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AUTO’s
2007 Face-2-Face Conference a
Success
Attend
the AUTO/AAIA Reception at SHOWPOWER
2007
Register
Today for ASE Spring Testing
Register
Your National Car Care Month Vehicle Check-Up Event
Online
Right
to Repair Battle Moves to the
States
New
and Improved CD/DVD Now Available for National Car Care
Month
FYI: AAPEX
Deadlines
Global Review Official
Publication of GAAS
WELCOME NEW AAIA
MEMBERS
AUTO’s
2007 Face-2-Face Conference a
Success
The Automotive Undercar Trade
Organization (AUTO) held its 2007 Face-2-Face conference
Jan. 17-19 in Orlando, Fla. The bi-annual event brought
together nearly 100 undercar professionals, warehouse
distributors and manufacturers for two days of meetings
and networking, which included a golf tournament and
private reception at the famed House of
Blues.
“On behalf of the AUTO board
of directors, I would like to thank everyone involved in
making this year’s Face-2-Face conference such a
tremendous success,” said AUTO president Malcolm
Sissmore, Ultrafit Exhaust Systems.
Attend
the AUTO/AAIA Reception at SHOWPOWER
2007
Don’t miss the AUTO/AAIA
reception held this year during SHOWPOWER 2007. The
event will take place on Saturday, March 24, from 5 p.m.
to 7 p.m. at America’s Center in St. Louis, Mo. AUTO’s
Reception is a SHOWPOWER tradition. Join more than 500
attendees at one of the largest events of the
show.
For ticket information,
contact the AAIA meetings department at
301-654-6664.
Register
Today for ASE Spring Testing
The spring 2007 ASE test
dates are scheduled for May 8, 10 and 15. All
registrations must be received no later than March 31.
For more information or to
register, visit www.asecert.org/a-u-t-o/online-registration-ase-tests.htm.
Register
Your National Car Care Month Vehicle Check-Up Event
Online
The Car Care Council
announced that organizations may now register their 2007
National Car Care Month vehicle check-up events on the
Car Care Council’s Web site at www.carcare.org.
Statistics from the NCCM
vehicle check-up events in April 2006 continue to
underscore the need for consumer education. Eighty-eight
percent of cars failed at least one part of the
inspection.
To help organizations conduct
vehicle check-up events, visitors to the “Industry”
section of the council’s Web site, www.carcare.org, will find National Car Care Month materials to
enhance their events, including a free vehicle check-up
event planning guide. In addition, “Be Car Care Aware”
point-of-sale kits and a virtual store of apparel and
premium items are available for purchase.
The point-of-sale kits have
recently been reduced from $95 to $79. They contain Car
Care Months materials that can be used each April and
October, including a Car Care Guide, brochures, posters,
a countermat in English and Spanish, mirror hangers,
vehicle inspection forms and the industry’s
comprehensive Service Interval Schedule.
As a bonus, repair shops and
parts stores that purchase the kits will be included in
the Find-a-Shop and Find-a-Store locators on the
www.carcare.org Web site, which receives more than 100,000 hits
per month.
For more information about
routine vehicle maintenance and how to “Be Car Care
Aware,” visit www.carcare.org.
Right to Repair Battle Moves to
the States
As the
battle for passage of the Motor Vehicle Owners’ Right to
Repair Act by the U.S. Congress is just gearing up this
year, the fight already is in full throttle in the
states. Six states’ legislatures are currently
considering Right to Repair legislation including
New Jersey, Oklahoma and just added, New York, Florida and Nevada.
In
New
Jersey, the legislation (A.
931), introduced by Assemblyman Reed Gusciora, D-N.J.,
was passed unanimously by the Assembly Consumer Affairs
Committee and is awaiting action by the full assembly.
The bill was on the schedule for consideration on Feb.
22, but was pulled at the last minute due to wavering
support from some Democrats. A companion bill, S. 2553,
was introduced on Feb. 26 by Senate Majority Leader
Senator Bernard Kenny, D-N.J. and Senator Joseph
Kyrillos, R-N.J. The bill has been referred to the
Senate Commerce Committee.
