CATA Bulletin a biweekly newsletter official Web site of CATA dealers Volume 100, No. 17 September 1, 2003 Mars dickers, Facing uproar, FCC pauses till ’05 on Venus doesn’t implementing new fax rule for businesses Businesses won a reprieve from a or business has given express permis- Mars doesn’t mind negotiating cumbersome Federal Communications sion to receive unsolicited facsimile ad- and is confident he deserves more. Commission ruling that would have vertisements.” Venus is satisfied with what she is fined businesses for sending faxes to If businesses or associations violated offered, unsure of what she consumers unless a consumer gives the proposed rule, the FCC could as- deserves and fearful of bargaining. explicit consent first. sess penalties of up to $11,000 for each This is the message of “Women The Telephone Consumer Protection fax. In addition, the person who re- Don’t Ask,” a book to be published Act was to have taken effect Aug. 25. ceived an unwanted fax could sue for by Princeton University Press. The FCC on Aug. 18 moved to extend $500 for each violation, with the pos- Women’s reluctance to negotiate that date to Jan. 1, 2005, to reconsider sibility of receiving triple damages if arises even when it comes to the matter in the wake of waves of ob- the business knowingly broke the law. commonly negotiated items like jections. Non-profit associations objected automobiles, wrote the authors, The FCC proposed the rule last fall, loudly to the FCC, arguing against the Linda Babcock, an economist at but the rule’s exact wording was not requirement that they get written per- Carnegie Mellon University and a published until July 25. In addition, mission before faxing any “advertise- leading scholar of negotiations, most observers focused on the rule’s ment”—including notice of an upcom- and freelance writer Sara telemarketing provisions, which set ing meeting or seminar that charges a Laschever. limits on when a business can call fee—to their own dues-paying mem- According to a survey by the people at home. bers. Dohring Co., for example, women The provision concerning unwanted Small businesses, which rely heavily are 40 percent more likely than faxes begins at paragraph 185 of the on faxes, also railed against the pro- men to accept the first car price a FCC’s 225-paragraph report on the new posed rule, saying it would be too bur- dealer offers. In another survey, 20 rule. densome. percent of women said they never Since 1992, businesses can send “It’s inconvenient, it’s a lot of pa- negotiated. faxes to recipients with which they have perwork, and it’s a lot of time,” said The authors advise women to an “established business relationship,” Steve Bokat, general counsel for the seek out information about prod- regarded by the FCC as customers who U.S. Chamber of Commerce. ucts and prices on the Internet bought something from the business in The rule change would have forced before they go to the store, for an the past 18 months or made an inquiry businesses to secure the recipient’s per- informed worker or customer is the in the past three months. Those peri- mission in advance. Express consent best bargainer. ods expire if the fax recipient requests would have had to (1) be in writing; The book, while sometimes not to be contacted by the fax sender. (2) include the recipient’s signature, in prone to sweeping gender generali- The July report by the FCC reversed electronic or digital form; and (3) zations, carries a central theme: course, concluding “that the established clearly indicate the recipient’s advance women are far less likely than men business relationship would no longer consent to receive any facsimile adver- to initiate a negotiation. be sufficient to show that an individual tisements from a business. 2 CATA Bulletin September 1, 2003 Japanese models dominate Consumer Don’t miss chance to be a STAR Reports list of best-value used cars Are you a STAR? No, not a “star,” in the traditional sense. However, you can belong to STAR, an NADA ini- Japanese-made autos dominated a list of best-value used tiative to simplify computer operations and cut related vehicles, accounting for 15 of the 18 bargains identified by IT costs. Consumer Reports magazine. STAR is an acronym for Standards for Technology in The other three vehicles were U.S. models. Cars made in Automotive Retail. Formed in May 2001, it is a nonprofit, Germany, Sweden, Korea and elsewhere were no-shows on industry-wide initiative to create voluntary information the list. technology standards in the automotive industry. Magazine edi- tors chose cars Consumer Reports’ The standards are necessary because proprietary tech- top used vehicles nology requirements make communications among manu- that “proved reli- facturers, dealers and customers needlessly complex and able, performed 1996 Honda Civic EX, $6,000 costly. well in Con- 2001 Honda Civic EX, $9,500 Let’s say you have a multi-franchise dealership. By sumer Reports’ 1999 Mazda Protege ES, $6,000 definition, you deal with multiple manufacturers. Of ne- tests when new, 1996 Infiniti G20, $5,500 cessity—because of the proprietary technology linking and offer excel- 1998 Mazda Millenia S, $8,500 1996 Toyota Camry XLE V6, $7,500 each manufacturer to your dealership computer system— lent value for the money.” 