westin Hilton Head Island Resort & Spa

38 Days Left Until Convention!

Are you registered for the SCADA 80th Annual Convention? Click HERE to learn all about the exciting plans underway and make your registration official!

Registration and Room Block expires April 30th

Check out this video from our President, Jay Wakefield and Convention Chairman, Chip Cooper
(password: 2017conv)

April 7, 2017

Beware of Email Spoofing

SCADA had been notified on several occasions recently about “spoof” emails that have been sent to some of our Dealer members and their employees.  Today it happened to SCADA.  The spoofed email was sent using the forged email of the EVP and sent to the Director of Administration concerning finances.  It was quickly identified as suspicious. For example, the email’s grammar, font, and tone were suspicious. It implied that our EVP had a financial request that needed to be answered “right now” via email. If a request was needed that quickly, our EVP would have made a phone call or met with the Director of Administration directly.

For those not familiar with email “spoofing”, it is the forgery of an email header so that the message appears to have originated from someone or somewhere other than the actual source. Email spoofing is a tactic used in phishing and spam campaigns because people are more likely to open and respond to an email when they think it has been sent by a legitimate source.

If you receive an email that looks suspicious, better to be safe than sorry.  Check with the sender to make sure it is legitimate before responding.

FTC Finalizes Three More Consent Orders With Dealers Over Certain Used-Vehicle Ads

The Federal Trade Commission has approved three proposed consent orders with auto Dealer groups to resolve allegations that they advertised “how rigorously they inspect their used cars” without disclosing that some of the vehicles were subject to open safety recalls. Among other provisions, the consent orders prohibit the Dealers from representing – either expressly or by implication – when marketing, advertising, offering for sale, or selling used motor vehicles to consumers that the vehicles are safe, have been repaired for safety issues, or have been subject to a rigorous inspection, unless:

1. The vehicles are not subject to any open safety recalls, or

2. The Dealer discloses, in close proximity to such representation, any material qualifying information related to open recalls, including but not limited to:

• the fact that its used motor vehicles may be subject to recalls for safety issues that have not been repaired, and
• how consumers can determine whether an individual used motor vehicle is subject to an open recall for safety issues that has not been repaired.

In addition, if the Dealer receives a written notice from a manufacturer that a motor vehicle is subject to an open safety recall, the Dealer must provide to a consumer – prior to the consummation of the sale of the vehicle – the manufacturer notice or a document that conveys the same information using a substantially similar format. (As an alternative to providing the manufacturer notice, two of the three consent orders permit the Dealers to provide to consumers – prior to the consummation of the sale of a used motor vehicle – a written notice that conveys that the vehicle is subject to an open recall that is unrepaired and the safety risks associated with the recall that is made available by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (see safercar.gov) or a commercial provider of recall information.)

All of these disclosures and notices must be clear and conspicuous and not otherwise misleading.

These three finalized consent orders follow separate FTC consent orders with similar terms involving General Motors and two Dealer groups that were finalized in December 2016. Dealers are advised to review with legal counsel the full terms of these consent orders along with any applicable state law requirements to help assess the legal sufficiency of their used vehicle advertisements.

April 6, 2017

SCADA Nominating Committee Report

The SCADA Nominating Committee met on March 23rd to prepare the slate of nominations for Officers and Members of the Board of Directors to be elected for the year 2017-2018. Below you’ll find a link to view the slate of Officers and Directors that will be presented to the SCADA Membership at the Annual Dealer Business Meeting for a vote on Friday, May 19th beginning at 8:45 AM.

The Annual Dealer Business Meeting will be a part of the SCADA 2017 Annual Convention at The Westin Hilton Head Island Resort and Spa.

Thank you and I hope you will attend this important Dealer meeting at Convention.

Click HERE to view the Official Nominating Slate.

George F. Gibbes
Chairman, Nominating Committee

March 27, 2017

SCADA Continues Push on Senate Bill S.488 – Loaner Cars

The Senate version of our loaner car bill is on the Senate floor. Last week, Senator Mike Fanning, Winnsboro, objected to the bill. SCADA spent some time educating Senator Fanning on the legislation. There were concerns from the Association of Counties, Municipalities Association, and teachers on the fiscal impact. We have modified the bill and added verbiage clarifying that only franchised new car Dealers that do service and repair could utilize this new statute. This has relieved the concerns of at least the Association of Counties and Municipalities Association. The bill is up for second reading on Tuesday.

The House version of this legislation is bogged down in subcommittee. It is not likely that it will make it out of the House before the crossover deadline this session.

If you have not called your Senator to educate them on how important this bill is, please do so today.

– View a contact list of Senators HERE.
– View the talking points HERE.
– View the legislation HERE.

March 21, 2017

It’s the Beginning of the Open Highway

Please join SCADA on congratulating Robby Bennett, of Bennett Motor Company in Cheraw, on his retirement.

Robby began working for his grandfather and father at Bennett Motor Co. at a young age. He even helped with new construction at the dealership in 1972. After graduating from the Chevrolet School of Merchandising and Management, he became Dealer Principal in 1988.

Robby was on the SCADA Board of Directors for 15 years and was President from 2005–2006. He has been an avid supporter of the Association since he was elected to the Board of Directors and for many years after.

Thank you, Robby, for your many decades of support of SCADA and for your humor!

We wish Robby all the best in his future adventures and this new chapter in life!