While there
is support for the New Jersey Right to Repair
legislation by the governor and assembly leadership, the
new car dealers and car companies have been turning up
the heat lately in an attempt to derail its progress.
Members in New
Jersey, or those with locations
in the state, are urged to contact their state
legislators calling for passage of Right to Repair
legislation in the state.
In
Oklahoma, Right to
Repair legislation (H.B. 1584) was introduced by Rep.
Lucky Lamons, D-Okla., and was referred to the Rules
Committee. The bill has drawn considerable controversy
from the dealers and car companies, but is supported by
the American Automobile Association (AAA) of Oklahoma, which stated
that the car owner should be able to determine where the
car is repaired once they drive off of the dealer
lot.
Assemblyman
Darryl
Towns, D-Okla.,
along with 21 other legislators, on Feb. 23 introduced
the New
York state version of Right to
Repair legislation (HB 5817). Darryl Towns is the son
of Rep. Edolphus Towns, D-N.Y., who has been a key
sponsor of the bill in the U.S. Congress over the past
several years. The bill has been referred to the
Committee on Transportation.
Legislation
also has just recently been introduced in Florida (S.B. 2890) by Senator
Charlie Justice, D-16 and Nevada (S.B. 1320)
by Senator Warren Hardy, R-12. Neither bill has
been referred to a committee.
Companies in
New Jersey and
Oklahoma may send
letters to their state legislators on these bills by
visiting www.careauto.org.
New and Improved CD/DVD Now
Available for National Car Care
Month
Just in time for National Car
Care Month in April, the Car Care Council introduced a
new and improved CD and DVD with extensive information
and marketing materials to help vehicle service
providers get actively involved. The DVD features a
12-minute “how-to” video with step-by-step instructions
on how to plan and host popular consumer vehicle
check-up events. The CD includes a comprehensive
event planning guide complete with sample press
releases, radio spots, camera-ready ads, sample of
vehicle check-up event inspection form, brochures, logos
and more.
Distributors, WDs and jobbers
will learn the benefits of helping their customers get
involved while repair shops and retailers will see just
how easy and rewarding it can be to host vehicle
check-up events during National Car Care Month in April
and Fall Car Care Month in October.
To request a copy of the
two-disc set, visit www.carcare.org. Single copies are available for free. For
multiple copies, call the Car Care Council at
240-333-1088.
FYI: AAPEX Deadlines
- Contracts are due by
Friday, March 9.
- E-mails with dates and
times will go out by April 2.
- Booth space will be
assigned beginning on Monday, April 16. The process
will take three full weeks to assign everyone. All
late applications will be assigned in mid-May after
the space assignments are completed.
AAPEX 2007 will be held
Tuesday, Oct. 30 through Thursday, Nov. 1, at the Sands
Expo Center in Las Vegas, Nev. For more information on
AAPEX, visit www.aapexshow.com.
Global Review Official Publication of
GAAS
A joint project of AAIA and
Advanstar Automotive, Global Review is the
official publication of the Global Automotive
Aftermarket Symposium (GAAS). It not only covers the
event in its entirety, but also includes analyses of the
topics presented, post-show interviews, commentary,
input from symposium attendees and an update on GAAS
scholarship recipients. Distributed to a total of 64,000
readers, Global Review covers the entire
circulation of Aftermarket Business, the top
tier circulation of Motor Age and a host of
VIPs, including Wall Street analysts, key legislators
and investors.
If you are interested in
advertising in this publication, contact Doug Ferguson
at 847-441-3717 or e-mail dferguson@advanstar.com.
WELCOME NEW AAIA
MEMBERS
March 2-8, 2007
Berryman Products,
Inc., Arlington, Texas (AWDA)
Mike's
Truck Outfitters, Santa Clara,
Calif.
Transit Warehouse, Levis
(QC), CANADA, (Retail) | 