2000 Toyota Camry XLE V6, $12,000 you communicate essentially the same information to each 1996-2000 Honda Accord LX V6 The con- manufacturer, but in a different way, with different equip- 1995-1998 Honda Odyssey ment. sumer-advocacy 1999 Lincoln Town Car Executive Doesn’t it make sense to standardize the technology group which 1996 Acura RL, $10,000 we use to exchange business information and to make publishes Con- 2000 Acura RL, $19,000 that technology available to everyone who should use it? sumer Reports 1996 Toyota Avalon XLS, $8,100 The creation and implementation of nonproprietary, gave a nod to the 2000 Toyota Avalon XLS, $18,000 Internet-based standards would benefit your dealership 1999 Lincoln 1997 Mazda Miata (avg. not available) by reducing your technology costs and saving you time Town Car Execu- and effort, all while increasing your operating efficiency. tive for being feature-rich and for depreciation that brought STAR is composed of dealer organizations, automo- it to an average sales price of $11,000. tive manufacturers and retail system providers which pro- Prices in the study reflect average dealer asking prices, vide dealership computer systems and services. STAR based on average mileage for the model year. members develop industry standards and research emerg- For about $6,000, a Honda Civic EX or a 1999 Mazda ing technologies for the benefit of dealers. Protege ES offer reliability and economy, editors said. For Standards development is accomplished by Special In- lower miles, the report suggests the 2001 Honda Civic EX, terest Groups devoted to infrastructure, data transfer and at $9,500. extended mark-up language (XML, the language of the Consumer Reports described the 1996 Infiniti G20 as a Internet). sporty, “well put-together” car for those with more limited STAR needs dealers as members. It needs your input means, at about $5,500. and business experience. You have to ensure that your dealership information technology infrastructure can sup- port Internet-based applications that manufacturers and The CATA Bulletin is published by the Chicago Automobile Trade Association other have already begun to implement. To learn more 18W200 Butterfield Road about STAR’s work and how you can participate, visit Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181-4810 the STAR Web site at www.starstandard.org/ 630-495-CATA [2282] phone 630-495-2260 fax This information was adapted from “STAR: Standards The CATA Bulletin is published and mailed every other Friday for Technology in Automotive Retail,” an NADA man- except during the Chicago Auto Show, when it is not published. Listings of items for sale are subject to the approval of the agement bulletin. Copies of the bulletin can be ordered CATA. Candidates for employment must submit a full résumé to from the NADA by calling 800-252-6232, ext. 2. Or, or- the Editor. der an electronic version at www.nada.org/mecatalog/ Review past editions or search by topic at www.cata.info/ Cost is $2.50 for NADA members, $5 for nonmembers, Jerry H. Cizek III President, Publisher plus shipping. Erik K. Higgins Editor, Director of Dealer Affairs said Walter McManus of said. September 1, 2003 CATA Bulletin 3 Amid industry’s deluge of image vehicles, not all ‘halos’ are golden A popular refrain from some PT Cruiser, while initially very success- automakers is, “If we could only get the Halo vehicles on the horizon ful in the market, have experienced a customers into the dealerships. Once Chevrolet SSR Oct. ’03 down side of having a stylish and they see and drive our product, they Pontiac GTO Nov. ’03 unique design: Once everyone has a would be ready to buy.” One way to Ford GT March ’04 unique vehicle, how unique is it any- get people into dealerships is through Dodge Charger March ’05 more? an image or “halo” vehicle. Lexus HPX Concept March ’05 As a result, both Volkswagen and VW Microbus July ’05 In the past, the halo market was DaimlerChrysler are working furiously Pontiac Solstice Dec. ’05 populated by higher-priced, lower-vol- to launch enhancements to and/or vari- CSM Vehicle Forecast Service ume sports cars. However, the segment ants of the vehicles—e.g., turbo- is by no means limited to sports cars charged engines and convertibles.